Texas-Louisiana Border Research Articles

23 Identifying HPV vaccination initiation hot and cold spots and associated disparities in Texas

Over 90% of HPV-associated cancers are preventable through HPV vaccination. Only 43.5% of Texas adolescents, however, have completed the vaccine series, and the state ranks 47th in vaccination rates across the country. The goal of this study was to examine the geospatial uptake of the HPV vaccine in Texas and the associated disparities. HPV vaccine data from 2017–2021 was obtained from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Zip code-level estimates of individuals 9 years and older who received at least one HPV vaccine since 2017 in the Texas Immunization Information System (ImmTrac2) database were used to create a choropleth map. Through the Environmental Science Research Institute's (ESRI) ArcGIS Pro Version 2.2.0 software, the Cluster and Outlier Analysis Tool was used to determine a “neighborhood” around each zip code. Zip codes were subsequently demarcated as hot or cold spots (or neither) based off Local Moran's I score calculations, meaning they had a statistically significant greater or lesser concentration of vaccinations than would be expected from a random distribution. After identifying hot spots and cold spots of vaccine initiation, we explored the demographic neighborhood characteristics. 346 statistically significant hot and 374 cold spot zip codes of HPV vaccine initiation were identified (Fig. 1). The remainder of the zip codes (1115) were outliers or not part of statistically significant clusters. Hot spot zip codes, or areas of high vaccine initiation, were found along the Gulf coast, in large cities, and in less developed areas near the Texas panhandle. Cold spot zip codes were in the northern Texas panhandle, along the Texas–Louisiana border, and on the periphery of major cities. Compared to cold spot zips, hot spots had significantly higher percentages of children on public insurance, had higher poverty rates, and had higher percentages of African American and Hispanic residents.Download : Download high-res image (217KB)Download : Download full-size image In Texas, areas with higher poverty rates, increased use of public insurance, and higher percentages of minority populations had significantly higher rates of HPV vaccine initiation. This may be due to differences in patient interest in the vaccine, to vaccine access through government insurance, or to outreach efforts that have promoted the vaccine in especially vulnerable populations.

Gene Expression of Endangered Coral (Orbicella spp.) in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary After Hurricane Harvey

About 190 km south of the Texas–Louisiana border, the East and West Flower Garden Banks (FGB) have maintained >50% coral cover with infrequent and minor incidents of disease or bleaching since monitoring began in the 1970s. However, a mortality event, affecting 5.6 ha (2.6% of the area) of the East FGB, occurred in late July 2016 and coincided with storm-generated freshwater runoff extending offshore and over the reef system. To capture the immediate effects of storm-driven freshwater runoff on coral and symbiont physiology, we leveraged the heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Harvey in late August 2017 by sampling FGB corals at two time points: September 2017, when surface water salinity was reduced (~34 ppt); and one month later when salinity had returned to typical levels (~36 ppt in October 2017). Tissue samples (N = 47) collected midday were immediately preserved for gene expression profiling from two congeneric coral species (Orbicella faveolata and Orbicella franksi) from the East and West FGB to determine the physiological consequences of storm-derived runoff. In the coral, differences between host species and sampling time points accounted for the majority of differentially expressed genes. Gene ontology enrichment for genes differentially expressed immediately after Hurricane Harvey indicated increases in cellular oxidative stress responses. Although tissue loss was not observed on FGB reefs following Hurricane Harvey, our results suggest that poor water quality following this storm caused FGB corals to experience sub-lethal stress. We also found dramatic expression differences across sampling time points in the coral’s algal symbiont, Breviolum minutum. Some of these differentially expressed genes may be involved in the symbionts’ response to changing environments, including a group of differentially expressed post-transcriptional RNA modification genes. In this study, we cannot disentangle the effects of reduced salinity from the collection time point, so these expression patterns could also be related to seasonality. These findings highlight the urgent need for continued monitoring of these reef systems to establish a baseline for gene expression of healthy corals in the FGB system across seasons, as well as the need for integrated solutions to manage stormwater runoff in the Gulf of Mexico.

