NASA Completes Intensive Study of Louisiana Wetlands

NASA recently finished an extensive investigation into the state of Louisiana’s levees and wetlands in order to monitor the effect of wetland loss on the local communities and ecosystems and prioritise where to concentrate the resources of local and federal governments.

NASA achieved this latest study by flying two aircraft over Louisiana’s Gulf Coast one to three times per year. On board these aircraft were three highly sensitive pieces of imaging equipment which allowed the space agency to gain a comprehensive overview of the state of the waters and of the ground which borders them.

A History of Monitoring

Ever since the explosion of the BP oil tank in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, the surrounding waters – including those which border Louisiana – have been subject to speculation. The coastline was the heart of an intense clean-up operation and there were even lingering fears that the poor water quality in the region could cause cancer if consumed by local residents.

Although that crisis seems to have abated, Louisiana is facing another problem – the loss of its wetlands. Year on year, the marshlands which provide a natural barrier between land and sea are dissipating due to rising sea levels and more frequent torrential storms. The influx of water overwhelms the vegetation living here. As this dies, the risk of floodwater infiltrating Louisana’s heavily-populated coast increases.

As well as wreaking havoc on nearby communities, this also causes the ground to become overly saturated with water, which makes it more prone to subsidence and collapse. This is clearly a huge problem for buildings, road networks and levee systems built upon the land.

NASA’s Latest Mission

The most recent study made use of three of the most advanced pieces of imaging hardware to gain an overall picture of the wetlands. “This was a great opportunity to use instruments that work together to create a more complete picture of the changing Louisiana delta,” explained Randall Friedl, chief at the Earth Science System Formulation Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which was responsible for developing the instruments used in the mission.

The instruments were as follows:

• The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR). The job of this specific tool was to monitor the changing face of a particular location over time.
• The Next-Generation Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRISng). This sensitive detector picks up discrepancies in light reflection from the Earth to make judgements about the composition and land features of the targeted area.
• The Air Surface Water and Ocean Topography (AirSWOT). This is a measurement radar device for monitoring the ocean’s surface over time.

The data gathered at Louisiana will not only be used to help improve techniques of maintaining the delta here, but also deltas worldwide.

It’s not the only project in which NASA is monitoring America’s water to gain insight into its properties. In the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, NASA is analysing rainfall to learn more about how precipitation is formed. To read more, check out the article Why is NASA Measuring Rain in America's Rainiest Place.