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Information
Needs
With the
exception of areas adjacent to jetties, the southeastern Texas coast
is undergoing long-term shoreline retreat. This retreat has recently
received increased attention after Tropical Storms Josephine in
1996 and Frances in 1998 caused episodic erosion and the destruction
and endangerment of houses and infrastructure. More than 100 houses
along the shoreline were stranded on the public beach following
Frances. The recent storms have prompted residents and government
officials to take stopgap measures, such as geotubes, hay bales,
dune construction, and minor beach nourishment to mitigate the erosion.
Highway 87, which runs parallel to the shoreline from Port Bolivar
to Sabine Pass, is within 150 meters of the ocean on the east end
of Bolivar Peninsula. This road is the primary hurricane evacuation
route for residents on Bolivar Peninsula. Highway 87 is completely
destroyed in places between High Island and Sabine Pass, making
it impassable. In 1999, the Texas State Legislature passed the Coastal
Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA), which provides $15 million
to mitigate shoreline retreat in the state. Under the CEPRA, the
Texas General Land Office is looking for information on sand resources
for beach nourishment projects along the southeast Texas coast.
Furthermore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting the
Sabine Pass to San Luis Pass, Texas, Shoreline Erosion Feasibility
Study.
In light of
the long-term and recent beach erosion problems along the southeast
Texas coast and the current interest in addressing them with beach
nourishment, there is a need to disseminate existing information
on sand resources. Making this information available is important
so that duplicate work is not conducted and decision-makers at all
levels are aware of the alternatives for mitigating beach erosion,
including knowing where beach-quality sand exists. There is also
a need for refining the extent and amount of the beach erosion since
1996 so that the most critical areas can be matched with sand resources.
This project as reported here is addressing these needs.
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1.
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Vibracore
Locations
of Vibracores. When available, an image of the photographed
core and/or a lithologic profile of the core is hotlinked
to the vibracore location.
Vibracore
sediment texture data are associated with 4 separate map layers.
Each layer corresponds to a different sediment texture analysis:
Sieve,
Gravel,Sand,Mud,
Facies
thickness, Hydrometer.
Identification of a vibracore location in an active layer
will return associated records from the sediment texture analysis
table.
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Stratigraphic
Cross Section Locations (transects)
Hotlinked
stratigraphic cross sections illustrating lithofacies.
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3.
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Navigation
Markers
Locations
of navigation aids in the vicinity of Heald and Sabine Banks.
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4.
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Platforms
Locations
of over 4,300 MMS administered platform structures used for
oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Groups of platform
structures connected by walkways form 'complexes.' There are
approximately 3,700 such complexes in these data.
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5.
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Locations
of Seismic Profiles |
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Shipwrecks
Positions of shipwrecks and other obstructions in the
vicinity of Heald and Sabine Banks.
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Pipelines
(MMS and GLO) |
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Dredged
Materials Site
Boundaries
of permitted areas for dumping of dredged material in the
Gulf of Mexico offshore of Texas.
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9.
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Bathymetry |
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10.
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Shoreline |
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11.
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Fairways
Boundaries
of shipping safety fairways in the Gulf of Mexico offshore of
Texas. |
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12.
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Shipping
Channels
Ship
Channels and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway maintained by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. |
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