entering directly in routine surveying operations, was sometimes needed 

 for evaluating claims of bad weather by dredging contractors and for 

 analyzing the circumstances concerning boating accidents. 



In the offshore, information on wave height, period, and direction, as 

 well as water level, would be valuable for confirmation of weather days 

 that halt dredging. Dredgers sometimes appear to have to halt due to 

 longer period wave motions than just short-period surface waves; a wave 

 gauge might be able to determine the conditions when this problem 

 occurs. Finally, some interest was expressed in being able to obtain 

 predictions of the tide, both for planning routine operations and for 

 emergency planning during hurricanes and storms. 



Locations of Galveston District Tide Staffs 



After creating preliminary maps showing general locations of tide 

 staffs based on information provided by the CESWG Area Offices, 

 13 days of field reconnaissance were conducted during September and 

 October 1996, of the CESWG tide staffs from Port Arthur to Brownsville. 

 The locations (geographic coordinates and description) of the staffs were 

 determined by differential global positioning system (DGPS) or global 

 positioning system (GPS) survey, depending on satellite coverage at the 

 time the particular stations were visited. 



A list of the locations of 166 CESWG tide staffs identified during the 

 survey is contained in Appendix B. In several cases, the tide staffs were 

 missing at the time of the survey, and station coordinates (for staffs to be 

 later replaced) were obtained based on knowledge of the former staff 

 location as provided by the Area Office field personnel who served as 

 guides during the field visits. Maps showing tide station locations were 

 generated as shown in Charts A-J in Chapter 5 and were designed to cover 

 areas of the coast corresponding to areas covered by specific NOAA 

 charts. 



26 Chapter 3 Present Networks Along the Texas Coast 