Calibration and Validation of Hydrodynamics and Salinity Transport Model for Sabine Lake Water System

In this study, a hydrodynamic and a salinity transport models were developed for simulations of Sabine Lake water system located on the Texas-Louisiana border. The target simulation area includes several major water bodies, such as Sabine Lake, Sabine River, Sabine Pass, Sabine Neches Canal (Ship Channel), and part of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and Sabine River Diversion Canal (SRDC). The SRDC supplies fresh water to the area industry, mainly petrochemical. High salinity in SRDC could significantly affect the daily production of the industry. Two-dimensional (2D) depth-averaged shallow water equation set and 2D depth-averaged salinity transport equation were used for developing the hydrodynamic and salinity transport numerical models in order to carry out the simulation. The major purposes of this study are to calibrate and validate hydrodynamic and salinity transport models in order to assess and predict the salinity in SRDC under severe weather conditions such as hurricane storm surges in future study. Measurement data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) were used to calibrate the boundary conditions as well as to validate the model. Boundary conditions were calibrated at locations in Sabine Pass and in the north edge of the lake by using water–surface elevation data. Hydrodynamic model was validated at the USGS location using water–surface elevation data. Then, the simulation estimations of water surface level and salinity were compared at three locations, and the results show the accuracy of the validated model. Parallel computing was conducted in this study as well, and computational efficiency was compared.

Hybridization and Genetic Structure in Phenotypic Spotted Bass in Texas

AbstractHybridization is common in fishes and can result in a wide range of outcomes. The capture of a world record phenotypic Guadalupe Bass Micropterus treculii raised questions about potential hybridization with Spotted Bass M. punctulatus. Subsequent, limited genetic sampling from the drainage (Colorado River) did not indicate hybridization in the world record sample or other phenotypic Guadalupe Bass, but phenotypic Spotted Bass produced unexpected genotypes. This called into question the assumed distribution of Spotted Bass in Texas. To address this disconnect, phenotypic Spotted Bass were acquired from drainages surrounding the Colorado River, ranging from central Texas to the Texas–Louisiana border, and the number of sequenced loci was expanded from one to seven. Results indicated that the westernmost extent of nonintrogressed Spotted Bass populations in Texas was the Trinity River. Phenotypic Spotted Bass west of this drainage were identified as Guadalupe Bass or hybrids. Admixed individuals identified in the San Antonio and Brazos River drainages (and previously in the Colorado River) may represent part of a hybrid zone. We also found that Spotted Bass from the Trinity River exhibited relatively large genetic divergence from Spotted Bass to the east and may represent the product of a vicariance event. Finally, we confirmed one mitochondrial and two nuclear taxa‐specific genetic markers for the efficient discrimination of these congeners and their hybrids. These markers should be useful for resource agencies attempting to enforce management regulations given the difficulty of identifying Spotted Bass by phenotype.

Evolution of the Texas-Louisiana Boundary: In Search of the Elusive Corner by Jim Tiller and John P. Evans

Reviewed by: Evolution of the Texas-Louisiana Boundary: In Search of the Elusive Corner by Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Michael Kimaid Evolution of the Texas-Louisiana Boundary: In Search of the Elusive Corner. By Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Jr. (Dallas: William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University, 2017. Pp. xviii, 455. $60.00, ISBN 978-1-929531-17-2.) Every line on a map tells a story; some are more interesting than others. While most historians might look south when evaluating which story to tell about the lines on the map that frame the state of Texas, Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Jr. look east, to the Texas-Louisiana border, instead. Incorporating a geographical perspective into a historical narrative frame, the result is every bit as interesting as the often-retold story of Texas's southern border and gives fresh insight into the political, economic, and social conditions that produced the line in question and others like it. Tiller and Evans focus on how the early, vaguely defined borderlands separating Texas and Louisiana became over time a sharply defined borderline, a process that hinged on establishing the intersection of the thirty-second parallel and the Sabine River. Early on, the authors identify "both environmental and human factors" that prevented surveyors from determining this point with any accuracy (p. xv). Beginning with the 1763 Treaty of Fontainebleau and the subsequent transfers between Spain, France, and the United States, culminating with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, early documents were inaccurate and vague with regard to where the meandering river intersected with a fixed coordinate point. As a result, the precise point on which the boundary between Texas and Louisiana hinged was not identified with any accuracy until 1841. The processes that established the initial border were largely political. Early-nineteenth-century expeditions were followed by land surveyors, whose observations contributed to the Public Land Survey System in an attempt to systematize the variables of terrain into a uniform grid. From there, the Joint Boundary Commission of the Republic of Texas and the United States governments largely clarified the boundary, though a remaining gap in the boundary was closed in 1848 by an act of Congress. Nearly one hundred years later, new technologies were applied to make the boundary more precise and accurate and established the line with a precision that remains to this day. While the historical nature of this story is itself very interesting, it is Tiller and Evans's use of geography that makes this volume particularly authoritative and impressive. Here, their archival work stands out as rigorous and thorough. The detail with which they recount surveyors' notes, correspondence, maps, discrepancies, debates, and errors is comprehensive. Historical maps, aerial and landscape photography, geographical information systems analysis, and field notes come together in this volume in groundbreaking and original ways, which demonstrate with clarity the specifics the authors reference in the text. In sum, Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Jr. have done a remarkable job combining archival research and fieldwork to produce this beautiful volume. Like the intersection on the map they have sought to tell the story of, they combine history, geography, and archaeology to tell a story that is exponentially more interesting than one would imagine at first glance, given the history of Texas's more historically resonant southern border with Mexico. Like so many maps of the world, the Texas-Louisiana line was drawn in over the course of [End Page 978] nearly two hundred years. The story is equal parts science and art, objective and subjective, observation and speculation—forces that continue to shape our reality to this day. Michael Kimaid Bowling Green State University Copyright © 2018 The Southern Historical Association

