Galveston Island and Erosion

Mid-term changes in the beach vegetation line on Galveston Island, as well as the erosional effects of recent hurricanes and tropical storms, were documented with multi-date aerial photography. While localized accretion has occurred on East Beach due to the shadowing effect of the South Jetty, West beach has fluctuated between erosion and accretion. Major episodic events such as Hurricane Alicia can cause well over a hundred feet of erosion in just one day. Long-term erosion has been occurring on West Beach because some of the sediment removed by storm events or by daily coastal processes is eventually lost offshore, over land, or into West Bay and not replaced. there is a potential for increased erosion on West Beach and for the halt of accretion on East Beach due to an increasingly deficient local sand supply in front of the seawall, a reduced longshore sediment supply from the Mississippi River and, possibly, accelerated sea-level rise.