The lowermost Mississippi River: a mixed bedrock‐alluvial channel

In this study, the distribution of channel‐bed sediment facies in the lowermost Mississippi River is analysed using multibeam data, complemented by sidescan sonar and compressed high‐intensity radar pulse seismic data, as well as grab and core samples of bed material. The channel bed is composed of a discontinuous layer of alluvial sediment and a relict substratum that is exposed on the channel bed and sidewalls. The consolidated substratum is made up of latest Pleistocene and Early Holocene fluvio‐deltaic deposits and is preferentially exposed in the deepest thalweg segments and on channel sidewalls in river bends. The exposed substratum commonly displays a suite of erosional features, including flutes that are quantitatively similar in form to those produced under known laboratory conditions. A total of five bed facies are mapped, three of which include modern alluvial deposits and two facies that are associated with the relict substratum. A radius of curvature analysis applied to the Mississippi River centreline demonstrates that the reach‐scale distribution of channel‐bed facies is related to river planform. From a broader perspective, the distribution of channel‐bed facies is related to channel sinuosity — higher sinuosity promotes greater substratum exposure at the expense of alluvial sediment. For example, the ratio of alluvial cover to substratum is ca 1·5:1 for a 45 km segment of the river that has a sinuosity of 1·76 and this ratio increases to ca 3:1 for a 120 km segment of the river that has a sinuosity of 1·21. The exposed substratum is interpreted as bedrock and, given the relative coverage of alluvial sediment in the channel, the lowermost Mississippi River can be classified as a mixed bedrock‐alluvial channel. The analyses demonstrate that a mixed bedrock‐alluvial channel boundary can be associated with low‐gradient and sand‐bed rivers near their marine outlet.     

人类活动影响下的干旱区河流地貌演变——以塔里木河为例

全球范围内干旱区河流正日益受到高强度人类活动的扰动,但较少研究报道这种扰动对河流地貌过程的影响。采用历史文献、水文数据和遥感影像相结合的方式,详细分析了人类活动影响下中国最大内陆河塔里木河（简称塔河）的河流地貌变化过程。结果表明:塔河流域人类活动的规模和强度日趋上升,对河流水沙过程和地貌形态等影响显著。近50年来,塔河干流低流量过程发生频率呈显著上升趋势,而中、高流量过程则呈降低趋势,河道径流和输沙量减少显著。塔河干流上游现为游荡河道,冲淤变化剧烈且总体处于淤积抬升状态, 但河道平均河宽呈减小趋势,可能是因为塔河两岸冲积平原的开垦和河岸加固。塔河中游弯曲河道蜿蜒系数在近几十年呈缓慢上升趋势,但明显低于废弃古河道。     

Effects of rainfall,geomorphological and geometrical variables on vulnerability of the lower Mississippi River levee system to slump slides

This study investigated the importance of rainfall and various geomorphological and geometrical factors to the vulnerability of earthen levees to slump slides. The study was performed using a database including 34 slump slides that occurred in the lower Mississippi River levee system from 2008 to 2009. The impact of rainfall within the six months prior to slide occurrence was studied for 23 slides for which an accurate occurrence date was available. Several variables were used to develop a logistic regression model to predict the probability of slump slide occurrence. The proposed model was verified for both slide and non-slide cases. The regression analysis depicts the impact of channel width, river sinuosity index, riverbank erosion, channel shape condition and distance to river. Excluding the sinuosity index, the impact of the other independent variables examined was found to be significant. Occurrence of riverbank erosion around the slide locations was the most significant predictor factor. A channel width of less than 1000?m was ranked as the second most significant variable. The proposed model can aid in locating high-risk areas on levees in order to take prompt protective measures, increase monitoring efforts and enable early response under emergency conditions.     

Anthropogenic effect on the flow and sediment of the Lower Yellow River and its bearing on the evolution of Yellow River delta,China

The Yellow River, China is noted for its extremely heavy sediment load, about 5 times that of the Mississippi and very small flow, only 8% that of the Mississippi. Owing to the construction of reservoirs and increasing withdrawal of the river water for agriculture, industry and urban water supply, the flow of the Lower Yellow River is greatly reduced causing more serious siltation in the river channel and river mouth, threaterning the stabilization of the present outlet to the sea and economic growth of the delta. It is suggested that a more rational use of the river water resources should be formulated to mitigate this situation.     

