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Geology News
Louisiana Current Events

A tanker, Eagle Otome, collided with the towing vessel, Dixie Vengeance, ripping a large hole in one of its tanks and spilling nearly 1/2 million gallons of crude oil at Port Arthur, Texas.

Kathleen Tierney, a professor of sociology and behavioral science director at the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder comments on comparisons between the earthquake in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina.

CNN reports on the snow and cold weather that have hit the eastern United States. Freezing temperatures are damaging crops in the south and heavy snows snarl traffic in northern states.

Earth Magazine has an article titled: “Mississippi Delta Drowning” that explores how sedimentation, subsidence, sea-level change and human activity are causing changes in the delta environment.

An article at EarthMagazine.org summarizes the case in which the Army Corps of Engineers was found liable for some flood damages in New Orleans that resulted from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The books in the Roadside Geology series will help you learn about the geology of your favorite state. These books are great to take on a trip but they work even better if you use them in advance to plan your trip wisely.

A simple solution for levee failure has been devised: fight water with water. The Portable Lightweight Ubiquitous Gasket (PLUG) is a flexible tube that is dropped into a flood and partially filled with water. The remaining air in the PLUG allows it to float with the current, which will wedge the device into the breach.

An article titled “Washing Away” in Houma Today explores how Louisiana’s coastal subsidence is taking a toll on many small communities. Each year the sinking land makes them more vulnerable to hurricanes, wave action and coastal flooding.

Between 2005 and 2007 the housing boom and hurricane rebuilding caused a shortage of drywall in some southern US states. To meet the demand drywall was imported from China and used in many homes. Now some of that drywall is causing corrosion of metal objects in these homes and residents are concerned that exposure might lead to health problems.

Plumes of sediment clouded the Gulf of Mexico on November 10, 2009, when NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this photo-like image. Much of the material that colors the water is likely resuspended sediment dredged up from the sea floor in shallow waters. Other sediment was washed into the Gulf by rivers.

Tropical Storm Ida is heading to the US Gulf coast where it is expected to dump up to eight inches of heavy rain. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Grand Isle, Louisiana to the Aucilla River of Florida.

Hurricane Ida is moving north through the Gulf of Mexico and a hurricane watch has been issued for Gulf coast areas between Grand Isle, Louisiana and Mexico Beach, Florida. The National Hurricane Information Center will be updating maps of the storm’s projected path on their website.

The Army Corps of Engineers is building a storm surge barrier near New Orleans that hopefully will provide protection against storm surges 20 feet high. This will be one of the largest water control barriers in the world.

Diverting sediment-rich water from the Mississippi River below New Orleans could generate new land in the river’s delta in the next century. The land would equal almost half the acreage otherwise expected to disappear during that period, a new study shows.

Scientists towing a net more than 1500 feet below the surface caught a 19.5 foot-long giant squid in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. This is the first giant squid seen in the Gulf since 1954.

Severe to exceptional drought conditions are currently present in a number of US States. Southeastern Texas and northern Wisconsin are especially hard hit with broad areas of several other states experiencing drought conditions.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract for rebuilding a portion of the floodwall that protects New Orleans from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain.

Louisiana’s Port Fourchon is a very important oil hub in the United States. The beaches of the area are receding, leaving the port increasingly open to hurricanes. A large storm could be disastrous.

In a recent news release from Chesapeake Energy, data was provided on their expected yield for wells in the various shale plays. They expect the total yield from their Haynesville wells to be 6.5 bcfe, Fayetteville 2.4 bcfe, and Marcellus wells to yield 4.2 bcfe. These numbers might increase as technology improves.

A survey of the Gulf of Mexico shows that this year’s “dead zone” covers an area smaller than anticipated. However, the level of hypoxia is more extreme than usual.

Stormwater runoff and sewage contaminate many US beaches. A study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council sampled, tested and rated 200 of the most popular beaches in the United States – both ocean and freshwater beaches were included in the study. Some of them had consistently high water quality and some had consistently low. You can view the report and a listing of the beaches on their website.

A University of California, Santa Barbara press release discusses the results of a study performed to determine which coastal regions are most affected by humans’ inland activities. The mouth of the Mississippi River is the # 1 most affected area in the world.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program released a report that explains how climate change might impact Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Stronger hurricanes, drought, heat waves and crop losses are a few of the featured problems.

The Louisiana Legislature adopted the Louisiana Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Act. It passed unanimously in the House and Senate.

The Census Bureau reports… “The population of New Orleans grew 8.2 percent in 2008, faster than any other large city in the U.S. As of July 1, 2008, the population of New Orleans was 311,853, up from 210,768 in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina but still below the pre-hurricane level of 484,674 based on the 2000 Census.”