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Welcome to Wavebreaking News………brought to you by NOAA’s National Ocean Service.

Hurricane Evacuation Route Sinking

NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey recently evaluated a major hurricane evacuation route in Louisiana to determine how much and how fast it has been sinking. Using the Global Positioning System, surveyors measured the elevation of six benchmarks along the highway and compared them to their previously known elevations. According to preliminary results, the land has sunk one foot in the last 20 years. The 70 mile highway is the only major road connecting Belle Chase, Louisiana near New Orleans to low-lying areas along the Mississippi River Delta. The surveying will help to predict where flooding might occur in low-lying areas.

Illegal Bycatch Dumping

The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary recently found evidence that commercial shrimp boats use mooring buoys in sanctuary waters to sort through their catch and dump species caught unintentionally, also known as bycatch. The mooring buoys allow anyone conducting legal activities to tie up their boat rather than dropping anchor which could damage the reef below. Using the buoys to sort catch violates sanctuary regulations. The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is in the Gulf of Mexico about 70 miles south of Galveston.

Experimental Seagrass Restoration

Scientists are testing a new way to restore seagrass in areas exposed to significant wave energy and tidal currents. Using the experimental Mega Unit Transport Vessel*, state, federal, and private investigators salvaged large sections of seagrass in Longboat Key, Florida. The seagrass would have been destroyed by maintenance dredging. The seagrass sections were transported to new sites in Sarasota Bay. Here, they are exposed to different wave and current conditions. The typical methods of transplating seagrass, in small cores or by individual plants, have proven highly susceptible to erosion. If this new method succeeds, seagrass could be restored across a greater range of its natural distribution.

*The name of this experimental vessel was incorrect in the narration. The actual name of the vessel is Mega Unit Transplant Vessel.

Accumulated Nutrients Impact Gulf of Mexico

Intense farming in the Mississippi River watershed has affected Gulf of Mexico water quality more than any landscape changes in the past two centuries. In particular, the heavy use of agricultural fertilizer has had the greatest impact in the last 50 years. That’s the conclusion of researchers studying nutrient levels discharged from the river during that period. The long-term use of fertilizer has also led to a significant build-up of soil nutrients that leach into groundwater and streams when it rains. This suggests that efforts to improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin may produce only gradual results due to this large pool of accumulated nutrients.


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