The River, the Levies, and the Future of New Orleans

Ken TabbuttApril 14, 2006

Reconstructing New Orleans: Class, Race and the Ownership

Society

Natural Earth Cycles

James Hutton (1726 – 1797)

“The Present is the Key to the Past”

National Galleries of Scotland

Natural Geologic (and Atmospheric) Processes

•Earthquakes

•Tsunami

•Volcanic Eruptions

•Floods

•Hurricanes

•Sedimentation

•Subsidence and Uplift

•Meteorite Impacts

•Climate Change

Shake Map of Nisqually Earthquake 2/01

Flood Events (Rivers)

United States Geologic Survey

HydrographMississippi River, Baton Rouge

United States Geologic Survey

Discharge Rating Curve

Fetter, C. W., 1994, Applied Hydrogeology: Prentice Hall.

HydrographMississippi River, Baton Rouge

United States Geologic Survey

Discharge Exceedance Probability

Flooding

Natural Disasters or Hazards

River Flooding Hazard

Lower Mississippi RiverCairo, Illinois - Mouth

New Orleans

Natural (and unnatural) Processes

• Subsidence

• Flooding

• Hurricanes

• Sea Level

Rise

Image obtained from NASA

Natural (and unnatural) Processes

• Subsidence

• Flooding

• Hurricanes

• Sea Level

Rise

Image obtained from NASA

Subsidence

• Natural gradual subsidence of the Gulf Coast Basin and the Mississippi delta sediments (compaction and tectonic)

• Resource extraction (gasand oil)

• Lack of sediment supply

Natural (and unnatural) Processes

• Subsidence

• Flooding

• Hurricanes

• Sea Level

Rise

Image obtained from NASA

Flooding

New Orleans Levees

Natural (and unnatural) Processes

• Subsidence

• Flooding

• Hurricanes

• Sea Level

Rise

Image obtained from NASA

Hurricane Katrina

Natural (and unnatural) Processes

• Subsidence

• Flooding

• Hurricanes

• Sea Level

Rise

Image obtained from NASA

Sea Level Rise

Sea Water Temperature

Mitigation

New Orleans, Louisiana FEMA floodmap

Mitigation• Engineered Solutions

Flood Control

Channelization

Floodproofing

• Social Solutions

Remove Structures

Zoning

Warning Systems

Flood Insurance (spread the cost)

• Society must understand the spatial and temporal impact of these processes in order to avoid potential hazards.

   

• We must weigh the long-term costs associated with these natural cycles.

• We must understand how anthropogenic practices can change the spatial and temporal nature of these cycles.

• We must understand they are dynamic systems.