Date of Award

Spring 5-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Program

Civil Engineering

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Major Professor

Dr. John Alex McCorquodale

Abstract

The Mississippi River (MR) has been engineered with the development of the levee system, dams for flood control measures, jetties, revetments and dredging of the navigation channel. These alterations have reduced the replenishment of the sediment to the Louisiana Coastal area. To aid in the restoration planning, 1-D numerical models have been calibrated and validated to predict the river response to various changes such as channel modifications, varied flow conditions and hurricane situations. This study utilized the HEC-RAS 4.1 and the CHARIMA (Dr. Forrest Holly, University of Iowa). The models were calibrated for hydrodynamics and sediment using Tarbert Landing discharges (HEC-RAS), Belle Chasse sand concentrations (CHARIMA), and Gulf of Mexico (GOM) stages. The models showed that a large percentage of the river flow is lost over the East Bank downstream of Bohemia which reduces the sand transport capacity of the river. This reach is subject to flow reversals during hurricanes.

Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.

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