Authors
Leland C. Moss, Abt Global; Tim J. B. Carruthers, Erin P. Kiskaddon, Melissa M. Baustian, and Kelly M. Darnell, Water Institute of the Gulf; Carey L. Perry, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana; Camille Stagg, U.S. Geological Survey
Coastal Louisiana contains approximately 37 percent of all estuarine herbaceous wetlands in the contiguous United States, which provide valuable ecosystem services, including fisheries, carbon sequestration, wave attenuation, and storm surge reduction. All of these benefits are at risk, however, as the region is a hotspot for habitat change and rapid land loss (42.9 km2 per year) due to multiple factors, including hurricane disturbance and significant land use change. Despite catastrophic losses, the article notes that the loss of coastal wetlands creates shallow open water that still has high potential habitat value for many natural resources, and these benefits should be accounted for. Similarly, demonstrating the multiple natural and social resource benefits from coastal restoration can help optimize the implementation of other Gulf of Mexico restoration programs. The authors compared the habitat value of shallow open water areas to that of emergent wetland, finding that restoration planning based primarily on wetland land area may not achieve the maximum possible ecosystem benefits.
Read More
Long-Term Carbon Sinks in Marsh Soils of Coastal Louisiana Are at Risk to Wetland Loss
This journal article validated the use of historical habitats when evaluating a coastal area’s long-term status as a carbon sink.
Remote sensing estimation of surface oil volume during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico: scaling up AVIRIS observations with MODIS measurements
The Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Quantifying the actual oil volume of large oil slicks on the ocean surface has proven to be a challenge to researchers and responders alike, but this challenge must be addressed to assess and understand impacts on marine and coastal resources, and to prepare for future spills. Abt’s Jamie Holmes and his co-authors estimated surface oil volume using coarse-resolution optical remote sensing observations. The article won a best paper award from the Journal.
Using Meta-Analysis to Develop Evidence-Based Recovery
To develop effective marshland restoration programs we need to understand how different approaches affect different aspects of the marshland. Abt was part of a team that analyzed the effect of sediment addition to coastal wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Broadly, mean values for restored sites reached reference site conditions within 30 years following restoration. At a more granular level, vegetation cover was 50 percent lower at restored sites during the first 5 years of restoration, but aboveground biomass was 25 percent higher, while biomass and soil organic matter were 44 percent to 92 percent lower during the first 15 years of restoration. Because recovery rates vary for different elements of marshland, the appropriate restoration response—and performance measures—will need to take those variables into account.
Copper toxicity in Bristol Bay headwaters: Part 2—olfactory inhibition in low‐hardness water