Tracking Post-storm Beach Recovery Using Data Collected by Texas High School Students

摘要

The Texas High School Coastal Monitoring Program (THSCMP) engages people who live along the coast in the study of their natural environment. High school students, teachers, and scientists work together to gain a better understanding of dune and beach dynamics on the Texas coast. Scientists provide the tools and training needed for scientific investigation. Students and teachers learn how to measure the topography (beach profile), map the vegetation line and shoreline, and observe weather and wave conditions. By participating in an actual research project, the students obtain an enhanced science education. Public awareness of coastal processes and the Texas Coastal Management Program is heightened, and the students' efforts also provide coastal communities with valuable data on their changing shoreline. Data collected by students in the program have been used to observe beach and dune recovery after Tropical Storm Frances caused significant damage to beaches along the southeast (upper) coast of Texas. The post-storm recovery of the beaches is compared to recovery following a category 3 hurricane 16 years earlier. The two storms were very different in duration and magnitude but similar in the amounts of beach erosion and storm damage. The volume of sand removed by Frances returned quickly to the beaches in the study area but dune profile and the vegetation line, both of which were severely impacted by the storm, have not returned to their pre-storm positions by the end of the five year study period.