Texas High School Coastal Monitoring Program: Port Aransas High School

Summary

The Texas High School Coastal Monitoring Program 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 from The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology (Bureau) provide the tools and training needed for scientific investigation. Students and teachers learn how to measure the topography, map the vegetation line and shoreline, and observe weather and wave conditions. Students from Port Aransas High School measure shore-normal beach and dune topographic profiles and make observations on weather condition, sea state, longshore current, and dune vegetation and monitor selected beaches over a period of one year.