6.0 Geology: Impact of The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) : Geology and Geomorphology 6.0 Geologic Framework

Impact of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO): Geology and Geomorphology 6.
0 Geologic Framework
6.0 GEOLOGY
6.1 Introduction
The MR-GO is located within the Mississippi River delta plain, a geomorphic feature created through deposition by the Mississippi River. The entire surface of the delta plain that extends southeasterly from the
confluence of MR-GO and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GIWW) consists predominantly of low-elevation, forested swamps and marshes. Narrow, low-elevation ridges are the natural levees of active or formerly
active distributaries of the deltaic plain that locally separate these swamps and marshes from one another. Within the northern part of the study area, freshwater cypress swamps dominate the landscape and the soils of
this area characteristically consist of highly organic sediment deposited within this freshwater environment. Toward the south, an increasingly greater influence of marine waters from the Gulf of Mexico creates
elevated salinities that have led to the development of brackish water marshes and saltwater marsh in the extreme southern extent of the study area. The widespread presence of swamps and marshes and their
associated highly productive vegetative platforms has resulted in soft, highly organic soils at the
surface and within the shallow subsurface of the study area.
The shallow (<150 ft depth) stratigraphy (geologic layering) throughout the MR-GO right-of-way and
the intersection of the MR-GO and the GIWW at the "funnel" is represented by three distinct units.
These layers consist of mud-rich Mississippi River deltaic deposits underlain by a thin layer of sandy
nearshore gulf deposits. The sediments are underlain by relatively stiffer and older Pleistocene
deposits. The geology presented in this section is compiled from borehole data from U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (USACE) design memoranda and geological investigations (USACE, 1958; Dunbar et
al., 1994; Dunbar et al., 1995). Interpretations of the geologic substrates and surface sediments are
from original USACE reports, as well as published peer-reviewed interpretations in Frazier and
Osanik (1969) and Frazier (1974). Terminology presented in this report is that of the USACE, as
presented in the previously cited reports.
The distribution of sedimentary layers in the study area are produced in two regional geologic cross-
sections presented in this report (Figure 6.1 and Cross sections A-A' and B-B'). Geologic cross-section
A-A’ presents the sedimentary layering along the MR-GO right-of-way, whereas cross-section B-B’
shows the sedimentary layering where MR-GO channel intersects the GIWW Channel. Collectively
these two cross sections provide a clear indication of the regional, 3-dimensional distribution of the
sedimentary layers in the study area. Table 6.1 presents the physical characteristics of the depositional
environments in which these sediments where deposited and is taken directly from USACE (1958).
The approximate depth to the base of the MR-GO channel is indicated by a red, dashed line on cross
section A-A' (indicated in design memoranda by the USACE, 1958). The top of the Pleistocene unit
represents the base of the cross-section. The approximate locations where sediments were excavated
for hurricane levee construction (based on USACE, 1976) are highlighted along the MR-GO right-of-
Figure 6.1 Satellite image of the study area showing the MR-GO Reaches 1 and 2, location of cross sections A and, and the trend
way in cross section A-A'.
of the Bayou La Loutre natural levee ridge that was dissected for the construction of MR-GO.
July 2008 6-1 Environmental Science Services, Inc.

Table 6.1 The physical characteristics of the depositional environments of the MR-GO area. (USACE 1958)
6-2
A
Reach 1 Reach 2
Inner Harbor Paris Road Bayou Bienvenu
20
10
Navigation Canal
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
Feet NGVD29
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
-120
-130
-140
Swamp Fill/spoil/levee
-150
Marsh Prodelta
-160
-170 1 mile Bay/sound Nearshore gulf

-180
Interdistributary Substratum sand and gravel
Abandoned distributary Top of Pleistocene
Point bar
Approximate depth of MRGO
Natural levee
Intradelta, delta front, and distributary mouth bar
6-3
Reach 2
Bayou Dupre Bayou
20
10
-10
-20
-30
-40
Feet NGVD29
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
-120
-130
-140
-150
Marsh Prodelta
-160
-170 Bay/sound Nearshore gulf

1 mile
-180
Point bar
Natural levee
6-4
Reach 2
Bayou La Loutre
Bayou Yscloskey
20
10
-10
-20
-30
-40
Feet NGVD29
-50
mate depth of hurricane Approximate depth of hurricane protection borrow material
ction borrow material -60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110 1 mile
-120
-130
-140 Swamp Fill/spoil/levee

-150
-160
Marsh Prodelta
-170 Bay/sound Nearshore gulf
-180
Point bar
Natural levee
Pearl River Incised Valley
6-5
Reach 2
20
10 Lake Anthanasio
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
Feet NGVD29
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
-120
-130
-140
-150 Swamp Fill/spoil/levee