Where were they from? Modelling the source stock of dolphins stranded after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using genetic and stable isotope data

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 33:253-264 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00754 Where were they from? Modelling the source stock of dolphins stranded after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using genetic and stable isotope data L. Thomas1,*, C. G. Booth2, P. E. Rosel3, A. Hohn4, J. Litz5, L. H. Schwacke6 1Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM), University of St Andrews, The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, St Andrews KY16 9LZ, UK 2SMRU Consulting Europe, New Technology Centre, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SR, UK 3National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 646 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette, LA 70506, USA 4National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 101 Pivers Island Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA 5National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149, USA 6National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA *Corresponding author: len.thomas@st-andrews.ac.uk ABSTRACT: Understanding the source stock of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus that stranded in the northern Gulf of Mexico subsequent to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was essential to accurately quantify injury and apportion individuals to the appropriate stock. The aim of this study, part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), was to estimate the proportion of the 932 recorded strandings between May 2010 and June 2014 that came from coastal versus bay, sound and estuary (BSE) stocks. Four sources of relevant information were available on overlapping subsets totaling 336 (39%) of the strandings: genetic stock assignment, stable isotope ratios, photo-ID and individual genetic-ID. We developed a hierarchical Bayesian model for combining these sources that weighted each data source for each stranding according to a measure of estimated precision: the effective sample size (ESS). The photo- and genetic-ID data were limited and considered to potentially introduce biases, so these data sources were excluded from analyses used in the NRDA. Estimates were calculated separately in 3 regions: East (of the Mississippi outflow), West (of the Mississippi outflow through Vermilion Bay, Louisiana) and Western Louisiana (west of Vermilion Bay to the Texas-Louisiana border); the estimated proportions of coastal strandings were, respectively 0.215 (95% CI: 0.169-0.263), 0.016 (0.036-0.099) and 0.622 (0.487-0.803). This method represents a general approach for integrating multiple sources of information that have differing uncertainties. KEY WORDS: Genetic assignment · Stable isotope ratios · Bayesian hierarchical model · Data integration · Deepwater Horizon · Stranding Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Thomas L, Booth CG, Rosel PE, Hohn A, Litz J, Schwacke LH (2017) Where were they from? Modelling the source stock of dolphins stranded after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using genetic and stable isotope data. Endang Species Res 33:253-264. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00754 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 33. Online publication date: January 31, 2017 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.

