ERICK M. SWENSON COASTAL ECOLOGY INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF THE COAST AND ENVIRONMENT LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA 01 JULY, 2002 BROWN MARSH PROJECT: TASK II.5 PRELIMINARY RESULTS SUMMARY

CLIMATE DRIVER DATA BASE CONTAINS MONTHLY PDSI, PRECIPITATION, AND TEMPERATURE FROM 1895 THROUGH 2001 FROM THE CLIMATE DIVISIONS ENCIRCLED BY THE RED LINE

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

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 Gulf of Mexico Palmer Drought Severity Index

Mississippi River Discharge (cms) Coastal Water Level (cm) Grand Terre Salinity (ppt) e5 16e 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 Gulf of Mexico Palmer Drought Severity Index