-160
-170 1 mile
Marsh Prodelta
-180
Bay/sound Nearshore gulf
Point bar
Natural levee
6-6
Reach 2
20
10 Breton Sound
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
Feet NGVD29
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
-120
-130
-140
-150
1 mile
-160
-170
-180
Marsh Prodelta
Point bar
Natural levee
6-7
A’
Reach 2
20
10
Gulf of Mexico
0
-10
-20
-30 Marsh Prodelta
-40
Feet NGVD29
-50
-60
-70
-80 Abandoned distributary Top of Pleistocene

-90
Point bar
-100 Approximate depth of MRGO
-110 Natural levee
-120
-130
-140
-150
-160
-170
-180
1 mile
6-8
B Bayou
Gentilly
B’
Mississippi River Forty Arpent Canal Lake Borgne
GIWW
MRGO
Bayou Villere
HWY 39
20 HWY 48 4th Island Louisville &
Bayou Nashville RR
10
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60
-70
1 mile
-80
-90
-100 Fill/spoil/levee
-110
Swamp
-120
-130 Marsh
-140
Bay/sound
-150
-160 Interdistributary
-170
-180
Abandoned distributary
Point bar
Natural levee
Prodelta
Nearshore gulf
Substratum sand and gravel
Top of Pleistocene
6-9
Impact of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO): Geology and Geomorphology 6.0 Geologic Framework
6.2 Pontchartrain Basin Geomorphology
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin can be divided into three distinct geomorphic regions: 1) Pleistocene Terraces, 2)
Marginal Deltaic Basin, and 3) Mississippi River Deltaic Plain (Figure 6.2; Penland et al., 2001). The Pleistocene
Terraces are located north of the Marginal Deltaic Basin that includes Lakes Maurepas, Pontchartrain and Borgne. Figure 6.2. Geomorphic regions of the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin (Penland et al., 2002).
South and southeast of these lakes lies the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Within the Marginal Deltaic Basin, mixing
between freshwater from coastal plain rivers and saltwater of the Gulf of Mexico takes place to create an estuary with
increasing salinity from west to east across the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.
The terraces of Louisiana's Florida Parishes (St. Tammany, Washington, Tangipahoa) north of the lakes are Pleistocene and older in age than the Mississippi River delta plain deposits (Figure 6.3). Within the
Pontchartrain Basin, the term 'terrace' identifies a surface of common elevation that is bounded to its north by a steeper ascending slope and to the south by a steeper descending slope (Penland et al., 2002). The Florida
Parish terrace system can be divided into four terraces (Figures 6.3, 6.4). From the oldest (northernmost) to the youngest (southernmost), these are called the High, Intermediate, Prairie and Deweyville terraces.
Alluvium Gray to brownish gray clay and silty clay. Includes all alluvial valley deposits except natural levees.
Natural Levees Gray and brown silt, silty clay, some very fine sand.
Delta Plain, Fresh Marsh Gray to black clay of very high organic content, some peat. Area of active and abandoned delta lobes of the Mississippi River.
Delta Plain, Saline Marsh Gray to black clay of high organic content, some peat. Area of active and abandoned delta lobes of the Mississippi River.
Deweyville Terrace Gray mixed with brown-to-red clay and silty clay.Topographically higher than Holocene alluvium and lower than Prairie terraces.
Prairie Terraces Light gray to light brown clay, sandy clay, silt, and sand. Surfaces topographically higher than the Deweyville.
Prairie Terraces – Loess Tan to reddish brown silt with some clay and minor amounts of very fine sand.
Intermediate Terraces Light gray to orange-brown clay, sandy clay, and silt.Surfaces are topographically higher than Prairie.
Intermediate Terraces – Loess Tan to reddish brown massive silt with some clay and minor amounts of very fine sand.
High Terraces Tan to orange clay, silt, and sand with a large amount of basal gravel.
High Terraces – Loess Tan to reddish brown massive silt with some clay and minor amounts of very fine sand.
Figure 6.3. Geologic map of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Note the topographic relationships between the terrace deposits north of Lake Pontchartrain and the low-lying delta plain deposits within the study area (Penland et al., 2002).

