The Geology of New Orleans
The Geology of New Orleans
The following set of slides were used by Chris McLindon in a presentation given to the Metro section of the American
Planning Association on August 31, 2016. This presentation was made on behalf of the New Orleans Geological
Society as a part of an informal public outreach effort in which members of the society may from time to time make
public presentations on geology.
At the request of several of those in attendance at the APA presentation these slides have been annotated to allow
them to be shared without a presenter. This set of annotated slides is not to be considered a publication of the New
Orleans Geological Society. It has not been approved for publication by the Board of Directors of the Society. As
with the presentation, this is strictly the work of Chris McLindon, and beyond the informal public outreach effort
encouraged by the New Orleans Geological Society, he represents no other entity than himself.
Chris McLindon may be contacted at [email protected]
Adding a Dimension
below the ground down
New Orleans
below the surface
Faults
Pleistocene
Barrier Island
River Channels
Peat Deposits
Building Louisiana
changes in geologic time
New Orleans is often
referred to as the northernmost Caribbean port and as
a delta city. It is also one of
the largest city within the
largest sedimentary basin in
the world the Gulf of
Mexico Basin.
Building Louisiana
changes in geologic time
An estimated 12 miles of
total accumulated sediment
thickness lies in the center of
the basin just south of the
city. The red line is location
of the profile on the
succeeding slides.
220 mya
195 mya
180 mya
170 mya
Salt
150 mya
130 mya
115 mya
Oceanic crust
105 mya
92 mya
85 mya
72 mya
60 mya
50 mya
35 mya
20 mya
10 mya
5 mya
Present
Coastal Louisiana
Surface expression
of a geologic fault
Salt
Dome
Background Subsidence
measured in mm/year today
GPS technology has recently
allowed for the measurement
of rates of subsidence across
the land surface. Dr. Roy Dokka
of the LSU Geology Dept.
published this map showing the
rates in millimeters per year.
One mm/yr is about 4 inches
per century.
The configuration mapped by
Dokka exactly conforms to the
shape of the underlying
Terrebonne Trough indicating
that the same geologic forces
that have been active for
millions of years are in play at
the surface today.
New Orleans
below the surface
With
the
foregoing
appreciation that the real
geological basement is miles
below the surface, and the
formation of the Gulf of
Mexico Basin has imposed a
persistent
measure
of
background subsidence,
this
presentation
can
proceed with treating the
Pleistocene
surface
as
geological basement for the
New Orleans area.
Pleistocene
Pleistocene Surface
If all of the sediments that currently overlie the
Pleistocene surface were stripped away, the
surface would be revealed as an erosional
landscape with topography closer to that of
northern Louisiana than the coastal plain.
This was in fact the surface topography of the
New Orleans area about 20,000 years ago.
The Holocene Epoch began at the end of the last ice age of the
Pleistocene. At its maximum the ice sheet on North America
was a mile thick and covered the continent from northern
Canada to central Illinois. The volume of water contained in
the ice meant that global sea level was about 120 meters (400
feet) lower than it is today. Melting of the ice in the
succeeding 14,000 years meant that sea level rose at rates
approaching 2 inches per year. About 6,000 years ago the
rate of ice melting and global sea level reach a stasis, and sea
level has been generally stable since then.
Higher Uplands
Pleistocene Terrace
Exposed Shelf
Higher Uplands
Pleistocene Terrace
FISK, 1944
New Orleans
below the surface
Barrier Island
River Channels
Peat Deposits
Landscape in Flux
Mississippi River over time
The seminal work of
Harold Fisk of the LSU
Geology Dept. in the
1940s provided the first
indications of the dynamic
history of the Mississippi
River system and its
coastal plain. Fisk used
aerial photography to
interpret
the
surface
expressions of paleo-river
channels showing that
the river meandered back
and forth across its
floodplain before being
entrained to one channel
in the early 20th century.
Fisk also made the first
attempt to define the
historical deltas of the late
Holocene.
Frazier, D.E., 1967, Recent deltaic deposits of the Mississippi River: their development and
chronology, Trans. G.C.A.G.S., v. 17, p. 287315
Bayou Teche
Bayou La Loutre
8
9
10
lower Bayou Lafourche
Bayou Sauvage
11
12
13
One of Fraziers core profiles is shown as the red line extending from New Orleans to Grand Isle. It demonstrates one of
the most significant aspects of building of the wetlands that the delta deposits have been continuously subsiding
throughout the building stage. At the southern end of the profile deltas number 7, 10 and 13 all appear to overlap on the
map. The profile reveals this is because delta 7 subsided below the surface, then delta 10 built new land in the same area
and subsided below the surface. Delta 13 again rebuilt new land in the area and is now subsiding below the surface.
