The Influence of Water Salinity on Paludal Erosion Processes

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Abstract
The influence of dissolved ion concentration on the erodibility of marsh soils from the Lake Pontchartrain-Lake Borgne area of southeastern Louisiana [USA] was tested in laboratory experiments. Although the influence of salinity varied in different soils, erodibility generally decreased as water salinity was increased from 0 to 10 .permill.. These results agree with the findings of other studies on the effects of water salinity on the physical properties of cohesive soils. Field evidence from the Mississippi River delta also indicates that most rapid erosion occurs where and when water salinity is lowest, given the same wave energy. Salinity is believed to influence marsh erodibility due to the influence of salt concentration on electrical field interactions among soil colloids.

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