Biogeochemical implications of levee confinement in the lowermost Mississippi River

Abstract

With the recent formation of the Center for River‐Ocean Studies (CeROS) at Tulane University in Louisiana (see http://www.tulane.edu/~ceros) and the emerging state‐federal partnership that is creating river diversions to combat coastal land loss, increased attention is being paid to the lowermost Mississippi River, from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico, as a critical juncture and storage area for sediment particles and bio‐active compounds. CeROS scientists, working with the US. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have undertaken a detailed re‐assessment of the channel floor and water column of this region using geophysical and biogeochemical data collection, combined with historical data sets.