Torbjörn Törnqvist
Vokes Geology Professor
Biography
Professor Törnqvist is a coastal geoscientist whose research is motivated by the alarming deterioration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands.
He and his research group use the late Quaternary geologic record to better understand the evolution of fluvial, deltaic, and coastal environments as a function of external forcings, primarily sea-level and climate change. Sea-level rise is an issue of particular interest, and Törnqvist takes advantage of the unique sedimentary record along the U.S. Gulf Coast to reconstruct changes in sea level in the recent geologic past, with the ultimate goal to enable better predictions for the future. A significant portion of his work focuses on coastal subsidence and many of his studies aim to better inform coastal restoration strategies.
Törnqvist has been widely quoted in the media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, PBS Newshour, CNN, and CBS News.
Education
Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Links
Media Appearances
Watch the warming ocean devour Alaska’s coast in this striking time-lapse video
But there are massive differences, notes Torbjorn Tornqvist, a coastal geologist at Tulane University who studies the region...
Louisiana's coast can't be rebuilt fast enough, 'difficult choices' loom, Tulane study says
Torbjörn Törnqvist, a geology professor at Tulane and co-author of the study, said the state will have to place the diversion structures in areas with the greatest potential to build land and protect highly populated areas, rather than create multiple diversions along the entire shoreline.
“Difficult choices will have to be made about where to locate these diversions,” he said in a news release...
Scientists say the rapid sinking of Louisiana’s coast already counts as a ‘worst case scenario’
A new paper, published Wednesday in the Geological Society of America’s bulletin GSA Today, includes an updated map of the Louisiana coastline and the rate at which it’s sinking into the sea, a process scientists call “subsidence,” which occurs in addition to the climate change-caused process of sea-level rise. The new map suggests that, on average, the Louisiana coast is sinking at a rate of about 9 millimeters, or just over a third of an inch, per year — a faster rate than previous studies have suggested, according to the authors.
“I think it’s a point worth making that we are finding here that what people recently have considered worst case scenarios are actually conditions that we already see right now,” said Torbjörn Törnqvist, a geologist at Tulane University and a co-author on the new paper.
Tulane Today Mentions
Climate Week: Faculty reflect on the future of climate change education at Tulane
Engineering of the Mississippi River has kept carbon out of the atmosphere, according to new study
Studies find that river diversions can overcome Louisiana’s rapid sinking
New ‘time travel’ study reveals future impact of climate change on coastal marshes
In the News
Science Magazine: Rerouting the Mississippi River could build new land—and save a retreating coast
Science Daily: Engineering of Mississippi River has kept carbon out of atmosphere, study says
Mashable: Top U.S. scientists: 2020 was damn hot
Weather.com: Burrito Levee in Grand Isle, Louisiana, Battered By Multiple Storms
New York Times: Destroying a Way of Life to Save Louisiana
WWL-Radio: Tulane scientist: pulling out of climate change deal bad for LA
