scholarly journals Sediment Flux and Fate in the Mississippi River Diversion at West Bay: Observation Study

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Mitchell Andrus ◽  
Samuel J. Bentley
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Observation Study ◽  
River Diversion

Sediment discharge into a subsiding Louisiana deltaic estuary through a Mississippi River diversion

2007 ◽  
Vol 71 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 181-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg A. Snedden ◽  
Jaye E. Cable ◽  
Christopher Swarzenski ◽  
Erick Swenson
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Sediment Discharge ◽  
River Diversion

scholarly journals DETERIORATION AND RESTORATION OF COASTAL WETLANDS

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherwood M. Gagliano ◽  
Hyuck J. Kwon ◽  
Johannes L. Van Beek
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Sediment Deposition ◽  
Shelf Area ◽  
Land Loss ◽  
River Diversion ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Controlled Flow

Coastal Louisiana wetlands are a product of Mississippi River delta building that has occurred over a period of 5,000 years The building process was a gradual one, for riverine and marine processes were very nearly balanced In modern times man's use of the area (flood control, navigation improvement, exploitation of petroleum and other minerals, road building, etc ) has seriously altered the natural balance As a result, overbank flooding has been virtually eliminated and river flow is confined to channels discharging into the outer shelf area Most transported sediment is now deposited in the deep Gulf of Mexico or along the continental shelf Saltwater encroachment in the deltaic estuaries has been detrimental to fauna and flora Even though considerable sediment deposition has resulted from the historic Atchafalaya River diversion and growth of subdeltas, comparative map studies indicate a net land loss rate of 16 5 miles^/year during the last 25 to 30 years Land loss is only one symptom of general environmental deterioration A dynamic management plan is proposed for better utilization of combined freshwater discharge - dissolved solid and transported sediment input from the Mississippi River Controlled flow into estuaries will reduce salinity encroachment and supply badly needed nutrients Large areas of new marshland and estuarme habitat can be built by controlled subdelta diversion Studies of natural subdeltas indicate that these systems are amenable to environmental management, salinities and sediment deposition may be manipulated to enhance desired conditions.

scholarly journals Rethinking the Mississippi River diversion for effective capture of riverine sediments

2015 ◽  
Vol 367 ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Jun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Land Loss ◽  
River Diversion ◽  
Flood Plains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
Riverine Sediment ◽  
Coastal Land

Abstract. Many river deltas in the world are vibrant economic regions, serving as transportation hubs, population centres, and commercial hotspots. However, today, many of these deltaic areas face a tremendous challenge with land loss due to a number of factors, such as reduced riverine sediment supply, coastal land erosion, subsidence, and sea level rise. The development of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain (MRDP) in southeast Louisiana, USA, over the past century is a good example. Since 1932, approximately 4877 km2 of the coastal land of MRDP has become submerged. The lower Mississippi River main channel entering the Gulf of Mexico has become an isolated waterway with both sides losing land. In contrast, large open water areas in the Mississippi River’s distributary basin, the Atchafalaya River basin, have been silted up over the past century, and the river mouth has developed a prograding delta feature at its two outlets to the Gulf of Mexico. The retrospective analysis of this paper makes it clear that the main cause of the land loss in the MRDP is not the decline of riverine sediment, but the disconnection of the sediment sources from the natural flood plains. Future sediment management efforts in the MRDP should focus on restoring the natural connection of riverine sediment supplies with flood plains, rather than solely using channelized river diversion. This could be achieved through controlled overbank flooding (COF) and artificial floods in conjunction with the use of a hydrograph-based sediment availability assessment.

Sub-decadal submarine landslides are important drivers of deltaic sediment flux: Insights from the Mississippi River Delta Front

Geology ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. G38688.1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Obelcz ◽  
Kehui Xu ◽  
Ioannis Y. Georgiou ◽  
Jillian Maloney ◽  
Samuel J. Bentley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Mississippi River Delta ◽  
Submarine Landslides ◽  
Delta Front
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