ENST377/EEOB377/DSTP377

Final Exam, Fall 2001

Read the following questions carefully. SIX questions will be selected randomly in class on the day of the exam. You must answer all of the questions selected in class. You should allow at least 20 minutes for each question. Answer questions in complete, grammatically correct, English sentences. The best answers are those that support ideas with specific facts, data, or information. Please bring a blank Blue book or books to class with you.

Please remember that you are obligated to conduct yourself under the rules of the honor code for your respective colleges and/or schools.

Good luck!

1) Why is it said that Chicago is the largest city in Mississippi? What does this mean? What are the implications of this statement for contemporary demography of Lower Mississippi Valley rural counties (and parishes)?

2) What is Environmental Justice (EJ)? Is there a need to invoke EJ when industrial plants are built or modified? Why or why not?

3) Draw a diagram illustrating how organic matter, canopy/light, gross primary productivity to community respiration (P/R ratio) and functional composition of invertebrate and vertebrate communities change from headwaters to mouth in streams? What is the serial discontinuity model?

4) Using examples from our field trips, describe three instances where humans have modified natural landscapes. In each case describe the consequences, both positive and negative, of such transformations.

5) What was the flood control policy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prior to 1927 and why? How did the 1927 flood change the Federal government's role in managing the river?

6) What is Coast 2050? In the context of Coast 2050 what is the significance of the Caernevon and Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion projects in environmental terms and in human terms?

7) Describe the Old River Control Structures? What are its major components? Why is it where it is? What is its function and impact today?

8) In what way is the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" a metaphor about the African-American experience on and with the Mississippi River? How does this poem connect contemporary African-Americans' with their history?

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Langston Hughes 1902-1967

9) Draw a plan diagram of Poverty Point. Label and identify the major features. What is the Poverty Point culture? What was the role of the Mississippi River in the evolution of Poverty Point culture?

10) Subsidence is a natural condition of the Louisiana Deltaic plain. Explain what subsidence is and its cause. In what ways have humans altered the natural processes of subsidence and what are the consequences of those actions?

11) Draw a graph illustrating the seasonal fluctuation of nitrogen and phosphorous in the Mississippi River. What are the sources of increased nitrogen & phosphorous in the Mississippi River since ca. 1940? What are the environmental impacts for the Gulf of Mexico?

12) Is there a higher incidence of cancer in the Industrial Corridor compared to the rest of the nation (the SEER comparison group)? Is the pattern consistent for all cancers? Is cancer mortality greater in the industrial corridor compared to the rest of the nation? Are there differences between sexes? Are there differences between members of different races? If so, what could explain these differences?

13) On the attached diagram (below) label the following features: meander bend, crevasse, cutbank, point bar, cutoff, and oxbow lake. Be sure that your labels are clearly identifying the feature. What is a cutoff? How have human-constructed cutoffs affected the Mississippi River?

14) How did settlement patterns along the River south of Baton Rouge evolve after European colonization? How did these settlement patterns relate to economic activities? How have settlement patterns changed in the 20^th century? What was the effect on minority communities?

15) Describe the evolution of musical styles as they emerged along the river. What is the role of the river in stimulating these styles? How does the river influence the spread of jazz music?

16) What is the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) project and what are the major features that contribute to the control and maintenance of the river?