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A Dutch geoscience perspective on the Katrinadisaster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2017

T.E. Törnqvist
T.E. Törnqvist*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 701 18-5698, USA Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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A combination of geological and anthropogenic processes have rendered theU.S. Gulf Coast in general – and the Mississippi Delta in particular –extremely sensitive to coastal hazard. Thus, the Katrina disaster was not aquestion of ‘if’ but of ‘when’. This contribution outlines thegeo-environmental context of the Mississippi Delta that evolved during the20th century and set the stage for Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. Thisincludes a brief discussion of the processes responsible for coastal erosionand wetland loss, the proposed measures to combat these problems, and thepolicy decisions (or, rather, the lack thereof) made so far. A connection ismade with the 1953 storm surge that devastated the southwestern Netherlandsand had a profound impact on Dutch science and engineering by providing theimpetus for the widely known and highly praised Delta Plan, as well as forunprecedented studies of Holocene sea-level change. Whether a similar routewill be followed for the Gulf Coast is primarily dependent on the amount ofpolitical will. Results are presented of recent studies of crustal movementsin the Mississippi Delta that show surprising long-term stability of thePleistocene basement, evidence that could prove critical for decision makerswith regard to the rebuilding process. Finally, the neglect of theprecarious situation along the Gulf Coast by the federal government isviewed as a possible metaphor for current U.S. policies with respect toscience in general, and to global warming in particular.

“Land that sits below sea level. Levees and dams that stand against nature’s fury. Countryside that sinks more every year. New Orleans? No. Holland: a nation whose flood protections makes ours look primitive and slapdash”

John McQuaid, The Times-Picayune, November 13, 2005

Keywords

Hurricane Katrinawetland losssubsidenceglobal changeDelta PlanMississippi Delta
Type
Research Article
Information
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences , Volume 86 , Issue 3 , September 2007 , pp. 307 - 315
Copyright
Copyright © Stichting Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 2007

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