Physical and Numerical Modeling of River and Sediment Diversions in the Lower Mississippi River Delta

Over the past several thousand years the Mississippi River has formed one of the world's largest deltas. However, over the last 100 years or so this system has been deprived of most of the sediments vital for its regeneration and maintenance due to organized human interventions (e.g., levees). As a result, the natural channel shifting necessary for replenishment of the delta with fresh sediment is severely impeded. River and sediment diversions are being proposed as way to re-create the historical delivery of river water and sediments into the delta region. Two complementary tools useful for studying diversions are physical models and numerical modeling. First, we present some details and result from a distorted scale, movable bed physical model designed to provide insight into potential river and sediment diversions. We then present some approaches being taken to develop numerical models aimed at providing insight that cannot be obtained using the physical model.