Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           985/549-2341/fax 985-549-2061
    Date: 4/15/02
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple   22

COASTAL LAND LOSS EXPERT TO PRESENT LECTURE AT MARITIME MUSEUM
     HAMMOND -- Shea Penland, Braunstein Professor of Geology at the University of New
Orleans, will present a lecture on "The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Environmental Atlas," at 7
p.m., Wednesday, April 17, at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum in Madisonville.
     The lecture is free to the public, said Roy Blackwood, coordinator of Southeastern
education initiatives at the museum.
     Penland has more than 20 years experience investigating the geology, geomorphology and
shoreline processes of the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and the U.S. Pacific, Atlantic, Great Lakes
coasts, Canada, and the North Sea. Recently, he was appointed director of the Pontchartrain
Institute for Environmental Sciences, a partnership of scientists and educators combining
rigorous scientific analysis with education, outreach and planning to develop potential solutions
to the environmental challenges of the Pontchartrain Basin, the Gulf of Mexico, and similar
coastal ecosystems throughout the world.
     The focus of Penland's research explains the geological evolution of coastal ecosystems
since the lake Wisconsin deglaciation 18,000 years ago and the role of man in modifying these
landforms. In Louisiana, he has developed models to explain barrier island development,
Mississippi River delta evolution, and future coastal conditions due to global climate change.
     He recently completed a study, entitled "Natural and Human Causes of Coastal Land Loss
in Louisiana: The Mississippi River Delta Plain." The study's goal was to determine the role of
geologic and vegetative processes in Louisiana's land loss problem and to develop a
classification that quantifies the types and processes of land loss with emphasis on determining
the role of oil and gas activities.
     Since 1979, Penland has published more than 200 scientific papers, received more than
10 science awards, conducted more than 50 field trips, and chaired more than 30 scientific
meeting sessions in the field of coastal geomorphology and processes.
     For additional information about the lecture, contact Blackwood at 985-549-2662 or
cblackwood@selu.edu.
                             -SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/news/spring02.html