REQUIRED READING

By Ella Tyler

I have decided that the book “The Formation and Future of the Upper Texas Coast: A Geologist Answers Questions about Sand, Storms, and Living by the Sea” by Rice professor John B. Anderson is required reading for any one who cares about our coast.

However, unlike a lot of required reading, this book costs less than $25.00, has lots of pictures, and talks about stuff you might really care about.

The book is a primer about the coast, answering basic questions – how the coast evolved and operates; how natural processes affect it; why it is constantly changing; and how development has changed the coast and can be managed to help preserve it. And, although the book isn’t easy to read, the material is very accessible. Literally. The book is talking about our own back yard. The illustrations are so clear that we can locate and go stand on many of the geologic features Anderson describes. He explains the movement of sand, a core concept, in terms anyone who has waded in the waves has can understand – or if you’re susceptible to suggestion from your reading, feel between your toes.

One of the things I learned from the book is that storm surge in hurricanes is a two-part problem. The surge forces water inland, causing flooding and damage from large waves; and, as that water recedes, it undermines buildings.

Anderson does a good job of explaining how the different parts of the coastal system interact. For example, bulkheads and sand socks, used to protect beachfront property, cause the beach to disappear in front of the barrier. One result is that there is no beach for public access and no beach for habitat.

The book is a great resource for recreational users, conservation activists, developers, and politicians. It has an abundance of aerial photos, historical maps, charts, and satellite images, making it easy to understand coastal geography and the effects of subsidence, development, and climate change on the coast.
Anderson is professor of earth sciences at Rice University, where he also holds the W. Maurice Ewing Professorship in Oceanography. He also works on Antarctic marine geology. He lives in Houston.

This book is the eleventh in a series titled Gulf Coast Studies, sponsored by Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi. The series includes Lighthouses of Texas, The Book of Texas Bays, Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend, Galveston Bay, and Birdlife of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast, all by local authors. Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico will be released in November. The books are published by Texas A&M University Press.

On a related topic –
On Monday, August 20, Tom Michel, of the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, will speak to the Brays Bayou Association about “Subsidence-What is it? What causes it?” The meeting is at 7:30 pm at the Chase Bank board room, 1310 Chimney Rock at West Bellfort. The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Bob Schwartz at (713) 723-7230 or bobx@hal-pc.org.