TexasCoastal Geology RichardL. Watson, Ph.D., PGConsultingGeologistLicenseNumber 10328P.O. Box1040 Port Aransas, TX 78373361-749-4152 send emailClick here for the coastal geologypresentation for the Texas Coastal Ecology class at TAMUCCClick here for the very first edition ofthe South Jetty Newspaper in June 1971Click here for a page with photos of PortAransas Events.Clickhere for a new page of aerial photos of inlets on Florida's west coast!Clickhere to go to a page about the Texas Open Beaches Act and the Severancedecision limitingpublic access to the beachesThe SupremeCourt of Texas on Nov. 5, 2010just decided that the "rolling easement" guaranteeing public access tothe dry beach below the vegetation is not legal.  There is no suchthing in law as a "rolling easement," easements are fixed.  Thiswill have serious implications for both beach front property owners andthe right of public access to "dry beach" above MHT or MHHT.  Theeasement will probably still apply for slow and imperceptible movementof the vegetation line, but not for rapid and instantaneous movement(avulsion) due to a hurricane or other storm.  You can see theentire court decision at the following link.  Two justices were indissent.  Clickhere for the opinion and more information.OnJune 4-5, 2009 The Texas General Land Office held the Texas CoastalConference 2009 in Galveston, Texas.  Dr. Watson gave aninvitedpresentation titled What hashurricane Ike taught us about beach and dune management.  Youcan download and watch this narrated powerpoint presentation at thefollowing link.  The file is about 20 mb, so it is best todownload itrather than just click on it, unless you have a very fast internetconnection.  Downloadthe presentation here.Clickhere toread Dr. Watson's invited article titled "Evaluation of coastal responseto Hurricane Ike through pre-storm and post-storm aerial photography"in Shoreand Beach Vol. 77,No. 2, 49-59.  This entireissue of Shoreand Beach, the Journalof theAmerican Shore and Beach Preservation Associationis dedicated todescription and analysis of the damage to the Louisiana and Texascoasts by Hurricane Ike which came ashore on September 13, 2008.Dr.Watson presented a lecture titled Ikewiped entire towns off of the map.  Are we safer in PortAransas?The presentation was made at the University of Texas MarineScienceInstitute in Port Aransas, TX on March 12, 2009 to a standing room onlycrowd.  The slide show includes before and after photos of theupperTexas coast destroyed by Ike, Ike's effects on Mustang and N. Padreislands, and comparison to past hurricanes and the flooding that theycaused at Port Aransas.  You can click on the link below towatchandlisten to this narrated presentation.  However, the file isverylarge,about 46 mb and it is probably better to download it and watch itoffline.Ike wiped entire towns offof the map.Are we safer in Port Aransas?Clickhere for a poster about the presentation.Dr.Watson is a licensed marine and coastal consulting geologis