LA-COE 10-Year Impact Report

The RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Jessica R. Henkel, PhD

The Louisiana coast is defined by extraordinary natural resources and deeply interconnected socio-environmental challenges that shape the resilience of our people, communities, ecosystems, and economy. As environmental risks intensify and uncertainty grows, meeting these challenges requires not only sound science, but meaningful collaboration across disciplines and institutions. The RESTORE Act Center of Excellence (LA-COE) was established in partnership with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury to serve as an applied research funding program dedicated to delivering transformative, actionable solutions in alignment with Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan. The Water Institute, an independent applied research non-profit dedicated to providing advanced understanding and technical expertise, has been proud to administer the LACOE as a distinct program within the Institute since 2014, with the first research funding awarded in 2016.

As a trusted partner, LA-COE has worked collaboratively with CPRA and its advisory groups over the last decade, bringing together researchers, engineers, and restoration practitioners through an intentional co-production of science model. By identifying research needs in close coordination with CPRA and remaining engaged throughout the research cycle, we ensure that the work we support is relevant, practical, and positioned to inform decision making.

Since 2016, LA-COE has supported 32 projects across three competitive funding rounds, led by 11 Louisiana institutions. These investments have advanced critical coastal research priorities while also strengthening Louisiana’s scientific capacity. Just as importantly, LA-COE-funded projects have helped train the next generation of coastal leaders, providing hands-on research experience to 120 university students and postdoctoral researchers who will carry this work forward.

This report highlights a subset of the diverse research supported through LA-COE partnerships across coastal Louisiana—from the western Chenier Plain to the Lake Pontchartrain and Breton Basin region. Together, these projects contribute directly to the continued refinement and implementation of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan.

As we reflect on the past decade, we are proud of what has been accomplished and energized for the work ahead. In the years to come, we will build on these LA-COE-funded scientific advancements while continuing to strengthen and adapt the LA-COE program in close partnership with CPRA. Together with our advisors and academic partners, we remain committed to advancing impactful research, supporting the next generation of coastal leaders, and fostering a collaborative network dedicated to a more sustainable and resilient Louisiana coast.

Jessica R. Henkel, PhD Director of RESTORE Act Center of Excellence

for Louisiana, The Water Institute

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF RESEARCH TO INFORM COASTAL RESTORATION

AND PROTECTION

IN LOUISIANA

Louisiana is experiencing a coastal land loss crisis that has claimed nearly 5000 km2 of land since the 1930s.1 To address this issue, and increasing risks from storm surge and flooding, the State of Louisiana implements a large-scale coastal restoration and protection plan known as Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast (Coastal Master Plan).2 The RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana (LA-COE) was established in 2014 to fund research that supports the implementation of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan.

LA-COE is one of six Centers of Excellence located across the northern Gulf Coast states that is funded by the RESTORE (Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States) Act,3 which was established to help allocate settlement dollars from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As part of the RESTORE Act, 2.5% of settlement dollars are dedicated to the establishment of Centers of Excellence in each of the Gulf Coast states.

The first round of LA-COE funding was awarded in 2016. Over the past decade, the LA-COE has provided funding to 32 projects conducting research across coastal Louisiana, at a total of $9.3 million.

To celebrate its 10 years of research funding, this report highlights projects and initiatives funded and implemented through the LA-COE that have informed restoration and protection activities and created impact across Louisiana’s coasts and communities over the last decade.

LA-COE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The administration of LA-COE is a partnership between the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and The Water Institute, an independent applied research non-profit. CPRA is Louisiana’s single state entity responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing the state’s comprehensive Coastal Master Plan, and it serves as LA-COE’s project sponsor and contract manager.

Housed as a distinct program within The Water Institute, LA-COE oversees day-to-day operations, including coordinating committees and working groups, administering competitive grants, monitoring research progress and data management practices, and reporting on outcomes to ensure the delivery of actionable science that supports Louisiana’s coast.

The LA-COE Team

Coastal Protection Restoration Authority

CPRA is LA-COE’s project sponsor and works with the LA-COE to implement the program.

The Water Institute

The core LA-COE team functions as a separate program within The Water Institute that is responsible for operating the center and administering the program.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

EXTERNAL REVIEW BOARD

SUBJECT

MATTER

EXPERTS

LA-COE organizational structure

LA-COE Advisory Groups

While The Water Institute acts as the primary administrator of the LA-COE, the program is supported by a number of external advisory groups: 1) an Executive Committee comprised of senior research officials from Louisiana’s universities and research organizations, weighted towards those with a strong historical focus on coastal issues; 2) an External Review Board of independent scientists and engineers from universities located outside of Louisiana convened to provide technical feedback, serve as a panel for proposal review, and provide outside perspective on the program; 3) subject matter experts from within and outside Louisiana that provide proposal reviews; and 4) a technical working group that is temporary in nature, composed of subject matter experts and works with the LA-COE and CPRA to help identify research needs.4

These four advisory groups ensure the LA-COE is aware of relevant new research initiatives at Louisiana universities, and that Louisiana researchers are kept aware of upcoming LA-COE funding opportunities. The advisory structure also leverages the expertise of Louisiana researchers not applying for funding, through their participation as subject matter experts. This participation also ensures that proposals are reviewed by the professionals most qualified to do so.

The Executive Committee includes senior-level research officials from:

RFP Cycles

LA-COE announces a new round of funding every 3–4 years. Since 2016, LA-COE has conducted three funding cycles. As a competitive grants program, each funding cycle begins with a Request for Proposals (RFP). Each RFP is guided by a research needs document (Research Needs)4 that was first developed in 2019 in coordination with CPRA, the technical working group, and subject matter experts. The Research Needs includes a list of five research topics for study and component research activities for each topic.

Research Topic Needs:

Topic 1: Hydrology and Hydrodynamics of Riverine, Estuarine, and Coastal Systems

Topic 2: Estuarine and Coastal Ecology

Topic 3: Geotechnical, Structural, and Coastal Engineering

Topic 4: Deltaic Geology, Geomorphology, Subsidence, and Sediment Dynamics

Topic 5: Human Dimensions 2024

RFP Proposal Review Process

There are two rounds in the RFP review process. The first round includes the LA-COE and CPRA team members reviewing initial letters of intent (LOI). Each LOI is evaluated based on relevance to the Coastal Master Plan and the scientific merit of the proposed research. Following a coordination meeting between LA-COE and CPRA to review independent LOI evaluations, selected project teams are invited to develop a full proposal.

The submitted full proposals then go through three levels of independent review, which typically includes an evaluation by independent subject matter experts selected by LA-COE staff, a review panel consisting of External Review Board members, and a review of relevance and applicability by LA-COE staff and CPRA.

Funding Eligibility

Louisiana-based colleges and universities, private firms, non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies are all eligible for LA-COE awards. Each applicant must indicate which topic areas and research needs apply to their project, which helps ensure that proposed work directly supports Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan.

Award types:

Graduate Assistantships: These awards are available only to support full-time graduate students conducting relevant research at Louisiana colleges/universities, advised by a faculty member.

Research Awards: Any single organization or institution may be the lead on a proposal and participate in the proposed research. Other organizations or institutions may contribute as collaborators.

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CO-PRODUCTION

LA-COE’s mission to fund research to directly support Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan necessitated the development of a coproduction of science process that adaptively engages with CPRA and LA-COE-funded researchers.

The two primary goals of the Coastal Master Plan are reduction of land loss and reduction of storm surge risk.2 To achieve this goal, CPRA and its collaborators use an adaptive management framework to develop and implement the plan. An adaptive management framework is one where management strategies are continuously improved by learning from the outcomes of analyses and implemented actions. The Coastal Master Plan is revised every 6 years with improved model and scientific information. For each revision, the best available science, input from partners and the public, and models are used to predict the impacts and benefits from restoration and risk reduction projects and project concepts. This process includes the incorporation of new knowledge, data, tools, and techniques from research projects, such as those funded through the LA-COE.

The Louisiana Coastal Master Plan is the guiding document for the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). It was first published in 2007 and is updated every 6 years with a suite of projects to help sustain Louisiana’s coastal resources. The Coastal Master Plan uses the best available science and engineering to focus efforts and guide actions. CPRA sponsors the LA-COE, and The Water Institute, a non-profit, independent applied research institute, administers the program.

LA-COE’s process for each RFP cycle involves close collaboration with CPRA to ensure that funded projects are selected for relevance to the Coastal Master Plan. Examples of this collaboration include:

1

Identifying Needs

LA-COE funding cycles are guided by a Research Needs document, which was developed in coordination with CPRA and LA-COE advisory groups. As scientific knowledge and restoration techniques are advanced and research priorities evolve, the Research Needs document is updated.

2

Reviewing LOIs 3 Evaluating Proposals

The review of RFP LOIs is conducted by LA-COE and CPRA. Where applicants are invited to submit full proposals, they may be provided feedback as to how the full proposal could be revised or improved to better align with the Coastal Master Plan and Research Needs.

During the review of full proposals the External Review Board, in conjunction with CPRA, further evaluates how proposed research could be improved or made more relevant to the Coastal Master Plan.

The LA-COE Request for Proposals cycle helps ensure funded research is relevant to the Coastal Master Plan. The exterior blue boxes highlight the different stages of the RFP cycle. The interior arrows demonstrate the co-production of science stages taking place throughout the RFP cycle. Additional details of this process are provided in the dark blue box below.

The term co-production can be used to refer to a number of different working relationships and partnerships. It is a collaborative process that involves researchers working alongside “knowledge users” such as resource managers throughout the research process. This engagement helps to increase the relevance, utility, and impact of LA-COE-funded research, strengthen science-based decision making through knowledge sharing, and further the advancements created by the Coastal Master Plan.

Providing guidance to awardees

Awardees have regular communication with a CPRA Liaison and a LA-COE-appointed Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) throughout their research project. The parties meet at least twice per year, and as needed if the awardee has concerns or questions, to discuss and review the project and provide guidance.

LA-COE hosts in-person All-Hands Meetings twice during each research cycle, which are attended by all funded researchers, representatives of CPRA, TPOCs, and LA-COE. The first of these meetings includes a discussion of research progress, and exploration of ways to make the research more informative to the Coastal Master Plan. A second meeting is then held to discuss research outcomes. 4

Hosting All-Hands Meetings

LACOE RESEARCH PROJECTS

Map of projects funded by LA-COE since 2016 along Louisiana Coast.

Points indicate the study area location, Principal Investigator (PI), and the research topic needs addressed by the research. Coastwide projects addressed multiple areas or the entire coast.

*Indicates PI received funding from multiple RFP cycles.

Coastwide Projects:

Al Assi Foster-Martinez

Ozdemir* Habib

Tornqvist Habans

The Louisiana Coastal Master Plan takes a regional approach to understanding the challenges and opportunities for restoration and protection across Louisiana’s coast. This approach ensures that the unique characteristics of each region are considered, and helps to ensure that the communities that define Louisiana are kept at the forefront of the Coastal Master Plan planning process.

While the LA-COE has not explicitly identified coastal regions as a focus for its RFPs, activities identified within RFPs have specified the geographic area and coastal regions

Research Needs Topics Addressed by Projects

Hydrology and hydrodynamics of riverine, estuarine, and coastal systems

Estuarine and Coastal Ecology

Geotechnical, Structural, and Coastal Engineering

Deltaic Geology, Geomorphology, Subsidence, and Sediment Dynamics

Human Dimensions

for which CPRA has additional research needs that can be supported by LA-COE-funded research.

To demonstrate alignment with the Coastal Master Plan, this section provides an overview of each of the five Louisiana coastal regions, and highlights projects funded by the LACOE over the last decade that have addressed, or are addressing, research needs in those areas. While many LA-COE-funded research projects are located in specific regions, the results are often applicable across coastal Louisiana.

Lake Charles

Zerebecki

CHENIER PLAIN

Stretching from the Texas border to Freshwater Bayou, the Chenier Plain is named for the oak-covered ridges that rise above its coastal marshes. This region, which includes Lake Charles, the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area, and Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, is one of North America’s most vital waterfowl habitats. It also supports Louisiana’s working coast, with thriving chemical and refining industries, oil and gas production, and agricultural communities producing significant shares of the state’s rice, crawfish, and cattle. In fact, 35% of Louisiana’s total rice and crawfish acreage lies within the Chenier Plain.2

The region has endured repeated storm impacts over the past two decades. Hurricanes Rita (2005), Ike (2008), Laura (2020), and Delta (2020) each brought devastating storm surges and widespread damage to Chenier Plain communities. Looking ahead, sea level rise and increasing high-tide flooding are projected to worsen, with some low-lying areas like the Cameron Ferry West Landing expected to flood on more than half of all days within 50 years.

The 2023 Coastal Master Plan identifies 17 priority projects for the Chenier Plain, 13 marsh creation, two large-scale hydrologic restoration, and one ridge restoration effort. The Mermentau Basin Hydrologic Restoration and Cameron-Creole to the Gulf Hydrologic Restoration projects address persistent flooding and drainage challenges, while the marsh creation projects aim to rebuild coastal wetlands across the region. Collectively, these efforts are projected to build and sustain between 23,000 and 35,000 acres of land over the next 50 years, depending on environmental conditions.

