2024 Lower Mississippi River Science Symposium School of Science and Engineering

2024 Lower Mississippi River Science Symposium

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current program in
progress here


sponsored by the Charlotte Beyer Hubbell Fund
Lavin-Bernick Center, McAlister Drive, Tulane University (Live-streamed via Zoom)

Thursday, April 4, 2024 - Kendall Cram Room, 2nd Floor

8:15 Doors Open
9:00 - 9:30 Welcome
9:00 Kimberly Foster, PhD, Dean, Tulane School of Science and Engineering
9:10 Mead Allison, PhD, Professor and Chair, Dept. of River-Coastal Science and Engineering, Tulane University
9:30 - 10:50 Opening Session: Hydrological Extremes
9:30 - 9:55 Overview of Climate Change Scenarios for Elements of the Water Cycle within the MS River Basin
Suzanne Van Cooten, PhD, Regional Administrator, South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, USGS
9:55 - 10:20 Lower Missouri River Flow Frequency Update
Paul Boyd, PhD, PE, Hydraulic Engineer USACE - Omaha District
10:20 - 10:45 Navigation
Sean Duffy, Executive Director, Big River Coalition
10:45 Break - 15 min
11:00 - 11:25 Summary of Operational and Modeling Actions of Hydrological Low Salt Wedge Update
Gary Brown, Research Hydraulic Engineer, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, ERDC
11:25 - 11:50 Analysis of Drought Events in the Lower Mississippi River
Ehab Meselhe, PhD, PE, Nicholas Altiero Distinguished Professor, Department of River-Coastal Science and Engineering, Tulane School of Science and Engineering
11:50 - 12:15 The Impact of Riverine Inputs on Coastal Forecasting in Northern Gulf
Saeed Moghimi, PhD, Team Lead, NOS Storm Surge Modeling, Coastal Marine Modeling Branch, Coast Survey Development Laboratory, Office of Coast Survey at NOAA National Ocean Service
12:15 - 1:15 Lunch
1:15 - 2:00 Hydrological Extremes Plenary Panel
2:00 - 2:10 Break - 10 min
  Afternoon Session 1
2:10 - 2:40 Habitat Classification
Jack Killgore, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Tulane School of Science and Engineering, Research Fisheries Biologist, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
2:40 - 3:10 Sediment Supply from Bank Migration on the Lower Mississippi River, 1765 to Present
David Biedenharn, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Tulane University, Research Hydraulic Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
3:10 - 3:40 Upper MS Regualtion
Liam Wallace, Civil Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers, Water Management, St. Louis District
3:40 - 3:50 Break - 10 min
  Afternoon Session 2
3:50 - 4:20 Large Scale Floodplain Restoration in La, MS, AR markets project
Jason Milks, US Reforestation Program Director- North America Region at The Nature Conservancy
4:20 - 4:50 Presentation Title to be Confirmed
NOAA
  Day 1 Closing Remarks
4:50 - 5:00 Mead Allison, Professor & Chair, Department of River-Coastal Science and Engineering
5:00 - 6:30 Reception and Poster Session

Friday, April 5, 2024 - Kendall Cram and Breakout rooms, 2nd Floor

8:30 Doors Open
  Mississippi River Basin Regional Efforts
9:00 - 9:25 An Overview of the America’s Watershed Initiative's Mississippi River Watershed Partnership
Kim Lutz, Executive Director, America's Watershed Initiative
9:25 - 9:50 An Overview of the Lower Mississippi River Comp Study
Deborah Centola, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans
9:50 - 10:15 The Mississippi River Delta Transition Initiative: MissDelta
Sam Bentley, Professor and Billy and Ann Harrison Chair in Sedimentary Geology, LSU Department of Geology and Physics
  Co-production/Participatory Modeling
10:30 - 11:45 Scott A. Hemmerling, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, The Water Institute of the Gulf; Traci Birch, PhD, Associate Director, LSU Coastal Ecosystem Design Studio; Josh Lewis, Research Director, Tulane ByWater Institute
11:45 - 12:00 Closing Remarks