冲积性河流河床冲淤调整对洪水泥沙过程的响应——以黄河游荡型河段为例

为研究冲积性河流造床机理,基于能量耗散原理分析河床调整与水沙过程（变异特性）间的关系十分必要。以黄河游荡型河段为例,利用实测资料分析和平面二维水沙数值模拟方法,进行了各种洪水泥沙条件下河流冲淤规律的探讨。研究发现平滩面积、河相系数与径流泥沙特征值间存在的关联性映射出冲积性河流能量关系中的制约机制;不同洪水泥沙过程的河床冲刷强度变化具有阶段性,主槽累积刷槽效应与洪水泥沙过程有密切响应关系;高效输沙的洪水过程通过塑造最适宜的河床断面形态,能实现最佳输沙效率与主槽的最大冲刷。在不同漫滩洪水条件中,综合系数Φ最大时的洪水过程具有最大累积刷槽效应,因此对应流量可作为黄河下游漫滩洪水的调控指标。     

Remote sensing-based analysis of the planform changes in the Upper Amazon River over the period 1986–2006

An analysis of the planform changes of the Colombian reach of the Amazon River was carried out over a period of 19.9 years. Remote sensing image processing techniques were applied to Landsat images acquired in 1986, 1994, 2001 and, 2006. These images were selected based on minimal daily water level variations, while providing the widest temporal span. Plan view river changes and geomorphologic characteristics were examined to identify which channel pattern classification best represents this large tropical river system. Discharge was also analyzed to determine whether changes in the river's plan view are a direct response to variations in discharge. The system had a depositional tendency between 1986 and 2006, with a period where erosion was more intense than deposition between 1994 and 2001. Percent change in the plan view area of the system (1.4% yr⁻¹) and the maximum migration rates (125 m yr⁻¹) suggest that this reach of the Amazon is less active than reaches upstream and the downstream reach between the confluences of the Jutaí and Japurá Rivers. Variations in discharge appear to be responsible for deposition and erosion dynamics observed after this remote sensing analysis in the Colombian reach of the Amazon River. Characteristics including multiple channels with vegetated islands developed from within-channel deposition, meandering planform, lateral activity of channel margins, and the absence of islands with saucer-like morphology suggest a multichannel, meandering pattern for this reach of the Amazon, that corresponds to a laterally active anabranching river.     

Effects of discharge of municipal waste on water quality of the lower Mississippi River

The effects of discharge of municipal wastes on water quality within the lower Mississippi River below Old River have been reevaluated using published water quality data in the Louisiana reach of the river for the water years 1974–1984. A novel graphical technique has facilitated the evaluation of upriver controls on water quality and the identification of sources and sinks along the lower Mississippi. Comparison of calculated annual fluxes at different downstream monitoring stations has simplified some of the problems inherent in evaluating analyses of samples collected from different water masses during a typical sampling run. The absolute concentrations of chloride, nitrite plus nitrate, total phosphorous, dissolved oxygen, BOD, and COD are all strongly dependent on processes occurring upriver. Nonpoint influx of materials from agricultural wastes and natural plant debris may be the dominant upstream sources of N, P, BOD, and COD. Increases in chloride and phosphorous downstream within the Lower Mississippi appear to be caused by discharge of industrial wastes. Nitrogen fluxes decrease downriver, except where there is local discharge of high-N, high-P industrial waste water, possibly from fertilizer plants. Removal of N and increases in BOD may be due in part to biological uptake. High river discharge rates and efficient, natural processes of reaeration maintain high oxygen saturation levels. With the exception of an increase in bacterial count, the discharge of municipal waste into the Mississippi River in Louisiana appears to have had no significant effect on water quality, a finding consistent with the earlier U.S. Geological Survey study of Wells (1980). It would be highly desirable for future mass balance studies if existing water quality programs on the Mississippi River were to adopt a Lagrangian sampling approach.     

The response of the Lower Mississippi River to river engineering

An examination of the response of the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) to a variety of engineering activities is presented through the discussion of: (a) a brief history of engineering investigations and activities on the LMR; (b) the impact of artificial cutoffs on the channel geometry and water surface profiles of adjacent reaches; (c) the impact of channel alignment activities on channel morphology; and (d) the apparent impact of all of the LMR engineering activities on sediment dynamics in the channel.