South of the Florida Parishes and the Pleistocene Terraces the St. Bernard delta complex of the Mississippi River consists of a
series of smaller delta lobes, associated distributary channels, and natural levee ridges. From oldest to youngest, these are
named Bayous Terre aux Boeufs, Des Families, La Loutre and Sauvage (Frazier, 1967).
The elevated Pleistocene terraces along the northern part of the basin together with the elevated natural levee ridges of the St.
Bernard delta in the southern part of the basin, form a restricted pathway through which storm surges from the Gulf of Mexico
can enter Lake Pontchartrain. Between 1900 and the time of MR-GO construction, three major hurricanes produced
exceptional storm surge levels (Saucier, 1963). Alterations to basin hydrology created by construction of the MR-GO and
GIWW channels and attendant spoil deposits further funneled this natural constriction, leading to even larger storm surges
during Hurricanes Betsy, Georges, and Katrina. MR-GO altered the hydrologic regime and was noted by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers in their 1976 Environmental Impact report wherein they stated that the presence of dredged material disposal
Figure 6.4. Topographic profile showing the relief along a North-South trending transect through areas along the MR-GO affects the natural northeast and southwest movement of water. The dissection of the Bayou La
the Pontchartrain Basin.
Loutre natural levee ridges during MR-GO construction also provided a more open conduit for storm surges to travel inland
towards populated areas of St. Bernard Parish and the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area.
In the distal southern and eastern part of the basin the largest barrier island arc in the Gulf of Mexico consists of the Chandeleur Islands and includes Breton, Grand Gosier, and Culew Islands. The Chandeleur Barrier
Island system provides protection to backbarrier wetlands and ultimately the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area when storm surges develop in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
6.3 Geologic History: Late Pleistocene to Recent

The oldest and deepest subsurface sedimentary unit encountered in USACE (1958) soil borings is the Pleistocene. The Prairie Terrace is the youngest terrace in southeastern Louisiana, representing the first well
defined shore-parallel terrace above the Holocene deltaic plain and the first Pleistocene formation beneath the Holocene deltaic plain (Autin et al., 1991). These are ancient, relatively consolidated sediments that
underlie the more recent and less consolidated sediments of the abandoned St. Bernard Delta of the Mississippi River (USACE, 1958). During the late Pleistocene, approximately 18,000 yrs before present, sea-level
was at a lowstand. At that time sea level was approximately 350-400 feet below present sea level and the coast coincided with the modern edge of the continental shelf (Fairbanks, 1989; Fisk, 1944). During this sea-
level lowstand, the Pleistocene surface was exposed to subaerial erosion and coastal streams such as the Pearl River were cut into it (Fisk, 1944).
The end of Pleistocene (18,000 to 10,000 years before present) coincides with the onset of large-scale melting of ice sheets and glaciers, which released water into oceans and created a sea-level rise that shifted coastal
deposition north and onto the shelf (Fisk, 1944; Frazier, 1974). The Holocene period began approximately 10,000 years before present. During this time the paleo-valleys created by coastal stream erosion began
infilling with sediment. The Pearl River incised valley on cross-section A-A' is an example of a river valley that was carved seaward during the Pleistocene sea level lowstand but later filled with sediment during rising
sea level. In areas removed from the stream sedimentation, waves and tides reworked the Pleistocene surface to create the nearshore gulf deposits. For approximately 3,000 years (between 7,500 and 4,000 years ago)
during the period of rapid rise in sea level, the area that was later to become the site of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area was open water Gulf of Mexico (USACE, 1958). During this interval of time the
Mississippi River was depositing sediment and building part of the modern delta plain in what is now central and west-central Louisiana (Kolb and Van Lopik, 1958; Penland et al., 1988). The Holocene sea-level rise
continued until present level was reached approximately 4,500 years ago.

During the present stand of sea-level (last 4,500 years) the Mississippi River shifted direction and began building a delta lobe
that expanded seaward onto the shelf over the nearshore gulf deposits. Conceptual models describing the development of the
entire modern Mississippi River delta plain recognize that the growth of the deltaic plain resulted from a dynamic, multi-stage
process wherein river distributaries periodically changed locations (Figure 6.5; Kolb and van Lopik, 1958; Penland et al., 1988).
Mississippi River deposits in the MR-GO area are the result of deposition of the St. Bernard Delta system 4,000 to 2,000 years
before present (Figure 6.5; Frazier, 1967; Penland et al., 1988).
The distributary systems that built the St. Bernard delta have been largely abandoned and inactive for approximately the last
2,500 years. Remnants of these distributaries are present as small elevated ridges (e.g. Bayou La Loutre) and remnant marsh
platforms such as those evident in the most seaward areas of the St. Bernard marshes. Approximately 1,000 years ago,
deposition was renewed across parts of the area as the main channel of the Mississippi River once again established a course
along the eastern Louisiana Coastal Zone. This renewed development of distributaries, as well as the overbank sedimentation
processes on the western boundary of the study area, contributed to the modification of the preexisting landscape through
Figure 6.5 Map of the Holocene Mississippi River delta plain that shows the multiple, spatially
offset depocenters for each delta complex. Depocenter shifts result from upstream fluvial deposition of muds and organic sediments. In the last 1,000 years, the Mississippi River has held its current alignment and
avulsions, the infilling of waters within interdistributary basins, and ultimately deltaic growth in a
seward direction. Mid Holocene deposition started with the Maringouin-Teche complexes (7,500 constructed an overall seaward-advancing platform that terminates where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico today (Fisk,
– 3,800 yrs BP), followed by St. Bernard (4,000 – 2,000 yrs BP), Lafourche (2,500 – 400 yrs BP), 1944).
and modern deposition at the Balize (1,000 yrs BP – present) and the Atchafalaya (400 yrs BP –
present). Names, location, and chronology for delta complexes are derived from Frazier (1967),
Penland et al. (1988), Roberts (1997), and Kulp et al. (2005).
6.4 Physical and Engineering Properties of Geologic Units

