Abstract submission for the 2015 ASBPA conference
Title: Observations of basin-wide dynamics along the lower Mississippi River via in-situ and remotely
sensed data
Authors: Cyndhia Ramatchandirane1, Brendan Yuill1, Mead Allison1,2, Melissa Baustian1, Ehab Meselhe1
1
The Water Institute of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, LA
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
2
Poster presentation preferred.
Abstract:
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has presented a Coastal Master Plan that
includes developing a network of sediment diversions along the lower Mississippi River. The goal of
these diversions is to strategically siphon Mississippi River sediment into its disconnected receiving
basins to build and sustain wetlands, offsetting the high rates of regional subsidence and coastal
erosion. In order to assess the possible effects and success of this plan, the present study examines
complex hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics, and eco-linked parameters in the two basins adjacent to
the river near the proposed diversions. Fixed-site instruments were deployed in summer 2014 to
measure hydrology and water quality in the Barataria and Breton basins, along with boat deployed
transects between stations. Instruments were placed to record the influence of two existing freshwater
river diversions at Davis Pond and Caernarvon. While not specifically engineered to divert sediment,
these two freshwater diversions are the closest morphological and ecological analogs for the proposed
sediment diversions in each basin and are operated seasonally every year. This study reports on the
preliminary results of this on-going data collection effort. Results are coupled with remote sensed data
to illustrate the present, large-scale spatial and temporal pattern of basin salinity, turbidity,
temperature, and chlorophyll a driven by seasonal, storm, and river forcings. These patterns offer 1)
insight into a broad array of basin dynamics such as the sediment transport pathways that will benefit
future diversion planning and operation, and 2) provide information to parameterize numerical models
that will test the impact of the proposed diversions.
Primary Author Information:
Cyndhia Ramatchandirane is a Research Associate at The Water Institute of the Gulf. She primarily works
with the Physical Processes and Sediment Dynamics group led by Dr. Mead Allison. She conducts several
field campaigns around coastal Louisiana collecting and processing data that is used to validate and
calibrate numerical models that inform various restoration projects. She obtained her Master’s degree
in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Tulane University, with Dr. Alex Kolker as her advisor. Her
thesis project focused on wetland building on the Chenier Plain coast in southwest Louisiana.
Cyndhia Ramatchandirane | Research Associate
The Water Institute of the Gulf
One American Place
301 N. Main St., Suite 2000
Baton Rouge, LA 70825
O 225-228-2107 | C 650-704-4757
cramatch@thewaterinstitute.org
www.thewaterinstitute.org