An introduction to the NWS West Gulf River Forecast Center

The National Weather Service (NWS) West Gulf River Forecast Center (WGRFC), in cooperation with numerous federal, state, and local government entities, uses the latest science and technology to provide timely and accurate river forecasts in an effort to protect life and property for most of the river drainages in Texas. Disaster preparedness decreases property damage by an estimated $1 billion annually nationwide. The mission is to provide basic hydrologic forecast information for the economic and environmental well-being for the nation. The WGRFC is 1 of 13 river forecast centers within the United States and is located in Fort Worth, Texas. The WGRFC’s area of responsibility stretches from the Rio Grande in southern Colorado, New Mexico and south Texas eastward to the Sabine River along the Texas-Louisiana border. Other rivers in the center’s area of responsibility include the Pecos, Nueces, San Antonio, Guadalupe, Colorado, Brazos, Trinity, and Neches rivers. This article will describe the variety of hydrologic forecasting services routinely provided by the WGRFC. Although flood forecasts are its most well-known product, the WGRFC also generates river and water information used for recreation, reservoir operations, and water supply plans. Additionally, the WGRFC produces estimates of hourly precipitation. To achieve this, the WGRFC has 2 primary functions; a hydrometeorological function and a hydrologic function. This article will describe each function and discuss how each function serves as steps in the preparation and the issuing of hydrologic forecasts. Citation: Story GJ. 2016. Program note: An introduction to the NWS West Gulf River Forecast Center. Texas Water Journal. 7(1):56-63. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v7i1.7036.

Earthquakes in Northwest Louisiana and the Texas–Louisiana Border Possibly Induced by Energy Resource Activities within the Haynesville Shale Play

ABSTRACT We utilize Transportable Array data to survey regional seismicity in east Texas and northwest Louisiana. Through analyst review and a waveform‐matching technique, we identify 58 earthquakes occurring between April 2010 and July 2012. The earthquakes spatially cluster within two main zones, near Timpson, Texas, and within Bienville Parish, Louisiana; minor clusters occur in the Texas–Louisiana border region. Although the Timpson earthquakes have been studied previously, we identify many undetected earthquakes that occurred in 2010, about two years prior to the 17 May 2012 M w 4.8 earthquake, which has been linked to wastewater injection. The Bienville Parish sequence, which consists of magnitude 0.5–1.9 earthquakes in mid‐ to late‐2011, occurred about 10 km from wells that began injecting at relatively modest rates (∼40,000 barrels (bbl) per month) in late 2010 but within a few kilometers of production wells that were being hydraulically fractured around the same time period. An additional cluster of seismicity was observed, near Center, Texas, with some seismicity occurring in the months prior to the start of wastewater injection and the largest earthquake in that sequence occurring when injection exceeded 200,000 bbl/month; this may be a case in which injection into a seismically active area promoted a larger earthquake. Finally, there was also seismicity observed near the Toledo Bend Reservoir in Louisiana. The evidence concerning some of the sequences indicates they might be associated with either hydraulic fracturing or recent increases in wastewater injection at wells within the unconventional Haynesville shale gas play. The results of this study highlight the need for more extensive seismic monitoring in the central and eastern regions of the United States of America.

Frontier Naturalist: Jean Louis Berlandier and the Exploration of Northern Mexico and Texas