13
14
Bayou Terrebonne
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16
Teche Complex
St. Bernard/Mississippi
Complexes
Lafource Complex
4,500
Pine Islands
Pyramids of Giza
Stonehenge
3,500
2,500
5
4
9
6
Linear B Writing
Greek Culture
1,500
11
13
12
14
10
1932
15
16
Ship Shoal
Grand Isle
Chandeleur Islands
15
16
New Orleans
below the surface
Faults
Pleistocene
Barrier Island
River Channels
Peat Deposits
Pleistocene Surface
Pleistocene Surface
Bayou Sauvage
Mississippi River
8
7
9
6
The Bayou Sauvage Delta channels that underlie
the New Orleans area are a part of the St.
Bernard Delta Complex that once supported
cypress swamps extending out past the
Chandeleur Islands. Fraziers profiles indicate
that these channels were re-occupied several
times during the building of this complex.
Metairie-Gentilly Ridges
Bayou Sauvage
Mississippi River
Gould, H. R., and Morgan, J. P. 1962. Coastal Louisiana Swamps and Marshes. Geology of the Gulf Coasts and central
Texas and guidebook of excursions, E. Rainwater and R. Zingula, eds., Houston Geological Society, Houston
This sequence of slides illustrates some of the characteristics of the delta cycle in profile view. This is a generalized profile
that is not directly representative of any one area, but it may be used to represent the succession of ecosystems that
developed with the growth and abandonment of the Bayou Sauvage Delta system in the New Orleans area. This first
stage coincides with the introduction of deltaic deposition on top of undifferentiated marine sediments of the early
Holocene. The characteristic pattern of the natural levees of the channels is thickest near the channel and tapers away.
These deposits are the foundation of the initial freshwater marsh.
Subsidence and sediment accumulation progress as the delta develops. As long as there is sediment being delivered to
the area, it can maintain and build elevation across the system. Between the distributary channels and away from the
primary natural levee and crevasse splay deposition, the marshes can maintain elevation with sediment generally
delivered by overbank flooding. This regular influx of freshwater keeps the marsh slightly brackish. Organic growth of
the marsh at this stage forms the initial peat layers.
In this conception the channel to the right has been abandoned and in the absence of an adequate sediment supply it
subsides below the surface and is covered the by the organic growth of the brackish marsh away from the main channel
to the left. The main channel is in its peak stage of development and it has built elevation capable of supporting cypress
swamps along its flanks and oak trees along the crest of the natural levee. The peat layer continues to build thickness as
the marsh plants grow at a rate necessary to maintain an elevation just above sea level. This type of vertical accretion of
the land surface by organic growth still requires some mineral sediment input which is incorporated into the peat.
Sediment is delivered by the annual flood cycle that tops the natural levees.
There are indications that many avulsions of the river are not single catastrophic events, but may be gradual processes
that span many decades. The onset of this process still means that the sediment supply to the delta being abandoned is
reduced. In this early stage of abandonment the sediment supply is no longer capable of maintaining the elevation of the
natural levee of the main channel. It is however adequate to sustain the elevation of the brackish marsh, which continues
to expand in area as the volume of freshwater coming into the system is reduced. The progression of subsidence means
that the accumulated peats are now the more significant component of the subsurface.
After complete abandonment all of the natural levee, freshwater swamp and freshwater marsh deposits have subsided
below the surface. Brackish and saline marshes account for all of the wetlands, and they begin subsiding below the
surface to from an open bay or sound. Eventually the entire area with revert to an open body of water until it is reoccupied by a new delta system, and the cycle will repeat. It is important to note in this sequence that saline and brackish
marshes, which are the most biologically productive wetlands in terms of fisheries, are formed by the succession of
ecosystems from fresh to saline that is driven by subsidence. It is generally not possible to create new saline marsh it
must be developed by this succession over several centuries.
Thickness of Peat
16
12
4
The contour map of the thickness of peat deposits published by
Gould and Morgan can be best understood in the context of the
preceding slide sequence and the relationship of the deposits to
the river channels.
They formed by subsidence in the
interdistributary areas flanking the natural levees.
Thickness of Peat
12
4
A central tenet of the Urban Water Plan is to reduce the
subsidence that is being caused by the desiccation of the peat
layers being caused by the drainage canals that cut into them.
