Pittcon 2015 in New Orleans: Crescent City

Pittcon 2015 will take place from 6 – 12 March in New Orleans.

Located on the crescent shaped southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain at the Mississippi river in Louisiana, New Orleans is amongst the most famous cities in the USA. French settlers built the first houses in the area known as French Quarter nowadays French Quarter today.

Pittcon donates more than a million dollars a year to provide support for various science outreach activities at all levels, kindergarten through adult,

Tragically New Orleans is strongly endangered by its very existence. Built on hundreds of meters thick layer of mud, the weight of the mud and the city compresses itself and the area therefore slowly sinks. This effect was dramatically increased by the dams built by the settlers and by the US Army. Today, 70 % of New Orleans lies 1,6 m below the sea level and sinks about 8 mm a year. In comparison, Venice in Italy sinks 1 – 2 mm a year.

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