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Research about Mississippi River

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Mississippi River.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1993

Occurrence and transport of agricultural chemicals in the Mississippi River basin, July through August 1993

Heavy rainfall and severe flooding in the upper Mississippi River Basin from mid-June through early August 1993 flushed extraordinarily large amounts of agricultural chemicals (herbicides and nitrate) into the Mississippi River, many of its tributaries, and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. Even though extremely high streamflows were recorded during the flood in 1993, concentrations of herbicides, such as atrazine, alachlor, cyanazine, and metolachlor, were similar to the maximum concentrations measured during spring and summer 1991 and 1992. It was anticipated that the higher streamflows during the flood would dilute the concentrations of herbicides that are usually flushed into streams in late spring and summer. Instead, concentrations were similar to those measured during much lower flows, but the daily loads of herbicides transported in some reaches of the Mississippi River were higher than those measured in 1991 and 1992. The total atrazine load transported to the Gulf of Mexico from April through August 1993 (539,000 kilograms) was about 80 percent higher than that for the same period in 1991 and 235 percent higher than for the same period in 1992. The concentrations of atrazine and cyanazine in a few individual samples exceeded health-based limits for drinking water. However, because drinking-water regulations are based on the average of at least four quarterly samples, the annual average concentrations in the Mississippi River probably will not exceed these limits for 1993. Nitrate concentrations were similar to those measured during spring and summer 1991 and 1992. The loads of nitrate-nitrogen transported into the Gulf of Mexico during July and August 1993 were as much as 5,734 metric tons per day. These loads generally are similar to those measured in spring 1991 and 1992 but larger than those measured in summer 1991 and 1992. The total nitrate-nitrogen load transported to the Gulf of Mexico from April through August 1993 (827,000 metric tons) was about 37 percent larger than that for this same period in 1991 and 112 percent larger than that for the same period in 1992. The transport of extraordinarily high loads of nitrate and large amounts of fresh-water into the Gulf of Mexico during midsummer when primary production is highest could increase phytoplankton biomass and affect the gulf ecosystem along the Louisiana coast.

Mississippi River↗
USGS1992

Classification of a wetland area along the upper Mississippi River with aerial videography

We evaluated the use of aerial videography for classifying wetland habitats along the upper Mississippi River and found the prompt availability of habitat feature maps to be the major advantage of the video imagery technique. We successfully produced feature maps from digitized video images that generally agreed with the known distribution and areal coverages of the major habitat types independently identified and quantified with photointerpretation techniques. However, video images were not sufficiently detailed to allow us to consistently discriminate among the classes of aquatic macrophytes present or to quantify their areal coverage. Our inability to consistently distinguish among emergent, floating, and submergent macrophytes from the feature maps may have been related to the structural complexity of the site, to our limited vegetation sampling, and to limitations in video imagery. We expect that careful site selection (i.e., the desired level of resolution is available from video imagery) and additional vegetation samples (e.g., along a transect) will allow improved assignment of spectral values to specific plant types and enhance plant classification from feature maps produced from video imagery.

Mississippi River↗
USGS1989

Holocene sand shoals offshore of the Mississippi River delta plain

Offshore of the Mississippi River delta plain lies a series of Holocene sand shoals marking the position of ancient submerged shorelines associated with younger shelf-phase delta plains. These submerged shorelines represent positions when sea level stood lower than present. Short periods of rapid sea level rise during the Holocene transgression, in combination with subsidence, led to the submergence of these sandy shorelines, which can be recognized at the -33 ft (-10 m) and -66 ft (-20 m) isobaths on the Louisiana continental shelf The -33 ft (-10 m) shoreline trend is represented by Trinity Shoal and Ship Shoal, which are associated with the late Holocene Mississippi River delta plain. Trinity Shoal is derived from the Cypremont-Sale delta complex and is located 12 mi (20 km) offshore of Marsh Island. This shoal is 22 mi (35 km) long, 5 mi (8 km) wide, and 16 - 20 ft (5 - 6 m) thick. The facies relationships indicate that Trinity Shoal is a submerged barrier system in the initial stages of shoreface reworking. To the east is Ship Shoal which is associated with the Maringouin-Teche delta complex. This shoal is located 12 mi (20 km) offshore of the Isles Dernieres and is 31 mi (50 km) long, 5 - 6 mi (8 - 10 km) wide, and 13 - 20 ft (4 - 6 m) thick. The facies relationships indicate that Ship Shoal is a marine sand body derived from shoreface reworking of a submerged barrier island. The -66 ft (-20 m) shoreline trend is represented by the Outer Shoal and St. Bernard Shoals, which are associated with the early Mississippi River delta plain. The Outer Shoal is a low relief sand body, which lies seaward of Ship Shoal immediately west of the Mississippi Canyon. The eastern continuation of the -66 ft (-20 m) shoreline trend is the St. Bernard Shoals, which lie 16 mi (25 km) offshore of the Chandeleur Islands. In contrast to the other shoal systems, the St. Bernard Shoals form a shore-parallel zone of more than seven smaller sand shoals which, in many respects, are similar to a shore-oblique sand-ridge field. Collectively, these sand shoals represent a large potential source of aggregate for shoreline restoration and erosion control as well as possible hard mineral resources. Scientifically, these shoals provide insight into the processes which control coastal evolution and shelf sand development under the condition of relative sea level rise.

