Mississippi mud: More water behind river's sediment rise
Thursday, September 29, 2011 - 16:02
in Earth & Climate
(PhysOrg.com) -- During the past several decades, upper Midwest state and local agencies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on extraordinary conservation efforts to prevent the Upper Mississippi River from filling with mud, waste and excess nutrients. Yet the waterway, which winds through prime agricultural lands, has seen a ten-fold increase in sediment since the early 20th century.