February BRGS Meeting: Seasonal to centennial sediment retention offshore of the Mississippi River Birdsfoot Delta

When
13 Feb 2026
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Location
Mike Anderson's Seafood Restaurant
Spaces left
63

Registration

In Person Attendance - Members – $20.00
Attending in person at Mike Anderson's Seafood Restaurant. ** DO NOT SELECT A MEAL CHOICE UNLESS YOU ARE REGISTERING AS AN IN PERSON ATTENDEE **
In Person Attendance - Nonmembers – $30.00
Attending in person at Mike Anderson's Seafood Restaurant. ** DO NOT SELECT A MEAL CHOICE UNLESS YOU ARE REGISTERING AS AN IN PERSON ATTENDEE **
In Person Attendance but not eating
Online Attendance - Members – $5.00
ZOOM link will be provided before the start of the meeting.

** IF YOU ARE REGISTERING ONLINE DO NOT SELECT A MEAL CHOICE **
Online Attendance - Nonmembers – $10.00
ZOOM link will be provided before the start of the meeting.

** IF YOU ARE REGISTERING ONLINE DO NOT SELECT A MEAL CHOICE **
Student In Person Attendance – $5.00
MUST BE A STUDENT WITH AN ID

Register

** Register Early!! Online Event Registration will close by 10:00 am on the day of the event.**

Join us Friday, February 13, 2026

as Dr. Emily Wei

presents

Seasonal to centennial sediment retention offshore of the Mississippi River Birdsfoot Delta

Abstract

The subaerial and subaqueous portions of Mississippi River Birdsfoot Delta experience rapid land loss and seabed retreat, respectively, partly due to a reduction in downstream sediment load due to damming, human modifications to river channels, and accelerated rates of relative sea-level rise. Using geophysical surveys and sediment cores, we traced patterns of sediment accumulation on the subaqueous delta front and retention over seasonal to centennial timescales. Offshore of the Birdsfoot Delta, the river’s spring flood emplaces thin deposits of transient sediment on the seabed, with deposit thickness corresponding to patterns in modeled wave-current resuspension. Nevertheless, over decadal to centennial timescales, sediment accumulation rates over the subaqueous delta have decreased by 80% since the mid 20^th century. The thickness of sediment deposited in the last two centuries is highly variable due to underlying physiography. Offshore of the Eastern Birdsfoot Delta in Breton Sound, accommodation for sediment is limited because it has been infilled by relict delta and barrier island lithosome, resulting in thin and discontinuous deposition over the past 200 years. Thin deposits and strong oceanographic currents suggest that the Eastern Birdsfoot experiences sediment bypass to deeper water. Downriver, towards the main river outlets, sediment accumulation within interdistributary bays has also declined and barely outpaces relative sea-level rise rates. As a result, subdelta lobes that built the Birdsfoot Delta and peaked in area during the mid 20^th century are declining rapidly. Thus, declining sediment loads over the past century have contributed to long-lasting changes to the Birdsfoot Delta’s morphology and our observations suggest that the subaqueous Birdsfoot Delta will continue to backstep.

Biography

Dr. Emily Wei (pronounced Way) is a Research Assistant Professor at LSU’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. She is a collaborator on the MissDelta project funded by the National Academy of Science and Technology and the OASIS project funded by the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management. Her research examines the sedimentology, stratigraphy, morphology, and evolution of Holocene and Pleistocene deposits over seasonal to millennial timescales. She has studied coastal environments such as deltas, barrier islands, bays, continental shelves, and continental slopes using Chirp seismic reflection, multibeam bathymetry, sediment cores, and geochemistry. Dr. Wei received a BA in Geology from Middlebury College and her MS and PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Prior to joining LSU, she was a postdoc at the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center. Outside of geology, Dr. Wei enjoys trail running, bird watching, climbing, and crafting.

** Remember to Register Early!! Online Event Registration will close by 10:00 am on the day of the event in order to get the online details out in a timely manner. In-person registration available until the meeting starts.

Email:

BRGeologicalSociety@gmail.com

Address:

P.O. Box 80263

Baton Rouge, LA 70828

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