USGS: Louisiana is sinking into the sea
Digital Reporter
Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 5:07 PM - Rising sea levels are causing parts of the U.S. state of Louisiana to disappear into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 75 kilometres per year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
That could have big implications for the U.S.
Louisiana is home to 40% of the country's wetlands, and they could be completely submerged within 200 years.
The BBC reports that while some of the loss is due to natural processes, human behaviour has exacerbated the problem.
The practices of draining wetlands for agriculture and development, for example, has led to significant erosion and put the area at greater risk of storm surges.
Louisiana isn't the only U.S. region that's vulnerable to rising water levels.
RELATED: Study suggests the world's population will be unsustainable by 2100
In June, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identified 1,700 U.S. communities could have at least 25% of their populations living below the high water mark by 2100.
Six dozen of those cities could be partially underwater within the next ten years.
"Even if we could just stop global emissions tomorrow on a dime, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Gardens, Hoboken, New Jersey will be under sea level,” Benjamin Strauss, co-author of the paper, told the Guardian at the time -- adding that "dramatic cuts" in emissions could save nearly 1,000 communities from suffering the same fate.
Currently, sea levels are rising at 1 foot per decade south of the border.
