U32A:
Coastal Louisiana: Canary in the Coal Mine for Low-Elevation Coastal Zones

Note: Abstract submissions to Union sessions are by invitation only.



Session ID#: 24115

Session Description:
The Mississippi Delta and surrounding areas host environmentally and economically critical ecosystems, high-value infrastructure associated with major port and industrial activities, and a unique cultural landscape. This region has suffered some of the world’s highest rates of wetland loss, major damage from tropical cyclones, and is facing rates of relative sea-level rise about four times the global average. These environmental conditions foreshadow impacts that can be expected in low-elevation coastal zones worldwide later this century with continued acceleration of sea-level rise. This session will bring together leading experts on sea-level rise, subsidence, sediment deficits, coastal storm risk, ecosystem degradation, plus the human dimension of rapid environmental change. These presentations will highlight the problems that coastal Louisiana is facing as well as the policy solutions (e.g., coastal restoration) that are currently on the table. The session looks toward the future and examines lessons that are relevant to low-elevation coastal zones globally.
Primary Convener:  Torbjorn E Tornqvist, Tulane University of Louisiana, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, New Orleans, LA, United States
Conveners:  Mead A Allison, Tulane University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA, United States, Samuel J Bentley, Louisiana State University, Geology and Geophysics, Baton Rouge, LA, United States and Scott A Hemmerling, Water Institute of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, United States
Chairs:  Mead A Allison, Tulane University, River-Coastal Science and Engineering, New Orleans, United States, Torbjorn E Tornqvist, Tulane University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, New Orleans, United States, Scott A Hemmerling, Water Institute of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, United States and Samuel J Bentley, Coastal Studies Institute, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
OSPA Liaison:  Torbjorn E Tornqvist, Tulane University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, New Orleans, United States

Cross-Listed:
  • EP - Earth and Planetary Surface Processes
  • G - Geodesy
  • GC - Global Environmental Change
  • OS - Ocean Sciences
Index Terms:

1641 Sea level change [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1890 Wetlands [HYDROLOGY]
4321 Climate impact [NATURAL HAZARDS]
9350 North America [GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Survival of deltas under anthropogenic global changes (Invited) (236304)
Liviu Giosan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
The Future of the Mississippi Delta: Shifting Baselines, Diminishing Resilience, and Growing Non-Sustainability (Invited) (223768)
John Day, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
Scientific, Social, and Institutional Constraints Facing Coastal Restoration in Louisiana (Invited) (283117)
Barbara Kleiss, US Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Vicksburg, MS, United States, Leonard A. Shabman, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, United States and Gary Brown, USACE Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, Vicksburg, MS, United States
Determining Coastal Hazards Risk Perception to Enhance Local Mitigation Planning through a Participatory Mapping Approach (Invited) (265461)
Matthew Bethel, Louisiana State University, Louisiana Sea Grant, Baton Rouge, LA, United States, DeWitt Braud, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States, Tara Lambeth, University of New Orleans, Center of Hazards Assessment, Response, and Technology, New Orleans, LA, United States, Patrick Biber, University of Southern Mississippi, Coastal Sciences, Ocean Springs, MS, United States and Wei Wu, University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Coastal Sciences, Ocean Springs, MS, United States

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