Given the region’s planned and on-going restoration efforts, a clear understanding of hydrologic connectivity in the region and how changes in freshwater flow and sediment delivery could impact coastal wetlands is needed. Similarly, identification of restoration techniques for marsh creation projects that produce the most functional and resilient ecosystems is critical. The Chenier Plain projects highlighted in this section exhibit how LA-COE-funded research is addressing these research needs by improving hydrologic and sediment models through the integration of historic hydrologic and climate data, and enhancing our understanding of the genetic diversity of existing wetland restoration sites. Together, these research efforts improve our coastwide understanding of wetland ecosystems, and will help ensure the substantial restoration investments support a resilient Chenier Plain, while maintaining the ecosystems that support its fishing, hunting, and agricultural economy.

Highlighted Projects

Projecting Louisiana rivers’ sediment flux to the coastal ocean using a coupled atmospheric hydrological model

RFP 1 Graduate Assistantship Award. Faculty Advisor: Zuo (George) Xue, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, LSU. Graduate Student: Dongxiao Yin, PhD, LSU.

To better understand how climate change and restoration activities influence freshwater and sediment delivery to Louisiana’s Chenier Plain, Dr. George Xue and his team at LSU developed an enhanced regional hydrologic model using WRF-Hydro, an open-source tool for analyzing flood prediction, regional hydroclimate impacts, and water resources. By incorporating sediment transport modules and coastal boundary conditions, the model quantifies how water and sediment move from Louisiana’s rivers into its coastal wetlands.

The team’s research combined numerical modeling, field data, and long-term climate datasets to simulate 35 years of hydrologic conditions (1979–2014). Their analysis revealed a distinct climate shift around 2004 toward warmer and drier conditions, resulting in less freshwater discharge and sediment delivery to the coast. The findings also link these regional

Completed 2020

1 peer-reviewed article

1 new sediment module and dataset

changes to large-scale climate drivers such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO).6

1 PhD and 1 MS student supported

This work directly supports the Coastal Master Plan’s restoration strategies for marsh creation and hydrologic restoration by providing the scientific foundation to forecast how climate and river inputs affect wetland resilience. By demonstrating how coupled models can simulate water and sediment dynamics, the project establishes a framework for improving the design, timing, and operation of hydrologic restoration projects, including those in the Mermentau Basin and Cameron-Creole areas of the Chenier Plain. Continued model refinement will help Louisiana anticipate watershed changes and maximize sediment retention under future climate conditions.

Calcasieu, Mermentau, and Vermilion-Teche basins and their sub-basins (data source: National Hydrography Dataset). Also shown are locations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather stations (red triangles) and WRF-Hydro model (red square). Figure from Xue et al. (2018).

Quantifying small-scale genetic variation in Spartinaalterniflora

RFP3 Graduate Assistantship Award. Faculty Advisor: Robyn Zerebecki, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, UL Lafayette. Graduate Student: Jack Williams, UL Lafayette.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate student, Jack Williams, under the guidance of Dr. Robyn Zerebecki, is investigating genetic diversity in smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), the dominant plant species in Louisiana’s salt marshes. The study explores whether restored marshes exhibit the same genetic diversity as natural marshes and how different restoration methods influence plant diversity and ecosystem health.

The research includes field surveys in the Chenier Plain, including Sabine and Rockefeller Wildlife Refuges, where the team collects plant tissue for genetic analysis back in the lab using microsatellite markers, a technique that identifies individual plant genotypes. They also measure vegetation composition, invertebrate communities, sediment characteristics, and tidal elevations. Sampling sites include both natural marshes and restored areas using various techniques such as marsh creation, marsh nourishment, and marsh terracing.

While research for this project is on-going, early findings from the 2025 field season indicate that natural marshes have higher species richness and taller plants, while restored sites show differences based on restoration method. The team is now analyzing genetic samples to determine whether restored marshes match the genetic diversity of natural marshes and how restoration design affects these outcomes.

Project ongoing

1 student supported

This research provides valuable insight for the Coastal Master Plan’s marsh creation projects, 13 of which are located in the Chenier Plain. By revealing which restoration methods most effectively recreate the genetic and ecological complexity of natural marshes, the study helps refine project design to support healthy, resilient wetlands. These findings may also inform strategies to ensure restored marshes maintain critical ecosystem services, including shoreline protection, habitat for wildlife, and productivity that sustains Louisiana’s fishing and hunting economies.

The Central Coast region stretches from Freshwater Bayou to Fourleague Bay and serves as the “Gateway to the Atchafalaya Basin.” This region includes diverse communities, such as Bayou Teche, the outskirts of Lafayette, and agricultural lands west of Abbeville, as well as spanning parts of Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion parishes. It is home to the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, whose reservation borders Charenton in St. Mary Parish. The Atchafalaya River shapes the landscape, carrying up to 30% of the Mississippi River’s flow below the Old River Control Structure,7 and creating ecosystems ranging from freshwater swamps to saline marshes.

Villa

Atchafalaya River

While the region benefits from natural landbuilding processes via the Atchafalaya and Wax Lake deltas, it faces challenges from subsidence, sea level rise, and repeated hurricane impacts. These pressures threaten agriculture, infrastructure, and communities, some of which are projected to experience high-tide flooding on more than 90% of days within 50 years under certain scenarios.2

Morgan City

Bruckner

Twilley

The 2023 Coastal Master Plan identifies eight priority projects for the Central Coast, emphasizing large-scale marsh creation and structural risk reduction. Projects focus on maintaining key features like Marsh Island and Point-au-Fer, which act as natural barriers between the Gulf and populated areas. Collectively, these projects aim to build and sustain 29,000 acres of land and reduce future surge-based flood risk by 65%, potentially lowering expected annual damage by $1–1.6 billion. Restoration success depends on both creating land and ensuring that marshes function effectively to support ecological and economic needs.

The Central Coast’s restoration efforts face several critical knowledge gaps that could affect long-term success. Through its coproduction process, CPRA and LA-COE worked collaboratively to prioritize research that can effectively fill these gaps, focusing on projects that study estuarine and coastal ecology and the hydrology and hydrodynamics of the region. The LA-COE-funded projects highlighted for the Central Coast region include two of the LA-COE’s Graduate Assistantship Awards. These graduate student projects, under the supervision of university mentors, include investigations of the ecosystem service benefits linked with land-building restoration efforts. By studying the water quality improvements and variabilities in carbon sequestration within restoration projects, these projects allow for more accurate assessments of the impact of restoration and protection projects in the Central Coast region and across coastal Louisiana.

Highlighted Projects

Multiple tools for determining the fate of nitrate in coastal deltaic floodplains

RFP1 Graduate Assistantship Award. Faculty Advisor: Robert Twilley, PhD, Louisiana Sea Grant College Program Executive Director. Graduate Student: Alexandra Christensen, LSU.

Louisiana State University graduate student, Alexandra Christensen, under the advising of Dr. Robert Twilley, former Executive Director of Louisiana Sea Grant College Program and current LSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development, investigated how coastal deltaic floodplains remove nitrate from river water before it reaches the Gulf, a critical ecosystem service that reduces algal blooms and hypoxia. Using the Wax Lake Delta as a study site, the team measured nitrate uptake, denitrification, and assimilation by plants and microbes with field experiments using nitrogen-15 isotope tracers.

The research project faced challenges when Hurricane Barry destroyed vegetation at their field sites and disrupted their nitrogen tracking experiments. Despite this setback, the team successfully developed a water quality model coupled to a

Delft-3D hydrodynamic model, revealing that while Wax Lake Delta alone removes 3 – 4% of nitrate, the broader Atchafalaya Bay wetland system removes nearly 50% of incoming nitrate.8

This research informs the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan by linking land-building with water quality improvements. As the Atchafalaya Delta and Wax Lake Delta continue to gain land, understanding nitrate removal helps ensure restoration investments account for both land creation and nutrient removal capacity, supporting ecological function and water quality improvements that benefit Louisiana’s coastal communities and broader Gulf system.

Patch-scale effects of acute saltwater intrusion on carbon fluxes in a simulated coastal freshwater marsh environment

RFP2 Graduate Assistantship Award. Faculty Advisor: Jorge Villa, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Geosciences, UL Lafayette. Graduate Student: Diana Taj, MS and PhD Candidate, Earth and Energy Sciences, UL Lafayette. Students

Supported: Robert Bordelon; UL Lafayette; Monique Blanchard, UL Lafayette; Jordan Stol, UL Lafayette; Mason Marcantel, UL Lafayette.

Graduate student Diana Taj, working with Dr. Jorge Villa at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette conducted a study to help improve our understanding of the impact of saltwater intrusion events on the carbon and methane stored and released by coastal wetlands. These freshwater march environments are being increasingly recognized as key natural spots for carbon sequestration, but they also emit greenhouse gases. One of the lesser understood components of the behavior of greenhouse gases in wetlands is the influence of salinity. Inland freshwater wetlands (where salinities are between 0 and 0.5 parts per thousand [ppt]) typically emit more methane and less carbon dioxide than wetlands with higher salinities. However, these freshwater wetlands are susceptible to saltwater intrusion during storm surges.

To study salinity-induced variations in carbon and methane flux, the researchers used four constructed ecosystem-scale brackish wetland units at the Visser Experimental Wetland Complex. These containers contained patches of Typha domingensis (southern cattail) and Panicum hemitomon (maidencane) both of which occur in the upper estuary systems of Louisiana. In three of these wetlands, they added controlled amounts of brine to simulate salinities of 2 ppt for 2, 6, and 7 days, respectively. The fourth wetland was used as a control with salinity below 0.5 ppt, but water levels were adjusted to match those in the other experimental wetlands. Carbon and methane fluxes were measured for each unit before, during, and after the saltwater intrusion events.

1 peer-reviewed article

1 new dataset

1 PhD and 4 BS students supported

different experimental wetlands, neither time nor salinity had significant effects on the measured fluxes, suggesting that these species can withstand saltwater inundation events without major changes in greenhouse gas fluxes.

Overall, across the experimental wetlands, there was less variability in carbon and methane fluxes after the saltwater intrusion events. In the Typha and Panicum patches of the

This work supports the Coastal Master Plan by guiding expectations for the design and implementation of carbon sequestration projects in freshwater wetlands. Further, it could inform the vegetation subroutine in the morphology model of the Integrated Compartment Model (ICM), specifically in accounting for acute saltwater intrusion events and its effect on organic matter accumulation in future scenario projections.

TERREBONNE BASIN

The Terrebonne Region extends from Oyster Bayou in the west to Fourleague Bay, the Atchafalaya Basin floodway, and Bayou Lafourche in the east. The region features barrier islands, salt and brackish marshes within the Penchant Basin, and bottomland hardwood and swamp forests of Verret Basin. Terrebonne’s resource-based industries— ship building, agriculture,offshore energy production, and commercial fisheries—depend on healthy coastal ecosystems, which support over 20% of Louisiana’s seafood production and 26% of the state’s commercial shrimpers.

Morgan City

This region has a history of flooding and coastal losses, with 200,000 residents at risk from storm-surge, in part due to deterioration of barrier islands and deltaic subsidence. Residents within the region predominantly live on higher lands adjacent to natural bayous, though thousands live outside of the areas protected by levees.

Plumlee

Leberg

Bradley

The 2023 Coastal Master Plan outlines 17 projects selected to create marshlands, divert river water, rebuild ridges, and restore barrier islands. Key efforts, including the Eastern Terrebonne Landbridge Project and the Central Terrebonne Hydrological Restoration Project, focus on protecting cross-basin landforms, creating new wetland habitats, mitigating saltwater intrusion, and improving ecosystem services. Through these projects, the Coastal Master Plan aims to reduce flood risk, and build and maintain thousands of acres of land.

Given the complexity of the expansive Coastal Master Plan efforts in the Terrebonne Basin region, the LA-COE has aimed to fund projects in the region that inform the restoration of functional ecosystems that support both the habitats and the communities that rely on them. The LA-COE-funded projects highlighted in this section demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of the research supported by the LA-COE and CPRA. The research includes a comparison of historic fish abundance and shoreline vegetation with current fish abundance across different vegetation types, including in areas of marsh restoration, and addressing critical gaps between ecological and socioeconomic data in the coastal ridges of the Terrebonne Basin. We also highlight an important project characterizing the geomorphology, sediment composition, and available sediment volume of Ship Shoal, which will support restoration efforts across all of coastal Louisiana. Combined these projects highlight the multiple geologic, social and ecological research that is helping guide future Coastal Master Plan work in preserving key ecological systems and maintaining Terrebonne’s regional culture and history.

Highlighted Projects

Does propagation of roseau cane alter the efficacy of restoration to enhance saltmarsh fisheries production?

RFP3 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Plumlee, PhD, Assistant Professor, LSU AgCenter. Co-Investigators: Garrett Hopper, PhD, LSU AgCenter; Theresa Davenport, PhD, LSU AgCenter; J. Andrew Nyman, PhD, LSU AgCenter; Megan La Peyre, PhD, US Geological Survey (USGS). Students Supported: Emily Robicheaux, LSU; Mallory Miller, LSU; Madison Wray, LSU; Yaolin Guo, LSU (postdoc).

