Sequential shoreline monitoring, using vintage chans and aerial photographs, documents temporal and spatial variations in historical Gulf shoreline changes.

Reservoir quality of lower Teritary sandstone reservoirs along the Texas Gulf Coast is controlled by sandstone depositional environment, mineralogical composition, and consolidation history (compaction, cementation, and leaching).

Aquifers in the Houston-Galveston area are composed principally of fluvial-deltaic sediments. The Alta Loma Sand is a complexly faulted, high-sand-percent unit that represents a seaward progression of fluvial, delta-plain, and delta-front facies.

The State of Texas has about 367 miles of open Gulf shoreline, most of it typified by rather broad, sandy beaches and a comparatively mild climate that permits almost year-round use of this recreational resource. All but about 87 miles of the Gulf beach is accessible to the general public.

Historical monitoring along central Padre Island records the nature and magnitude of changes in position of the shoreline and vegetation line and provides insight into the factors affecting those changes.