Abstract
The Louisiana shoreline is rapidly retreating as a result of factors such as sea-level rise and land subsidence. The northern Gulf of Mexico coast is also a hotspot for hurricane landfalls, and several major storms have impacted this region in the past few decades. A section of the Louisiana (USA) coast that has one of the highest rates of shoreline retreat in North America is the Caminada-Moreau headland, located south of New Orleans. Bay Champagne is a coastal lake within the headland that provides a unique opportunity to investigate shoreline retreat and the coastal effects of hurricanes. In order to examine the influence of hurricanes on the rate of shoreline retreat, 35 years (1983–2018) of Landsat imagery was analyzed. During that period of time, the shoreline has retreated 292 m. The overall rate of shoreline retreat, prior to a beach re-nourishment project completed in 2014, was over 12 m per year. A period of high hurricane frequency (1998–2013) corresponds to an increased average shoreline retreat rate of >21 m per year. Coastal features created by multiple hurricanes that have impacted this site have persisted for several years. Bay Champagne has lost 48% of its surface area over the last 35 years as a result of long-term shoreline retreat. If shoreline retreat continues at the average rate, it is expected that Bay Champagne will disappear completely within the next 40 years.
Highlights
Many coastal zones throughout the world are increasingly vulnerable to shoreline retreat [1,2,3,4].A multitude of environmental factors, such as accelerated sea level rise, coastal subsidence, and enhanced storm activity, are thought to contribute to the process of shoreline retreat in different coastal regions and geomorphological settings
The overall rate of average annual shoreline retreat was 8.63 m/yr, with the average rates ranging from 7.29 m/yr (Transect A) to 9.86 m/yr (Transect C) (Table 1)
The overall rate of shoreline retreat during this period was determined to be 12 m/yr, confirming the rapid rates of retreat reported in previous studies
Summary
Many coastal zones throughout the world are increasingly vulnerable to shoreline retreat [1,2,3,4]. A multitude of environmental factors, such as accelerated sea level rise, coastal subsidence, and enhanced storm activity, are thought to contribute to the process of shoreline retreat in different coastal regions and geomorphological settings. The complex interplay between the various environmental and anthropogenic factors act in different combinations in different coastal environments, and their relative importance differs from one region to another. In Louisiana (USA), the rates of coastal retreat and land loss are among the highest in the world [1,8,9,10,11]
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