Field Trip

Texas Coastal Processes – Brazos River Delta to Galveston Island (SEPM)

Saturday, 23 August | 8:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.  | Follets and Galveston Islands

Sponsored by the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM)

Sites ~60 miles south of Houston along ~35 miles of the SE Texas coastline provide excellent locations to observe coastal sedimentological processes and their resultant deposits. This section of the Texas coast is characterized by barrier islands separated by tidal inlets and river outlets. The larger, sand-ridge cored, prograding Galveston Island contrasts with the smaller, wash-over dominated, retreating Follets Island and is separated by the stable, long-lived San Luis Pass that exhibits well developed flood and ebb tide delta systems. The Brazos River empties into the Gulf of Mexico to the south of Follets Island and forms a wave-dominated delta system. The Brazos River Delta has undergone significant changes due to human intervention and demonstrates the dynamic nature of sediment movement and deposition along the coast. This section of the coast provides insight into the steady lower energy background processes of sediment movement and the higher energy short term events, and the resultant reservoir characteristics of clastic coastal deposits from these different mechanisms. The understanding gained from these modern systems can be applied as an analog for subsurface investigations along the Gulf Coast and elsewhere.

Co-Leaders

Guest Speakers

Trip Leader(s)

Geologists, Geophysicists, Reservoir Engineers

Understand clastic sediment distribution along coastal and barrier island systems

Day 1:
• Drive to Bryan Beach at Freeport, Texas
• Stops 1 – 4 along stretch of coast from Bryan Beach south to the Brazos River Delta
• Drive to Follets Island
• Stop 5 on Follets island
• Drive to Galveston Island
• Stops 6-8 on Galveston Island
• Return to Houston

Field trip departs and returns to/ from the George R. Brown Convention Center. Temperatures can range from 80 to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with or without rain. Participants are advised to check local weather forecasts for the latest updates.

• Before purchasing non-refundable airline tickets, confirm that the trip will take place as trips may be canceled if undersubscribed.
• Please register well before 16 July 2025. Field trip cancelation due to low enrollment will be accompanied by full payment. considered at this time. No refunds will be allowed on field trips after this date.
• Field trips are limited in size and are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis and must be must be accompanied by full payment.
• If you do not plan on attending the convention, a U.S. $35 enrollment fee will be added to the field trip fee. This fee may be applied toward registration if you decide to attend the convention at a later date.
• A wait list is automatically created if a field trip sells out. The IMAGE registration team will notify you if space becomes available.
• Registrations will continue to be processed for field trips that are not cancelled up until they are sold out or closed.
• Prior to the field trip you will receive an itinerary with details of meeting points, transportation with the trip phone numbers and email addresses of hotels and trip leaders, etc.
• Proper clothing and supplies are needed for the outdoors (hat, windbreaker, sturdy footwear and backpack).
• Depending on location, temperatures can range from 40 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit with or without rain. Participants are advised to check local weather forecasts for the latest updates.
• Insect repellant and sun protection (sunscreen and hats) are recommended.
• IMAGE, the sponsoring organizations, field trip leaders, and their employers do not maintain insurance covering illness or injury for individuals.

Fee:

$325 Professionals
$125 Students (limited)

18

6 PDH
0.6 CEU

Transportation
Field Guide
Lunch

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