Download - The ‘Control’ of Nature in New Orleans: The Past, Present, and Future of the Mississippi Delta
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The ‘Control’ of Nature in New The ‘Control’ of Nature in New Orleans: The Past, Present, and Orleans: The Past, Present, and Future of the Mississippi DeltaFuture of the Mississippi Delta
Catherine RiihimakiCatherine Riihimakiandand
Rheanna BenselRheanna Bensel
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No one could have predicted this event…Numerous government officials post-Katrina
It's only a matter of time before South Louisiana takes a direct hit from a major
hurricane. Billions have been spent to protect us, but we grow more vulnerable every day.
Times-Picayune, June 23-27, 2002Five-Part Series on flooding hazards in N.O.
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LSU, Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes
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“The Army Corps of Engineers says the system will protect the city and suburbs from a Category 3
hurricane that pushes in enough seawater to raise Lake Pontchartrain 11.5 feet above sea level -- high over the head of anyone standing on the other side
of a levee.”--Times-Picayune, 2002
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US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District
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Breached Industrial Canal levee, with water
flowing OUT of a residential areaAugust 30, 2005
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Humans have dramatically changed the distribution of sediment in the Mississippi River system.
• Sediment compacts under its weight; exacerbated by dewatering of sediment (present rate of compaction is ~10x natural rate)
• In New Orleans…Levees prevent new deposition of sediment; nothing to counteract subsidence
change in elevation = new sediment - subsidence
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Humans have dramatically changed the distribution of sediment in the Mississippi River system.
• Sediment compacts under its weight; exacerbated by dewatering of sediment (present rate of compaction is ~10x natural rate)
• In New Orleans…Levees prevent new deposition of sediment; nothing to counteract subsidence
• Sediment load of Mississippi drops off continental shelf; coastal erosion is therefore faster
change in coastline = new sediment - wave erosion
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We ought to take a second look at it. But you know we build Los Angeles and San Francisco on top of earthquake fissures and they rebuild
too. Stubbornness.-- Dennis Hastert
Fundamental observation (thanks to Arshiya Bose)…
Natural disasters are primarily disastrous because of how humans interact with
nature
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Fundamental question…How do we deal with dynamic natural systems with a static economy?
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Return to Summary of Brown Bag Discussion