Dr. Nancy Rabalais, senior research professor at LUMCON, is a marine ecologist who has been studying the Gulf Hypoxia Zone for 31 years. Rabalais is called the “Queen of Hypoxia” because of all her work devoted to solutions to the hypoxia problem in the Gulf.
The LUMCON facility is completely surrounded by salt marshes, which contain a special ecosystem where fresh and salt water mix to create a brackish water zone. These brackish waters create an ecosystem that have very specific grasses that filter the water.
LUMCON’s building sits on the edge of massive salt marshes in southern Louisiana. These salt marshes are another type of ecosystem in Louisiana with its own set of plant and wildlife.
LUMCON’s research facility sits just north of the town of Cocodrie. The town rests, primarily on 18-foot stilts, on the edge of a landmass in the southernmost part of Louisiana. The town sustains itself through its prime location for fishing.