Factors Controlling Navigation-Channel Shoaling in Laguna Madre, Texas
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 127, Issue 2
Abstract
Shoaling in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway of Laguna Madre, Tex., is caused primarily by recycling of dredged sediments. Sediment recycling, which is controlled by water depth and location with respect to the predominant wind-driven currents, is minimal where dredged material is placed on tidal flats that are either flooded infrequently or where the water is extremely shallow. In contrast, nearly all of the dredged material placed in open water >1.5 m deep is reworked and either transported back into the channel or dispersed into the surrounding lagoon. A sediment flux analysis incorporating geotechnical properties demonstrated that erosion and not postemplacement compaction caused most sediment losses from the placement areas. Comparing sediment properties in the placement areas and natural lagoon indicated that the remaining dredged material is mostly a residual of initial channel construction. Experimental containment designs (shallow subaqueous mound, submerged levee, and emergent levee) constructed in high-maintenance areas to reduce reworking did not retain large volumes of dredged material. The emergent levee provided the greatest retention potential approximately 2 years after construction.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Atturio, J. M., Basco, D. R., and James, W. P. ( 1976). “Shoaling characteristics of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Texas.” TAMU-SG-76-207, Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex.
2.
Brown, C. A., and Kraus, N. C. ( 1996). “Environmental monitoring of dredging and processes in lower Laguna Madre, Texas.” Conrad Blucher Inst. for Surv. and Sci., Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Tex.
3.
Cargill, K. W. ( 1985). “Mathematical model of the consolidation/desiccation processes in dredged material.” Tech. Rep. D-85-4. U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
4.
Das, B. M. ( 1990). Principles of geotechnical engineering, PWS/KENT Publishing Co., Boston.
5.
Dortch, M. S., ed. ( 1990). “Methods of determining the long-term fate of dredged material for aquatic disposal sites.” Tech. Rep. D-90-1, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
6.
Dunton, K. H., and Kaldy, J. E. ( 1997). “Factors controlling the success of seagrass revegetation in the lower Laguna Madre, Texas.” Marine Sci. Inst., University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
7.
Espey, Huston and Associates, Inc. ( 1976). “A study of the placement of materials dredged from Texas ports and waterways.” Report Prepared for the Texas General Land Office, Vol. 1.
8.
Fisk, H. N. ( 1959). “Padre Island and the Laguna Madre flats, coastal south Texas.” Proc., 2nd Coast. Geography Conf., Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La. 103-151.
9.
Herbich, J. B. ( 1975). “Engineering aspects of operation and maintenance of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Texas.” TAMU-SG-15-202, Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex.
10.
Herbich, J. B. ( 1992). Handbook of dredging engineering, McGraw-Hill, New York.
11.
Militello, A., and Kraus, N. C. ( 1994). “Reconnaissance investigation of the current and sediment movement in the Lower Laguna Madre, between Port Isabel and Port Mansfield, Texas.” TAMU-CC-CBI-94-4, Conrad Blucher Inst. for Surv. and Sci., Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Tex.
12.
Militello, A., Kraus, N. C., and Kite, R. D. ( 1996). “Environmental monitoring of dredging and processes in upper Laguna Madre, Texas.” Conrad Blucher Inst. for Surv. and Sci., Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Tex.
13.
Morton, R. A., Ward, G. H., and White, W. A. ( 2000). “Rates of sediment supply and sea-level rise in a large coastal lagoon.” Marine Geol., Amsterdam, 167, 261–284.
14.
Morton, R. A., White, W. A., and Nava, R. C. ( 1998). “Sediment budget analysis for Laguna Madre, Texas: An examination of sediment characteristics, history, and recent transport.” Bureau of Economic Geol., University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
15.
Stinson, J. E. ( 1977). “Engineering criteria for dredged material disposal in upper Laguna Madre.” Master's thesis, Dept. of Oc. Engrg., Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex.
16.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). ( 1987). Confined disposal of dredged material, Manual EM 1110-2-5027, U.S. Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
17.
White, W. A., et al. ( 1986). “Submerged lands of Texas, Brownsville-Harlingen area: Sediments, geochemistry, benthic macroinvertebrates, and associated wetlands.” Bureau of Economic Geol., University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 127 • Issue 2 • April 2001
Pages: 72 - 81
History
Received: Mar 3, 2000
Published online: Apr 1, 2001
Published in print: Apr 2001
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.