Thinking About the Long-term Downstream Impacts of the Locks and Dams of the
Mississippi River on Channel Patterns
By
Francis Odemerho
&
Shunfu Hu
Department of Geography
Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville, IL 62026
Short Description:
Over the years, Mississippi River has undergone major modifications of its channel. The
modifications included the construction of locks and dams as well as channel
straightening for the purposes of navigation improvement, wetland restoration, irrigation,
water supply, and environmental planning, among others. Some of these activities may
involve significant alterations of both the water and sediment budgets within the channel
system that may lead to local channel adjustments in an effort to re-establish system
equilibrium after major human disturbances.
The purpose of this presentation is to document some of the long-term downstream
changes in channel pattern characteristics to accommodate the series of human
disturbances to the river system within the St. Louis District.
The major research findings will be disseminated in the form of PowerPoint presentation
to an audience of about twenty students and faculty.