Climate change and development are accelerating coastal erosion. The area south of the town of Buras, Louisiana, in 1990 (left) and today (right). NOAA has retired the names English Bay, Bay Jacquin, and Scofield Bay, acknowledging the vast water that now separates Buras from the barrier along Pelican Island (NOAA Chart 11358) Twenty-five years ago, miles of marshy land and grasses separated the small fishing outpost of Buras, Louisiana, from the Gulf of Mexico. But years of erosion – along with the one-two punch of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita – have washed away much of that barrier. Today, the islands, inlets, and bays that once defined the coastline of Plaquemines Parish have begun to melt together. Like all coasts, the land around the Mississippi River is constantly evolving. In past centuries, that process was slowed by the annual flooding of the River’s vast delta, which brought new sediment to replace what was lost. But climate change, coupled with better engineering (which brought effective channeling and stronger levees), have turned this coastline into one of the most rapidly eroding areas of the U.S. In the area around Buras, gone are the formerly distinct waterways of English Bay, Bay Jacquin, and Scofield Bay, leaving a vast expanse of water between the mainland and the barrier islands. Read the rest at Atlantic Cities. From:  Louisiana’s Coastline Is Disappearing Too Quickly for Mappers to Keep Up ; ;Related ArticlesHere Are 5 Infuriating Examples of Facts Making People DumberA World of Water, Seen From SpaceCitizen Scientists: Now You Can Link the UK Winter Deluge To Climate Change ;

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Louisiana’s Coastline Is Disappearing Too Quickly for Mappers to Keep Up