INVESTIGATION INTO HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL SHOALING AT THE BAYPORT FLARE IN GALVESTON BAY

Resumen

Sedimentation at the confluence of the Houston and Bayport Ship Channels (Bayport Flare) in the Upper Galveston Bay, along the Gulf Coast of Texas, USA, is a costly issue requiring frequent dredging. Hydrodynamic and sediment dynamic processes in the Upper Galveston Bay, particularly around the Bayport Flare, are being explored using measurements from vessel mounted and fixed Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP), Optical Backscatter Sensors (OBS), Tilt Current Meters (TCM), as well as densely spaced sediment surface grab samples, core samples, and salinity profiles. These field measurements are used to assess the causes of the extremely high sedimentation rates (approximately 30 cm per year based on dredging records between 2013 and 2017) seen in the Bayport Flare. The effect of salinity on the flocculation and sedimentation of particles near the ship channels is also being explored through laboratory experimentation.