Science
In order to restore the Mississippi River Delta, scientists and engineers must design and advocate for effective means of restoring deltaic land-building processes. Important questions of physical processes, biology and scale must be addressed with solutions that meet the following criteria:
- Sustainable in the face of continued subsidence, rising sea levels and more intense or frequent storms
- Incorporate answers to multiple environmental and socioeconomic problems
- Readily grasped as realistic and subject to implementation through creative public/private partnerships
Success depends on a science strategy that points the way towards transformative system-level restoration projects and advocates by example for a high standard of scientific and engineering excellence in the planning, construction and operation of large-scale restoration projects. Without this focus, smaller-scale, less controversial projects will prevail. These projects may provide some benefits but are not adequate to address the underlying dynamic of widespread deltaic collapse.
Activities scientists undertake in pursuit of large-scale restoration include the following:
- Utilizing applied science and demonstration projects to answer questions that pose barriers to restoration at different scales
- Maximizing effectiveness of restoration projects through partnership with the state of Louisiana and industry groups on technical work
- Applying technical capacity to identify and lead strategic applied science projects
- Fostering collaboration between scientists to provide high-credibility engagement on restoration projects and proposals
- Participating in key stakeholder forums
The Mississippi River Delta Science and Engineering Special Team is one such group of scientists, convened to get the science of river diversions and other restoration projects right and to create a new understanding of how a self-sustaining Mississippi River Delta is possible, both biophysically and socioeconomically.
