annotated bibliography

This statement was made by the American Society of Civil Engineers before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to convince the government that federal action needs to be taken in delegation of a group focusing on the levees around New Orleans. First, background information involving the levee breaches due to flooding from Hurricane Katrina storm surges is given to indicate that the levees could pose a serious threat to the safety of New Orleans citizens. Then, the statement describes the many different forces who have been in charge of maintaining/ inspecting the levees at several different times to illustrate the lack of a central force taking care of the levees. Using these pieces of information, the statement proposes a "National Levee Safety Program" to inspect and review existing levees and ensure their safety. The most important information from this statement for the team is the history of who have been and currently are involved with care of the levees and who might the administrative power switch to next.

Author Cornelia Dean describes the various circumstances surrounding a plan offered to solve the crisis of disappearing wetlands along the southern coast of Louisiana by diverting the Mississippi River. Through diversion of the Mississippi, sediment carried by the river could be brought back to the wetlands at such a rate as to increase the amount of land significantly over time. In addition, this plan would mirror the natural shifting of course of the Mississippi River that would have occurred had it not been for the man-made restrictions placed on the river in the past. Although some experts agree that this is the only way to save the coast, it poses an extremely large scale and complicated project not only because of the extensive funding required but because of issues involving commercial ships to still use the river and compensating people who would be displaced as a result of the river's diversion.

Bowman details his theory of how rivers naturally change course over time, paying specific attention to the natural deflection of the Mississippi River. These large deflections occur as a result of small meanders and bends in the river cutting into the the bank, forcing new bends to occur later in the course to slightly balance these changes in flow. The history of how a river naturally deflects aids the formulation of a plan for the development of a man-made construction to deflect the course of a river.

Study conducted to determine whether specific nitrate stable isotopes could be used to find the sources depositing various other nitrates into the Mississippi River Basin. The results of the study exhibit which source (crops, livestock manure, urban sites, etc.) produced specific isotopes of nitrate, which can then be used to restrict the amount of nitrate flowing into the Basin (and consequently the Gulf of Mexico) from each source. This data is very important in reducing the large portion of the Gulf of Mexico considered a "dead zone" because of hypoxia (lack of oxygen).

Study details the formation of certain silica particles as a result of the underground hot spring environment accumulating over time in scattered areas of the surface of Yellowstone National Park. This formation builds up to affect the topography of the area, rising the elevation of certain wetland areas significantly. This concept sparkes the possibility of a man-made situation mirorring this in the vanishing coastal wetlands along the southern part of Louisiana. With the chemical details of how this sediment forms and builds naturally in Yellowstone, one might be able to recreate the scenario either in a controlled environment or in the actual environment to restore massive amounts of sediment. Although this study attributes much of the sediment accumulation to the naturally occuring geothermal environment of the area, this data might still be able to spark ideas for the creation of artificial sediment.

Inspects the conditions blocking water denitrification (removal or reduction of nitrogen compounds such as nitrates) in hopes of more effectively using the process to cleanse large amounts of water such as the Mississippi River. The results of the study find that the porousness of sediment is the most important factor in the potential to use denitrification, with the second being sediment organic composition. One solution offered to these causes blocking denitrification is the use of a metabolic inhibitor, regulating nutrient intake of the sediment. Because the Mississippi River area is one of the most affected water hypoxia affected areas in the world, it is very important to find ways to prevent nitrates from contaminating the water and further hampering oxygen levels.

In this study, a simulation of the Mississippi River Basin's transportation of nitrate, atrazine, and metolachor was created through a hydrolic model using data from the early to mid nineties. This model was created to observe the causes and effects of various chemical levels and flow concentrations in the ecosystem of the River Basin, one of the most important being the large amount of inhabitable water in a drainage source along the coast of Louisiana. The model can also be used as an effective test-subject to predict what will happen if certain chemicals are introduced into the River Basin Environment.

Perfluorochemicals are found in semi-high concentration in the Minnesota leg of Mississippi River according to a new test by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, yet not in a high enough concentration to restrict fish consumption. Although these chemicals are claimed by their manufacturer to be benign to human health, some laboratory tests have linked them to liver and developmental problems in animal test subjects. As a result, several neighborhoods are using bottled water for cooking and the Minnesota Health Department has started an investigation to find the source of the chemicals.

