The purposes of this study were (1) to quantify recent (1974 to 1982) movement of Texas shorelines and vegetation lines by analysis of aerial photographs; (2) to place this movement in historical (pre-1974) context; and (3) to examine the influence of environmental variables such as storms, sea l

The State-owned submerged lands of Texas encompass almost 6,000 mi2 (15,540 km2). They lie below waters of the bay-estuary-lagoon system and the Gulf of Mexico and extend 10.3 mi (16.6 km) seaward from the Gulf shoreline (fig. 1).

These cross sections numerically correspond to previously published onshore cross sections (CS0002--Dodge and Posey, 1981) and extend those sections across the continental shelf into the Miocene, a recent target of renewed petroleum exploration.

Many modern shore zones comprise a continuum of depositional environments that encompass both strandplain and barrier-island systems. Strandplains are further subdivided into two classes: sand-rich beach-ridge plains and mud-rich chenier plains.

Upper Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene deposits in the subsurface of the central Coastal Plain of Texas were subdivided into six operational units comprising the surface-defined Fleming, Goliad, Willis, Lissie, and Beaumont Formations.

The publication comprises 24 structural dip cross sections, spaced 15 to 20 mi apart along the Texas coast, and 4 structural strike cross sections. Dip sections extend from near the Wilcox outcrop to the coastline.

Secondary leached porosity is common to dominant in near surface to deep subsurface lower Tertiary sandstone reservoirs along the Texas Gulf Coast. This secondary porosity is in the form of leached feldspar grains, volcanic rock fragments, carbonate cements, and carbonate-replaced grains.

The State-owned submerged lands of Texas encompass nearly 6,000 square miles (15,540 km²) and extend from Mexico to Louisiana. The area includes the bays, estuaries, and lagoons, as well as the inner continental shelf 10.3 miles (16.6 km) seaward of the Gulf shoreline (fig. 1).

Approximately 800 sediment samples from stream beds and bay bottoms of water bodies that compose the Matagorda Bay system were collected and analyzed. Shell-sand-mud ratios and total organic carbon content were determined, and 20 trace elements were detected.