The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium held a grant competition for its 2018-2020 research program. Six research projects that address coastal issues in Alabama and Mississippi were selected to receive funding. They include the following:
- “A holistic assessment of resilience to climate change hazards along the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast,” $221,974, Christopher Burton, Luke Marzen, Ming-Kuo Lee and Chandana Mitra, Auburn University.
- “Improving the (off) bottom line: Identifying means to increase profits for commercial off-bottom oyster farmers,” $195,121, William C. Walton and Russell Grice, Auburn University; Julian Stewart, Alma Bryant High School; and Matthew Parker, University of Maryland.
- “Mediating the impacts of local flooding in the Mississippi-Alabama coastal region through green infrastructure plan evaluation,” $172,537, Megan Heim-LaFrombois, Charlene LeBleu and Sweta Byahut, Auburn University, and Hyun Woo Kim, Texas A&M University.
- “Return on investment from wind hazard mitigation,” $194,976, Daniel R. Petrolia, Mississippi State University, and Henry “Hank” Hodde, Smart Home America.
- “Evaluating success of beneficial use restoration on Deer Island,” $195,005, Patrick Biber, Zachary Darnell and Kevin Dillon, The University of Southern Mississippi.
- “Coastal development in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Linking drainage patterns and tidal creek habitats,” $129,831, Christopher Anderson, Latif Kalin and Dennis DeVries, Auburn University.