Comments on: Stunning image of sediment plumes in Gulf of Mexico

By: Tay

Tay — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:45:54 +0000

I just found this blog and don’t know if I’ll come across it again during my research, but the picture is beautiful. I don’t really know if the cause is good, bad or indifferent, but I don’t think there’s any denying the great picture. So, thanks for posting the picture. I don’t know how you stay sane reading all the insane comments on your blog. I find it annoying to no end how extremist some people can be.

By: phawnboy

phawnboy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:46:03 +0000

I agree BrianR it is sediment! doubters should look into storm wave base and the energy requirements for sediment suspension on a shelf. Think about how a tropical storm would affect these. Also look at the orientation of flow of sediment and its relation to the shape of the coast and the dominant gulf current (the loop current): this clearly has nothing to do with the Mississippi. An algal bloom would not be this well established right after a tropical storm.

It sure is cute how people yap when they are full of shit! Nice pic BrianR

By: BrianR

BrianR — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:01:19 +0000

Audrey says: “That’s really beautiful, but it isn’t sediment”

You are wrong — it is sediment. As I say in the post, this is from when a tropical storm passed through the area stirring up shelf sediment into these patterns. If it is not sediment then show me an image from a different day (w/out any storm activity) that looks similar to this.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t problems related to the phenomenon you mention, but that’s not what this image shows.

(For regular readers wondering what’s going on with this post, it was linked to from the “environmental” section of StumbleUpon)

By: BrianR

BrianR — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:13:02 +0000

Steve, thanks for the info and link. Yeah, to counter someone’s argument above that “sedimentation is bad”, it’s really the *lack* of sedimentation in the delta region that is a big problem.

My guess is that some of these commenters are doing a ‘drive-by’ so I haven’t really put any effort into replying.

By: Steve Gough

Steve Gough — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:16:43 +0000

Maybe I should be a bit more constructive here. Do a little Googling, and you can verify all this stuff: Huge increases in nutrients in the Miss. River, mostly as a result of Midwestern farming, and mostly preventable by better, non-radical, sustainable farming practices, have caused an anoxic “Dead Zone” in the Gulf that has decimated fisheries there, and of course the native ecosystems. And the levees and channel alteration on the lower Mississippi do indeed launch sediment into the Gulf and deny it to wetlands, which has resulted in subsidence that has many horrible effects: increased flooding, saltwater intrusion, etc. All well documented and not controversial only in the details for the most part. But it hasn’t got the attention of Fox News yet. There are very good USGS papers on this, and here’s a blog post with a bunch of good links: http://lrrd.blogspot.com/search?q=dead+zone

By: Steve Gough

Steve Gough — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:58:27 +0000

BrianR: I think you’ve made the big time when political footballs, complete with insults, are being kicked around on your science blog. Congratulations!

By: Audrey

Audrey — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:06:31 +0000

That’s really beautiful, but it isn’t sediment. Its an algal bloom caused by the millions of tons of run-off and toxic fertilizers released into the gulf. It’s called eutrophication, and the result is that those opaque waters become unlivable for any other organisms. The area pictured here is a dead zone. Great picture of a really serious issue affecting a lot of people, economies and ecosystems.

http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/Short_Series/LakeReservoirs-3/1.asp

By: jojo

jojo — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:34:35 +0000

Really people. It’s not that we need to make more food for us to eat. We need to stop having so many children! Want to save the planet? 1 child /couple for 5 generations should do it.

By: exploited689

exploited689 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:29:52 +0000

It I over flow from the river too. It is spreading and soon other people will have the same effects.

By: exploited689

exploited689 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:28:44 +0000

That sediment is dirt that the delta needs for survival. People damming up the Mississippi River further north is ruining The delta and making it dangerous for the people who live there. The trees and earth are being shot out into the gulf although it may look pretty what it is doing to a society is not pretty at all it is sad and concerns me.