SEDIMENT DISTRIBUTION, SAND RESOURCES, AND GEOLOGIC CHARACTER 

 OF THE INNER CONTINENTAL SHELF OFF GALVESTON COUNTY, TEXAS 



by 



S. Jeffress Williams , Dennis A. Pvins, 



and Edward P. Meisburger 



I . INTRODUCTION 



The Galveston region of the Texas coast is an important resort area 

 that is threatened by severe erosion. The National Shoreline Study 

 (U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, 1971), which included an assessment of 

 beaches in the Galveston area, reported severe erosion along a 6.4- 

 kilometer (4 miles) section of beach immediately west of the end of the 

 Galveston seawall, as well as along a 20.8-kilometer (13 miles) stretch 

 on Bolivar Peninsula west of High Island (Fig. 1). More recent surveys 

 (U.S. Army Engineer District, Galveston, 1976) show that the threat of 

 severe erosion is great along most of the upper Texas coast, and in 

 particular the western end of Galveston Island at San Luis Pass and at 

 Surfside Beach, a 3.2-kilometer (2 miles) stretch of beach near Freeport 

 (Fig. 1). Beach recession at Surfside averaged 2.4 meters (8 feet) per 

 year from 1968 to 1975, and several houses were undermined and destroyed 

 by the waves (Fig. 2). 



In 1976, the Galveston District initiated a study to evaluate causes 

 of erosion and possible control measures for eroding gulf and bay shore- 

 lines in Galveston County, as well as the Surfside Beach area in adjacent 

 Brazoria County (U.S. Army Engineer District, Galveston, 1976). The 

 overall objectives of the study were to: (a) determine the needs and 

 concerns of local people relating to shoreline erosion within the study 

 area, (b) identify eroding shoreline areas and determine the cause and 

 rates of erosion, (c) delineate those shoreline areas where potential 

 Federal interest exists and develop and evaluate alternatives, and (d) 

 make recommendations for solving the erosion problems. 



Beach nourishment has proven to be one solution for many severely 

 eroded coastal areas because it is usually environmentally and estheti- 

 cally acceptable. In addition, it is often an important and effective 

 means of counteracting coastal erosion, of providing relief from hurri- 

 cane flooding, and of enhancing recreational facilities (U.S. Army, 

 Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research Center, 1977). However, 

 nourishment of a beach does require large volumes of suitable sand as 

 fill, and in recent years it has often been impractical to obtain needed 

 material from back -barrier island lagoons and bays or from inland sources 

 because of economic or environmental factors, or land-use restrictions. 

 Also, material from bays and lagoons is often too fine grained to meet 

 beach-fill design criteria. 



The Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC) has a continuing 

 research program with the objective to locate and accurately describe 

 offshore marine sand resources suitable for dredging and transport to 



