Coastal Processes GALVESTON: AN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF A POPULATED BARRIER ISLAND

Galveston Island is a fragile environment beset by a number of related problems. The impacts of storms and hurricanes are widely publicized; less well known are the cumulative effects of recreation, beachfront construction and long-term coastal erosion. A year-long study of Galveston Island, using color infrared aerial pho tography taken at three-month intervals, gave significant insight into the changes brought about by natural processes and by man's activi ties. Comparison of historical photos with recent photography shows clearly where erosion and accretion are occurrinq and establishes both shortand long-term rates of loss or gain of beachfront. Photoanalys1s, coupled with ground verification, also documents trends in the island's development as well as the often-destructive effects of widely accepted practices. These include: the destruction of dunes by recrea tional traffic, the loss of dune vegetation from preconstructlon clear ing; and the counterproductive impacts of jetty construction, bulkheading and rlprapping. Although many of these phenomena are visible to the perceptive ground observer the use of synoptic aerial photoqrpahy not only shows what is going on, 1t also establishes surprising inter relationships between many of these practices and activities.