major coastal industries - 

 and fossil fuel extraction, 



HISTORY OF DELTA RESEARCH 



transportation 



Investigations of geological and 

 biological aspects of the Mississippi 

 Delta both followed the same historic 

 trend from descriptive accounts to greater 

 emphasis on functional processes. In 

 geology early studies are typified by that 

 of Lerch et al. (1892), who carried out a 

 fairly inclusive preliminary survey of 

 Louisiana that included geology, soils, 

 and groundwater. Davis' (1899) 



physiographic interpretation ushered in 

 the "golden age" of coastal geomorphol ogy 

 (Fisk 1939, 1944; Fisk and McFarlan 1955; 

 Russell 1936, 1967; Kolb and Van Lopik 

 1958; and many others). This was a 

 period of deciphering the geomorphol ogy of 

 the delta on a regional scale and 



qualitatively documenting the major 

 i^ormative processes. In the last 20 



years the emphasis has shifted to 

 intensive investigation, usually at 

 specific locations, of nrocess-response 

 rel ationships . 



In the biological arena early 

 comments on delta biota were common, at 

 first emphasizing economically important 

 animals such as furbearers. De Montigny 

 (1753, as quoted in Gowanloch 1933), who 

 spent 25 years in Louisiana, and Le Page 

 du Pratz (1758) observed fish and 

 terrestrial animals in the coastal zone. 

 In the early 1800' s Rafinesque, a 

 professor at Transylvania University, 

 Lexington, Kentucky, described many fish 

 species of the South (Gowanloch 1933). 

 John J. Audubon and Alexander Wilson 

 described Louisiana birds in the early 

 1800' s. George E. Beyer published "The 



Figure 3, Across this expanse of marsh and swamp looms the New Orleans skyline through 

 the haze, a reminder of the proximity of heavy industries and concentrated populations 

 (Photograph by Charles Sasser). 