Louisiana’s multi-billion-dollar fishing industry relies on healthy estuarine saltmarshes, but invasive roseau cane (Phragmites australis) is altering these habitats. Dr. Jeffrey Plumlee, of LSU AgCenter, and his team are exploring how saltmarsh restoration efforts may unintentionally favor this invasive species, potentially changing habitat quality and fisheries production.

The project approaches this problem in two ways. First, at a large scale, researchers combine historic datasets of both fish abundance and shoreline vegetation collected over two decades across the southwestern Terrebonne Basin to examine the correlation between fish abundance and vegetation type. Second, researchers use fine scale fish collections with fish traps and trawls to examine the abundance of fish along the shorelines of different vegetation types and whether those vegetation types change across marsh that has been restored.13

Fisheries production is dependent on healthy marsh. Understanding how roseau cane affects fisheries production

Project ongoing

1 peer-reviewed article

1 postdoc, 1 MS, and 2 BS students supported

Graduate student Emily Hura and postdoctoral researcher Yaolin Guo evaluating species occurrence and cover of a quadrant in restored marsh on Lake Mechant.

Spatiotemporal patterns of Phragmites cover across coastal basins in Louisiana. Panels A and B: Heat maps showing Phragmites cover (%) in 2006 (panel A) and 2023 (panel B). Insets indicate basin-level mean cover (± 1 SE). Basin abbreviations: Calcasieu-Sabine (CS), Mermentau (Me), Teche-Vermilion (TV), Atchafalaya (At), Terrebonne (Te), Barataria (Ba), Breton Sound (BS), Mississippi River Delta (MD) and Pontchartrain (Po). The color gradient represents increasing cover, ranging from white (low) to red (high). All data are based on station-level observations. Citation: Guo et al. (In Review).

can also help to measure the ecological and economic benefits of saltmarsh and to guide marsh restoration to benefit Louisiana’s fishing traditions.

In addition, this research supports the Coastal Master Plan by improving the habitat suitability models to include vegetative community composition as an additional suitability index, a key

metric used to evaluate sustainability performance across the Coastal Master Plan. This research project can improve how restoration success is measured and predicted. The study is also training graduate and undergraduate students, fostering the next generation of coastal scientists.

Ecological and social ridge dynamics in the Barataria-Terrebonne basins

RFP2 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Jonathan Willis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Nicholls State University (Nicholls).

Co-Investigators: Chris Bonvillain, PhD, Nicholls; Giovanna McClenachan, PhD, Nicholls; Quenton Fontenot, PhD, Nicholls; Solomon David, PhD, Nicholls; Gary LaFleur, PhD, Nicholls; Justine Whitaker, PhD, Nicholls; Shana Walton, PhD, Nicholls; Balaji Ramachandran, PhD, Nicholls; Students Supported: Elizabeth Myers, Nicholls; Carissa Thiel, Nicholls; Erik Nati-Johnson, Nicholls; Marriah Hebert, Nicholls; Breana Arthur, Nicholls; Mason Dupre, Nicholls; Cody Parks, Nicholls.

To address critical data gaps on the ecological and socioeconomic roles of coastal ridges in the Barataria-Terrebonne estuary, Dr. Jonathan Willis, of Nicholls State University, characterized ridge habitats across a range of origins, ages, and salinity settings. The research combined ecological data collection, human dimensions surveys, and advanced remote sensing to assess both natural and restored ridges and identify how human activity influences ridge dynamics.

Using small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS) equipped with hyperspectral and LiDAR sensors, researchers mapped vegetation composition, floral coverage, and generated detailed digital surface models. Findings indicated that woody vegetation (e.g., Quercus virginiana and Ilex vomitoria) persisted across diverse ridge ages and salinities, while aquatic vegetation was primarily influenced by ridge slope. Nekton surveys revealed that low-salinity ridges supported the highest fish and crustacean diversity. From these data, researchers developed a conceptual model linking ridge age and morphology to ecosystem services, including primary productivity, carbon sequestration, avifaunal habitat, and human usage.

Complementing the ecological data, a public history team documented the Smith Ridge community through oral histories,

Completed 2023

3 theses

1 new dataset

3 MS and 4 BS students supported

photographs, and archival research, revealing declines in population, soil quality, and local employment over the past 30 years.

This work supports the Coastal Master Plan by informing ridge restoration and conservation strategies, emphasizing how ridge morphology and age influence both ecological functions and community resilience. The integrated ecological and social findings guide restoration prioritization to enhance flood protection, support biodiversity, and sustain cultural heritage in Louisiana’s estuarine landscapes.

Nicholls student Elizabeth Myers evaluating fish species occurence among the coastal ridge habitats of the BaratariaTerrebonne estuary.

Reconnaissance geophysical and geotechnical investigations to characterize Ship Shoal

RFP3 Research Award. Principal Investigator: James P. Bradley, Geologist, Chenier Environmental Consulting, LLC. Co-Investigators: Aaron Bass, PhD, Chenier Environmental Consulting, LLC; Beth Forrest, PhD, P.G., APTIM; Patrick Bryce, P.G., APTIM; Beau Suthard, APTIM.

Ship Shoal, located on Louisiana’s Outer Continental Shelf, is a critical source of sand for coastal restoration, due to its abundance of available sand and proximity to restoration efforts along the Louisiana coast. RFP3 Principal Investigator, James P. Bradley, a geologist with Chenier Environmental Consulting, LLC, has two principal goals for his ongoing project. First, to better characterize Ship Shoal’s size, volume, sediment composition, boundaries, and geomorphology, while accounting for existing oil and gas infrastructure, aiming to more accurately quantify the available volume of restoration quality sediment. Second, to generate a dataset that can serve as a baseline for future scientific studies, including analysis of shoal migration and ecological function.

1 field survey completed

The team is combining existing databases (Louisiana Sand Resource Database, Louisiana Sediment and Environmental Database, and the National Centers for Environmental Information) with new geophysical surveys, including single-beam bathymetry, seismic sub-bottom imaging, sidescan sonar, and magnetometer surveys. These methods map the underwater surface, assess subsurface structures, and identify pipelines that may limit sediment availability. Geotechnical core borings collected in this study will further inform understanding of the sediment characteristics including grain size, color, stratigraphy, and composition, enhancing planning for future marsh and barrier island restoration projects.

This work supports the implementation of the Coastal Master Plan by improving the Surficial Sediment Distribution map, ensuring that restoration projects have reliable access to high-quality sediment, a critical component for building and sustaining marshes, barrier islands, and other coastal features. Better characterization of Ship Shoal helps maximize restoration efficiency while protecting vital offshore resources.

Bathymetric data for Ship Shoal illustrating seafloor depth contours, shoal morphology, and surrounding seabed features within the survey area. The mapped elevations provide context for sediment distribution, geomorphic variability, and potential borrow resource characterization.

Assessment of coastal island restoration practices for the creation of brown pelican nesting habitat

RFP1 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Paul Leberg, PhD, Professor in Department of Biology, UL Lafayette. Co-Investigator: Jordan Karubian, PhD, Tulane University. Students Supported: Brock Geary, UL Lafayette (postdoc); Julia Martinez, UL Lafayette; Andrea Santariello, UL Lafayette; Hans Provost, UL Lafayette; Eric Tobin, UL Lafayette; Raechelle Nye, UL Lafayette; Grant Lafleur, UL Lafayette; Elizabeth Broussard, UL Lafayette; Skylar Flaska, UL Lafayette; Mason Harris, UL Lafayette; Ryan James, UL Lafayette; Anna Crisman, Valparaiso University.

As part of the Deepwater Horizon settlement, funds have been allocated to restore nesting habitat for birds across the Gulf Coast. Under RFP1, Dr. Paul Leberg of University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Dr. Jordan Karubian of Tulane University investigated Brown Pelican nesting behavior across several islands, to evaluate how island changes following restoration influenced foraging movements and nesting colony success.

mainland influence usage.

This research is informing barrier island restoration projects in Louisiana, including the Queen Bess Island and Chandeleur Islands initiatives, by providing critical data on island habitat quality and colonial waterbird responses to restoration. These characterizations also provided important insight for the development of the Guidance for Coastal Ecosystem Restoration and Monitoring to Create and Improve BirdNesting Habitat report.12 This work helps to ensure that restoration strategies not only protect coastal communities, but also support wildlife conservation, and maintain the unique coastal ecosystems of Louisiana’s coast.

Mariotti

Quirk

Liang Hiatt

White Wilson

Chen & Xu

BARATARIA BASIN

The Barataria Region lies to the east of Bayou Lafourche, and stretches from Port Fourchon to the west bank of the Mississippi River. Communities along the Mississippi River, Bayou Lafourche, and US Highway 90 form the region’s commercial and residential hubs, while more isolated communities like Grand Isle, Crown Point, and Lafitte remain closely tied to the basin’s natural resources. The area supports a mix of economic activities, from refineries and petrochemical plants to fishing and port operations, including the Port of South Louisiana, the largest port by tonnage in the Western Hemisphere.14

The region’s barrier islands, swamps, and marshes provide essential flood protection and critical habitat, yet ongoing land loss and environmental changes threaten these ecosystems. Human modifications, particularly the basin’s isolation from the Mississippi River since the 1927 flood, have reduced sediment and freshwater inputs, amplifying risks from hurricanes and other storms.15

Restoration projects within the region have been ongoing for decades, with more than 60 projects constructed since the 1990s, more than any other area of Louisiana’s coast. The 2023 Coastal Master Plan outlines 13 additional projects within this region aimed at marsh creation, landbridge construction, and ridge restoration. These projects largely focus on reducing risk of flooding and protecting communities from storm events.

LA-COE and CPRA’s partnership has informed these efforts by funding 10 research projects in the Barataria Basin region. These projects focus on the critical research needs around sediment dynamics and engineering needs in the region, as well as the ecology, hydrology, and hydrodynamics of the basin. The projects highlighted for this region include projects modeling storm impacts to barrier islands, identifying key characteristics of historic sedimentation patterns in the region that provide insight into the long-term stability of restoration activities based upon the source of the sediment used, and investigating drivers of marsh edge erosion. Collectively, these projects demonstrate how LA-COE-funded projects in the Barataria Basin are helping to inform restoration planning through research that directly informs restoration and protection activities in the region and across the coast.

Highlighted Projects

Integrating high-fidelity models with new remote sensing techniques to predict storm impacts on Louisiana coastal and deltaic systems

RFP 1 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Kehui (Kevin) Xu, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Science, LSU (acting Principal Investigator). Co-Investigators: Qin Jim Chen, PhD, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University; Brady Couvillion, U.S. Geological Survey. Students Supported: Cody Johnson, LSU; Nan Want, Northwestern; Brian Harris, LSU; Wenqiang Zhang, LSU.

To improve our understanding of the impact of storms on the Louisiana coastline and improve modeling capabilities, Dr. Kehui Xu, of Louisiana State University, led the development of a model system that integrates numerical modeling, in-situ measurements, and satellite-sensed vegetation properties. This research, completed in collaboration with researchers at Northeastern University, Deltares-USE and the USGS, developed and validated a process-based Delft3D and XBeach coupled modeling system. By coupling Delft3D, a 3D modeling suite which focuses on hydrodynamics, sediment transport and morphology, and water quality, and XBeach, a 2D model for wave propagation, mean flow, and transport during storms, the researchers were able to improve the understanding of naturebased defenses to protect the Louisiana coastline.

In obtaining high resolution biophysical data for the Mississippi River Delta across space and time, researchers were able to further improve the models to monitor and evaluate the status of salt marshes as well as the effectiveness and interdependence of barrier islands and wetlands. Through this modeling framework, the team quantified how vegetation and landscape features influence storm surge, wave energy, and wetland stability.16,17 Simulations using the improved models evaluated how storms, such as Hurricane Gustav in 2008, impacted the Caminada Headlands and found that sediment was lost from overwash when there was little backbarrier marsh present.18 These findings emphasize the need for both shoreline and backbarrier marsh restoration in efforts to mitigate damage to Louisiana’s coastline during storm events.

This work supports the Coastal Master Plan by producing datasets on vegetation properties and hydrodynamic

Completed 2020

2 peer-reviewed articles

4 PhD students supported

interactions that inform and update the design and prioritization of restoration projects in the Barataria Basin. By connecting scientific insights to practical restoration, this work directly supports the goal of preserving natural landscapes while reducing storm risk to more than 400,000 residents in the basin.

Modeled volumetric change of Caminada Headland (100-yr Storm) using XBeach (Johnson, C.L., Chen, Q., Ozdemir, C.E., Xu, K., McCall, R., and Nederhoff, K., 2021. Morphodynamic modeling of a lowlying barrier subject to hurricane forcing: The role of backbarrier wetlands. Coastal Engineering 167: 103886.).