Investigations by many agencies reflect over 150 years of study of the hydraulics and hydrology of the LMR, which have contributed significantly to our understanding of large alluvial rivers. In an effort to provide for flood control and navigation on the largest river in North America, private landowners and the US Army Corps of Engineers have performed a wide range of river engineering activities, including construction of levees, floodways, artificial cutoffs, bank revetment, training dikes, dredging, channel alignment, and reservoirs on the major tributaries. This unprecedented program of river engineering activities on the river during the last 100 years has resulted in the evolution of a freely meandering alluvial river to a highly trained and confined meandering channel. The LMR has increased its overall gradient and average top-bank width and generally increased its channel depth. The immediate response of the river to increased gradient as a result of the construction of artificial cutoffs was dampened in some locations by local geological controls.

Examination of the trends in sediment dynamics of the LMR reveals that the suspended load of the river has decreased during the 20th century. Conversely, a trend in the bed load transport in the channel for the years 1930 and 1989 cannot be determined with confidence because of the difficulty in acquiring representative samples. The highly trained river now responds to channel forming flows by attempting to build mid-channel bars rather than natural cutoffs of meanders.

The LMR should maintain a relatively stable plan form in the intermediate future, barring a very large and unprecedented flood. The river will continue to adjust its channel geometry and its local gradients as a response to variations in significant discharges. Continued channel maintenance and occasional dredging will insure the present state of sediment and water transport efficiency.     

Effect of no-flow in the Lower Yellow River on groundwater formation and usage in areas along the banks

Frequent flow cutoff has a serious effect on the eco-environment of the region along the Lower Yellow River. The authors study the impact on lateral seepage quantity and groundwater cycling caused by cutoff of the Yellow River and compare it with that of the year 1999 through the numerical simulation model of groundwater flow system of the affected zone. The lateral seepage quantity decreased 53.8% on flow cutoff stage from Huayuankou to the river entrance and breaking time of 300 d. The lateral seepage quantity will decrease 46.3% if flow cutoff is from Jiahetan to the river entrance and breaking time is 300 d, and it will decrease 75.2% if flow cutoff occurs throughout the year. The lateral seepage quantity will decrease 19.8% if flow cutoff is from Luokou to the river entrance and breaking time is 300 d, and it will decrease 25.1% if flow cutoff occurs throughout the year. The lateral seepage quantity will decrease 4.7% if flow cutoff is from Lijin to the river entrance and flow cutoff occurs throughout the year. Flow cutoff of the Yellow River has a minor effect on the shape of groundwater flow domain of the affected zone. Thus, the boundary condition of the shallow groundwater system will not change. Although flow cutoff has a major influence on the riverside source fields in the Lower Yellow River, it will not have a significant effect on groundwater resources macroscopically in the affected zone of the Yellow River due to its large storage capacity. __________ Translated from Journal of Jilin University (Earth Science Edition), 2007, 37(5): 937–942 [译自: 吉林大学学报(地球科学版)]     

滩槽流量分别演算法进行汾河下游河段洪水预报

汾河下游柴庄以下河段由于受人为和处在然等多种因素影响,河道发生持续淤积,过水能力大幅度降低,使河道行洪特点发生很大变化,正常洪水预报方法失效。     

新疆克里雅河洪泛事件与树轮记录的初步研究

新疆克里雅河尾闾地带的达里雅博依绿洲位于塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地。在塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地,光、热条件非常充分,水分是影响胡杨生长的主要因子。由于上游截流用于农业生产及河流下渗等因素的影响,导致下游水量逐渐减少,只有特大洪汛期才有洪水泻入下游尾闾地带。因此,胡杨的生长与洪汛期洪水密切相关,洪水较大的年份输入的水量多,有利于胡杨的生长。本文对新疆克里雅河尾闾地带胡杨(Populuseuphratica)树轮进行了初步研究,发现树轮宽度与克里雅河径流量的相关性较差,轮宽与器测径流量的相关系数仅为0.15,考虑到胡杨生长对径流量的滞后效应,滞后3年的轮宽与器测径流量的相关系数为0.30,但与洪水年份有较好的对应性。近百年来的9次洪水年份分别为1941年、1963年、1971年、1972年、1981年、1987年、1996年、2000年和2001年,均对应于胡杨树轮宽度较大的年份,但一些年份有一定的滞后期。     

