Tulane professors Torbjörn (Tor) Törnqvist, a geologist, and Sönke Dangendorf, a coastal engineer and physical oceanographer, join John to talk about sea level rise and coastal restoration, and what could happen to coastal communities if we pass the Paris Agreement global temperature threshold of 1.5-degree Celsius. Sönke has more than 15 years of experience researching mean and extreme sea levels, ocean tides and storm surges and the impact on coastal flooding, and is a member of the NASA Sea-Level Change Team. Tor has been researching the evolution of rivers, deltas, coasts, and shallow oceans in response to climate and sea-level change for more than 20 years.

Nancy Rabalais, Professor and Shell Endowed Chair in Oceanography and Wetland Studies at Louisiana State University and the lead scientist on the recent 2023 dead zone cruise, talks with John about the current state of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, why it matters to the Gulf economy, what it might take to reverse it.