Quantifying

marsh edge

erodibility as a function of salinity and water chemistry, and assessing possible effects of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Barataria Bay

RFP2 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Giulio Mariotti, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, LSU. CoInvestigators: Tracy Quirk, PhD, LSU; Dubravko Justic, PhD, LSU; Haosheng Huang, PhD, LSU. Students Supported: Kyrsten Boswell, LSU; Natalie Matherne, LSU; Shayla McSally, LSU; Jamarion Johnson, LSU; Olivia Hurley, LSU.

By using a combination of hydrodynamic, landscape, and biochemical modeling in addition to intensive field studies, Dr. Giulio Mariotti, Associate Professor at Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Science evaluated the role of salinity and river inputs on marsh edge erosion. Researchers sampled 66 sites across Barataria Basin to identify vegetative cover, elevation, and soil shear strength across a depth range of 5 — 55 cm below the marsh surface, both at the edge of the marsh and within the marsh’s interior. From the collected data and data obtained from previous studies within the region, researchers improved a model for marsh morphodynamics by including wave-induced erodibility at the marsh edge.

Researchers additionally aimed to identify if flood-stressed Sporobolus (formerly Spartina patens) marshes have weaker soils due to species-specific response to excessive inundation due to the concentration of growth within the rhizome and formation of hummocks and hollows. Researchers compared across four sites: two stable Sporobolus-dominated marshes, one flood-stressed Sporobolus-dominated marsh, and one stable Sagittaria lancifolia-dominated marsh. Three 100 m transects from the marshes edge to interior were analyzed at each site for vegetative cover, elevation, soil shear strength, groundwater level, salinity, and biomass above- and belowground. The study found that the hummock-hollow microtopographic variation associated with greater inundation of Sporobolus marshes results in a weaker soil throughout the marsh due to low biomass and weak hollows. The researchers further tested the influence of inundation, soil type, and nutrient enrichment on the productivity and soil strength of Sagittaria lancifolia and Sporobolus, finding that shear strength of Sporobolus soil was greatest at high elevations for both organic and clay soil types, but nutrients had a negative effect on this relationship in organic soil. While for Sagittaria, nutrient-

enrichment reduced shear strength at low elevations.

Completed 2023

1 peer-reviewed article and 1 thesis

6 new datasets

2 MS and 3 BS students supported

With the findings from this study and data available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and USGS, and data provided by the CPRA, researchers quantified the loading of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) from the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GIWW) into the Barataria Basin. Through this work, researchers were able to indicate that current Coastal Master Plan hydrodynamic simulations within Barataria Basin could be improved through the incorporation of the GIWW as a conduit connecting the Atchafalaya River and Terrebonne Basin with the Barataria Basin.19 Through more complete understanding of boundary conditions between GIWW and the surrounding basins, as well as holistic understandings of Barataria sediment strength and erosion susceptibility, this research supports the Coastal Master Plan by providing necessary context to the systems impacting Barataria Bay.

Subsurface stratigraphic controls on subsidence and carbon sequestration in Mississippi Delta diversion receiving basins

RFP2 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Carol Wilson, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology & Geophysics, LSU. Co-Investigators: Kehui Xu, PhD, LSU; Torbjörn Tornqvist, PhD, Tulane University; Elizabeth Chamberlain, PhD, Wageningen University; Hampton Peele, Louisiana Geological Society; Students Supported: Michael Piorkowski, LSU; Adam Gartelman, LSU; Kelly Sanks, Tulane University (postdoc); Lieke van der Lee, Wageningen University.

The RFP2-funded project, led by Dr. Carol Wilson of LSU, investigated the geological framework of Barataria Basin. Through studying sediments deposited in the delta, the researchers were able to develop a record of landscape changes, which allows for greater current and historical understanding of the processes which govern landscape changes and carbon sequestration.

Geophysical surveys conducted as part of the project in 2022 and 2023 covered over 170 kilometers, one of the largest shallow-water CHIRP datasets ever collected in the receiving basin of the previously planned Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. In addition, the team used historical maps, and vibracore sampling, to identify paleochannels, buried wetland deposits, and deltaic sequences up to 3,000 years old. Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating allowed reconstruction of historical sedimentation patterns.

Research results suggest that much of the land underlying the previously planned MidBarataria Sediment Diversion receiving basin was part of the St. Bernard subdelta of the Mississippi River, and that its organic-rich, fine-grained sediments are prone to elevation loss from compaction. The research also quantified carbon storage potential in these

Completed 2023

3 theses

1 new dataset

1 postdoc and 3 MS students supported

sediments, highlighting the dual benefits of delta growth: land building and carbon sequestration.

The data derived from this research can inform Coastal Master Plan sediment diversion projects, such as the Myrtle Grove Diversion, by identifying locations that will maximize land gain, enhance wetland carbon storage, and strengthen natural flood defenses. It can also be utilized to better identify locations for marsh creation projects by characterizing areas that are expected to compact under additional sediment loading, ensuring that design and construction of marshes account for future risk of compaction and erosion.

Representative lithologic fence diagram running NW-SE across the Mid-Barataria Diversion receiving basin. Deltaic litholosy is shown, as well as chronology results to date from this project using radio isotopes 210Pb, 137Cs, 14C, and OSL.

Constructing Mississippi River delta plain soil stratigraphy – implications for coastal land building and compactional subsidence

RFP1 Graduate Assistantship Award. Faculty Advisor: Frank Tsai, PhD, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, LSU. Graduate student: Andrew Li, LSU; Students Supported: Shuo Yang, LSU; Jack Cardigan, LSU.

The RFP1-funded project, led by Dr. Frank Tsai of LSU, investigated how coastal land builds and sinks over time by creating detailed three-dimensional models of soil layers and groundwater movement in the Mississippi River Delta. The research team used data from over 600 geotechnical borings to map sediment distribution in the upper 50 meters of the delta. They also applied geostatistical methods including ordinary kriging, compositional kriging, and multiple indicator interpolation to understand how different soil types are arranged and how groundwater flows through these layers. These statistical methods use measurements from known locations to estimate soil properties at unmeasured locations.

This project demonstrated that the Mississippi River channel cuts through clay deposits into buried sand layers between 10 and 35 meters below sea level. These sand layers create pathways where groundwater and surface water interact, especially during floods and hurricanes. The team found that during Hurricane Isaac, pore water pressure increased four to six times above normal levels, followed by a sharp reversal from groundwater recharge to discharge within days after the storm passed. High pore water pressure during and after hurricanes may destabilize sediments and compromise safety of coastal infrastructures such as ring levees.20

This research supports the implementation of the Coastal Master Plan by providing information about sediment stratigraphy and subsidence risks in the Barataria and Breton regions. The 3D models help identify where sand deposits are located and where seepage pathways exist that could affect levee stability. Understanding how groundwater pressure changes during hurricanes is particularly important for the region’s extensive levee systems, including the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System that protects Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes. The research can also inform

Completed 2019

4 peer-reviewed articles

1 new dataset

1 PhD and 2 MS students supported

Modeled soil and sediment types and stratigraphy of the Mississippi River Delta. Figure courtesy of Dr. Frank Tsai, LSU, 2026.

sediment diversion projects by revealing how new sediment deposits will interact with existing soil layers and groundwater systems, affecting both land building potential and long-term stability of newly created wetlands.

Lake Pontchartrain Barbalata Hunter Kulp Hagen

Mississippi River

New Orleans

PONTCHARTRAIN/BRETON BASIN

The Pontchartrain/Breton Basin region extends from the east bank of the Mississippi River to the Mississippi border and encompasses the most densely populated coastal areas in Louisiana, including New Orleans, Mandeville, and Slidell. This region includes Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne, the Bird’s Foot Delta of the Mississippi River, and the Chandeleur Islands. The landscape supports diverse ecosystems from the Maurepas Swamp’s 100,000 acres of cypress-tupelo swamp and bottomland hardwood forest to extensive marshes on the Orleans Landbridge and Biloxi Marsh, providing habitat for vibrant recreational and commercial fisheries, including 37% of statewide crab landings in 2020.2

Environmental pressures include land loss, subsidence, and storm surge flooding. The Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System, built after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, protects Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes and has proven effective in mitigating storm impacts.21 However, rapid development in flood-prone areas across the North Shore increases flood risk, and loss of coastal forests would amplify surge impacts on inland communities, such as Ponchatoula and Hammond.

To help address these pressures, the Coastal Master Plan has identified projects focused on marsh creation in Breton Basin and east of Lake Pontchartrain, and on the river reintroduction to Maurepas Swamp.2 As the Pontchartrain/Breton Basin region implements restoration projects that may result in changing habitats and conditions, continuous monitoring of water quality, soil dynamics, and carbon storage will benefit adaptive management and future restoration planning in the region. LA-COE is supporting this need by funding research projects that include the development of an autonomous water quality monitoring system to provide real-time data on parameters like salinity and nutrient levels, which allows for a continuous assessment of harmful algal bloom risks in Lake Pontchartrain, and research measuring greenhouse gas exchange across a variety of freshwater forested wetlands which can help to inform the full ecosystem service value of projects like the River Reintroduction to Maurepas Swamp.

In addition to the restoration projects, the Coastal Master Plan also identifies four structural risk reduction projects that aim to reduce future surge-based flood risk (by 35%) and could provide between $1.6 and $2.5 billion in damage reduction.2 To support these projects, the LA-COE funded research that assessed flood risks driven by rainfall and cyclone-driven surge using both historical and simulated storms across the region. The results of this research project refined flood hazard maps of this region and across the coast. This supported decision makers in prioritizing infrastructure and restoration needs to mitigate the harm to communities impacted by these storm events across this high-population and culturally significant region.

Highlighted Projects

An automated tool for water quality assessment in Louisiana’s watersheds and basins

RFP3 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Corina Barbalata, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, LSU. Co-Investigators: Dorin Boldor, PhD, LSU; Andrei Tarfulea, PhD, LSU; W. David Constant, PhD, LSU AgCenter; Sibel Bargu Ates, PhD, LSU. Students Supported: Anthony Vozza, LSU.

To address the need for better water quality monitoring in Louisiana’s coastal waters, for example detecting Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Lake Pontchartrain, Dr. Corina Barbalata of LSU and her team have developed an autonomous surface vessel that measures water quality at multiple depths, enabling data collection that traditional sampling methods cannot achieve.

The vessel is equipped with sensors that measure chlorophyll, turbidity, salinity, nitrate, and temperature at various depths. The team will use this data to estimate where and when harmful algal blooms occur through statistical modeling and predictive tools using available lake bathymetry and geographic data. The research is ongoing with results anticipated in 2026.

This research supports the Coastal Master Plan by providing real-time water quality data that informs restoration decisions. As river diversions and spillway operations introduce freshwater and sediment inputs into Louisiana’s coastal basins, these projects require continuous monitoring to analyze if projects achieve their intended benefits while avoiding problems like low oxygen conditions or harmful algal blooms that could threaten the region’s fishing industry. The autonomous monitoring system will allow scientists to track how water quality changes before, during, and after restoration efforts, improving our ability to predict and measure project success.

Project ongoing

3 students supported

The figure above displays a velocity magnitude plot (m/s) at 24 hours for a COMSOL Multiphysics 6.3 model of water inflow into Lake Pontchartrain through four inlets (Lake Maurepas, Tchefuncte, Tangipahoa, and the Bonnet Carre Spillway). The Bonnet Carre Spillway inflow is displayed as a water source where it takes 6 hours to reach the desired flow rate.

Measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dynamics across a hydrologic gradient in Louisiana coastal freshwater forested wetland

RFP3 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Rachael Hunter, PhD, Wetland Scientist, Comite Resources. Co-Investigator: John Day, PhD, Comite Resources; Robert Lane, PhD, Comite Resources.

Drs. Rachael Hunter and Robert Lane, of Comite Resources, are conducting research to quantify the net ecosystem carbon balance of freshwater forested wetlands (FFW) in various stages of health, from relatively healthy to degraded. They have established 12 study sites representing three health classes at, or adjacent to, the Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area, with one additional site at the restored Sankofa Wetland Park. Bald cypress-tupelo swamps represent one of the most carbon rich and rapidly changing coastal ecosystems in Louisiana. Many of these forests have experienced decades of subsidence, increasing flood duration, and saltwater intrusion, causing widespread degradation and conversion to marsh or open water. Despite their ecological importance, few studies have quantified greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or net ecosystem carbon balance in degrading FFW. This project aids in filling that gap by measuring carbon sequestration and GHG fluxes.

The methodology combines existing data from Louisiana’s Coastwide Reference Monitoring System with new field measurements of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide using static chambers. Chambers were placed over the wetland surface to capture gases naturally released from the wetland, allowing researchers to sample the gases as they accumulate in the chambers. The team is measuring emissions quarterly over two years to calculate the net ecosystem carbon balance at each wetland site, which represents whether a wetland is a net sink or source for carbon.

This research addresses critical data gaps by providing measurements of GHG emissions from freshwater forested wetlands. These findings also inform baseline Integrated Compartment Model projections and support carbon policy linked to the Coastal Master Plan goals. This project is particularly relevant to the Pontchartrain/Breton Basin region given the importance of understanding the carbon benefits of

projects such as the Maurepas Swamp river diversion project, which aims to sustain the region’s extensive cypress-tupelo swamp. Understanding these carbon dynamics strengthens ecosystem value assessments and improves model predictions of how restoration and diversion projects affect long-term carbon storage.