Anyone who has studied the early history of Texas has stumbled at one point or another upon the figure of Jean Louis Berlandier. This Frenchman is best remembered as a botanist embedded — as we would say today — in the Comisión de Límites (Boundary Commission), an expedition of scientists appointed by Mexican president Guadalupe Victoria to survey the boundary between Mexico and the United States in the late 1820s. Russell M. Lawson has given us the first full biography of this indefatigable naturalist, beginning with his early life in eastern France and Switzerland, his training under the exacting Augustin Pyramus de Candolle at the Geneva Academy, his serendipitous appointment to the Boundary Commission, and his arrival to Mexico and initial travels. Lawson’s writing is engaging and evocative.The core of the book is devoted to Berlandier’s work in the Boundary Commission. Headed by General Manuel de Mier y Terán, a major political figure and an ardent nationalist, the commission spent several months traveling through Tamaulipas and Texas. Its mission was nothing less than to make an inventory of the mineral and botanical wealth of the region as well as to report on its intricate human geography, especially along the hotly contested Texas-Louisiana border. The memoirs, letters, and scientific texts written by commission members offer an unsurpassed view of prerevolutionary Texas. As Lawson recounts how the commission made its way through the modest Mexican towns, the thriving American colonies, and the Indian nations living in the region, we get a remarkably detailed glimpse of a world on the verge of tremendous change.The last section of Frontier Naturalist chronicles Berlandier’s decision to stay in the northwest of Mexico after his work with the Boundary Commission ended in 1829. Berlandier was an inveterate wanderer, so it is not entirely clear why he decided to settle in Matamoros. He made a living as a pharmacist and continued his scientific pursuits, collecting specimens and recording his impressions, although far less copiously than during his commission years. From his perch in Matamoros, Berlandier lived through an exceedingly eventful period in that region of Mexico, including the Texas Revolution of 1835 – 1836, the secession attempts of northern Tamaulipas in the late 1830s, and the initial stage of the US-Mexican War, which was fought within the Texas-Tamaulipas region. Berlandier survived the war, but in 1851 he drowned while trying to ford the Rio San Fernando some 90 miles south of Matamoros.Lawson imparts a wealth of contextual information while telling Berlandier’s interesting story. In this sense, Frontier Naturalist is not just a running account pieced together from Berlandier’s own writings but a far more ambitious biographical project that required a great deal of additional research. For example, the author places Berlandier’s botanical work in the context of a wider scientific community spanning Europe, the United States, and Mexico, provides very relevant information about the extent of the geographical knowledge about the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the early nineteenth century, and goes to great lengths to describe places like Tampico, San Antonio, Matamoros, and New Orleans. Especially valuable are the pages Lawson devotes to various indigenous peoples of the area, such as Tobosos, Carrizos, and Lipan Apaches. The French naturalist became especially familiar with some Kickapoo Indians who served as his guides and whom he described in considerable detail. Frontier Naturalist also includes luminous pages concerning the famous Comanches. Berlandier befriended José Francisco Ruiz, a Mexican Texan who had lived with the Comanches and knew them well, and together the two joined the horse people on a hunting expedition up through the Guadalupe River.Berlandier was first and foremost a scientist. As Lawson writes toward the end of his fine book, “Nature knows little of politics, and science must eschew such temporal distractions” (p. 191). Perhaps the only gap in this otherwise superb work is precisely a fuller discussion of the politics surrounding the Boundary Commission and, more generally, of the federalist-centralist rivalry that became so vicious and came to affect Berlandier’s life. After all, Berlandier owed his appointment to Lucas Alamán, the intellectual leader of the centralist faction, and participated in the Boundary Commission alongside General Mier y Terán, who ultimately recommended exercising greater military control over Texas and closing it off to further American immigration. However much Berlandier may have wished to stay out of politics, his centralist sponsors and contacts made it all but impossible. But apart from this partial omission, Frontier Naturalist is an engrossing tale and an enormously enlightening book.

Noise filtering of full-gravity gradient tensor data

In oil and mineral exploration, gravity gradient tensor data include higher-frequency signals than gravity data, which can be used to delineate small-scale anomalies. However, full-tensor gradiometry (FTG) data are contaminated by high-frequency random noise. The separation of noise from high-frequency signals is one of the most challenging tasks in processing of gravity gradient tensor data. We first derive the Cartesian equations of gravity gradient tensors under the constraint of the Laplace equation and the expression for the gravitational potential, and then we use the Cartesian equations to fit the measured gradient tensor data by using optimal linear inversion and remove the noise from the measured data. Based on model tests, we confirm that not only this method removes the high-frequency random noise but also enhances the weak anomaly signals masked by the noise. Compared with traditional low-pass filtering methods, this method avoids removing noise by sacrificing resolution. Finally, we apply our method to real gravity gradient tensor data acquired by Bell Geospace for the Vinton Dome at the Texas-Louisiana border.

Designing marine reserves to reduce bycatch of mobile species: a case study using juvenile red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus)

Marine reserves have not been widely used to conserve mobile species because species abundance levels can be highly variable over space and time. Here we explore the potential for marine reserves to reduce bycatch of mobile species using red snapper ( Lutjanus campechanus ) as a case study. Bycatch in Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawls is a major source of juvenile red snapper mortality, and marine reserves may be mandated if bycatch reduction targets are not met. Using geographic information system (GIS) analyses of fishery-independent data, we investigated whether red snapper juveniles concentrate in “hot spots” and examined the trade-offs between abundance within hot spots (intensity) and predictability over time (persistence). These trade-offs allow fishery managers to tailor marine reserves to meet specific conservation goals. For red snapper, hot spots were primarily located around the 30 m isobath, with hot spots spread along the Texas coast in fall and clustered around the Texas–Louisiana border in summer. Increased intensity of hot spots led to lower persistence due to the smaller spatial area of higher intensity hot spots. Hot spots moved annually but generally persisted in the same locations over time, indicating that marine reserves could reduce red snapper bycatch. This approach provides a foundation for making informed decisions about design and placement of reserves for mobile species.

