The Mississippi River Delta: How a “Tamed” Megadelta can Still be Wild
The Mississippi River Delta: How a “Tamed” Megadelta can Still be Wild
Session ID#: 119365
Session Description:
The subaerial and subaqueous Mississippi River Delta are rapidly changing in response to natural and anthropogenic factors, despite decades-long engineering efforts to keep the River and Delta stationary. These changes include the progradation of the Atchafalaya and Wax Lake Deltas, the decline of the subaqueous Birdsfoot Delta, and the construction of river diversions to produce engineered deltas. In addition, climate change and the increasing frequency and severity of tropical systems further fuels change in the delta which threatens coastal communities, existing terrestrial and sub-sea infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. Despite multidisciplinary efforts to understand current and predict future Mississippi River Delta change, large knowledge gaps still exist. This session solicits observational, experimental, and modeling studies of spatiotemporal change on both the subaerial and subaqueous Mississippi River Delta.
Index Terms:
0442 Estuarine and nearshore processes [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
1641 Sea level change [GLOBAL CHANGE]
4321 Climate impact [NATURAL HAZARDS]
4323 Human impact [NATURAL HAZARDS]
Primary Convener: Jeffrey Obelcz, US Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center, Marine Geology and Geophysics, Stennis Space Center, MS, United States
Conveners: Jason D Chaytor, USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center Woods Hole, Woods Hole, MA, United States, Doug Jones, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management New Orleans, Marine Archaeology, New Orleans, LA, United States and Karina Khazmutdinova, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Gulf Research Program), Washington, United States
Primary Liaison: Jeffrey Obelcz, US Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center, Marine Geology and Geophysics, Stennis Space Center, MS, United States
See more of: Earth and Planetary Surface Processes