DECADAL CHANGES IN BARRIER ISLAND FACIES NEAR MANSFIELD PASS ON PADRE ISLAND, TEXAS FROM 1950-PRESENT

Abstract. Barrier island transgression is influenced by the alongshore variation in beach and dune morphology, which determines the amount of sediment moved landward through wash-over. While several studies have demonstrated how variations in dune morphology affect island response to storms, the reasons for that variation and the implications for island management remain unclear. This paper builds on previous research by demonstrating that paleo-channels in the irregular framework geology can have a directional influence on alongshore beach and dune morphology. The influence of relict paleo-channels on beach and dune morphology on Padre Island National Seashore, Texas, was quantified by isolating the long-range dependence (LRD) parameter in autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average (ARFIMA) models, originally developed for stock market economic forecasting. ARFIMA models were fit across ∼250 unique spatial scales and a moving window approach was used to examine how LRD varied with computational scale and location along the island. The resulting LRD matrices were plotted by latitude to place the results in the context of previously identified variations in the framework geology. Results indicate that the LRD is not constant alongshore for all surface morphometrics. Many flares in the LRD plots correlate to relict infilled paleo-channels, indicating that the framework geology has a significant influence on the morphology of Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS). Barrier island surface morphology LRD is strongest at large paleo-channels and decreases to the north. The spatial patterns in LRD surface morphometrics and framework geology variations demonstrate that the influence of paleo-channels can be asymmetric (i.e., affecting beach–dune morphology preferentially in one direction alongshore) where the alongshore sediment transport gradient was unidirectional during island development. The asymmetric influence of framework geology on coastal morphology has long-term implications for coastal management activities because it dictates the long-term behavior of a barrier island. Coastal management projects should first seek to assess the framework geology and understand how it influences coastal processes in order to more effectively balance long-term natural variability with short-term societal pressure.

Download Full-text

RECOVERY OF VEGETATION FOLLOWING A WILDFIRE IN A BARRIER ISLAND GRASSLAND, PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE, TEXAS

The Southwestern Naturalist ◽

10.1894/0038-4909(2004)049<0173:rovfaw>2.0.co;2 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. 173-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Robert I. Lonard ◽

Frank W. Judd ◽

Elizabeth H. Smith ◽

Chenghai Yang

Keyword(s):

Barrier Island ◽

Padre Island ◽

National Seashore

Download Full-text

Statistical modeling of the long-range-dependent structure of barrier island framework geology and surface geomorphology

Earth Surface Dynamics ◽

10.5194/esurf-6-431-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 431-450 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Bradley A. Weymer ◽

Phillipe Wernette ◽

Mark E. Everett ◽

Chris Houser

Keyword(s):

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Long Range ◽

Moving Average ◽

Quantitative Measure ◽

Barrier Island ◽

Barrier Islands ◽

Wave Number ◽

Statistical Parameters ◽

Padre Island

Abstract. Shorelines exhibit long-range dependence (LRD) and have been shown in some environments to be described in the wave number domain by a power-law characteristic of scale independence. Recent evidence suggests that the geomorphology of barrier islands can, however, exhibit scale dependence as a result of systematic variations in the underlying framework geology. The LRD of framework geology, which influences island geomorphology and its response to storms and sea level rise, has not been previously examined. Electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys conducted along Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS), Texas, United States, reveal that the EMI apparent conductivity (σa) signal and, by inference, the framework geology exhibits LRD at scales of up to 101 to 102 km. Our study demonstrates the utility of describing EMI σa and lidar spatial series by a fractional autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) process that specifically models LRD. This method offers a robust and compact way of quantifying the geological variations along a barrier island shoreline using three statistical parameters (p, d, q). We discuss how ARIMA models that use a single parameter d provide a quantitative measure for determining free and forced barrier island evolutionary behavior across different scales. Statistical analyses at regional, intermediate, and local scales suggest that the geologic framework within an area of paleo-channels exhibits a first-order control on dune height. The exchange of sediment amongst nearshore, beach, and dune in areas outside this region are scale independent, implying that barrier islands like PAIS exhibit a combination of free and forced behaviors that affect the response of the island to sea level rise.

Download Full-text

An annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of North Padre Island, Texas, USA, with comparisons to adjacent barrier island and mainland herpetofauna

ZooKeys ◽

10.3897/zookeys.1073.57241 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1073 ◽

pp. 119-175

Author(s):

Mike Duran

Keyword(s):

Conservation Status ◽

Barrier Island ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Field Surveys ◽

History Museum ◽

Extensive Field ◽

Padre Island ◽

Subjective Estimates ◽

Annotated Checklist ◽

North And South

Padre Island is the world’s longest barrier island and includes the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world. Largely due to harsh environmental conditions and difficult access, only cursory and incomplete checklists and subjective estimates of abundance have been produced. The results of an inventory of amphibians and reptiles of North Padre Island conducted 2002–2020, including the results of extensive field surveys conducted 2002–2003, are reported herein. Natural history museum and iNaturalist records are summarized and compared among North and South Padre and Mustang islands and the mainland portion of the seven counties in which the islands occur. The conservation status of rare species and extirpation of others is noted. The morphology and taxonomic status of some unique occurrences are discussed. Eleven species of amphibians and 39 species of reptiles presently occur or have occurred naturally or as introduced or accidental species on North Padre Island. Twelve species of amphibians and 50 species of reptiles occur or have occurred on North Padre, South Padre, and Mustang islands. Thirty-one species of amphibians and 93 species of reptiles have been reported from the seven counties in which the islands occur.

Download Full-text

THE ROLE OF GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK IN BARRIER ISLAND GEOMORPHOLOGY AT PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE, TEXAS

10.1130/abs/2016am-283322 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Phillipe A. Wernette ◽

◽

Chris Houser ◽

Bradley A. Weymer ◽

Michael P. Bishop ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Barrier Island ◽

Padre Island ◽

National Seashore

Download Full-text

Statistical modeling of the long-range dependent structure of barrier island framework geology and surface geomorphology

10.5194/esurf-2018-5 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bradley A. Weymer ◽

Phillipe Wernette ◽

Mark E. Everett ◽

Chris Houser

Keyword(s):

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Long Range ◽

Moving Average ◽

Quantitative Measure ◽

Barrier Island ◽

Barrier Islands ◽

Auto Regressive ◽

Padre Island ◽

Dune Height

Abstract. Shorelines exhibit long-range dependence (LRD) and have been shown in some environments to be described in the wavenumber domain by a power law characteristic of scale-independence. Recent evidence suggests that the geomorphology of barrier islands can, however, exhibit scale dependence as a result of systematic variations of the underlying framework geology. The LRD of framework geology, which influences island geomorphology and its response to storms and sea level rise, has not been previously examined. Electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys conducted along Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS), Texas, USA, reveal that the EMI apparent conductivity σa signal and, by inference, the framework geology exhibits LRD at scales up to 101 to 102 km. Our study demonstrates the utility of describing EMI σa and LiDAR spatial series by a fractional auto-regressive integrated moving average process that specifically models LRD. This method offers a robust and compact way for quantifying the geological variations along a barrier island shoreline using three parameters (p,d,q). We discuss how ARIMA (0,d,0) models that use a single parameter d provide a quantitative measure for determining free and forced barrier island evolutionary behavior across different scales. Statistical analyses at regional, intermediate, and local scales suggest that the geologic framework within an area of paleo-channels exhibits a first order control on dune height. The exchange of sediment amongst nearshore, beach and dune in areas outside this region are scale-independent, implying that barrier islands like PAIS exhibit a combination of free and forced behaviors that affect the response of the island to sea level rise.

Download Full-text