Coupling hydrologic, tide, and surge processes to enhance flood risk assessments for the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan

RFP1 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Scott Hagen, PhD, Professor & Director, Louisiana State University Center for Coastal Resiliency (LSU CCR). Co-Investigators: Matthew Bilskie, PhD, LSU CCR; John Atkinson, PhD, ARCADIS; Donald Resio,PhD, University of North Florida; Students Supported: Shu Gao, LSU.

To improve flood risk assessments in low-lying coastal areas, this research examined the combined effects of antecedent rainfall (i.e., precipitation that has fallen before a storm event) and tropical cyclone-driven surge. The research team, led by Dr. Scott Hagen at LSU Center for Coastal Resiliency, developed rainfall models for 21 historical landfalling storms (1948–2008) and simulated 12 synthetic storms for Barataria and Lake Maurepas watersheds.22

The study revealed that pre-storm rainfall significantly elevates peak water levels, particularly in upper basin areas, and highlighted differences in flood zone delineation between basins. These coastal flood zones make up the majority of Barataria, and the coastal flood zone extends to Baton Rouge within the Lake Maurepas basin. These findings highlight the need for the inclusion of rainfall in coastal flood hazard and risk

studies across the coastal land margin.

Completed 2020

3 peer-reviewed articles

3 new datasets

1 PhD student supported

The results helped to refine Louisiana’s flood hazard maps, allowing CPRA and other state and local agencies to better prioritize infrastructure, restoration, and community protection projects. By linking hydrologic and surge data, the study and the modeling approach used has supported the work of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative. The research will further support efforts outlined in the Coastal Master Plan to protect communities and maintain functional wetlands, ensuring that coastal protection and restoration investments are targeted and effective in reducing risk across the Barataria Basin.

COASTWIDE

Coastal Louisiana is home to more than two million people, representing vast communities, cultures, and traditions. With livelihoods often tied to the land and water, efforts to protect and restore the coast take a variety of forms depending on the priorities of the people within each region. However, as change is inevitable for all of Louisiana’s coastline, management plans and priorities need to adapt to the state’s changing landscape, through both region-specific and coastwide approaches.

While each of the regional projects highlighted in this report also help inform coastwide planning and modeling, some projects have specifically aimed to address Louisiana’s coastwide research needs. In this section, we highlight research projects funded by LA-COE that have informed restoration and protection planning across coastal Louisiana, and across a variety of identified information gaps. This includes research to inform Coastal Master Plan modeling of sea level rise, improve modeling of rainfall and its impacts, and research that enhances our understanding of how communities have changed after environmental hazard events like flooding that can occur as result of subsidence and heavy rain events. Other coastwide projects highlighted include research that informs marsh restoration implementation through the analysis of sediment settlement following marsh creation, and conditions that favor vegetation establishment at marsh creation sites. Each of the coastwide-highlighted projects has a direct link between Coastal Master Plan implementation and LA-COE-funded research, demonstrating how a decade of LA-COE and CPRA collaboration has improved our understanding of changes to the Louisiana coast, and helped to develop the tools needed to inform CPRA’s restoration and protection efforts.

Highlighted Projects

Projecting 50 years of relative sea level rise in coastal Louisiana

RFP2 Graduate Assistantship Award. Faculty Advisor: Torbjörn Törnqvist, PhD, Professor, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Tulane University. Graduate student: Guandong Li, Tulane University. Students Supported: Kayla Willis, Tulane University.

Sea level rise threatens low-elevation lands across coastal Louisiana. To better predict how sea level rise will impact coastal communities, Tulane University graduate student, Guandong Li, under the advisement of Dr. Torbjörn Törnqvist, investigated the impact of rates of geocentric sea level rise over the last decade. The project aimed to improve upon previous sea level rise studies, which used geological analogs, hypothesizing that those studies were limited due to their usage of pristine coastal systems rather than human-perturbed shorelines and model systems which commonly calibrate and validate against known conditions and do not account for considerable uncertainties posed by human activity. By investigating the high rates of geocentric sea level rise that have occurred since 2010, this research investigated the phenomena

of multidecadal, cyclical sea level variability associated with climatedriven acceleration.

Completed 2023

2 peer-reviewed articles

3 new datasets

1 PhD and 1 BS students supported

Using reprocessed satellite altimetry data, Li and Törnqvist validated geocentric sea level rise rate data along the Gulf Coast and examined its relation to relative water level in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands from the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System. Differences between surface elevation changes and relative water levels were used to classify systems into “safe” or “unsafe” groups with a range of possible wetland responses within each category. Modeling these systems in response to geocentric sea level highlighted that nearly 15,000 km of coastal wetlands are impacted by these rapid changes. Of 253 sites monitored, 87% exhibited an inability to keep up with these rapid changes in sea level rise.23 This work highlights the importance of modeling scenarios based upon recent human-driven ecological changes. Through this project, researchers were able to examine and identify the likelihood of wetland drownings under various climate scenarios through 2070 and demonstrate the vulnerability of key areas across Louisiana’s coastline.

This research supports the Coastal Master Plan by identifying additional information that could be included in the environmental scenarios that are currently used when modeling the impact of proposed restoration and protection projects. In the Coastal Master Plan, two scenarios are used to provide lower and higher estimates of future change; these incorporate geocentric sea level rise, subsidence, and increases in storm intensity. Törnqvist and Li’s research suggests that the impact of recent anthropogenic ecological changes of shorelines could refine the projections provided by these environmental scenarios and support improved understanding of the benefits of Coastal Master Plan projects.

Evaluation of radar-based precipitation datasets for applications in the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan

RFP1 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Emad Habib, PhD, Professor of Department of Civil Engineering, UL Lafayette. Graduate students supported: Ridwana Sharif and Hanz Unru, UL Lafayette.

In order to assess the quality of spatially continuous, highresolution rainfall products within regions that lack adequate in-situ rainfall observations, Dr. Emad Habib, Executive Director of the Institute for Coastal and Water Research, evaluated two radar rainfall products over coastal Louisiana to determine whether radar-based precipitation datasets could provide a vital improvement to the state’s coastal models in the future. These products are commonly used in hydro-ecological models to identify short- and long-term patterns in rainfall and provide estimates of rainfall across time scales from hours to years.

As precipitation is a major source of freshwater in coastal Louisiana (50–60 inches/year), accurate data of the amounts and spatial and temporal distributions of rainfall is critical to ensure realistic simulations of riverine flows and salinity changes which help drive the Coastal Master Plan’s Integrated Compartment Model (ICM). The ICM uses a suite of hydrological and ecological models to assess potential benefits of restoration and protection projects considered for inclusion in the Coastal Master Plan and is essential to the planning and feasibility portions of the Coastal Master Plan.

1 new dataset

By investigating two radar-based rainfall products and their effectiveness in predicting rainfall across coastal Louisiana, researchers compared the rainfall products against two independent rain gauge networks across the Louisiana Coastal Region and found that the radar-based products had similar results at annual scales, but varied at hourly, daily, and monthly scales. The findings suggest that radar-based precipitate models could better capture short- and long-term rainfall patterns and would be best suited for studies requiring high-resolution rainfall data across wide regions like the Coastal Master Plan, which relied on a set of sparse rain gauge stations, resulting in spatially limited precipitation inputs for the ICM models.9

2 MS students supported

Predictive model components and their outputs for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan (CPRA, 2023).

During the research implementation, Dr. Habib and his team worked closely with LA-COE and CPRA staff to identify the extent of existing rain gauge datasets and facilitate the development of datasets that could be used in the ICM for 2023 CMP analyses. In addition, this project facilitated additional coordination between Dr. Habib and CPRA after the LA-COE-funded project was completed to perform additional testing of the ICM model using both radar and gauge datasets. Successful co-production across the project’s lifecycle demonstrated the utility of using radar-based precipitation databases and provided gridded datasets that were used as part of the boundary conditions for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan ICM analyses. These datasets continue to be used for other project-specific engineering and design planning modeling efforts.

Past and future migration in coastal Louisiana: Modeling the impact of flood exposure and economic change with microdata on households and businesses

RFP2 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Robert Habans, PhD, Economist, The Data Center of Southeast Louisiana. Co-Investigators: Thomas Douthat, PhD, JD, LSU; Rachelle Trahan, Capital Region Planning Commission; Li-Hsiang Lin, PhD, LSU. Students Supported: Anissa Hyde, LSU; Tianyu Chen, LSU; Mariam Valladares Castellanos, LSU; Murad Zeynali, LSU.

As land loss and sea level rise continue to affect Louisiana’s coast, coastal communities face a range of stressors, including repeated storms and flooding events. This has driven some coastal residents to migrate. The interaction between economic drivers and environmental hazard events, such as flooding, is complex. Additionally, there is a mismatch in conventional migration data with the spatial resolution of geographical hazards that makes understanding migration patterns difficult.

To address this, the LA-COE RFP2-funded study led by Dr. Robert Habans designed a data collection and modeling strategy that better matches the complexity and uncertainty of migration responses to flooding and could be assimilated into a 50-year scope for coastal planning.

The study team used consumer reference data to develop alternative measures of migration flows at an enhanced level of geographic detail; this data included census tract origins and destinations of address changes.25 This data was used to examine small-area displacement from 20 years of major flood events and migration patterns associated with flood risk. Results found that flooding drives post-event migration, with multi-hazard disasters (e.g., wind plus flooding) causing even higher displacement. Lower-income and rental communities experienced higher out-migration, often reinforcing existing racial and income segregation patterns. Interestingly, migration patterns show an “inverted-U” relationship between flood risk and net adult migration,

2 peer-reviewed articles

1 new dataset

2 PhD and 2 MS students supported

suggesting that areas with both minimal and extreme flood risk are seeing similar net migration compared to areas of moderate flood risk and that vulnerable areas are not necessarily depopulating.26

This research can help CPRA develop or refine a range of population scenarios that better reflect how changing environmental conditions, or extreme events could influence residents’ choices to stay or leave the coast. It is also anticipated to help highlight areas that would benefit most from risk reduction projects, and assist other Louisiana programs and agencies involved in planning and development in residential areas.

Results from this study presented by Dr. Habans at the Louisiana Smart Growth Summit, December 7th, 2022.

Improving the design and construction practice of marsh creation projects

RFP2 Graduate Assistantship Award. Faculty Advisor: Celalettin Ozdemir, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, LSU. Co-Principal Investigator: Navid Jafari, PhD, LSU. Graduate student: Daniel Gallegos, LSU.

By integrating field data collection and laboratory testing, LSU graduate student Daniel Gallegos, working in the laboratory of Dr. Celalettin Ozdemir, aimed to fill knowledge gaps in the design and construction of marsh restoration projects, particularly to aid in the generation of tools to determine volume of dredged materials needed for restoration efforts. This project investigated three completed marsh creation projects (Grand Bayou in Lake Calcasieu, Caillou Lake on Whiskey Island, and Bonfouca Bayou on Lake Pontchartrain) to establish relationships between environmental and engineering parameters selected to represent a range of soil behavior from initial mud deposit states to consolidated soil matrices. These three projects were chosen due to the differences in geographic location, sediment types, and dredging sources used in the creation of the marshes.

In addition, researchers used drone photogrammetry to collect aerial images of the Caminada Headland restoration project and assess site conditions and elevation to identify sampling locations based upon the number of sites needed to represent the entire marsh. Cone penetrometer tests were then completed to generate depth profiles of the shear strength within the soil, allowing for the determination of shear strength and pore-water pressure to characterize soil stratigraphy. These tests indicated consolidation of the dredged material after it was placed and provide improved characteristics on relationships between volume of dredged materials and elevation changes within the marsh.24

The results of this research support the implementation of the Coastal Master Plan, as data of dredged material consolidation will improve the ability to more accurately understand longevity of these restoration efforts and how restored marshes may change over time. Through the datasets and information generated by this project, future marsh creation projects within the Coastal Master Plan will have more accurate estimates for

Completed 2023

1 peer-reviewed article

1 new dataset and 1 code set

1 MS student supported

LSU graduate student Daniel Gallegos conducting marsh creation research on marsh settlement following restoration.

the amount of consolidation settlement over time, which will increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of marsh creation implementation.

UNO undergraduate student Taye Fountain taking RTK (real-time kinematic) elevations which allow for precise mapping of elevation change in Louisiana wetlands.

Determining vegetation establishment thresholds with custom-built sensors

RFP3 Research Award. Principal Investigator: Madeline Foster-Martinez, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of New Orleans (UNO). Co-Investigators: Abigail Eckland, University of Colorado Boulder; Jenneke Visser, PhD, UL Lafayette; Vitalii Sheremet, PhD, Okeanolog. Students Supported: Sable Murphy, UNO; Jenny Euceda-Maldonado, UNO; Matthew Choina, UNO; Kia Ochon, UNO; Lavender Merril. UNO; Lauren Fuller, UNO; Taye Fountain, UNO.