This testimony defines the approaching danger of increasing levels of subsidence and assigns this subsidence greatly to the fault movement instead of the previously assumed groundwater, oil and gas drilling. Quoting a 2-4ft ground compression of coastal Louisiana over the past 50 years, the testimony details that subsidence is caused naturally by increased sediment load, consolidation, faulting, and salt evacuation. The human causes of subsidence include drainage, groundwater outtake, and oil/gas extraction. But unlike previous accounts, this testimony insists that the major cause of subsidence is the movement of the faults due to inexplainable data showing quantities of subsidence in areas far from the river basin and data indicating a relationship between rates of subsidence and movement of faults. The testimony concludes with the stark warning that within a hundred years, coastal communities of Louisiana will be underwater unless updated subsidence rate data is taken into account for major city protection projects.

Author describes the unfavorable situation of a slowly sinking New Orleans, with an urgency that emphasizes the need for immediate action. The city was built on unstable marshland, and is becoming compressed by the numerous attempts to restrict the amount of rain and flood water replenishing the ground. After detailing the definite possibility of a large scale storm disrupting the entirety of New Orleans (this article was published in 2001), the author favorably offers the proposed Coast 2050 plan to revive the wetlands surrounding the city by creating distributaries and diverting the Mississippi River to supply sediment to the wetlands, thereby creating a buffer to the city in case of storm surges and renewing some of the deprived land. This plan also includes the restoration of barrier islands along the coast and installation of a gate similar to that in the Netherlands to block the remaining vulnerable area from heavy storms.

Describes a set of river training structures along the Mississippi River(collectively named Bolters Bar) that were developed and put in place by the Army Corps of Engineers to solve the repetetive dredging system already in place. The existing system proved complicated because it required regular maintenance that could block the waterway for periods of time, and a new system was needed because the flow of the main branch of the river wasn't enough to keep water levels deep enough for boats to pass through. Instead of closing off tributaries and diverting water back into the main branch (which could have caused environmental issues), the Army Corps designed a less invasive design for river training structures to dredge the river. This plan serves as an example for future designs to change the river without damaging the environment around it.

Offers news and information about the latest developments occurring in the effort to restore Louisiana's depleting source of wetlands. From details of recent meetings involving the US Army Corps of Engineers to final study reports from the Louisiana Coastal Area assosciation, this information is important in keeping well informed of the components and status of current plans to revitalize the wetlands. Also included is basic background knowledge concerning the wetlands (how the wetlands formed, why they are depleting, their significance in respect to the rest of Louisiana), maps of land loss, and an option to contact major sources in charge of the plan to restore the coast (Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources).

Describes several "Best Management Practices" of dealing with runoff storm water to reduce its negative effects on the environment around the city of Chicago. In 1885, a large rainstorm contaminated Lake Michigan, a large source of drinking water, with sewage runoff from a nearby river. To reduce the flow of contaminated water, the city constructed the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to reverse the flow of the Chicago River to a direction away from the Lake. Today, the city is engineering innovative ways of reducing the amounts of contaminant in the river water using such techniques as vegetated swales and infiltration trenches (basins with porous bottoms to trap the pollutants in sediment). These techniques, along with others described in the report, can be used in filtering the pollution that may occur in the future if another major rainstorm occurs.

McCulloh, R. P., Heinrich, P. V., & Good, B. (2006). Geology and hurricane-protection areas in the greater new orleans area. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana Geological Survey.from http://www.lgs.lsu.edu/pubs/11strategies.pdf

This public informational report offers a very comprehensive picture of the past and present geological situation of the New Orleans area. It focuses mainly on the issue of subsidence because of its major impact in the compression of the lower Louisiana land (estimated to be about 20 inches by 2056). The main causes of subsidence stated include the human drainage of land for inhabitance (thereby compressing the soil by taking out the natural water present and also exposing it to oxidation through the surface atmosphere), large volumes of deposited alluvial sediment by the river (also causing the opposite of subsidence in areas to the north of the soil depression), and fault movement. The report presents the past situation of the land (without human involvement) rather favorably by describing the self-sustaining system of natural levees building up to prevent smaller floods and the healthiness of larger floods for building up the delta. Faults of human intervention such as drainage and development of wetlands resulting in severe compression of soil are presented as well. The importance of this report is its use in finding a way to develop the human and natural community so that both are in harmony instead of upsetting the balance.

