Press Coverage: Print

Stacey Plaisance, Tulane University Tulane University researchers are spending days at a time on the Lower Mississippi River collecting water samples by boat to better understand water and sediment flow in the region known as the Bird’s Foot Delta, the southernmost tip of the river that juts out into the Gulf. Their work involves plunging a 200-pound isokinetic sediment sampler into the river at various depths to measure river discharge, then using that information to build numerical models to test ways to save the Bird’s Foot. They are working to find out how much sediment remains in the wetlands above water versus how much exits into the deepwater Gulf.  

Emily Bracher, Reveille

Elise Plunk, Louisiana Illumiator

This article written by Mike Smith, for Nola.com, highlights evolving issues with the Mississippi River.

New research shows that typically, less than 10% of land-building alluvium reaches the Bird’s Foot Delta region, the southernmost reach of the river, where it meets the Gulf. By Delaney Dryfoos for The Lens.

The University of Central Florida is part of a new $22 million project to help understand the future of the Mississippi River delta and ways to combat land and ecological losses.

When Samuel Bentley, professor and Billy and Ann Harrison Chair in Sedimentary Geology, made the transition from an administrative role to re-engage in research, he did so on a grand scale.

A major new initiative will investigate the future of Louisiana’s Bird’s Foot Delta, the disappearing wisps of land where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico, holding wide-ranging importance to the state and beyond.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have awarded $22 million to a consortium of 15 institutions to explore the future of the Mississippi River Delta.