R. Eugene Turner, an LSU oceanographer, has calculated that every square mile of the delta is bounded on three sides by oil-canal ridges. Turner has spent more than 30 years studying the oil industry’s footprint on the delta.
“If the water is blocked from going in, the wetlands on other side is drier for a little longer and also stays flooded longer than it otherwise would be,” Turner said. “By drying it, the land oxidizes and dries out; and if it’s wetter, it’s like leaving a lawn sprinkler on and the plants are going to die.”
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