That's Louisiana being thrown away

Tighter view of NASA photo captures Mississippi River mud falling off the outer-continental shelf near the mouth of the river

NEW ORLEANS, LA (FOX8) -- NASA has released what it calls one of "the most amazing, highest resolution images of Earth ever."

The image, actually a composite of a number of satellite photos stitched together, captures the earth's surface on January 4, 2012.

The finished product, a massive 64 megapixels, is so detailed it captures clear images of Mississippi River mud falling off the outer-continental shelf.

Although the river ran unusually high three weeks ago, it was far from flood stage.

The brown areas seen in the picture represent some of the millions of cubic feet of sand and mud that, trapped in the Mississippi levee system, flow into the Gulf of Mexico.

Coastal advocates have argued the government should capture more of that silt to rebuild islands and marsh in the delta.

The state's Master Plan for the coast envisions a series of river diversions to free the Missisissippi from its levees and pour silt into the surrounding marsh.

However, seafood interests object to the introduction of that much fresh water, fearing dramatic effects on fisheries.

Although the river is building some land near the mouth of the river, millions of cubic yards of material annually simply flow through the levees, lost forever.

Tighter view of NASA photo captures Mississippi River mud falling off the outer-continental shelf near the mouth of the riveer (NASA, NASA Goddard Film & Video) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website points out the New Orleans District runs "the largest annual channel Operations and Maintenance (O&M) program in the nation."

The Corps, which dredges an average of 67 million cubic yards of material annually to maintain the navigation channel, argues the law bars it from making more effective use of the silt.

When it drives up the cost of maintenance, the Corps says it is barred from depositing material in the marsh for "beneficial use."

However, the Corps says approxiamately 48 percent of the suitable/available material is used beneficially.

To date, the Corps has constructed over 41 square miles of land through beneficial use, according to the website.

If funding were made available, the Corps estimates up to 17 million cubic yards annually could be used to "enhance coastal wetlands through marsh creation, wetland nourishment, barrier island restoration, ridge restoration, and other techniques."

To download a full resolution copy of the NASA image, click here.