The City of South Padre Island and PARTRAC, a UK based marine and coastal survey consultancy group, have formalized a working partnership.
Through successful grant awards they will combine their knowledge, resources and technical capabilities to improve understanding of coastal zone processes affecting beach morphology and sediment transport at South Padre Island, reported PARTRAC.
South Padre Island is a coastal barrier island on the southern Texas Gulf Coast. Its beaches provide critical nesting grounds for the endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle.
In common with much of the US Gulf Coast shoreline, South Padre Island beaches are suffering from erosion and loss of beach material at significant rates every year.
Beach nourishment using sediment from nearby dredging projects supplied by the US Army Corps of Engineers – Galveston District – has helped restore and maintain the South Padre Island shoreline; however, the requirement to nourish the beaches is an ongoing process.
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