Morphologic Response to a New Inlet, Packery Channel, Corpus Christi, Texas

Abstract

Abstract:In Jul 2005, Packery Channel was opened by Hurricane Emily during the second year of its construction. This inlet connects Corpus Christi Bay and Upper Laguna Madre to the Gulf of Mexico, and it is the first artificially cut inlet in Texas in 17 years. The inlet has remained open and navigable for shallow-draft recreational boats despite construction delays, and its parallel dual jetties were completed in Sep 2006. A physical process monitoring program was initiated prior to construction in 2003 to track the evolution of the channel, surrounding nearshore, and adjacent beaches. Maximum ebb current in the inlet often exceeds 1 m/s, and an ebb shoal has not yet formed. The shorelines adjacent to the jetties, as well as the seaward longshore bars, respond to seasonal changes in wind direction, hence direction of longshore sand transport. Shoreline change varies seasonally, but adjacent to the inlet the shoreline is nearly symmetrical.

Monitoring Coastline Dynamics Using Satellite Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems: A Review of Global Trends

“…Coastline changes are influenced by a variety of natural and human-induced factors. These factors can interact in complex ways, leading to dynamic changes in coastal landscapes, including wave, tidal and siltation action (Wu and Hou, 2016;Moore et al, 2013), currents (Williams and Kraus, 1999), hurricanes and cyclones (Xu, 2018), and sea level rise (List et al, 1997;Zhou et al, 2013). However, human activities along coasts contribute to coastline changes by urbanization and residential housing construction, seawalls, groins, jetties, harbor dredging, sea enclosures and reclamation, harbor construction, and fishpond construction (Zhang et al, 2015;Wu et al, 2022;AI et al, 2019).…”

Quantitative Analysis on Coastline Changes of Yangtze River Delta Based on High Spatial Resolution Remote Sensing Images

“…The interaction between natural processes and human activities causes either coastline progradation or recession [1]. Natural environmental factors influencing coastline position are known, including siltation [1], tides [3], ocean currents [4], and sea level rise [5,6]. In recent decades, intensive human activities have changed coastal zones significantly by multiple means, including sea enclosure and reclamation [7], harbor construction [8] and fishpond construction [9].…”