6.4.1 Pleistocene
The St. Bernard delta constitutes a sedimentary mass of muddy, river-derived sediment that lies above a laterally persistent and relatively stiffer surface referred to as “the Pleistocene surface.” The Pleistocene
deposits are capped by an oxidized and weathered erosional surface and are directly overlain by sediments deposited during the Holocene sea-level rise. The uppermost Pleistocene surface was subaerially
exposed and is recognized by mottled, silty clay and clayey silt with sand lenses, oxidized yellowish to reddish-brown in areas of prolonged exposure, and grey hues when a well developed soil zone is absent
(Fisk, 1944; Fisk and McFarland, 1955; Saucier, 1963; 1994; Stanley et al., 1996; Kulp et al., 2002). The top of the Pleistocene is present at a depth of approximately 50 ft below sea level at New Orleans. This
surface slopes gradually toward the south and can be encountered at a depth of approximately 170 ft at Breton Island (See cross-section A-A’). These deposits are composed primarily of clay with some silt and
sand (USACE, 1958). They have a relatively low natural water content of 15-40% dry weight, a liquid limit of 30-60, and cohesive strength of 900-3000 lb/sq ft (USACE, 1958).
6.4.2 Holocene Nearshore Gulf
The nearshore gulf deposits vary between 0 and 15-ft thick in the New Orleans area and are the oldest Holocene unit overlying the Pleistocene. The nearshore gulf deposits are composed primarily of greenish-
gray silty clays with some sand lenses. Laterally continuous sand beds are thin and rare in occurrence (Miller, 1983). The base of the nearshore gulf deposits contains abundant peat rip-up clasts from which
radiocarbon dates of approximately 7,200 yrs before present were obtained (Miller, 1983). These sediments mark the first deposits associated with the early Holocene sea level rise of the area and are probably

the result of marshes that developed on the weathered Pleistocence surface as gulf waters migrated northward . These marsh deposits were subsequently eroded by waves and tidal currents along the landward-
migrating shoreline and incorporated as fragments of organic material into the base of the nearshore deposits. These nearshore deposits contain fossils of brackish water environments at the base. At more
shallow elevations, hence younger deposits, the fossil content indicates higher salinity environments, which reflect the ever increasing intrusion of saline waters in the area (Miller, 1983). The nearshore gulf
deposits are primarily sandy with some silt, clay, and shell material (USACE, 1958). They are considered saturated with regard to water content and are nonplastic with a cohesive strength of 0 lb/sq ft
(USACE, 1958).
6.4.3 Holocene Mississippi River Delta
The uppermost unit, and only unit described as having been excavated during MR-GO construction (indicated within design memoranda, USACE, 1958) consists of muddy deltaic deposits from the St. Bernard
delta complex of the Mississippi River. Thickness ranges from 40 ft in the New Orleans area to more than 150 ft at Breton Island (Cross-section A-A'; Kulp et al., 2002). This unit is subdivided into nine sub-
units on the basis of physical properties and the environment of deposition for which each sub-unit is named. The terminology is part of standard USACE terminology for Mississippi River deltaic depositional
environments as presented in USACE (1958), Dunbar et al. (1994) and Dunbar et al. (1995). The sub-units include: swamp, marsh, bay/sound, interdistributary, abandoned distributary, point bar, natural levee,
intradelta, and prodelta.
Swamp deposits are primarily clayey peats and peaty clays with a natural water content of 60-200% dry weight, a liquid limit of 60-150, and have very low cohesive strength (USACE, 1958).
Marsh deposits are highly organic clayey peats and peats with a natural water content of 80-800% dry weight, a liquid limit of 70-250, and very low cohesive strength (USACE, 1958). The marsh deposits
constitute 90% of the land surface within the MR-GO region with an average thickness of 10 ft (USACE, 1958). They are subject to rapid compaction under load (USACE, 1958). Marsh deposits represent
approximately 25% of the material that was excavated to create the MR-GO channel. The high water and organic content of the marsh deposits create unstable channel banks when exposed to waves. As noted
in the same 1976 report: "Bow and stern waves created by oceangoing and high speed small craft causes channel bank erosion. Banks of the channels are undermined and sediments migrate toward the channel
center."
Bay/sound deposits are approximately 50% clay, 40% sand, and 8% shell material with traces of silt and organic material. Very little of these deposits was excavated during MR-GO construction with the
exception of areas in Breton Sound.
Interdistributary deposits are present as clay wedges between major distributaries (USACE, 1958). Clay sequences are interrupted by silty or sandy units that were deposited by small distributaries (USACE,
1958). The interdistributary deposits contain a natural water content of 50-160% dry weight, have a liquid limit of 60-160, and a cohesive strength of 150 - 300 lb/sq ft (USACE, 1958). These deposits represent
approximately 50-70% of all material that was excavated during MR-GO channel construction. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remarks in the 1958 report titled Geological Investigation of the
Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Channel, "…it is possible that the poorly consolidated, high-water-content interdistributary clays will tend to flow laterally into [the MR-GO channel] excavation particularly
under the extra weight of a spoil bank" (Table 6.1; USACE, 1958). As shown in cross-sections A-A' and B-B' these deposits, along with the overlying marsh deposits, form most of the channel walls of the MR-
GO and the foundation for spoil disposal sites along the western shoreline of MR-GO. The design of steep gradient channel walls cut into the interdistributary deposits makes them highly susceptible to lateral
displacement under vertically loading. Loading has resulted in channel-wall slumping and channel widening that required maintenance dredging as described in USACE (1976). This lateral displacement of the
interdistributary clays and slumping into the channel could also be one of the major mechanisms for ongoing bank failure, wetland loss, and channel widening along the MR-GO (Figure 6.6).

