A Dutch geoscience perspective on the Katrina disaster

Abstract

A combination of geological and anthropogenic processes have rendered the U.S. Gulf Coast in general - and the Mississippi Delta in particular - extremely sensitive to coastal hazard. Thus, the Katrina disaster was not a question of 'if' but of 'when'. This contribution outlines the geoenvironmental context of the Mississippi Delta that evolved during the 20th century and set the stage for Hurricane Katrina's devastation. This includes a brief discussion of the processes responsible for coastal erosion and wetland loss, the proposed measures to combat these problems, and the policy decisions (or, rather, the tack thereof) made so far. A connection is made with the 1953 storm surge that devastated the southwestern Netherlands and had a profound impact on Dutch science and engineering by providing the impetus for the widely known and highly praised Delta Plan, as well as for unprecedented studies of Holocene sea-level change. Whether a similar route will be followed for the Gulf Coast is primarily dependent on the amount of political will. Results are presented of recent studies of crustal movements in the Mississippi Delta that show surprising long-term stability of the Pleistocene basement, evidence that could prove critical for decision makers with regard to the rebuilding process. Finally, the neglect of the precarious situation along the Gulf Coast by the federal government is viewed as a possible metaphor for current U.S. policies with respect to science in general, and to global warming in particular.