Dr. Madeline Foster-Martinez of the University of New Orleans and her team are researching the criteria required for vegetation to establish in newly developed deltaic land regions and marsh creation projects. Vegetative establishment has been tied to water levels and the amount of time land is inundated, though specific thresholds for establishment have not been determined. To establish these thresholds, researchers will build low-cost water level sensors capable of measuring depth and inundation at three sites, characterize site attributes that influence vegetative establishment, and conduct surveys for vegetation presence.

Data gathered through this work from Bay Uhlan and Wax Lake Delta will be used to identify relationships between land characterization and vegetative presence to identify the establishment threshold. These thresholds will then be compared against previous studies and those used in the Coastal Master Plan’s Integrated Compartment Model. From this work, a new model including the establishment thresholds will be generated.

Project ongoing

7 students supported

60+ high school students engaged

This work is anticipated to be completed in August 2026.

This research will support the implementation of the Coastal Master Plan by providing a robust dataset connecting environmental conditions to vegetative establishment to better inform modeling functions critical to Coastal Master Plan project selection. Through the generation of additional data, improvements will be made to the Plan’s Integrated Compartment Model allowing for revised criteria to match real world conditions and ensuring accurate estimations of land building activities within the deltaic areas. In addition to supporting the Coastal Master Plan, this work will also advance the development of low-cost monitoring technologies, increasing capacity for communities and scientists to continue monitoring change in their coastal regions.

This project will also provide an opportunity for local high school students to run experiments on an Emriver stream table, highlighting the importance of vegetation establishment.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP RECIPIENTS

ALEXANDRA CHRISTENSEN, PhD - RFP1 RESEARCHER - NASA JET PROPULSION LABRATORY, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

SHUO YANG - RFP1 GROUNDWATER MODELERINTERA INCORPORATED AUSTIN, TEXAS

DIANA TAJ, MS - RFP2

PhD GRADUATE STUDENTDEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA

JACK WILLIAMS, MS - RFP3

MS GRADUATE STUDENTDEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA

AN (ANDREW) Li, PhD - RFP1

CONSULTING ENGINEER - RAMBOLL ONTARIO, CANADA

DANIEL GALLEGOS, MS - RFP2

RESERACH CIVIL ENGINEER - U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, ERDC COASTAL HYDRAULICS LABRATORY JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

NOAH FLAHERTY - RFP3

MS GRADUATE STUDENTDEPARTMENT OF COASTAL AND ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

BENTAO LI - RFP3

PhD GRADUATE STUDENTDEPARTMENT OF OCEANOGRAPHY AND COASTAL SCIENCES, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

GUANDONG LI - RFP2

PhD GRADUATEDEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

DONGXIAO YIN, PhD - RFP1

POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS

ALINA SPERA, PhD - RFP1

POSTDOCTORAL INVESTIGATOR WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS

RIDWANA SHARIF, MS - RFP1

ENGINEER III - BUREAU OF SOLID WASTE MANAGMENT, BALTIMORE COUNTY GOVERNMENT TOWSON, MARYLAND

MERCEDES PINZON, MS - RFP2

PhD GRADUATE STUDENTDEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, ORLANDO, FLORIDA

LA-COE GRADUATE STUDENT REFLECTIONS

RFP1

Alina Spera

Current position: Postdoctoral Investigator, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Degree: M.S. College of the Coast and Environment (Wetland Biogeochemistry), Louisiana State University (2019)

Advisor: Dr. John White

Alina Spera earned her M.S. in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences from Louisiana State University in 2019 with support from RFP1. During her time as a graduate assistant, she conducted extensive fieldwork in the Davis Pond diversion area, often from an airboat. She also engaged directly with coastal wetland policymakers through presentations and professional networking.

Reflecting on her experience, Alina credits LA-COE with sparking her continued passion for applied coastal research and interdisciplinary collaboration. The hands-on skills and connections she developed during her graduate studies remain central to her work today as she seeks to bridge science and decision-making in coastal management.

Andrew

Li

Current position: Consulting Engineer, Ontario, Canada

Degree: PhD., Civil Engineering, Louisiana State University (2020)

Advisor: Dr. Frank Tsai

After completing his PhD in Civil Engineering at Louisiana State University in early 2020 with support from LA-COE, Andrew Li joined a California-based consulting firm. In 2023, he relocated to Ontario, Canada, where he continues to work for the same company, applying his expertise to a range of infrastructure and environmental projects.

Li’s LA-COE-funded research focused on a multidisciplinary project involving collaboration with researchers from a variety of academic backgrounds. This experience proved foundational, equipping him with the skills to work across disciplines and approach complex problems from multiple perspectives. These collaborative and analytical abilities remain central to his professional success today.

RFP2

Daniel Gallegos

Current Position: Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ERDC – Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory

Degree: M.S., Civil Engineering (Coastal Geotechnical Engineering), Louisiana State University (2024)

Advisor: Dr. Celettin Ozdemir

Daniel Gallegos earned his master’s degree in civil engineering with a specialization in coastal geotechnical engineering from Louisiana State University. He is currently a Research Civil Engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC), working within the Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory. His research continues to focus on coastal wetlands, now with a national scope.

Gallegos’s graduate studies were supported by LA-COE, a grant that he credits with opening the door to a new field of research. Though he initially intended to focus strictly on geotechnical engineering, he was drawn to coastal wetland restoration through the work of his advisors, Dr. Emre Ozdemir and Dr. Navid Jafari. Despite having little prior experience in the subject, he embraced the challenge of learning the full scope of marsh creation—from design to post-construction monitoring.

“The LA-COE grant that funded my Master’s degree changed my life. It opened the door to an entire field that I would not have been able to access otherwise.”

- Daniel Gallegos

He encountered early obstacles in adapting to the complexity and variability of marsh creation projects, particularly the logistics of conducting fieldwork on active dredging sites. Thanks to close collaboration with staff at the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), he was able to navigate those challenges and gain valuable experience in applied restoration science.

Gallegos fondly recalls the many field campaigns he participated in during his time as a LA-COE-funded student, from learning to navigate marsh terrain to adjusting to the unique sights and smells of wetland ecosystems. These experiences not only shaped his technical capabilities but also deepened his commitment to applied research that benefits communities and coastal environments.

Today, his work at ERDC continues to build on those foundations, advancing the beneficial use of dredged material and contributing to the evolution of marsh creation practices nationwide.

Guandong Li

Degree: PhD, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University (2025)

Advisor: Dr. Torbjorn Tornqvist

Congratulations to Guandong Li who recently completed his PhD at Tulane University. His research focused on critical coastal environmental challenges facing Louisiana.

As a recipient of the LA-COE Graduate Award, he received essential support during the early years of his doctoral studies, particularly during the difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The assistantship provided the opportunity to produce significant research.

One of his major accomplishments was a study published in Nature Communications, which drew national attention to Louisiana’s coastal issues. The publication was widely covered in the media, including a front-page feature in The Washington Post and additional coverage in The Advocate.

Although still in the early stages of his research career, Li credits the LA-COE assistantship with providing a strong foundation for his academic and professional growth. The experience has played a pivotal role in shaping his development as a coastal scientist committed to applied, impactful research. After graduating, Li traveled to China, where he is currently taking a gap period.

RFP3

Bentao Li

PhD Candidate, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University

Advisor: Dr. Junhong Liang

Bentao Li is currently pursuing a PhD in Oceanography at Louisiana State University, where his research focuses on hypoxia in the Louisiana coastal region. As a recipient of the LA-COE Graduate Assistantship Award, he gained valuable experience addressing one of the most critical environmental challenges facing the state’s coastline.

His LA-COE-funded research involved complex modeling and data analysis aimed at understanding the seasonal and interannual variability of hypoxia. Setting up models, tuning parameters, and identifying key environmental drivers required significant effort, but these challenges proved transformative. During his first year at LSU, he developed essential academic skills and a deeper appreciation for the scientific process, collaboration, and applied research. This period marked a turning point in how he approached problem solving and teamwork with his advisor, the LA-COE team, and lab colleagues.

Li credits his LA-COE experience with playing a pivotal role in shaping his research trajectory and career goals. The project aligned with his long-term interest in oceanic circulation and its environmental impacts and helped him build connections with an interdisciplinary network of scientists and policymakers. These experiences continue to influence his development as a scientist committed to solving real-world coastal issues.

Jack Williams

M.S. Student, Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Advisor: Dr. Robyn Zerebecki

Jack Williams, a master’s student in Biology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is conducting LA-COE-supported research on genetic variation in Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) to assess biodiversity in natural versus restored salt marshes. His project aims to provide insight into how small-scale genetic diversity influences long-term restoration success, directly supporting the goals of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan.

Originally from Chicago, Williams relocated to Louisiana in January 2025 to join Dr. Robyn Zerebecki’s lab, drawn by the opportunity to conduct fieldwork in the Gulf Coast’s salt marsh ecosystems. His research involves both intensive field data collection—boating and kayaking through marshes to gather plant tissue and environmental samples—and lab-based genetic analysis.

With a background in Environmental Science and Biology, Williams brings a lifelong connection to the outdoors, shaped by early experiences camping and volunteering in wildlife refuges. His goal is to help restoration practitioners better incorporate genetic diversity into project planning and strengthen predictive models that guide adaptive management—especially in the face of sea level rise and coastal land loss.

Williams envisions a career focused on applied conservation, whether in government, the non-profit sector, or academia. He remains motivated by a deep commitment to environmental stewardship.

Noah Flaherty

M.S. Student, Coastal and Ecological Engineering, Louisiana State University

Advisor: Dr. Matthew Hiatt

Noah Flaherty is a first-year master’s student in Coastal and Ecological Engineering at Louisiana State University, where she is contributing to the LA-COE RFP3-funded project, “Salinity Dynamics Between the Mississippi River and Adjacent Estuaries,” under the guidance of Dr. Matthew Hiatt. She recently earned her bachelor’s degree in Coastal Environmental Sciences from LSU in May 2024.

Originally from Colorado, Flaherty came to Louisiana to pursue a field that blends her passions for nature, mathematics, and water systems. Her undergraduate coursework, particularly in hydrology, deepened her interest in how water balance and residence times influence coastal processes. Encouragement from her mentor, Dr. Hiatt, further motivated her to continue graduate study in this field.

Her current research involves collecting field data in Barataria Bay, measuring salinity, water level, and temperature. She is analyzing how these environmental variables affect vegetation and how they respond to storms and drought conditions. The project aims to improve understanding of the drivers behind marsh porewater salinity and refine predictive models that link Mississippi River flow to coastal ecosystem outcomes.

Flaherty’s work is directly aligned with the goals of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan. By improving predictive tools for flooding and drought, her research supports more effective and efficient restoration planning. Looking ahead, she plans to pursue a career as a coastal engineer, focusing on flood control and prevention efforts for vulnerable coastal communities.

LOOKING AHEAD

The State of Louisiana faces numerous complex challenges over the next 50 years as climate change affects sea level rise, land loss, and storm surge. The enhanced cooperation between researchers and resource managers implemented by The Water Institute through programs such as the LA-COE will become increasingly important, not only for Louisiana but for all coastal communities, as environmental change continues to evolve and impact our coast. We believe the type of cooperation and knowledge transfer between researchers and resource managers facilitated by the LA-COE over the last decade can serve as a template for other research funding programs that aim to align their funded research with the research needs of decision makers and communities.

Over the next decade, the LA-COE will continue to incorporate adaptive management into its process, establish clear research needs from the resource managers at the onset, and facilitate continued exchanges between the researchers and resource managers in multiple formats throughout the research process. These actions, as demonstrated in this report, can result in improved applicability of research results, as they allow for a more open, transparent, and flexible process that allows results to be directly incorporated into decision making.

Most importantly, The Water Institute and CPRA’s collaborative efforts through the LA-COE have helped to develop research capacity through support of students and postdocs, and have built stronger relationships and partnerships between the research community and resource managers. We are confident these relationships are building a foundation of productive collaboration that can address Louisiana’s evolving resource and restoration management needs for another decade, and even beyond the life of this funding program.

Alyssa Dausman, PhD Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President, The Water Institute

Message of Commitment to Continued Excellence

The challenges Louisiana faces to restore our coast and protect our coastal communities requires the use of the best available science to guide and inform decision making. The magnitude of this effort also means there are many uncertainties and knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to ensure success.

The RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana has been critical in helping address uncertainties and knowledge gaps. The research and data collected under this program has helped us better understand the coastal systems we are tasked with protecting and restoring, and has improved the planning, implementation, and effectiveness of our coastal projects.

The CPRA has greatly benefited from our collaboration with the Center of Excellence and the coastal research community, and looks forward to continuing these productive relationships into the future as we collectively work toward restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast.

Michael Hare Executive Director, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority

ALL LA-COE-FUNDED PROJECTS

RFP1

RFP1 Research Award: Coupling hydrologic, tide, and surge processes to enhance flood risk assessments for the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. Principal Investigator: Scott Hagen, Professor & Director, Louisiana State University Center for Coastal Resiliency (LSU CCR). Co-Investigators: Matthew Bilskie, LSU CCR; John Atkinson, ARCADIS; Donald Resio, University of North Florida. Students Supported: Shu Gao, LSU.