Figure 6.6. Conceptual model for lateral displacement of the interdistributary deposits into the MR-GO channel
excavation due to overburden loading and the high-angle of channel walls as built by the USACE. This phenomenon
was predicted prior to construction by USACE (1958) and resulted in the need for continual channel maintenance
dredging as noted in USACE (1976). The migration of sediments into the channel from the underlying
interdistributary deposits results in subsidence of the land surface and increases rates of landloss along the channel.
Waves produced by wind and the passage of large oceangoing vessels accelerate the rate of bank failure and landloss
within the marsh deposits. (Authorized channel cut taken from USACE MR-GO Design Memoranda (1958); modern
channel cross-section taken from 2008 bathymetric survey conducted by Environmental Sciences Services, Inc.;
thickness, depth, and physical description of geologic units as well as land surface topography taken from USACE
Geologic Investigation of the MR-GO (1958) and USACE Geologic Investigation of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain
(1994). Note vertical exaggeration [vertical scale does not equal horizontal scale]).
Abandoned distributaries (including abandoned courses) form ribbons of fairly coarse-grained sediment that vary in lateral extent from a few feet to more than 2500 ft wide and vary between 30 and 90 ft depth
(USACE, 1958). Grain size becomes coarser with depth in these abandoned distributary deposits as well as in an upstream direction toward the north (USACE, 1958). Associated with the major abandoned
distributaries are large point bar deposits, especially along the Bayou La Loutre course (Cross section A-A'). Point bar deposits flank the major courses and can be more than 80 ft thick. These are dominated by
sand and become coarser grained with depth. Another deposit associated with the abandoned distributaries are natural levees. These exist as irregular belts along abandoned distributaries with a thickness that is
generally less than 15 ft.
Intradelta deposits are the result of deposition of clays and silts in open water areas. They are present as broad wedges around major distributaries and interfinger with and overlie prodelta deposits. They also
interfinger and underlie interdistributary and marsh deposits. They have a natural water content of 15-40 % dry weight and a liquid limit of nonplastic to 110 (USACE, 1958).
Prodelta deposits are dominantly clay (>95%) and usually overlie the nearshore gulf deposits and underlie the entire deltaic sequence as a homogeneous unit (USACE, 1958). Slope and thickness of these
deposits increases toward the southeast (USACE, 1958). They have a natural water content of 40-80% dry weight, a liquid limit of 70-120, and a cohesive strength of 200-600 lb/sq ft (USACE, 1958).
6.5 Summary and Conclusions

The construction and maintenance of MR-GO for navigation resulted in the following:
1. Alteration of hydrology and salinity gradients because of the dissection of geomorphic features such as the Bayou La Loutre natural levee and robust marsh delta plain marsh environments.
2. Increased rates of landloss along the flanks of MR-GO due to bank failure and slumping of channel walls, as well as, erosion by vessel waves and wind waves.
3. Alteration of natural water flow patterns due to the construction of an artificial ridge of dredge spoil material that directs storm surges northward up the MR-GO channel.

