Scientists have informed us of the dramatic erosion the Louisiana’s coast is experiencing, causing the land-loss at a catastrophic rate of 25 to 35 square miles per year! This is equivalent to losing an area of one football field every 15 minutes!
But, why and how is it happening? According to a new study, this dramatic sinking of Louisiana’s Gulf coast could be due to the shallowest delta sediments, which are pushing down the underneath layers.
Many scientists explains the phenomenon this way —
the subsidence (sinking) takes place because as sediment accumulates and the Mississippi Delta thickens, the crust of the Earth as a whole gets pressed downward. The withdrawal of oil, gas, and groundwater are also blamed for the submerging delta. (Similar subsidence has been noted in Southern California and in many other states due to extensive pumping of groundwater, petroleum products and other reasons.
Via: Live Science