Exploring Vegetation Patterns Along an Undefined Boundary

Combining historical land survey field notes and modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technique, this essay explores the vegetation pattern in eastern Harrison County in Texas along the Texas—Louisiana border in 1838, the year that marked the beginning of major influx of Anglos into this region. The analysis confirms that the vegetation cover prior to the influx was significantly different from what is there today. This article also demonstrates how GIS can be used to assist in historical research.

Negotiating Nacogdoches: Hasinai Caddo-Spanish Relations, Trade Space, and the Formation of the Texas-Louisiana Border, 1779-1819

Negotiating Nacogdoches: Hasinai Caddo-Spanish Relations, Trade Space, and the Formation of the Texas-Louisiana Border, 1779-1819

Texas coral reefs

Just one hundred and ten miles south of the Texas-Louisiana border, beneath the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, lie two coral reefs, together called the Flower Garden Banks. This coral community, the northernmost reef system in the United States and a national marine sanctuary, is home to hundreds of kinds of fish and other tropical sea life. Manta rays and turtles visit regularly, as do whale sharks and schools of hammerhead sharks. Other wonders include the annual mass coral spawns and a briny depression called Gollum Lake.Nearby are two other reefs. Stetson Bank, its top spotted with hard corals, mollusks, and sponges, is known for its diversity - from black sea hares to golden smooth trunkfish. At Geyer Bank, thousands of butterfly fish dominate a huge population of tropical fish whose density rivals that of the coral reefs in the South Pacific.Protruding from the flat, muddy continental shelf, these and thirty other natural reefs support an exceptional amount and variety of sea life in waters. They sit amid hundreds of oil and gas platforms, which create their own special reef ecosystems.These reefs, equal in their profusion of life and color to the storied reefs of Florida and Hawaii, have not been widely known to Texans outside of a small group of scientists and divers. With extraordinary photographs and a knowledgeable first-person narrative, author Jesse Cancelmo instills an appreciation for the beauty and fragility of one of the state's least-known natural environments. Texas Coral Reefs will inspire adventurers - both the underwater and armchair varieties - to enjoy these spectacular but little-known sites that lie so close to home.

An In-Person Survey Investigating Public Perceptions of and Responses to Hurricane Rita Forecasts along the Texas Coast

AbstractHurricane Rita made landfall near the Texas–Louisiana border in September 2005, causing major damage and disruption. As Rita approached the Gulf Coast, uncertainties in the storm’s track and intensity forecasts, combined with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, led to major evacuations along the Texas coast and significant traffic jams in the broader Houston area. This study investigates the societal impacts of Hurricane Rita and its forecasts through a face-to-face survey with 120 Texas Gulf Coast residents. The survey explored respondents’ evacuation decisions prior to Hurricane Rita, their perceptions of hurricane risk, and their use of and opinions on Hurricane Rita forecasts. The vast majority of respondents evacuated from Hurricane Rita, and more than half stated that Hurricane Katrina affected their evacuation decision. Although some respondents said that their primary reason for evacuating was local officials’ evacuation order, many reported using information about the hurricane to evaluate the risk it posed to them and their families. Despite the major traffic jams and the minor damage in many evacuated regions, most evacuees interviewed do not regret their decision to evacuate. The majority of respondents stated that they intend to evacuate for a future category 3 hurricane, but the majority would stay for a category 2 hurricane. Most respondents obtained forecasts from multiple sources and reported checking forecasts frequently. Despite the forecast uncertainties, the respondents had high confidence in and satisfaction with the forecasts of Rita provided by the National Hurricane Center.

Coccidioidomycosis Pneumonia in a Nonendemic Area Associated with Infliximab

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, such as infliximab, are highly effective in the management of rheumatoid arthritis; however, these agents are associated with an increased risk of infectious complications. Individuals developing coccidiomycosis pneumonia frequently acquire this while residing in endemic regions. We present a patient with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab who developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from coccidiomycosis pneumonia while residing in a non-endemic region near the Texas-Louisiana border and was successfully treated with antifungal therapy. The source for coccidiomycosis was suspected to be from inhalation of pulverized rock dust imported from Arizona. Patients treated with TNF inhibitors may acquire coccidiomycosis infection through fomite dust exposure.