Re-establishing natural water levels in the canals will keep the
peats saturated and reduce anthropogenic subsidence.
Thickness of Peat
16
12
Composite
16
12
Subsidence
This map of subsidence rates in mm/yr was published in 2006 by Roy Dokka, Tim
Dixon and others. It was created using InSAR satellite technology that uses
radar measurements taken over a period of several years to measure changes in
elevation of points on the ground that strongly reflect radar called permanent
scatterers. For this reason the technology is limited to the metro area, and
generally cannot be used to measure subsidence in the wetlands
Dixon, T.H., Amelung, F., Ferretti, A., Novali, F., Rocca, F., Dokka, R.,
Sella, G., Sang-Wan, K., Wdowinski, S., Whitman, D., 2006,
Subsidence and flooding in New Orleans, Nature, v. 441, p. 587-588.
Subsidence
Switching back and forth between this and the two previous slides shows that
in general areas of higher subsidence are coincident with areas of greater peat
thickness, and areas supported by the Pine Island sand bodies and the natural
levees of the Bayou Sauvage channels have lower rates of subsidence.
Subsidence
Jones, C. E., et al., 2016, Anthropogenic and
geologic influences on subsidence in the
vicinity of New Orleans, Louisiana
J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth, v. 121, pgs. 2169-
An updated version of an InSAR subsidence map was published in 2016 by authors from
the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and the LSU Center for GeoInformatics. There are some
differences from the earlier map, and interpretations of the rates and causes of
subsidence will likely continue to evolve.
Subsidence
One of the significant findings of the 2016 subsidence evaluation was a distinct signature of an
area of subsidence rates of 10-20 mm/yr at the white oval. This area is colloquially known as
Hoeys Basin. A possible cause for this area of subsidence is considered here.
Hoeys Basin
Subsidence
Comparing this and the next slide suggests a possible cause for the subsidence rates in the Hoeys Basin area. The topography of
the Pleistocene surface indicates that the area is underlain by an erosional channel cut into the Pleistocene. The later infilling of
this topography with more compactable Holocene sediments may have resulted in high rates of compaction in this area. This
possibility has not been considered by peer-reviewed academic research and is only offered here as a suggestion.
Pleistocene Surface
Hoeys Basin
New Orleans
below the surface
Faults
What is a Fault?
The basic elements of the geologic fault are similar to
those of its geomorphic cousin, the landslide, as shown
in the block diagram to the left constructed by
Gagliano. These include a slide surface labelled base
of slump along which the earth materials in the
downthrown block move. Fault movement creates an
escarpment labelled main scarp that generally causes
a change in elevation at the earths surface where the
fault is active. Dokka created the diagram below to
make clear the magnitude of scale of south Louisiana
faults, which may cut thousands of feet below the
surface and extend for miles laterally.
Gagliano, S.M., et.al.,2003. Active Geological Faults
and Land Change in Southeastern Louisiana.
Prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New
Orleans District, Contract No. DACW 29-00-C0034
Dokka used a lidar digital elevation model to make this map that shows the
distinct elevation changes associated with elements of the Tepatate-Baton
Rouge Fault System that extends across the north shore of Lake
Pontchartrain. John Lopez and Shea Penland published the interpreted
USGS seismic line at the left showing one of these faults offsetting
sedimentary layers beneath the lake at the location of the red line.
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Mapping Faults
The most effective means of mapping faults
in the subsurface is with seismic data. The
seismic profile used by Lopez and Penland at
the Hwy. 11 bridge was acquired by the USGS
as a part of a broad geological assessment of
Lake Pontchartrain.
The most expansive seismic coverage in
southeast Louisiana is in the collection 3-D
seismic surveys acquired in the 1990s and
early 2000s for oil and gas exploration. These
surveys can also be used to map the shallow
subsurface including faulting, but they were
generally very expensive to acquire, and most
academic institutions cannot afford to
purchase data licenses for research.
The New Orleans Geological Society
sponsored an initiative to provide donated
research licenses to area universities in late
2015. Since then research projects using 3-D
surveys to map shallow subsurface geology in
coastal Louisiana have been undertaken at
UNO, Tulane and UL.
Peer-reviewed
academic publications of the results of these
projects should be coming out in the next
few months.
Mapping Faults
The map at the right shows all of
the possible surface fault traces
that are indicated by published
literature or by other means of
evaluation. With the exception of
the Hwy. 11 fault, these traces are
not currently supported by the
interpretation of seismic data that
can be presented here.