长江下游感潮河段大洪水和特大洪水的形成及趋势

分析了长江下游感潮河段大洪水和特大洪水高水位形成的水文因素,揭示了年最高水位今后一段时期内可能的变化趋势。主要结论是:该河段大洪水和特大洪水高水位的形成原因十分复杂,本世纪以来每次大洪水和特大洪水高水位的形成几乎都有其主要原因;该河段大洪水特大洪水高水位出现的频次有增加趋势;自1975年以来,年最高水位的均值呈明显的升高趋势,其主要原因是人类活动对防洪产生的负面影响,海平面上升也有一定的影响。     

Geological influences on the Lower Mississippi River and its alluvial valley

Studies of photographs, maps, and channel morphology permit identification of greatly different Mississippi River reaches. From this, it becomes apparent that this large alluvial river is not monotonous in appearance, and therefore, it is not completely controlled by hydrology and hydraulics. In fact, the Mississippi River has reacted to uplift, faults, clay plugs, outcrops of Tertiary clay, and Pleistocene gravel in its bed, and tributaries. This classic example of a large alluvial river has major geological controls on its shape, pattern, and magnitude of change through time. In addition, the same controls plus the effect of plutonic intrusives and fault zones have significantly affected smaller rivers and the alluvial valley of the Mississippi River.     

Late Quaternary Upper Mississippi River alluvial episodes and their significance to the Lower Mississippi River system

The period in the Upper Mississippi Valley (UMV) from about 25 000 years B.P. until the time of strong human influence on the landscape beginning about 150–200 years ago can be characterized by three distinctly different alluvial episodes. The first episode is dominated by the direct and indirect effects of Late Wisconsin glacial ice in the basin headwaters. This period, which lasted until about 14 000 years B.P., was generally a time of progressive valley aggradation by a braided river system transporting large quantities of bedload sediment. An island braided system evolved during the second episode, which extended from about 14 000 to 9000 years B.P. The second episode is associated with major environmental changes of deglaciation when occurrences of major floods and sustained flows of low sediment concentration from drainage of proglacial lakes produced major downcutting. By the time of the beginning of the third episode about 9000 years B.P., most vegetation communities had established their approximate average Holocene locations. The change of climate and establishment of good vegetation cover caused upland landscapes of the UMV to become relatively stable during the Holocene in comparison to their relative instability during the Late Wisconsin. However, Holocene remobilization of Late Wisconsin age sediment stored in tributary valleys resulted in a return to long-term upper Mississippi River aggradation. The dominance of Holocene deposition over transportation reflects the abundance of sandy bedload sediment introduced from tributaries and the situation that energy conditions for floods and the hydraulic gradient of the upper Mississippi River are much less for the Holocene than they were for the Late Wisconsin and deglaciation periods.Outburst floods from glacial lakes appear to have been common in the UMV during the Late Wisconsin and especially during deglaciation. Magnitudes for the Late Wisconsin floods are generally poorly understood, but an estimate of 10 000–15 000 m³ s⁻¹ was determined for one of the largest events in the northern UMV based on heights of paleo-foreset beds in a flood unit deposited in the Savanna Terrace. For comparison, the great flood of 1993 on the upper Mississippi River was about 12 000 m³ s⁻¹ at Keokuk, Iowa, near the Des Moines River confluence where it represented the 500-year event in relation to modem flood series. Exceptionally large outburst floods derived from the rapid drainage of pro-glacial Lake Michigan and adjacent smaller proglacial lakes between about 16 000 and 15 500 years B.P. are a likely cause of the final diversion of the Mississippi River through the Bell City-Oran Gap at the upstream end of the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV). The largest outburst flood from northern extremities of the UMV appears to have occurred between about 11700 and 10 800 years B.P. when the southern outlet of Lake Agassiz was incised. Based on the probable maximum capacity of the Agassiz flood channel 600 km downstream near the junction of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers, the Agassiz flood discharge apparently did not exceed 30 000 m³ s⁻¹. However, if the Agassiz flood channel here is expanded to include an incised component, then the flood discharge maximum could have been as large as 100,000 to 125 000 m³ s⁻¹. The larger flood is presently viewed as unlikely, however, because field evidence suggests that the incised component of the cross-section probably developed after the main Agassiz flood event. Nevertheless, the large Agassiz flood between about 11 700 and 10 800 years B.P. produced major erosional downcutting and removal of Late Wisconsin sediment in the UMV. This flood also appears to be mainly responsible for the final diversion of the Mississippi River through Thebes Gap in extreme southwestern Illinois and the formation of the Charleston alluvial fan at the head of the LMV.After about 9000 years B.P. prairie-forest ecotones with associated steep seasonal climatic boundaries were established across the northern and southern regions of the UMV. The general presence of these steep climatically sensitive boundaries throughout the Holocene, in concert with the natural tendency for grasslands to be especially sensitive to climatic change, may partially explain why widespread synchroneity of Holocene alluvial episodes is recognized across the upper Mississippi River and Missouri River drainage systems. Comparison of estimated beginning ages of Holocene flood episodes and alluvial chronologies for upper Mississippi River and Missouri River systems with beginning ages for LMV meander belts and delta lobes shows a relatively strong correlation. At present, dating controls are not sufficiently adequate and confidence intervals associated with the identified ages representing system changes are too large to establish firm causal connections. Although the limitations of the existing data are numerous, the implicit causal connections suggested from existing information suggest that further exploration would be beneficial to improving the understanding of how upper valley hydrological and geomorphic events are influencing hydrological and geomorphic activity in the LMV. Since nearly 80% of the Mississippi River drainage system lies upstream of the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, there is a strong basis for supporting the idea that UMV fluvial activity should be having a strong influence on LMV fluvial activity. If this assertion is correct, then the traditional assignment of strong to dominant control by eustatic sea level variations for explaining channel avulsions, delta lobes, and meander belts in the LMV needs re-examination. A stronger role for upper valley fluvial activity as a factor influencing lower valley fluvial activity does not disregard the role of eustatic sea level, tectonic processes or other factors. Rather, upper valley fluvial episodes or specific events such as extreme floods may commonly serve as a “triggering mechanism” that causes a threshold of instability to be exceeded in a system that was poised for change due to sea level rise, tectonic uplift, or other environmental factors. In other situations, the upper valley fluvial activity may exert a more dominant control over many LMV fluvial processes and landforms as frequently was the case during times of glacial climatic conditions.     