Holocene Evolution of the East Texas Coast and Inner Continental Shelf: Along-Strike Variability in Coastal Retreat Rates

ABSTRACT The low gradient east Texas coast and inner-continental shelf, from Sabine Lake at the Texas-Louisiana border to the western end of Galveston Island, experienced extreme along-strike variations in rates of Holocene coastal retreat. Around 7.7 ka a barrier shoreline was located approximately 55 km offshore. Toward the western end of Galveston Island, the shoreline retreated 55 km, occupying a position on the lagoon side of the Island by about 5.3 ka. Toward the Texas-Louisiana border, the shoreline retreated more gradually, occupying a position seaward of Sabine Bank by 5.3 ka. Between 4.7 ka and 2.8 ka the shoreline at Sabine Bank retreated 30 km, while Galveston Island prograded seaward. Bolivar Peninsula began to accrete around 1.5 ka. Heald and Sabine banks, located on the inner continental shelf above terraced fluvial deposits of the Trinity-Sabine incised valley, are the only preserved remnants of these former shoreline positions. Fluctuating rates of sea-level rise were not the forcing mechanism behind episodes of rapid shoreline retreat because these events were localized. Rather, along-strike variations in the rate of transgression were caused by the variable inner-shelf gradients, which increase towards the west, and the orientation of the Sabine incised valley and associated terraced fluvial deposits, which trend northeast-southwest (parallel to shore). As shorelines retreated over fluvial deposits, these served as local sand sources that enabled barrier islands to persist Figure 1. Map of the east Texas inner shelf showing locations of Sabine, Heald, and Shepard banks. Paleotopographic map of the Pleistocene surface (thin contours; Siringan 1993) delineates the Trinity-Sabine incised valley, which formed during the last lowstand of sea level (Thomas and Anderson 1994). Bathymetric contours are shown as thick lines with bold numbers. Dots are core locations. End_Page 405------------------------ offshore, out of equilibrium with sea level. Once these sand sources became depleted, and/or sea level reached some critical threshold, barrier shorelines became stranded offshore as banks, and new shorelines formed landward. The geologic setting of coastal areas, specifically antecedent topography, plays a primary role in controlling coastal evolution. To accurately forecast long-term (centennial to millennial) coastal evolution, it is essential that impacts associated with variations in the underlying geology of coastal areas be incorporated into coastal forecasting models.

Shorebird use of coastal wetland and barrier island habitat in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf Coast contains some of the most important shorebird habitats in North America. This area encompasses a diverse mixture of estuarine and barrier island habitats with varying amounts of freshwater swamps and marshes, bottomland hardwood forests, and coastal prairie that has been largely altered for rice and crawfish production, temporary ponds, and river floodplain habitat. For the purposes of this review, discussion is confined to general patterns of shorebird abundance, distribution, and macro- and microhabitat use in natural coastal, estuarine, and barrier island habitats on the Gulf of Mexico Coast. The following geographic regions are considered: Northwestern Gulf (Rio Grande to Louisiana-Mississippi border), Northeastern Gulf (Mississippi to Florida Keys), and Mexico (Rio Grande to Cabo Catoche [Yucatan Strait]).Wintering and migrating shorebirds are most abundant along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Tamaulipas, particularly the Laguna Madre ecosystem. Other important areas are the Southwest Coast region of Florida and the area between Laguna Terminos and Puerto Progresso in Mexico. In general, relative abundances of shorebirds increase from north to south, and decrease south of the Tropic of Cancer (23° 27’ N). Based on bimonthly maximum counts within 5° latitudinal bands, the region between 25–30° N is used most heavily by wintering and spring migrating birds.Non-vegetated coastal wetland habitats associated with bays, inlets and lagoons, particularly tidal flats, and sandy beaches are the habitats that appear to be favored by wintering and migrating shorebirds. In general, these habitats tend to occur as habitat complexes that allow for movement between them in relation to tidal flooding of bay-shore habitats. This relationship is particularly important to Piping Plover and may be important to others.Although vegetated habitats are used by some species, they do not appear to attract large numbers of birds. This habitat is most widespread between the Texas-Louisiana border and the Florida Panhandle region, but it has not been studied extensively. Shorebird abundance and habitat use in this area need to be addressed.