It is an objective of the New
Orleans
Geological
Society
Research initiative to continue to
expand the scope of university
research projects that are utilizing
3-D seismic data to map shallow
subsurface faulting.
The following sequence of slides
will consider the indications of
these faults, beginning with the
two faults in the red box. Future
research will be required to
definitively
determine
the
existence of these and others.
Mapping Faults
This and the two
following maps show
evidence of patterns
of land loss that
occurred
during
Hurricane
Katrina
being consistent with
a possible relationship
to two faults shown
as dashed yellow
lines. These lines are
parallel
to
faults
mapped to the Hwy.
11 fault and to faults
suggested by Dokka
based on subsidence
signature.
It is suggested here
that while this land
loss was caused by
the erosive forces of
the Hurricane on the
marsh grasses, the
pattern indicates a
relationship to the
faults.
Mapping Faults
This and the previous
slide are from the
aerial
photography
collection available on
the LaDNR Sonris
website. Comparing
these
two
photographs with the
map on the next slide
shows that areas of
land loss in the marsh
during Katrina were
bounded on their
north sides by the
sharp lineations of the
proposed faults.
It is suggested here
that activity on the
fault had the effect of
weakening
the
grasses so that they
were susceptible to
erosion
by
the
Hurricane.
Mapping Faults
The areas of land loss
that
occurred
in
association
with
Hurricane Katrina are
indicated
by
the
purple areas on the
USGS
Land
Area
Change
Map
published in 2011.
If the suggestion that
these
areas
are
related to the activity
of the faults is correct,
these areas are likely
to also be areas to
watch for future land
loss.
Couvillion, B.R., Barras, J.A., Steyer, G.D., Sleavin, W., Fischer, M., Beck, H.,
Trahan, N., Griffin, B., Heckman, D., 2011, Land area change in coastal
Louisiana from 1932 to 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations
Map 3164, scale 1:265,000, 12 p. pamphlet
Mapping Faults
The possible fault in the red box
was proposed by Dokka based
on subtle changes in elevation in
the New Orleans Metro area as
seen in high resolution lidar
data.
This possible fault is also parallel
to the other possible faults to its
northeast suggesting that there
may be a relationship between
all of these faults. It is not
uncommon to find faults in
nature occurring in these en
echelon sets that are parallel
to each other and share a
common genetic origin.
Mapping these an other faults in
more detail with seismic data
may reveal potential for impacts
on surface infrastructure that is
equal to or greater than that
seen at the Hwy 11 bridge or on
the next slide.
Mapping Faults
Mapping Faults
The fault trace in the red box
was mapped by New Orleans
Geological Society member Eric
Broadbridge using a 3D seismic
survey to which he has
proprietary access.
Broadbridges interpretation is
that the fault can be mapped
with the seismic data in this
location and extending to the
surface.
The following two
slides show the obvious surface
expression of the fault that can
be seen on Google Earth
imagery.
Broadbridge has also provided a
block diagram of the fault
showing
the
offset
of
subsurface sedimentary layers
and the apparent impact of fault
activity on the surface flora.
This is an obvious area for more
detailed research.
Mapping Faults
Mapping Faults
Mapping Faults
Much more research is required
to fully assess the implications
for fault activity on the shallow
subsurface geology of the New
Orleans area, and on its
implications
for
surface
infrastructure.
Support of university research
efforts is by far the most
effective means to enhance our
understanding
of
these
potential impacts in the short
term.
The following map combines all
of the elements of the shallow
subsurface geology of the New
Orleans area that have been
discussed here. There appears
to be a strong interrelationship
between all of these essential
elements including the
possible faults.
16
12
The map on the previous slide shows that the areas of thick
peat accumulation that are associated with areas of higher
subsidence also appear to be segmented by faults proposed
by Dokka. The profile below across the Central Wetlands Unit
shows that it is underlain by the thickest accumulation of peat
in the area. It also has the highest current rates of subsidence,
as evidence by the elevation of Old Paris Road shown in the
picture of John Snell standing on the road bed. It may be
possible that these faults are important in controlling the
thickness of the compactable sediments in the subsurface,
and thereby play dual role in impacting subsidence.
Profile View
Couvillion, B.R., Barras, J.A., Steyer, G.D., Sleavin, W., Fischer, M., Beck, H.,
Trahan, N., Griffin, B., Heckman, D., 2011, Land area change in coastal
Louisiana from 1932 to 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific I nvestigations
Map 3164, scale 1:265,000, 12 p. pamphlet
Thank-you