2003年黄河第二次调水调沙试验效果分析

2003年8～10月,泾、渭、洛河和三门峡～花园口区间降雨持续50余d,黄河中游出现了历史上罕见的秋汛洪水。为扩大黄河下游河道主河槽的过洪能力,实现黄河下游主河槽的全线冲刷,同时,进一步探索三门峡、小浪底等水库水沙联合调度方式,深化对黄河河道、水库水沙运动规律的认识,黄委会于9月6日～18日进行了黄河第二次调水调沙。该文着重介绍了此次实验中黄河下游主要断面的水文泥沙过程,以及河道冲淤情况,认为花园口水文站来水量26．5亿m~3,冲刷量0．456亿t,整个下游河段基本为冲刷；下游主要断面主槽过洪能力增加幅度为150～400m~3/s,2500m~3/s流量相应水位降低0．04～0．23m,提高下游河道的输沙效率。     

枞阳长江干堤防渗墙截渗效果分析

综合分析了连续三年(特别是2002年汛期高水头作用期间)的安全监测成果,对枞阳长江干堤一标段水泥土防渗墙渗控效果作出了评价,揭示了长江水位与堤基渗透的变化规律。观测资料显示,汛期防渗墙前、墙后最大水位差为2.63 m,洪峰期间,部分监测断面防渗墙前堤基水位与江水位变化相关性较大,所有监测断面防渗墙后地下水位与江水位变化相关性较差,充分显示了水泥土防渗墙截渗效果。     

基于能量耗散关系的黄河内蒙段河床形态调整分析

从河流能量耗散角度研究河床形态调整规律,引入河流功与纵、横向能坡等指标,对50年实测资料进行了研究。黄河内蒙河段受上游水库影响,出现如漫滩洪水减小等水沙过程变化,导致河床宽深比增大,平面活动性增强。在河床形态调整过程中,受水库运用影响的来沙系数与河相系数之间、主槽摆动速率与水沙特征值之间均存在密切联系。分析该河段断面形态变化、平面摆动特性与能量耗散的关系表明:反映河流功的径流量及其过程对河槽过流面积的塑造有直接影响;径流因子与河床形态因子间的相关性受河流能量耗散结构的制约;在研究河段,与来沙系数S/Q有关的河流总功率跟与河段平面摆动速率、月径流离差系数有关的能量分配耗散组合,在不同时期总保持近似制衡关系。     