Variations in shoreface progradation and ravinement along the Texas coast, Gulf of Mexico

Shoreface architecture, evolution (mid‐Holocene to present) and depths of transgressive ravinement were examined from Sabine Pass, at the Texas–Louisiana border, to South Padre Island, near the Texas–Mexico border, using 30 shoreface transects. Shoreface transects extend out to 16‐m water depth, each created from an echo‐sounding profile and, on average, seven sediment cores. The shoreface is composed of three broad sedimentological facies: the upper shoreface, composed almost entirely of sand; the proximal lower shoreface, composed of sand with thickly to medium‐bedded (50–10 cm) mud; and the distal lower shoreface, composed dominantly of mud with medium‐ to thinly bedded (20–3 cm) sand. Shoreface architecture and evolution is extremely variable along the Texas coast. Shoreface gradients increase from 2·25 m km–1 in east Texas to 3·50 m km–1 in south Texas. Shoreface sands coarsen towards south Texas. East and south Texas shoreface deposits are thin and retrograding whereas central Texas shoreface deposits are thicker and prograding. Central Texas is characterized by stacked shoreface successions, whereas in east Texas, lower shoreface sands are preserved only in offshore banks. Preservation of shoreface deposits is low in south Texas. Although eustatic fluctuations and accommodation space have a strong impact on overall mid‐Holocene to present shoreface evolution and preservation potential, along‐strike variations in sediment supply and wave energy are the main factors controlling shoreface architecture. The transgressive ravinement surface varies from –6 to –15 m along the Texas coast.

Cloud-to-Ground Lightning in the United States: NLDN Results in the First Decade, 1989–98

The physical and geographical characteristics of over 216 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes recorded during the first decade (1989–98) of operation of the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) covering the entire continental United States are presented. These characteristics include the total cloud-to-ground flash density, the positive flash density, the percentage of positive flashes, the first stroke negative and positive peak currents, and the multiplicity for negative and positive flashes. All analyses were done with a spatial resolution of 0.2° corresponding to an approximate resolution of 20 km. Flash densities were not corrected for detection efficiency; the measured values are presented. The maximum measured flash density is found to exceed 9 flashes km−2 across Florida in the Tampa–Orlando–Cape Canaveral corridor, near Fort Myers, and between Lake Okeechobee and the Atlantic Ocean. The mean monthly flash count peaks in July at approximately 5.5 million flashes. Positive flash density maxima, greater than 0.4 flashes km−2 occur in southern Florida; Houston, Texas; and along the Texas–Louisiana border. A broad region of relatively high positive density also occurs throughout the Midwest. The mean monthly positive flash count peaks in June and July at approximately 240 000 flashes in each month. The annual mean percentage of lightning that lowered positive charge was highest in the upper Midwest, exceeding 10% or 20% throughout most of the region. High percentages are also characteristic along the West Coast. The annual percentage of positive lightning has increased from 3% in 1989 to approximately 9% in 1998. The authors believe the increase is the result of improved sensor detection capability in the past decade. The mean monthly percentage of positive lightning flashes ranged from 4% in August to 17% in December for the decade. The annual median negative peak current ranged from 30 kA in 1989, decreasing steadily to about 20 kA in 1998. The annual median positive peak current ranged from 55 kA in 1989 decreasing to about 22 kA in 1998. The annual median peak negative and positive currents have approximately the same value since 1995, the first year after the NLDN upgrade. The monthly median first stroke peak currents for the decade peak in the winter and reach a minimum in May (positive current) and July (negative current). The mean monthly negative multiplicity for the decade ranges from 2.1 in February to 2.5 from June to October. The mean monthly positive multiplicity is approximately 1.2 throughout the year. The diurnal variation of the maximum flash rate over land was examined and found to peak during 1200–2000 local time (LT) with an exception for the upper Midwest, which peaked during 2000–0400 LT. Over water surrounding the continental United States, the lightning flash rate peaks primarily in the morning hours from 0400 to 1200 LT.