waterloop #144: Modeling the Mississippi River Delta

It took thousands of years for the Mississippi River to build the coastline of southern Louisiana and its vast network of wetlands and bayous. It only took several generations of people to disrupt the natural, land-building flow by controlling the river with concrete and levees.

Now a state-of-the-art, 10,000 square foot physical model is used to plan restoration projects for the area, as discussed in this episode with Clint Willson, the Director of the Center for River Studies at Louisiana State University. Clint explains how the Mississippi River Delta model operates and the unique learning opportunities it provides to students, scientists, and resource managers.

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