Impact of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO): Geology and Geomorphology 7.0 Pontchartrain Basin Funnel
7.0 PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN FUNNEL
The Pontchartrain Basin consists of a series of northwest-southeast oriented, inter-connected nested funnels aligned between Lake
Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. Historically, this orientation and arrangement of basins in combination with the strong winds that
accompany cold fronts and tropical storms forced water into Lake Borgne, and then through Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass raising water
elevations above normal astronomic tide levels in Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas (Figure 7.1). Due to this phenomenon, New
Orleans has had a history of flooding. This historic and native knowledge of storm flooding should have been part of the decision-making
when navigation channels and waterways were dredged through this flood prone area. Indented and irregular coastlines having headlands
and embayments are the most susceptible to wind setup and storm surge strengthening. These coastal hazard conditions were well known to
the USACE, especially in light of the well-documented hurricane history of New Orleans.
Extensive scientific knowledge existed concerning hurricanes and factors affecting storm surge elevation prior to MR-GO construction.
Numerous articles discussing the origin of hurricanes and their stages of evolution, their source of energy, and relationship among pressure
gradients, wind speed, and storm surge had been published by the mid-1950s. In 1954 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published their
first manual entitled: “Shore Protection, Planning, and Design”, which was the forerunner to the well-known “Shore Protection Manual.” A
second edition was published in 1961. The publication discussed the physical forces acting on coasts and shore protection structures. In a
heading called: Wave Set-up, storm surges are explained as a function of wind stresses and low pressure accompanying storms. They also
state: “Surge may also be increased, particularly in coastal areas, by a funneling effect in converging open mouth bays." In this same section
they state: “Engineers must know expected water levels to design harbor improvements and shore protective works.” They use Lake Erie to
illustrate the concept of “wind set-up” or as they also called the process “wind tide.” As seen in Figure 7.2, strong southwesterly winds
blowing across Lake Erie produced a 13-foot water surface elevation difference between Toledo, Ohio and Buffalo, New York due to wind
Figure 7.1 The Pontchartrain Basin consists of a series of inter-connected funnels.
stresses deflecting water from Toledo toward Buffalo. Note the funnel-shape of the northeastern Lake Erie shoreline, which accounts for the
dramatic heightened the storm surge at Buffalo.
The Corps’ Shore Protection, Planning, and Design (1961) also demonstrates the effect of funnel-shaped coastlines by showing water elevation changes in Lake Okeechobee during the passage of the 26-27 August
1949 hurricane (Figure 7.3). This was a Category 4 hurricane that weakened after coming ashore at Palm Beach, Florida. Wind velocities and directions and water surface elevation data were collected throughout Lake
Okeechobee as storm winds first blew from the northerly quadrant and then several hours later blew from the southerly quadrant. Maximum wind velocities occurred at 2100 hours (26 August) coinciding with
maximum storm surge elevations (23.7 feet above a still-water surface of 13.9 feet) in the funnel-shaped bay at the southern end of the lake (Figure 7.3). As the storm tracked northwestward, winds shifted 180 degrees
and came out the south. After the lake adjusted to the new wind field, a maximum storm surge elevation of 23.1 feet was measured at the very northern funnel-shaped lake shoreline. Using data sets from Lake Erie and
Lake Okeechobee, the Corps showed clearly that funnel-shaped shorelines cause a significant increase in storm surge elevation.

Figure 7.2 Wind set-up effects at Lake Erie demonstrating how strong southwesterly winds caused water levels to drop at Toledo, Ohio and increased lake elevations
at Buffalo, New York. Note how the storm surge increased dramatically due to the funneling of the northeast end of the lake at Buffalo. Diagram reproduced from the
Army Corps of Engineers’ (1961) Shore Protection, Planning, and Design discussion of Ira Hunt’s 1959 work on seiching in Lake Erie.
The science of hurricanes and their impact to coasts grew from detailed studies made of major storms during the 1900’s. One such storm was the 1938 hurricane that made landfall along the southern coast of New
England causing catastrophic damage ($4.5 billion in 2005 dollars) and loss of life (664 people killed). Numerous detailed descriptions of the physical damage due to the storm were reported in newspapers, books,
journal articles, and in documentaries. These historical accounts showed that funneling of storm waters into Narragansett Bay produced storm surge levels greater than 18 feet in downtown Providence, Rhode Island.
This event and other detailed accounts of hurricane storm surges were published years in advance of the construction of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. For example, Redfield and Miller published a very detailed
survey of storm surge levels due to hurricanes in New England in a 1957 paper entitled “Water Levels Accompanying Atlantic Coast Hurricanes” in the journal Meteorological Monographs. It should be noted that in
response to the 1938 Hurricane and other hurricanes in the mid-1950s, the Army Corps of Engineers built flood-gates in Providence, Rhode Island and New Bedford, Massachusetts to protect these regions from future
storm surges. Both of these regions suffered from dramatic heightening of storm waters due their funnel-shaped coastlines.