McPhee, J. (1990). Atchafalaya. The control of nature (pp. 3-92). United States: Farrar Straus Giroux.

The chapter Atchafalaya in this book details the history of man's intervention in the natural course of the Mississippi River to prevent its transfer into the Atchafalaya distributary. With a condescending tone appropriate to the title of the book, McPhee describes numerous failures in this plan such as the great floods that occurred in 1882 and 1927 due to several breaches in the levees. He focuses particulary on the structure built around a river cutoff known as Old River, which would aid greatly in the transfer of the Mississippi from its present course to the Atchafalaya. McPhee's description of the fragility and incapability of this structure to control the massive Mississippi River serves as a warning to those attempting to thwart the course of nature through manmade means.

Emphasizes the advances of the Dutch in flood control when compared to the failures of the New Orleans levee system. Previously in Holland, design and the attitude of building it bigger after case of failure prevailed in the prevention of floods from the nearby North Sea. This was very similar to the situation occurring in New Orleans at the time. But, the Dutch have developed new ways of flood control using more natural methods to build controlling structures and are cutting off the amount of coast vulnerable to the Sea. According to the author, flood protection is not only of higher priority to the Dutch but can withstand much more than the existing protection in New Orleans, giving the future flood protection engineers something to learn from.

Experiments conducted using sediment samples along the Mississippi River show that toxaphene (a chemical previously used in pesticides for cotton) is being transported by the water flow and discharged into the Gulf of Mexico. Although the use of toxaphene was banned in 1990 by the US EPA, the fact that detectable concentrations of toxaphene were present in each of the 25 samples taken illustrates its prevalence along the river and the need for concern in preventing harm to human health. The experiment shows that toxaphene is dumped into the river from its tributaries, namely the Yazoo River, who receive their share of the chemical from aged soil containing toxaphene from before it was banned.

Details an experiment monitoring the change in level of nitrates and phosphorus in the Mississippi River and consequently the Gulf of Mexico due to nutrient export from various agricultural watersheds in the Midwest. The results of this experiment exhibit that the large amounts of nutrient export are directly linked to levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the River, implicating that if one varied the amount of nutrients exported, the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus could also be varied. This is extremely important when considering the effect nitrogen and phosphorous levels could have on the water quality of the Mississippi River, its distributaries, and the Gulf of Mexico. If the chemical composition of the Mississippi was altered to contain less nitrates, the lower branches of the river along with the major bodies that the river empties into would be more oxygen rich, thereby promoting healthier plant and wildlife.

Author describes the controversy surrounding a recent article in Science stating that hurricanes are the major source of inorganic sediment to the wetlands and sediment from the river is a comparatively minor source, thus rendering efforts to divert the Mississippi River for the purpose of recreating wetlands ultimately ineffectual. Although the general consensus of the study's importance is agreed upon, many experts in the field are skeptical of the level of exaggeration of certain elements in the study to prove a point (such as frequency of hurricanes and the amount of new sediment deposited to wetlands). They also point out that the sediment brought by hurricanes is only taken from somewhere else off the coast, depleting land somewhere else. The author's tone in reporting the controversy suggests that although the recent study produced important data to suggest the role of hurricanes in sediment buildup, old plans of restoring through diversion of the river shouldn't be abandoned.

Illustrates the possibility of wetlands serving as a natural flood control device by presenting its capability to hold large amounts of runoff and filter pollutants out of water. Once a wetland is made, it develops into a miniature ecosystem that starts off with small organisms such as plankton, then grows to include plant life, and finally wildlife to become a healthy part of the environment. The article promotes wetlands as a cheap, easy to create, and effective option for flood control. The only warning against such an option is to make sure there are enough forests, praries, and other areas above wetlands to reduce some of the water and sediment output into wetlands to prevent flooding.

