A massive coastal restoration project in Louisiana could test whether new wetlands can be created faster than they’re disappearing under waves and rising seas.The $1.5 billion project would redirect more than 12% of the Mississippi River’s flow into Barataria Bay, a nearly 600,000-acre expanse of degraded marsh that’s drowning in salt water. The proposed plan would deposit millions of tons of land-building sediment in the basin over the next 50 years.Proponents say it’s the critical element of a $50 billion state coastal restoration program that rivals Florida’s yearslong recovery effort in...…A massive coastal restoration project in Louisiana could test whether new wetlands can be created faster than they’re disappearing under waves and rising seas.The $1.5 billion project would redirect more than 12% of the Mississippi River’s flow into Barataria Bay, a nearly 600,000-acre expanse of degraded marsh that’s drowning in salt water. The proposed plan would deposit millions of tons of land-building sediment in the basin over the next 50 years.Proponents say it’s the critical element of a $50 billion state coastal restoration program that rivals Florida’s yearslong recovery effort in...WW…

Damage assessments of flood-ravaged communities used to rely on post-disaster surveys.That’s changing.Scientists at one of the nation’s leading climate research consortiums last week released an “augmented reality” smartphone application that simulates how floodwater would inundate specific houses under varying storm surge conditions.While AR simulations are still an emerging technology, experts say they could help fill a long-standing knowledge gap around flood risk, flood-zone mapping and flood mitigation, experts say.The “Storm Surge AR” app, developed by the University Corporation for...…Damage assessments of flood-ravaged communities used to rely on post-disaster surveys.That’s changing.Scientists at one of the nation’s leading climate research consortiums last week released an “augmented reality” smartphone application that simulates how floodwater would inundate specific houses under varying storm surge conditions.While AR simulations are still an emerging technology, experts say they could help fill a long-standing knowledge gap around flood risk, flood-zone mapping and flood mitigation, experts say.The “Storm Surge AR” app, developed by the University Corporation for...WW…