RFP1 Research Award: An evaluation of faulting in Holocene Mississippi River Delta strata through the merger of deep 3D and 2D seismic data with near surface imaging and measurements of vertical motion at three study areas. Principal Investigator: Mark Kulp, Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Director of Coastal Research Laboratory, University of New Orleans. Co-Investigators: Nancye Dawers, Tulane; Rui Zhang, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; David Culpepper, The Culpepper Group; John Lopez, The Pontchartrain Conservancy; Kevin Yeager, University of Kentucky. Students Supported: Bobby Mohollen, UNO; Allison Scates, UL Lafayette; Amanda Jonston, UL Lafayette; Joe Hankerson, UNO; Jared Garcia, UNO, Akinbobola Akintomide, Tulane University

RFP1 Research Award: Assessment of coastal island restoration practices for the creation of brown pelican nesting habitat. Principal Investigator: Paul Leberg, Professor in Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Co-Investigator: Jordan Karubian, Tulane University. Students Supported: Brock Geary, UL Lafayette (Postdoc); Julia Martinez, UL Lafayette; Andrea Santariello, UL Lafayette; Hans Provost, UL Lafayette; Eric Tobin, UL Lafayette; Raechelle Nye, UL Lafayette; Grant Lafleur, UL Lafayette; Elizabeth Broussard, UL Lafayette; Skylar Flaska, UL Lafayette; Mason Harris, UL Lafayette; Ryan James, UL Lafayette; Anna Crisman, Valparaiso

RFP1 Research Award: From adapting in place to adaptive migration: Designing and facilitating an equitable relocation strategy. Principal Investigator: Marla Nelson, Associate Professor Planning and Urban Studies, University of New Orleans. Co-Investigators: Traci Birch, LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio; Anna Brand, University of California Berkley; Renia Ehrenfeucht, University of New Mexico; Tara Lambeth, University of New Orleans.

RFP1 Research Award: Plant and soil response to the interactive effects of nutrient and sediment availability: Enhancing predictive capabilities for the use of sediment diversions and dredging. Principal Investigator: Tracy Quirk, Assistant Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University. Co-Investigator: Sean Graham, Nicholls State University. Students Supported: Gina Groseclose, LSU; Donnie Day, LSU; Alex Ameen, Nicholls State university/LSU (postdoc); Songjie He, LSU (Postdoc); Derek Jacobs, LSU.

RFP1 Research Award: Integrating high-fidelity models with new remote sensing techniques to predict storm impacts on Louisiana coastal and deltaic systems. Principal Investigator: Kehui (Kevin) Xu, Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Science, Louisiana State University (acting Principal Investigator). Co-Investigators: Qin Jim Chen, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University; Claire Jeuken, Deltares USA; Ap van Dongeren, Robert McCall, and Mindert De Vries, Deltares; Brady Couvillion, U.S. Geological Survey. Students Supported: Cody Johnson, LSU; Nan Want, Northwestern; Brian Harris, LSU; Wenqiang Zhang, LSU.

RFP1 Research Award: Enhancing sediment retention rates of receiving basins of Louisiana sediment diversions. Principal Investigator: Kehui (Kevin) Xu, Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University (LSU). Co-Investigators: Samuel Bentley, LSU; Yanxia Ma, LSU; Zuo George Xue, LSU. Students Supported: Guandong Li, LSU;

Yanda Ou, LSU; Robert Bales, LSU; Zhengchen Zang, LSU; Yanping Wang, Ocean U CN.

RFP1 Graduate Assistantship: Evaluation of radar-based precipitation datasets for applications in the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. Faculty Advisor: Emad Habib, Professor of Department of Civil Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Graduate Student: Ridwana Sharif, MS Student, UL Lafayette. Students Supported: Hanz Unru, UL Lafayette

RFP1 Graduate Assistantship: Constructing Mississippi River delta plain soil stratigraphy – implications for coastal land building and compactional subsidence. Faculty Advisor: Frank Tsai, Professor Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University. Graduate Student: Andrew Li, Louisiana State University. Students Supported: An Li, LSU; Shuo Yang, LSU; Jack Cardigan, LSU.

RFP1 Graduate Assistantship: Multiple tools for determining the fate of nitrate in coastal deltaic floodplains. Faculty Advisor: Robert Twilley, Louisiana Sea Grant College Program Executive Director. Graduate Student: Alexandra Christensen, PhD Candidate, Louisiana State University

RFP1 Graduate Assistantship: Determining the influence of surface water diversions on physical and nutrient characteristics of wetland soils. Advising Faculty: John White, Professor of Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University. Graduate Student: Alina Spera, MS Student, LSU

RFP1 Graduate Assistantship: Project Louisiana rivers’ sediment flux to the coastal ocean using a coupled atmospheric hydrological model. Advisor: Zuo (George) Xue, Assistant Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Science, Louisiana State University. Graduate Student: Dongxiao Yin, Louisiana State University.

RFP2

RFP2 Research Award: Past and future migration in coastal Louisiana: Modeling the impact of flood exposure and economic change with microdata on households and businesses. Principal Investigator: Robert Habans, Economist, The Data Center of Southeast Louisiana. Co-Investigators: Thomas Douthat, Louisiana State University; Rachelle Trahan, Capital Region Planning Commission; Li-Hsiang Lin, Louisiana State University. Students Supported: Anissa Hyde, Louisiana State University; Tianyu Chen, Louisiana State University; Mariam Valladares Castellanos, Louisiana State University, Murad Zeynali, Louisiana State University

RFP2 Research Award: Quantifying marsh edge erodibility as a function of salinity and water chemistry, and assessing possible effects of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Barataria Bay. Principal Investigator: Giulio Mariotti, Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University. Co-Investigators: Tracy Quirk, Louisiana State University; Dubravko Justic, Louisiana State University; Haosheng Huang, Louisiana State University. Students Supported: Kyrsten Boswell, LSU; Natalie Matherne, LSU; Shayla McSally, LSU; Jamarion Johnson, LSU; Olivia Hurley, LSU.

RFP2 Graduate Assistantship: Patch-scale effects of acute saltwater intrusion on carbon fluxes in a simulated coastal freshwater marsh environment. Advising Faculty: Jorge Villa, Assistant Professor, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Graduate Student: Diana Taj, MS and PhD. Candidate, Earth and Energy Sciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Students Supported: Robert Bordelon; UL Lafayette; Monique Blanchard, UL Lafayette; Jordan Stoll, UL Lafayette; Mason Marcantel, UL Lafayette

RFP2 Research Award: Ecological and social ridge dynamics in the Barataria-Terrebonne Basins. Principal Investigator: Jonathan Willis, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Nicholls State University. Co-Investigators: Chris Bonvillain, Nicholls State University; Giovanna McClenachan, Nicholls State University; Quenton Fontenot, Nicholls State University; Solomon David,

Nicholls State University; Gary LaFleur, Nicholls State University; Justine Whitaker, Nicholls State University; Shana Walton, Nicholls State University; Balaji Ramachandran, Nicholls State University. Students Supported: Elizabeth Myers, Nicholls State University; Carissa Thiel, Nicholls State University; Erik Nati-Johnson, Nicholls State University; Marriah Hebert, Nicholls State University; Breana Arthur, Nicholls State University; Mason Dupre, Nicholls State University; Cody Parks, Nicholls State University.

RFP2 Research Award: Subsurface stratigraphic controls on subsidence and carbon sequestration in Mississippi Delta diversion receiving basins. Principal Investigator: Carol Wilson, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology & Geophysics, Louisiana State University. Co-Investigators: Kehui Xu, Louisiana State University; Torbjörn Tornqvist, Tulane University; Elizabeth Chamberlain, Wageningen University; Hampton Peele, Louisiana Geological Society. Students Supported: Michael Piorkowski, LSU; Adam Gartelman, LSU; Kelly Sands, Tulane (Postdoc); Lieke van der Lee, Wageningen University.

RFP2 Graduate Assistantship: Improving the design and construction practice of marsh creation projects. Faculty Advisor: Celalettin Ozdemir, Louisiana State University. Co-Principal Investigator: Navid Jafari, Louisiana State University A&M. Graduate Student: Daniel Gellagos, MS Student, Louisiana State University A&M.

RFP2 Graduate Assistantship: Projecting 50 years of relative sea level rise in coastal Louisiana. Faculty Advisor: Torbjörn Törnqvist, Professor, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Tulane University; Co-Investigators: Sonke Dangendorf, Tulane University, Anjali Fernandes, Denison University, Philip Minderhoud, Wageningen University; Graduate Student: Guandong Li, PhD. Candidate, Tulane University. Students Supported: Kayla Willis, Tulane University

RFP2 Graduate Assistantship: Dynamics of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycling Across Barataria Basin. Faculty Advisor: John R. White, Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University. Graduate Student: Mercedes Pinzon, MS student, Louisiana State University. Students Supported: James Anderson, LSU; Jacob Cheng, LSU.

RFP3

RFP3 Research Award: Wind resilience in coastal Louisiana: A social equity approach to enhanced building code practices. Principal Investigator: Ayat Al Assi, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University AgCenter. Co-Investigators: Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Carol Friedland, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Md Adilur Rahim, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Kevin Smiley, Louisiana State University. Students Supported: Nehal Mahmud Khan, LSU AgCenter; Naduni, Jayasinghe, LSU.

RFP3 Research Award: An automated tool for water quality assessment in Louisiana’s watersheds and basins. Principal Investigator: Corina Barbalata, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana State University. Co-Investigators: Dorin Boldor, Louisiana State University; Andrei Tarfulea, Louisiana State University; W. David Constant, Louisiana State University; Sibel Bargu Ates, Louisiana State University; Constant William David, Louisiana State University AgCenter. Students Supported: Anthony Vozza, LSU.

RFP3 Research Award: Reconnaissance geophysical and geotechnical investigations to characterize Ship Shoal Principal Investigator: James P. Bradley, Geologist, Chenier Environmental Consulting, LLC. Co-Investigators: Aaron Bass, Chenier Environmental Consulting, LLC; Beth Forrest, APTIM; Patrick Bryce, APTIM; Beau Suthard, APTIM; Harry Roberts; Louisiana State University.

RFP3 Research Award: An analysis of vegetation establishment and its feedback with coastal inundation via modeling. Principal Investigator: Muriel Brückner, Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University. Co-Investigator: Paola Passalacqua, University of Texas at Austin. Students Supported: Azalea Norwood, Louisiana State University; Vindhyawasini Prasad, Louisiana State

University (postdoc)

RFP 3 Research Award: Determining vegetation establishment thresholds with custom-built sensors. Principal Investigator: Madeline Foster-Martinez, Assistant Professor, University of New Orleans. Co-Investigators: Abigail Eckland, University of Colorado Boulder; Jenneke Visser, University of Louisiana Lafayette; Vitalii Sheremet, Okeanolog. Students Supported: Sable Murphy, UNO; Jenny Euceda-Maldonado (UNO); Matthew Choina, UNO; Kia Ochon (UNO); Lavender Merril (UNO); Lauren Fuller, UNO.

RFP3 Research Award: Measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dynamics across a hydrologic gradient in Louisiana coastal freshwater forested wetlands. Principal Investigator: Rachael Hunter, Wetland Scientist, Comite Resources. Co-Investigator: John Day, Comite Resources; Robert Lane, Comite Resources

RFP3 Research Award: Developing methods to measure flotant marsh extent and stability in the Barataria-Terrebonne estuary system. Principal Investigator: Gary LaFleur, Professor, Biology, Nicholls State University. Co-Investigators: Balaji Ramachandran, Nicholls State University; Jonathan Willis, Nicholls State University; Chris Bonvillain, Nicholls State University; Justine Whitaker, Nicholls State University. Students Supported: Alexandra Himel, NSU; Ivy Norton, NSU; Noah Wurtzel, NSU; Danny Woods, NSU; Sam Landry, NSU.

RFP3 Research Award: Instrumented settlement plates enhancement for marsh creation monitoring. Principal Investigator: Celalettin Ozdemir, Louisiana State University. Co-Investigator: Navid Jafari, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University. Students Supported: Ikaika Lee, LSU; Omar Snosi, Texas A&M University

RFP3 Research Award: Does propagation of roseau cane alter the efficacy of restoration to enhance saltmarsh fisheries production? Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Plumlee, Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University AgCenter. Co-Investigators: Garrett Hopper, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Theresa Davenport, Louisiana State University AgCenter; J. Andrew Nyman, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Megan La Peyre, United States Geologic Survey. Students Supported: Emily Robicheaux, Louisiana State University; Mallory Miller, Louisiana State University; Madison Wray, Louisiana State University; Yaolin Guo, Louisiana State University

RFP3 Graduate Assistantship: Salinity dynamics between the Mississippi River and adjacent estuaries. Faculty Advisor: Matthew Hiatt, Associate Professor, Louisiana State University. Co-Investigator: John White, Louisiana State University. Graduate Student: Noah Flaherty, LSU.

RFP3 Graduate Assistantship: Projecting future estuarine hypoxia and habitat in Louisiana. Faculty Advisor: Kanchan Maiti, Associate Professor, Louisiana State University. Graduate Student: Bentao Li, LSU.

