Army recruits LSU for climate study

The U.S. military has recruited LSU to help prepare coastal military installations for climate change in the coming decades.  LSU was awarded a $9.3M Army grant for a four-year study into how intensifying rainfall, storms and rising seas will affect military infrastructure at hundreds of bases. The collaborative work is between LSU, Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, and the University of Delaware, which received separate funding. A main focus for LSU will be modeling coastal conditions to help guide climate planning at military bases that are deemed at risk from hurricanes and sea level rise. In 2016, a group of retired flag officers released a report concluding that “sea level rise risks to coastal military installations will present serious risks to military readiness, operations and strategy.” 1,700 U.S. military sites sit along nearly 100,000 miles coastline in the U.S. and abroad, according to a report published by the Center for Climate and Security. Of particular domestic concern are Camp Lejeune, N.C., Andrews (Md.) AFB, Norfolk (Va.) Naval Station, and NAS Pensacola,  Fla. LSU study's initial focus will be on Dover and Eglin AFB, Fla. In 2018, Hurricane Michael damaged Eglin and leveled most of Tyndall AFB, Fla. No Louisiana military sites are on the priority list for the LSU study. Among LSU’s assets drawing the Army’s attention was its Center for River Studies’ 10,000-square-foot Lower Mississippi River Physical Model, one of the world’s largest movable river models. LSU’s research has shown coastal flood risk isn’t just linked to weather and rising seas. It’s tied to landscape alterations, including levee construction and wetland loss, both of which have exacerbated flooding challenges along the entire Mississippi River. (Source: NOLA.com 01/13/21) LSU awarded $9.3 million grant to help military plan for climate change | Environment | nola.com