The science to understand how construction of MR-GO would impact the magnitude of hurricane storm surges in the New Orleans region was well established before this sizeable waterway was dredged through the
Breton Sound drainage basin. The potential increase in funneling of storm surge waters toward New Orleans due to MR-GO should have been anticipated.
Figure 7.3 Effects of the 26-27 August 1949 Hurricane on water surface elevations in Lake
Okeechobee. The highest storm surge elevations coincided with funnel-shaped shorelines
along the lake. Diagram reproduced from the Army Corps of Engineers’ (1961) Shore
Protection, Planning, and Design.

Impact of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO): Geology and Geomorphology 8.0 Bibliography
8.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Autin, W. J., Burns, S. F., Miller, B. J., Saucier, R. T., and Snead, J., 1991, Quaternary Geology of the Lower Kulp, M., Howell, P., Adiau, S., Penland, S., Kindinger, J., and Williams, S. J., 2002, Latest Quaternary Stratigraphic
Mississippi River Valley, in, Quaternary Nonglacial Geology; Conterminous United States, Morrison, R. B. (ed.): Framework of the Mississippi River Delta Region: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v.
Geological Society of America DNAG collection, v. K-2, p. 547-582. 52, p. 573 –582.
Colten, Crain. 2000. Transforming New Orleans and its Environs. University of Pittsburgh Press. Kulp, M. A., FitzGerald, D. M., and Penland, S., 2005, Sand-rich Lithosomes of the Holocene Mississippi River Delta
Plain, in Liviu, G. and Bhattacharya, J. P. (eds.), River deltas; Concepts, Models, and Examples: Society for
Dunbar, J.B., Blaes, M.R., Dueitt, S.E., May, J.R., and Stroud, K.W., 1994, Geological Investigation of The Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), Special Publication, v. 83, p. 279 – 293.
Mississippi River Deltaic Plain, Report 2: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Technical Report GL-84-15, Department of
the Army, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 32 plates. Miller, W., III, 1983, Stratigraphy of Newly Exposed Quaternary Sediments, Eastern Orleans Parish, Louisiana:
Tulane Studies in Geology and Paleontology, v. 17, no. 3, p. 85 –104.
Dunbar, J.B., Blaes, M.R., Dueitt, S.E., and May, J.R., 1995, Geological Investigation of The Mississippi River
Deltaic Plain, Report 3: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Technical Report GL-84-15, Department of the Army, LA Natural Heritage Program (LNHP), January 2002. Natural Plant Communities in Louisiana’s Coastal Prairies and
Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 15 plates. Marshes Ecoregion (31) Cross-walked to Corresponding National Vegetation Classification (NVC). Online
document:
Fairbanks, R. G., 1989, A 17,000-year Glacio-Eustatic Sea Level Record: Influence of Glacial Melting Rates on the http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/pdfs/experience/naturalheritage/GCPM%20Nat%20Com%20XWalk%2002.pdf
Younger Dryas Event and Deep-Ocean Circulation: Nature, v. 342, p. 637 –642.
Oliver, J.E. and Fairbridge, R.W. 1987. The Encyclopedia of Climatology. A Van Nostrand Reinold Book.
Farris, G.S., Smith, G.J, Crane, M.P., Demas, C.R., Robbin, L.L., and Lavoie, D.L. ed., 2007. Science and the Storms
– The USGS Response to the Hurricanes of 2005, US Geological Survey Circular 1306, 283p. Otvos, E. G., Jr., 1978, New Orleans-South Hancock Holocene Barrier Trends and Origins of Lake Pontchartrain:
Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 28, p. 337 –355.
Finkl, C.W., 1988. The Encyclopedia of Field and General Geology. A Van Nostrand Reinhold Book.
Penland, S., Beall, A., and Waters, J. 2000. Environmental Atlas of Lake Pontchartrain Basin. US Geological
Fisk, H. N., 1944, Geological Investigation of the Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River: U. S. Army Corps Survey, Open File Report 02-206.
of Engineers, Mississippi River Commission, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 78 p.
Penland, S., Boyd, R., and Suter, J. R., 1988, Transgressive Depositional Systems of the Mississippi Delta Plain: A
Fisk, H. N., and McFarland, E., Jr., 1955, Late Quaternary Deposits of the Mississippi River (Local Sedimentation Model for Barrier Shoreline and Shelf Sand Development: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 58, no. 6, p. 932 –
and Basin Tectonics): Geological Society of America, Special Paper No. 62, p. 279 –302. 949.
Frazier, D. E., 1967, Recent Deltaic Deposits of the Mississippi River: Their Development and Chronology: Gulf Redfield, A.C., and A.R. Miller, 1957. Water Levels Accompanying Atlantic Coast Hurricanes. Meteorological
Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 17, p. 287 –315. Monographs v.10, p. 1-22.
Frazier, D.E. and Osanik, A., 1969, Recent Peat Deposits - Louisiana Coastal Plain: in Environments of Coal Roberts, H. H., 1997, Dynamic Changes of the Holocene Mississippi River Delta Plain: The Delta Cycle: Journal of
Deposition, Proceedings of the Geological Society of America Coal Geology Division Annual Meeting 1964, p. 63- Coastal Research, v. 13, no. 3, p. 605 –627.
85.
Saucier, R. T., 1963, Recent Geomorphic History of the Pontchartrain Basin: Louisiana State University Press,
Frazier, D.E., 1974, Depositional Episodes: Their Relationship to the Quaternary Stratigraphic Framework in the Coastal Studies Series No. 9, 114 p.
Northwestern Portion of the Gulf Basin: Geological Circular 74-1, Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin,
Texas, 28 p. Saucier, R. T., 1994, Geomorphology and Quaternary Geologic History of the Lower Mississippi Valley: Vicksburg,
Mississippi, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, v. 1, 364 p.
Hunt, I.A., Jr., 1959, Winds, wind set-ups and seiches on Lake Erie, United States Lake Survey, Detroit, Michigan,
65. Schwartz, M.L. 1982. The Encyclopedia of Beach and Coastal Environment. Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company.
Kolb, C. R. and Van Lopik, J. R., 1958, Geology of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain, Southeastern Louisiana: Stanley, D. J., Warne, A. G., and Dunbar, J. B., 1996, Eastern Mississippi Delta: Late Wisconsin Unconformity,
Vicksburg, Mississippi, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Technical Report no. 3-483, Overlying Transgressive Facies, Sea Level, and Subsidence: Engineering Geology, v. 45, p. 359 –381.
120 p.