RFP3 Graduate Award: Quantifying small-scale genetic variation in Spartina Alterniflora. Faculty Advisor: Robyn Zerebecki, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Graduate Student: Jack Williams, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

REFERENCES

1. Couvillion BR, Beck H, Schoolmaster D, Fischer M. Land Area Change in Coastal Louisiana (1932 to 2016). US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey; 2017. p 26. Report No.: Scientific Investigations Map 3381.

2. CPRA. Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the State of Louisiana; 2023. p 100.

3. Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act), 2012. Pub. L. No. 112-141, §§ 1601–1608, 126 Stat. 405, 588–607. 6 July 2012 (partially codified at 33 U.S.C. § 1321(t) & note). 2012. p 588–607. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/216/Final-Restore-Act.pdf

4. LA-COE. Research Needs. The Water Institute of the Gulf. Baton Rouge, LA.; 2019. https://thewaterinstitute.org/assets/docs/ LA-COE-Research-needs.pdf

5. Oster JM et al. Advancing the Implementation of Coastal Restoration in Louisiana Through a Co-production of Science Framework. Estuaries and Coasts. 2025;48(6):148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-025-01584-3

6. Xue ZG et al. Modeling hydroclimatic change in southwest Louisiana rivers. Water. 2018;10(5):596. https://doi. org/10.3390/w10050596

7. Ford M, Nyman JA. Preface: an overview of the Atchafalaya River. Hydrobiologia. 2011;658(1):1–5. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10750-010-0469-3

8. Twilley RR et al. Ecogeomorphology of coastal deltaic floodplains and estuaries in an active delta: Insights from the Atchafalaya Coastal Basin. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2019;227:106341.

9. Sharif RB, Habib EH, ElSaadani M. Evaluation of radar-rainfall products over coastal Louisiana. Remote Sensing. 2020;12(9):1477. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12091477

10. Geary B et al. Breeding Brown Pelicans Improve Foraging Performance as Energetic Needs Rise. Scientific Reports. 2020;10(1):1686. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58528-z

11. Geary B et al. Remote sensing and foraging data illustrate landscape-scale considerations for coastal restoration and avian management. Ecological Applications. 2025;35(8):e70152. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70152

12. Deepwater Horizon Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group. Guidance for coastal ecosystem restoration and monitoring to create or improve bird-nesting habitat. Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group; 2023. p 152.

13. Guo Y et al. Expansion trends of Phragmites australis and its impact on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Ecological Applications. (In Review).

14. Clemenson D. Tonnage titans - Top 20 ports by annual cargo throughput. Fairplay Magazine. 2017 Oct 15:8.

15. Blum MD, Roberts HH. Drowning of the Mississippi Delta due to insufficient sediment supply and global sea level rise. Nature Geoscience. 2009;2(7):488–491. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo553

16. Johnson CL, Chen Q, Ozdemir CE. Lidar time-series analysis of a rapidly transgressing low-lying mainland barrier (Caminada Headlands, Louisiana, USA). Geomorphology. 2020;(352). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106979

17. Johnson CL et al. Morphodynamic modeling of a low-lying barrier subject to hurricane forcing: The role of backbarrier wetlands. Coastal Engineering. 2021;(167):103886.

18. Harris BD et al. Effects of coupled consolidation and overwash processes on a low-lying headland system. Coastal Engineering. 2020;160:103746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2020.103746

19. Mariotti G, Boswell KT. Barge-driven resuspension facilitates sediment bypass in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Louisiana, USA). Coastal Engineering. 2023;183:104326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2023.104326

20. Li A et al. Modeling sediment texture of river-deltaic wetlands in the Lower Barataria Bay and Lower Breton Sound, Louisiana, USA. Geo-Marine Letters. 2019;39(2):161–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-019-00566-2

21. The Water Institute, Purdue University. A Coastwide Risk Reduction Hindcast: 2005 to Present. The Water Institute; 2025. p 58. Prepared for and funded by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. https://coastal.la.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2025/08/CoastwideHindcast_ExecutiveSummary.pdf

22. Bilskie MV et al. Enhancing flood hazard assessments in coastal Louisiana through coupled hydrologic and surge processes. Frontiers in Water. 2021;3:609231. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2021.609231

23. Li G, Törnqvist TE, Dangendorf S. Real-world time-travel experiment shows ecosystem collapse due to anthropogenic climate change. Nature Communications. 2024;15(1):1226. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45487-6

24. Gallegos D. Analysis of design and construction practices in marsh creation projects. Louisiana State University; 2024.

25. Habans R, Douthat T. Past and Future Migration in Coastal Louisiana. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-11-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/E210228V2. 2024 [accessed 2024 Nov 26]. https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/210228/version/V2/view

26. Habans R, Douthat T, Lin L-H. Past and future migration in coastal Louisiana: Modeling the impact of flood exposure and economic change with microdata on households and businesses. RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana; 2023. p 20. RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana Final Technical Report. https://water-institute.files.svdcdn.com/ production/COE/LA-COE_Final-_Technical_Report__Habans_RH_FINAL_JRH.pdf?dm=1743546774

LA-COE-FUNDED PUBLICATIONS

1. Bilskie MV et al. Enhancing flood hazard assessments in coastal Louisiana through coupled hydrologic and surge processes. Frontiers in Water. 2021;3:609231. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2021.609231

2. Byerly PA, Waddle JH, Romero Premeaux A, Leberg PL. Effects of barrier island salt marsh restoration on marsh bird occurrence in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Restoration Ecology. 2020;28(6):1610–1620. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13222

3. Gallegos D, Jafari NH, Ozdemir CE, Boudreaux J. Empirical model of sediment transport and consolidation in marsh creation projects Wang P, Royer E, Rosati JD, editors. Coastal Sediments. 2025;48. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811275135_0042

4. Gao S, Bilskie MV, Hagen SC. PyVF: A python program for extracting vertical features from LiDAR-DEMs. Environmental Modelling & Software. 2022;157:105503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105503

5. Geary B et al. Breeding Brown Pelicans Improve Foraging Performance as Energetic Needs Rise. Scientific Reports. 2020;10(1):1686. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58528-z

6. Groseclose GN, Elsey-Quirk T. Plant and soil responses to sediment deposition and nutrient-enrichment in healthy, deteriorating, and newly created coastal marshes of the Mississippi River Delta. Restoration Ecology. 2025;33(1):e14310. https://doi. org/10.1111/rec.14310

7. Guo Y et al. Expansion trends of Phragmites australis and its impact on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Ecological Applications. (In Review).

8. Harris BD et al. Effects of coupled consolidation and overwash processes on a low-lying headland system. Coastal Engineering. 2020;160:103746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2020.103746

9. Hyde A, Habans R, Valladares-Castellanos M, Douthat T. Insurance coverage and flood exposure in the Gulf of Mexico: Scale, social vulnerability, urban form, and risk measures. Water. 2024;16(20):2968. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16202968

10. Johnson CL et al. Morphodynamic modeling of a low-lying barrier subject to hurricane forcing: The role of backbarrier wetlands. Coastal Engineering. 2021;(167):103886.

11. Johnson CL, Chen Q, Ozdemir CE. Lidar time-series analysis of a rapidly transgressing low-lying mainland barrier (Caminada Headlands, Louisiana, USA). Geomorphology. 2020;352:106979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106979

12. Li A, Tsai FT-C. Understanding dynamics of groundwater flows in the Mississippi River Delta. Journal of Hydrology.

2020;583:124616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124616

13. Li A et al. Modeling sediment texture of river-deltaic wetlands in the Lower Barataria Bay and Lower Breton Sound, Louisiana, USA. Geo-Marine Letters. 2019;39(2):161–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-019-00566-2

14. Li A, Tsai FT-C, Yuill BT, Wu C. A three-dimensional stratigraphic model of the Mississippi River Delta, USA: implications for river deltaic hydrogeology. Hydrogeology Journal. 2020;28(7):2341–2358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-02002198-8

15. Li G, Törnqvist TE, Dangendorf S. Real-world time-travel experiment shows ecosystem collapse due to anthropogenic climate change. Nature Communications. 2024;15(1):1226. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45487-6

16. Li G et al. Hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2021;249:107090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2020.107090

17. Mariotti G, Boswell K, Matherne N, Elsey-Quirk T. Massive marsh loss by failure mechanism due to Hurricane Ida targets stressed Spartina Patens. Wetlands. 2026;46. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13157-025-02012-9

18. Mariotti G, Boswell KT. Barge-driven resuspension facilitates sediment bypass in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Louisiana, USA). Coastal Engineering. 2023;183:104326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2023.104326

19. McNicol G. Year of methane partnership: Coastal carbon research coordination network. AmeriFlux. 2020 Feb 18. https:// ameriflux.lbl.gov/year-of-methane-partnership-coastal-carbon-research-coordination-network/

20. Nelson M et al. Beyond buyouts: Adaptive migration and the need for equitable relocation strategies. LA-COE; 2020. p 64.

21. Nelson M, Ehrenfeucht R, Birch T, Brand A. Getting By and Getting Out: How Residents of Louisiana’s Frontline Communities Are Adapting to Environmental Change. Housing Policy Debate. 2022;32(1):84–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482 .2021.1925944

22. Oster JM et al. Advancing the Implementation of Coastal Restoration in Louisiana Through a Co-production of Science Framework. Estuaries and Coasts. 2025;48(6):148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-025-01584-3

23. Ou Y et al. A numerical investigation of salinity variations in the Barataria Estuary, Louisiana in connection with the Mississippi River and restoration activities. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2020;245:107021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ecss.2020.107021

24. Pinzón MM, White JR. Impact of river reconnection for coastal restoration on nitrate reduction in brackish marsh soils and baybottom sediments in coastal Louisiana, USA. Biogeochemistry. 2025;168(4):60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-02501250-7

25. Santiago-Collazo FL, Bilskie MV, Bacopoulos P, Hagen SC. An examination of compound flood hazard zones for past, present, and future low-gradient coastal land-margins. Frontiers in Climate. 2021;3:684035. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fclim.2021.684035

26. Scates AR, Zhang R, Johnston A. Geomorphic and shallow subsurface expression of growth faults in Mississippi River Delta quaternary sediment; Golden Meadow, Louisiana. GeoScience World: Proceedings Papers. 2021;Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2021:93–95. https://doi.org/10.4133/ sageep.33-051

27. Sharif RB, Habib EH, ElSaadani M. Evaluation of radar-rainfall products over coastal Louisiana. Remote Sensing. 2020;12(9):1477. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12091477

28. Spera AC, White JR, Corstanje R. Spatial and temporal changes to a hydrologically-reconnected coastal wetland: Implications for restoration. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2020;238:106728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106728

29. Twilley RR et al. Ecogeomorphology of coastal deltaic floodplains and estuaries in an active delta: Insights from the Atchafalaya Coastal Basin. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2019;227:106341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ecss.2019.106341

30. Xu K, Bentley SJ, Day JW, Freeman AM. A review of sediment diversion in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2019;225:106241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2019.05.023

31. Xue ZG et al. Modeling hydroclimatic change in southwest Louisiana rivers. Water. 2018;10(5):596. https://doi. org/10.3390/w10050596

32. Yin D et al. Extreme Water Level Simulation and Component Analysis in Delaware Estuary during Hurricane Isabel. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 2022;58(1):19–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12947

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34. Zumberge MA et al. Novel integration of geodetic and geologic methods for high-resolution monitoring of subsidence in the Mississippi Delta. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. 2022;127(9):e2022JF006718. https://doi. org/10.1029/2022JF006718

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank all the RFP Principal Investigators highlighted in this report for their review and revisions of relevant sections and graduate students who provided reflections on their LA-COE experiences. Additionally, the authors appreciate the CPRA Liaisons, Water Institute Technical Points of Contact, and U.S. Department of Treasury Program Managers who have helped steer the work of the LA-COE and enhanced its impact.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

The LA-COE greatly appreciates the important work of the founding team and key personnel who have made the program a success.

Former LA-COE Team Members:

Melissa Baustian, Kelly Darnell, Angelina Freeman, Charles Groat, Alaina Grace, Ed Haywood, Bingqing Liu, Denise Reed, Cyndhia Ramatchandirane, Eva Windhoffer, and Amy Wood

Current LA-COE Program Team:

Jessica Henkel, Alyssa Dausman, Gretchen Vanicor, Madison McLoughlin, Brittany Jensen, Danielle Johnson, Breia Smith, Allie Robert, Summer Langlois, Dave Lindquist, Makaila Conrad, and Jenn Summers

Report Development Team:

Writing: Jessica Henkel, Charley Cameron, Madison McLoughlin, Gretchen Vanicor, Fuad Shatara, Lucas Belury, and Charles Wallace

Layout: Fuad Shatara, Charley Cameron

Graphics: Kacie Wright

Funding

This work was paid for with federal funding from the Department of the Treasury through the Louisiana Coastal Protection Restoration Authority’s Center of Excellence Research Grants Program under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act). The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Treasury or the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority. U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1 RCEGR260007-01-01.