The Mississippi River Delta is the area of land built up by alluvial deposits from the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. This process has led to the extension of the Louisiana coastline into the Gulf 15-50 miles and the creation of vast coastal wetlands and salt marsh. The representation of […]
Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution ranks as one of the top causes of degradation in some U.S. waters for more than a decade. Large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus lead to regional water quality problems like algal blooms, hypoxia and declines in wildlife habitat. “Aerobic conditions” in water ways signifies the presence of oxygen in a […]
FLUCTUATING INFASTRUCUTRE INTRO The water flow of the Mississippi has many factors that influence where it turns, bends, rises, falls, increases in speed, or even decreases in speed at some points. These factors are known as levees, dams, spur dikes, and locks. There are 29 locations where these locks/dams are located along the Mississippi, 27 […]
Framework As the world’s energy demand continues to rise, there exists a concurrent increase in greenhouse gas emissions stemming from fossil fuels consumption. As a result a need for renewable energy sources is rapidly expanding. Biofuels represent a large segment for potential energy, but as ethanol has demonstrated, finding an energy source that doesn’t compete with […]
Municipal Technologies | Wastewater Management | US EPA. Managing Wetlands to Control NPS A large resource of technologies from the EPA site. This applies to a broad range of solutions for treatment wetlands and other infrastructure.
Treatment wetlands are either constructed or naturally occurring wetlands that are used in the process of treating stormwater runoff and/or effluent. The representation of a treatment wetland requires elucidating the infrastructural system and active systems from the evolving and dynamic biological systems. The two systems (infrastructural and biological) can be categorized as static and dynamic […]
Since construction of the MRGO and other canals that are intended to increase access and improve navigation in the area, average salinity levels have risen in coastal Louisiana. The MRGO, or Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, breaches the barrier islands, which serve to shelter coastal wetlands thus exposing once protected areas to the full effects […]
Salt domes begin as salt deposits in the sea that after a period of time, are cut off from the main body of water. The surrounding water evaporates and allows sediments to cover the salt pans. Because the salt was less dense than the surrounding sediments, it pushed its way toward the surface, creating roughly […]
Overuse and improper filtration of fertilizer in agricultural areas within the Mississippi River basin is causing hypoxia in Gulf of Mexico south of the Mississippi River delta. Excess levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause heavy algal blooms. When these microorganisms decompose, oxygen is depleted from the water negatively impacts sea life off the coast of […]
The Mississippi River Delta Basin comprises approximately 521,000 acres of land and shallow estuarine water area in the active Mississippi River delta. Approximately 83 percent of this area, or 420,000 acres, is open water. The 101,100 acres of land in the basin are characterized by low relief, with the most prominent features being natural channel […]