ERICK M' SWENSON

1
BROWN MARSH PROJECT TASK II.5 PRELIMINARY
RESULTS SUMMARY
ERICK M. SWENSON COASTAL ECOLOGY
INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF THE COAST AND
ENVIRONMENT LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY BATON
ROUGE, LOUISIANA 01 JULY, 2002
2
CLIMATE DRIVER DATA BASE CONTAINS MONTHLY PDSI,
PRECIPITATION, AND TEMPERATURE FROM 1895 THROUGH
2001 FROM THE CLIMATE DIVISIONS ENCIRCLED BY THE
RED LINE
3
THE GENERAL GULF OF MEXICO PATTERN IS RAINFALL
DEFICITS ALONG THE TEXAS COAST, LARGE RAINFALL
SURPLUS IN THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO, AND
SMALLER RAINFALL SURPLUS IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA
4
Gulf of Mexico Palmer Drought Severity Index
THE LAST GULF OF MEXICO WIDE SEVERE DROUGHT WAS
IN THE MID 1960S WHICH WAS ABOUT THE SAME LENGTH
AND INTENSITY AS THE DROUGHT THAT OCCURRED
DURING THE BROWN MARSH EVENT. THERE WAS ALSO A
PROLONGED DROUGHT IN THE 1950S ALTHOUGH IT WAS
NOT QUITE AS SEVERE IN LOUISIANA
5
Coastal Water Level (cm)
Mississippi River Discharge (cms)
Grand Terre Salinity (ppt)
Gulf of Mexico Palmer Drought Severity Index
THE BROWN MARSH DROUGHT WAS ALSO CHARACTERIZED
BY A LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER DISCHARGE, AND
LOWER COASTAL WATER LEVELS FOR A LONGER TIME
PERIOD THAN THE DROUGHT DURING THE 1960S