Textural and geochemical relationships in benthic sediments in three bay-estuary-lagoon systems in Texas

Analyses of hundreds of benthic sediment samples collected as part of an extensive inventory of Texas coastal submerged lands have provided data for textural and geochemical characterization of these nearshore areas. Mud and sandy mud dominate the deeper bay systems of Galveston and Corpus Christi bays, in contrast to the much sandier system of sand and muddy sand in southern Laguna Madre. Comparison of eight trace metals shows that muds in Galveston Bay have the highest mean concentrations of Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Ni, and that muds in Corpus Christi Bay have the highest means of Ba and Zn. Normalization of elemental concentrations with percent mud proved to be an effective method for characterizing and defining bay sediment trace metal content