River sinuosity in a humid tropical river basin,south west coast of India

The variability in ground water potential at different regions of the Meenachil River basin and the remarkable distribution of palaeodeposit of sand at its middle to lower reaches have led to interpret the sinuosity indexes of the main channel as well as the tributaries of the River for elucidating the relationship between mathematical expressions and filed observations. The measurement of digital elevation model-derived river sinuosity was carried out for 846 km² of the basin area of Meenachil River. The drainage networks of 10 major sub-watersheds and four mini-watersheds were delineated using remote sensing data—geocoded false colour composite of Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS)-1D (LISS III) data with a spatial resolution of 23.5 m—coupled with the Survey of India toposheets (1:50,000). The calculation of the sinuosity indexes were carried out using Arc GIS (8.3 version) software. Hydraulic sinuosity indexes, topographic sinuosity index and standard sinuosity index were calculated. The study depicts the remarkable correlation between theoretical data sets with field observations and the influence of tectonic control on river planforms. Three structurally controlled regions of Meenachil River basin were established using Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System.     

Lower Mississippi River tributaries: contributions to the collective science concerning the “Father of Waters”

The geological and geomorphic information preserved in the tributary valleys of the lower Mississippi River (LMR) contributes to our understanding of the lower valley's Quaternary geological history. Prominent Pleistocene terraces are preserved in the tributary valleys. Fisk first formulated his four terraces framework on the Red River. Caution needs to be followed in projecting the Red River terraces across the entire Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV). The tributary system cannot be assumed to operate in a synchronized fashion in response to changes in climate and base level. To compare the collective contribution of the tributaries of the LMR, the streams are described in terms of. (1) their characteristics, (2) geomorphic development, (3) process and response of the tributaries to and from the LMR, and (4) engineering investigations and implications. The characteristics of the tributaries are a direct function of their drainage basin size and geology. The tributary system drains portions of six physiographic provinces. Synoptically, the tributaries can be viewed as two groups: the eastern and western tributaries. All of the eastern tributaries are intra-regional, i.e., they drain only one physiographic province, the Coastal Plain, and therefore, have a restricted sediment source. Generally, the eastern tributaries are more numerous and shorter than the western tributaries. The longer western tributaries drain outside the Coastal Plain. The extra-regional nature of the western tributaries adds to the variability of discharge and sediment types. The sediment record of the tributaries reflects response to the trunk Mississippi. During glacial outwash flushes, many of the tributaries were alluvially drowned, producing alluvial cones expressed as flattened longitudinal profiles. More recently, a number of tributaries in the state of Mississippi have experienced episodes of accelerated channel erosion. The effects of navigation and flood control modification of the Mississippi River on the tributaries have not been fully studied. Therefore, fluvial geomorphic research in the tributaries is essential to understanding ways to mitigate the adverse effects of river engineering, thereby designing engineering works in balance with the alluvial architecture and processes of the stream system.     

Will lowering estuarine salinity increase Gulf of Mexico oyster landings?

Previous studies provide conflicting opinions on whether lower than average salinities in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) estuaries are likely to increase or decrease oyster harvests (Crassostrea virginica), which represented 69% and 54% of the United States oyster landings by weight, and dockside value, respectively, in 2003. The present study examined a 54-yr record (1950–2003) of oyster harvests and river discharge in five major estuaries in GOM states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas). Oyster landings were inversely related to freshwater inflow. Peaks in landings, 21 of 23 in West Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas combined, were coincidental with lows in river discharge from the major rivers in the estuaries. Lows in landings in these states (17 of 19) coincided with peaks in discharge of the major rivers feeding their estuaries. Landings in Breton Sound, Louisiana, were also inversely related to river discharge. The only exception to this pattern was for landings in the Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, part of the Breton Sound estuary, where there were higher landings following increased Mississippi River discharge. The Bonnet Carré spillway, completed in 1931, diverts flood waters from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, and it has been opened to reduce flood heights in 1937, 1950, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1983, and 1997. Twenty-five of 28 times after the spillway was opened, oyster landings in Mississippi were lower than in the other four states. The inverse relationship between freshwater inflow and oyster landings suggests that the proposed Bonnet Carré Freshwater Project, designed to reduce estuarine salinity, cannot be justified on the basis of anticipated higher oyster yields in Mississippi or Louisiana. Manipulating estuarine salinity in the GOM should be done within the context of the whole estuary and not just part of the estuary.