[As this summer’s flooding swept massive sediment loads down the Mississippi, it also sent much greater volumes than usual pouring through the Corps’ diversion projects. In the case of the West Bay Sediment Diversion (pictured in our previous post), the Times-Picayune notes, that volume carried enough sediment to construct an instant island:
“In a demonstration of the Mississippi River’s formidable land-building power, a new, 5-acre island has sprouted up near the river’s mouth, where this year’s record Mississippi River floodwaters poured through the West Bay freshwater diversion…
The island is made up of coarse-grained sand. Its westernmost tip already has a mix of greenery that is at least a foot tall. At the eastern side, sprouting plants are interspersed with half-inch shallow ponds filled with algae. Volunteers planted three cypress tree seedlings on the island Wednesday…
Kemp said that part of the island was used as a rookery earlier this year by a number of bird species. On Wednesday, a variety of rails, terns and gulls were on the shoreline, along with egrets and great blue herons.”
Read the full article at the Times-Picayune.]
