211,566 research outputs found
A Guide to Galveston Bay History and Habitats
No full text50 pages; available for download at the link below.The ways people have used our estuary's habitats have changed significantly over time, and these changes have been inscribed upon and around the Bay. The Drive & Discover Guide documents some of these changes and their effects on our Bay's habitats. As such, Drive & Discover Guide blends human and natural history. We point out places as diverse as ancient shell middens, early cattle ranches, submerged seagrass meadows, good birdwatching sites, and the first offshore oil rigs in Texas. The Drive & Discover Guide organizes these sites into eight areas. These regions approximate watershed - the flow of water from the mainland to the Bay - but they also reflect how humans have divided the Bay into a series of cultural zones.Galveston Bay Estuary Progra
Bay Briefings - Freshwater Inflow
No full text1 page; available for download at the link below.Galveston Bay is an estuary, a semi-enclosed coastal water body that has a free connection with the open sea. In an estuary, freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with sea water. Freshwater enters Galveston Bay from the Trinity River (which supplies more that half of the bay's freshwater), the San Jacinto River, and the area's numerous smaller streams and bayous. The bay depends on freshwater inflows to dilute the salty water entering the bay from the Gulf of Mexico. The dilution of salty gulf waters with freshwater inflows is critical to the survival of young fish and shellfish, particularly oysters. Freshwater inflows ensure that the wetlands surrounding the bay remain healthy. Wetlands are important nurseries for the young of recreationally and commercially important finfish and shellfish. A decrease in the freshwater reaching the bay would likely change its salinity and may alter its ecology. Freshwater inflows also carry important nutrients and sediments to the bay. Both are essential in supporting plant communities and sustaining marshes. Periodic droughts affect the salinity of Galveston Bay. Drought conditions are usually short-lived and are relieved by periods of intense rainfall, such as those caused by tropical storms
Managing Galveston Bay: issues and alternatives
No full textp. 1Galveston Bay is a study in contrasts - and those contrasts are the reason comprehensive ecosystem management is vital to the survival of Galveston Bay.http://gbic.tamug.edu/request.ht
Bay Briefings - Public Health
No full text1 page; available for download at the link below.Galveston Bay is one of the nation's most productive estuaries. It is estimated that seafood production generates an estimated $3.1 billion annually to our region's economy. The Bay supports one-third of the state's commercial fishing and over half of its recreational fishing. The bay is a popular place, and rightly so. Enjoying the bay, using it for our livelihoods, or consuming its fish or shellfish comes with some public-health risks. The Estuary Program works with state and federal agencies to understand, to publicize, and to minimize these risks. There are two main areas of risk: (1) exposure to pathogens (disease-causing organisms) through the consumption of oysters or by direct contact with contaminated waters, and (2) exposure to toxic substances through the consumption of contaminated fish or shellfish
Bay Briefings - Shoreline Management
No full text1 page; available for download at the link below.Galveston Bay supports a wide variety of uses, including industrial processing (such as oil and gas extraction and petrochemical operations), shipping, fisheries, recreation, and tourism. These activities have a direct affect on the shorelines of the bay and its tributaries. Development along the shoreline often creates problems through disturbance or destruction of habitats, modification of flood plains, worsening pollution, increasing erosion, and introduction of litter
M.V. Bonne Bay. Photograph of the M.V. Bonne Bay
No full textA black-and-white photograph of the M.V. Bonne Bay, dated July 1957. It captures the wooden ferry boat with a cabin, carrying a few people on deck, moving through still waters of Bonne Bay. There is a dory on top of the cabin, presumably used as a lifeboat. The shoreline in the background features rocky terrain and the distant mountains of Bonne Bay
Managing Galveston Bay: issues and alternatives
No full textp. 1Galveston Bay is a study in contrasts - and those contrasts are the reason comprehensive ecosystem management is vital to the survival of Galveston Bay.http://gbic.tamug.edu/request.ht
M.V. Bonne Bay. Photograph of the M.V. Bonne Bay
No full textA black-and-white photograph of the M.V. Bonne Bay. The ferry has a cabin structure and has cars on the deck. The hills of Bonne Bay are visible in the background. 1960s
The future of the Galveston Bay estuary: local communities leading the way. The Sixth Biennial State of the Bay Symposium. January 14-16, 2003.
No full text249 pgs.The Sixth Biennial State of the Bay Symposium reflects the Galveston Bay Estuary Program's continued commitment to offer a continuing forum for sharing the latest Galveston Bay data, information and management tools
Ebb & Flow: Galveston Bay Characterization Highlights. the State of the Bay Symposium V. January 31-February 2, 2001.
No full text64 pages; available for download at the link below.This document is about the findings of studies on Galveston Bay and its watershed and the management actions based on those findings. We have written about the whole bay and the diverse information that is required to understand it as a system. Of course, boundaries had to be established and limits set or the volume would have expanded to infinity. You may disagree with what was included and what was omitted. Please make your suggestions know to the Galveston Bay Estuary Program staff. The story of Galveston Bay is a continuing one and this document is certainly not the last one to be written on the status and trends of its properties. Jim Lester, Director Environmental Institute of Housto
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