ANN ARBOR—The current record-breaking flood of the Mississippi River Basin has left millions of acres of land underwater in several states that border the “Great River.”

Experts at the University of Michigan are available to discuss a range of issues pertaining to the flooding, from the efficacy of the levees to the role weather and climate change play in contributing to such catastrophes to the impact on residents, business and the economy.

They include:

Ravi Anupindi, professor of operations and management science and director of the Master of Supply Chain Management Program at the Ross School of Business, can address supply chain disruptions and their impact on regional, national and international commerce. He is an authority on supply chain management, strategic sourcing and lean operations, and author of the textbook “Managing Business Process Flows.” He can be reached at (734) 615-8621 or anupindi@umich.edu.

Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the College of Engineering, is an expert on the performance of levee systems and dams and soil liquefaction engineering. She can discuss problems and solutions surrounding the levees and can address the New Madrid fault line and implications of what could happen to the levees along the Mississippi Delta in an earthquake scenario. Watch a video of Athanasopoulos-Zekkos discussing the opening up of levees at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL0xAC89Kg0. She can be reached at (734) 764-0057 or addazekk@umich.edu.

Barry Rabe, professor at the Ford School of Public Policy, is an authority on climate policy development and implementation, with particular focus on policy diffusion and regionalization. His research also includes public opinion on climate, energy and environmental protection. He can discuss policy issues, such as state insurance for coastal flooding and possible state adaptation issues, as well as the long-term impact that may be anticipated. He can be reached at (734) 615-9596 or brabe@umich.edu.

Richard (Ricky) Rood, professor of atmospheric, oceanic and space sciences in the College of Engineering, is an expert on the interface of climate change with all aspects of American society, including business, public policy and public health. Current research focuses on bridging the study of weather and climate. He can be reached at (301) 526-8572 or rbrood@umich.edu.

Aquatic ecologist Donald Scavia, professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environment and director of the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, can discuss how the floods will affect the size of this year’s “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. The annual dead zone is expected to be much larger than normal?perhaps record-setting?this year due to the large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus being washed into the Gulf in the flood waters, according to Scavia. He can be reached at (734) 615-4860 or scavia@umich.edu.