Seven to ten 10 meter
vibracores will be taken along an
east-west transect across North Padre Island from Bird Island Basin to
the Gulf
of Mexico. The cores will be described
to document sedimentary and biogenic structures, which will facilitate
the
development of a depositional model.
This sedimentological data will be used to assist in the interpretation
of a previously collected Ground-penetrating Radar profile across the
island.
In addition, interstitial pore waters and conductivity measurements
will be
made at 0.25 meter increments along each core.
Shell material will be collected for future 14C age
dating. Core handling and sampling
procedures and protocols will be documented.
The study will be conducted under research permit PAIS-2008-SCI-002.
The vibracores will be used to interpret the
stratigraphic
history and evolution of North Padre Island and to assist in the
quantification
of the nature of the groundwater aquifer system of the barrier island
system. This study will provide the
geological data for future integration with Ground-penetrating Radar
data,
Magnetotelluric data, and groundwater models.