Galveston Bay
By Amanda Schaffer
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay
• A subtropical estuary located on the
southeastern shore of the upper Texas Gulf
Coast
• Consists of Five Subbays
– Trinity
– Upper Galveston
– Lower Galveston
– East
– West
More on Galveston Bay
• Consists of 384,000 acres
• Surrounds 1,171 miles of shoreline
• Fed by two major rivers
– Trinity
– San Jacinto
• Bordered by
– Low-lying wetlands
– Two barrier islands
– Peninsula
Condition of the Estuary
• Overall quality is
rated fair based on 4
indices
– Water Quality (poor)
– Sediment Quality (fair
to poor)
– Benthic (fair)
– Fish Tissue (good to
fair)
Indices
Water Quality
Conclusion
• Though overpopulated area, the esturary
remains productive and healthly
• Overall quality is fair
• Not threatened by eutrophication
• Nutrient concentrations are decreasings in
areas of the estruary
• Several aquatic species show stable trends
in abundance
Conclusion cont…
• Galveston Bay isn’t degrading when it
comes to increasing concentrations of
pollutants, trends are mixed
– Concentrations are decreasing in most
polluted areas of Galveston Bay
– Concentrations are rising in unpolluted areas
Future Focus of Galveston Bay
• Habitat conservation
• Pollution control
– In expanding populated areas
• Land-use patterns trend to urbanization of
the area
Questions
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References:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/p
df/nepccr_gom_partg.pdf
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