Deeper Waters Ahead

Oct 12, 2018

Dredging of the Mississippi Moves Along

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently signed off on a project to deepen a span of the Mississippi River.

The project includes the dredging of a 256-mile stretch of the lower Mississippi River from 45 feet to 50 feet deep. Increasing the depth by 5 feet will make the channel the same depth as the Panama Canal, so ships of the same size can navigate both locations.

James C. Dalton, director of civil works with the Army Corps of Engineers, supports what he calls a “economically justified and environmentally sustainable” project.

How Five Feet Could Add Soy Profits

The added 5 feet can have a great effect on the soybean industry and farmer profitability. Sixty percent of U.S. soybeans flow through this part of the river, from the Port of Greater Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico. A deeper river allows for more soybeans transported for export.

The Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) published a report in May 2018 detailing the positive impact the dredging project would have on the soy industry. A deeper river will allow for bigger barges to be loaded with more soybeans. STC research reports the dredging will “increase soybean revenues by close to half a billion dollars annually.”

With an additional 5 feet, large Capesize vessels are expected to travel beneath bridges on the lower Mississippi River without issue. The volume for ships of this size is 120,000 metric tons, the largest dry cargo ships. The current ship size capable of traveling the river is 65,000-80,000 metric tons. Capesize vessels are too large to pass through the Suez and Panama Canals, and typically travel the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn to move between oceans. With larger ships able to hold larger amounts of cargo, the U.S. soy industry can stay competitive with other countries.

Infrastructure Investments to Match Growth and Need

According to the report, nearly all U.S. channels have a depth of 50 feet, except those in the Southeast and Gulf Coast. As this region is predicted to have the highest trade growth and population increase, the dredging project will accommodate that growth.

The Corps will use the dredged material to create new wetland areas in the Delta National Wildlife Refuge and Pass A Loutre Wildlife Management Area. Remaining material will be deposited in an existing dredge material site.

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Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.