Delta of a distributary on the Mississippi River created by coastal engineering efforts may have the potential to build long-term sinks of greenhouse gases.Many deltas are threatened by greater subsidence (subterranean sinking and caving) and relative sea-level rise compared to coastlines without deltas. Thus engineering efforts to expand carbon-sequestering habitats must accommodate total carbon sequestration in order to reduce atmospheric carbon.
In a paper published in Nature Geoscience by co-lead authors Michael Shields, postdoc in the Department of Geological Sciences, Thomas Bianchi, Jon and Beverly Thompson Endowed Chair of Geological Sciences, and David Mohrig at the University of Texas at Austin the carbon sequestration potential and guidelines for future engineering and restoration shown in the Wax Lake Delta (WLD) of Louisiana’s Atchafalaya River is described.
Check out the publication in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo3044
Check out the University of Florida article: http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2017/10/engineered-river-diversions-sequester-carbon-in-deltas.php
