RAPID: Collaborative Research: Signature of the 2011 Flooding on the Mississippi Subaqueous Delta

The Mississippi River is experiencing a flood of historic proportions. In Vicksburg, the river crest exceeded the level of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 by almost a foot (57.06 vs. 56.2 ft.). Although the flooding has been reduced some by the opening of the Morganza Spillway, the flood crest is still propagating down river, and the event is far from over. High water levels will exist for weeks. This is a geologically significant flood, and we are writing to propose a Rapid Response to determine its stratigraphic signature on the Mississippi subaqueous delta. We have an excellent chance to document sedimentation associated with this event and contrast it with storm deposition from hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita (Figs. 1 and 2). Furthermore, we hypothesize the massive sediment load carried through Southwest Pass will lead to gravity flows on the delta front that can be documented with a repeat multibeam survey (Fig. 3). We plan to follow up the proposed response work with a full proposal to study the strata preserved in longer cores. Specifically, we now request support to accomplish research with the following objectives: 1) To compare the sedimentological, radiochemical and geochemical signature of the recent flood deposits on the shelf with previously studied hurricane deposits, and 2) To examine the delta front for evidence of flood-induced sediment-gravity flows.

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