Gulf Habitat

On Friday May the 28th SNR interviewed Assistant Professor of Coastal Geology and Oceanography, Dr. Alex Kolker, who currently studies coastal wetlands associated with the Mississippi River Delta. Dr. Kolker currently works at Louisiana Marine Research Consortium (LUMCON) located deep in the Mississippi River delta complex and has focused much of his career on coastal wetland sustainability. We talked about the vast ecosystem that is fed by this mighty river, and how the river's different ecology's speak to different points in time as the river shifts and changes. Channelization by humans has severely disrupted the rivers ability to feed sediment to the delta as well as maintain open water with its natural flood cycle. Changes in this ecosystem cause 20 plus square miles a year of coastal wetland loss, critical habitat that many indigenous and migratory species use as part of their life cycle. In this interview you'll also find how Dr. Kolker's research on hurricanes, "natures most powerful force on the face of the earth," touches on the connection between numerous anthropogenic causes of coastal habitat loss and the effects of these powerful storms on our gulf coast.