Reflects upon the changes that the Mississippi River has undergone over the past 200 years as a result of human development on the land surrounding and comprising the Mississippi River Basin. Some of the issues discussed include increase in sediment due to less natural vegetation holding soil together (when people began cutting down forests to develop agriculturally), increase in nitrates in river water because of soil exhaustion from crops, and the relationship between soil erosion and urban development. These issues are important to consider because they directly affect communities living in the Basin (i.e. increased sediment is deposited in large amounts on the banks, destroying structures/ crops built around that area) and serve as a historical model of how man made developments affect the Mississippi River ecosystem.

Details explicitly the changes that occurred at the chemical and small organism scale to the Mississippi River. Shows the trends of levels of phosphorous, nitrate, and silicon over the past century, their sources, and their effects on plankton life. The importance of this article lies in its ability to predict what will happen to the quality of the water if certain conditions of chemical composition or phytoplankton life exist, which will need to be taken into consideration when mixing the existing flow of the Mississippi river into another flowing water course which may have a very different composition.

This study finds that the amount of sediment deposited in wetlands along the Louisiana coastline due to hurricanes is far greater than the amount brought by river flow and natural flooding. Previously, transportation of sediment by the Mississippi River and its distributaries was thought to be one of the main sources of sediment for the wetlands, thus inducing wetland reformation efforts to be focused on restructuring levees and increasing river flow to areas needing rebuilding. Yet, this new evidence suggests that a plan involving the diversion of the Mississippi River to thwart wetland decrease might be insignificant. Instead, the conductors of the study seem to suggest the investigation of other factors besides restriction of the river in order to solve the problem of wetland depletion.

This document, compiled by the Fish and Wildlife Service, serves as both a statement of environmental status and a plan for future conservation of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. This established refuge covers approximately 260 miles along the river and is the habitat for myriad birds, mammals, and plant species. The document offers 5 different plans of action to preserve the Refuge: no new action, extended focus on the environment, extended focus on public use of the area, extreme focus on developing both the environment and public use, and moderate focus on balancing the environmental and public use issues. In the presentation of each plan, the document also explains the consequences on both the environment and the dependent public as a result of each option.

Contains detailed maps and documents reflecting data collected about various geological aspects of the country, namely mapping of data concerning the Mississippi River and its distributaries. Some of the specific data included is the vector mapping of streams into the Mississippi River Basin matched with drainage area and peak flow values, monitor of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Revetments, hydrographic surveys of the Mississippi, and the mapping of inlets and outlets along the Upper Mississippi. This collected data should be taken into consideration when developing a new plan for the Mississippi River in order to best predict possible outcomes of drastic changes such as divertion or restriction of flow.

This site offers extensive data on the water quality, quantity, distribution, and abundance in the United States. It monitors the chemical and physical environment of surface water (rivers, lakes, springs), and underground sources of water (wells) that affect the major watershed areas in the country, with data updated every 1-4 hours from automated on-site testing. On site, water and sediment samples are collected and their respective pH, temperature, oxygen levels and pressure are measured. After data is collected, daily, monthly and annual trends are noted and availible on the site for observation.

Describes the vital role that the Mississippi River plays in the lives of much of the Midwestern population. Such qualities include the drainage of 41% of the continental United States, supplying 1.5 million citizens with drinking water, and providing a water passageway for commercial boats along the United States. In addition, the article details some of the past problems and solutions with the waterway system, such as the instability of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the shallowness of the mouth of the Mississippi (which was later remedied by a jetty system removing the silt gathering at the mouth), and the Industrial Canal (built to solve the problem of linking Lake Pontchartrain with the Mississippi).

This electronic report provides data from a comprehensive study of the loss of wetland along the coast of Louisiana. Included are maps (both 2 dimensional and GIS) of areas suffering the most land loss with key human intervention projects (canals, oil and gas drilling) marked, atlases of shore-line and sea-level changes, and area-specific descriptions of trends involving land loss. Study of trends involving wetland deterioration will aid in the prediction how new factors will affect the delicate wetland environment when introduced.

Studies the effect of various river compositions mixing into a single source on the health of particulate organic matter (namely phytoplankton) in the estatuaries from the Mississippi River Delta. The results of this study contain the situations in which helful and harmful organic matter thrive, and are particularly important in considering the effect of diverting the course of the Mississippi River to restore vanishing wetlands along the coast of Louisiana. The sudden input of this river could either induce a healthy ecosystem or could result in hypoxia/ malignant algae growths in the water.