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Törnqvist, T. E., Tristram, R. K., Autin, W. J., van der Borg, Klaas, de Jong, A. F. M., Klerks, C. J. W., Snijders, E.
M. A., Storms, J. E. A., van Dam, R. L., and Wiemann, M. C., 1996, A Revised Chronology for Mississippi River
Subdeltas: Science, v. 273, p. 1693 – 1696.
URS. 7389 Florida Blvd, Suite 300, Baton Rouge, LA 70806
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1958, Geological Investigation of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Channel:
Miscellaneous Paper No. 3-259, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 22 p.,
11 plates.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1976, Final Environmental Statement: Final Composite Environmental Statement for
Operation and Maintenance Work on Three Navigation Projects in the Lake Borgne Vicinity, Louisiana: U.S. Army
Engineer District, New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1976, 307 p.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 1954. Shore, Protection, Planning, and Design. US Army Coastal Engineering
Research Center.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1958, Mississippi River - Gulf Outlet, Louisiana: Design Memorandum No. 1-B,
Channels, Mile 39.01- Mile 63.77, 12 p., 12 plates, (revised May 1959).
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1965. Morgan City and Vicinity, Louisiana.
U.S Army Corps of Engineers, 2001. Beneficial Use Monitoring Program. Beneficial Use of Dredged Material
Disposal History along Selected Navigation Channels in Louisiana and Cumulative Landscape History for the
Beneficial Use Monitoring Program Sites: 1985-2000. Prepared by Coastal Reasearch Laboratory, University of New
Orleans.

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Impact of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO): Geology and Geomorphology 6.

July 2008 6-1 Environmental Science Services, Inc.

-170 1 mile Bay/sound Nearshore gulf

-170 Bay/sound Nearshore gulf

-140 Swamp Fill/spoil/levee

-150 Swamp Fill/spoil/levee

-80 Abandoned distributary Top of Pleistocene

6.2 Pontchartrain Basin Geomorphology

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6.3 Geologic History: Late Pleistocene to Recent

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6.4 Physical and Engineering Properties of Geologic Units

6.4.2 Holocene Nearshore Gulf

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6.4.3 Holocene Mississippi River Delta

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6.5 Summary and Conclusions

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7.0 PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN FUNNEL

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