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Restoration of the Mississippi Delta: Lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

2007; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 315; Issue: 5819 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1126/science.1137030

1095-9203

John W. Day, Donald F. Boesch, Ellis J. Clairain, G. Paul Kemp, Shirley Laska, William J. Mitsch, Kenneth Orth, Hassan Mashriqui, Denise J. Reed, Leonard Shabman, Charles A. Simenstad, Bill Streever, Robert R. Twilley, Chester C. Watson, John T. Wells, Dennis F. Whigham,

Flood Risk Assessment and Management

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed the vulnerability of coastal communities and how human activities that caused deterioration of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain (MDP) exacerbated this vulnerability. The MDP formed by dynamic interactions between river and coast at various temporal and spatial scales, and human activity has reduced these interactions at all scales. Restoration efforts aim to re-establish this dynamic interaction, with emphasis on reconnecting the river to the deltaic plain. Science must guide MDP restoration, which will provide insights into delta restoration elsewhere and generally into coasts facing climate change in times of resource scarcity.