Modern depositional environments of the Texas coast.

The Texas Coastal Plain is ideal for studying physical processes and the late Quartenary sedimentological record. Together, the diversity of depositional environments, the moderate climate, and the accessability to most areas provide unique opportunities for (1) conducting geological investigations of modern sediments and hydrodynamics responsible for their formation and (2) developing models suitable for interpreting ancient sediments. Within a span of about 350mi (564 km), a broad spectrum of depostional systems is found. These systems include coarse-grained and fine- grained fluvial channels, bayhead and oceanic deltas, coastal lagoons, transgressive and regressive barriers, and a host of other nearshore deposits that are commonly preserved in ancient sedimentary basins and recognized in outcrop or by applications of subsurface methods.