Mississippi River↗
USGS1984

Common-depth-point seismic-reflection survey on the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Alton, Illinois

A high-resolution seismic-reflection survey was run on the Mississippi River using marine common-depth-point (CDP), digital, and multichannel techniques in an attempt to locate a possible fault that had been interpreted by others from magnetic and land seismic data to be in the vicinity of Lock and Dam No. 26. The geologic feature is commonly known in the literature as the Cap au Ores Fault or Cap au Ores Uplift. A second objective was to demonstrate that the marine seismic system could be used successfully for making relatively deep penetration seismic-reflection surveys on inland waterways with shallow water depths (less than 10 meters) and organic sediments on the waterway bottom. The survey was made by agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), St. Louis District, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS used a specially equipped, trailerable, 38-ft aluminum boat for the work. The quality of the survey records can be classified as from fair to good. Seismic-reflection events could be interpreted in the upper 200 ms of data. Five reflecting horizons with little slope were recorded between Mississippi River Miles 195 and 210 without any evidence of faulting of the magnitude (50 to 100 m) suggested by the Shannon and Wilson report (1980). Minor faulting and buried channeling could be interpreted. This survey demonstrated the value and economy of obtaining deeper penetration seismic data on inland water using an offshore marine, CDP, digital, multichannel seismic-reflection system. On-going modifications in field procedure, equipment configuration, equipment, and data processing will further improve the results obtained with such equipment. Future marine-style surveys conducted with the newly available hydraulic waterguns (80-, 200-, and 400-in 3 ) would probably produce data that are a significant improvement over data obtained with the 15-in 3 pneumatic watergun and 40-in 3 airgun used during the 1980 survey.

Illinois, Missouri↗
USGS1984

U.S. Geological Survey common-depth-point seismic-reflection survey between Mississippi River miles 195 and 210 (R/V NEECHO cruise NE-80-3)

In December 1980, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), conducted a seismic survey of the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Alton, Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri (fig. 1). Seismic lines were run from the mouth of the Missouri River up the Mississippi River to a point approximately seven miles upriver from Lock and Dam No. 26 at Alton, Illinois (fig. 2a,b). Additional lines were run upriver from Lock and Dam No. 25 between the dam and River Mile 244, but these data are not reported because of mechanical problems with the larger sound-source equipment and inexact navigational control. The objective of the cooperative study was to utilize marine common-depth-point (CDP), digital, and multichannel techniques to locate a monoclinal flexure of the Cap au Gres Fault that earlier had been interpreted from land seismic data to be in the vicinity of Lock and Dam No 26 (Shannon and Wilson, 1980). A second objective was to demonstrate that the marine seismic system could be used for making relatively deep penetration seismic-reflection surveys on shallow (less than 10-m water depth) inland waterways that have organic sediment floors.

Illinois, Missouri↗
USGS1965

The 1965 Mississippi River flood in Iowa

The great flood of 1965 on the Mississippi River, along the eastern border if the State, exceeded any flood known in 139 years. It cause damages probably in excess of ten millions of dollars in the State of Iowa. Studied now in progress will more thoroughly cover this and other phases of the flood. The underlying cause of the flood was an abnormally cold winter which prevented the melting of an excessive snow cover in the upper reaches of the basin. Heavy rains late in March followed by rapid melting triggered the runoff which caused the floods. Peak discharges experienced ranged from 276,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) at McGregor near the northern boundary of the State to 327,000 cfs at Keokuk near the southern boundary. Tributary streams in Iowa were receding as the main-stem flood peak passed their mouths. The discharge they contributed was generally insignificant except for the larger streams. Flood data compiled for the part of the River along the eastern border include flood discharges, flood elevations, and the frequency of floods of varying magnitudes. They also include the daily or more frequent stage and discharge data for both the Mississippi River and the downstream gaging stations on Iowa tributaries for the period March-May 1965. Sufficient data are presented to permit studied for preparation of plans for protective works and plans for zoning or for flood plain regulation.

Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin↗