According to a new article released on nola.com, “fresh water from the Ohio River Valley is flooding into the Mississippi River, causing it to rise and pick up speed. A new image taken by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research satellite shows a fan of sediment leaving the bird’s foot delta as a result of the increased flow.”

“It’s cool to be able to have the wealth of data that we have in near real time,” Kolker said of the image. Louisiana State University‘s Earthscan Lab compiles satellite images of the state almost every day.

The article also states, “Before the Mississippi River was leveed off, flood waters from the river carried sediment into the marsh, rebuilding and stabilizing land along the coast. The state’s coastal master plan calls for two river diversions in Plaquemines Parish to reconnect the river with the degrading marsh.”

For more information on this photo and to read the entire article written by nola.com, click here.