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The Bolivar Peninsula in Texas was severely impacted by Hurricane Ike with strong winds, large waves, widespread inundation, and severe damage. This paper examines the wave and surge climate on Bolivar during the storm and the consequent survival and destruction of buildings. Emphasis is placed on differences between buildings that survived (with varying degrees of damage) and buildings that were completely destroyed. Building elevations are found to be the primary indicator of survival for areas with large waves. Here, buildings that were sufficiently elevated above waves and surge suffered relatively little structural damage, while houses at lower elevations were impacted by large waves and generally completely destroyed. In many areas, the transition from destruction to survival was over a very small elevation range of around 0.5 m. In areas where waves were smaller, survival was possible at much lower elevations. Higher houses that were not inundated still survived, but well-built houses at lower elevations could also survive as the waves were not large enough to cause structural damage. However, the transition height where waves became damaging could not be determined from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the summer of 2005, a tidal creek (“Pine Gully”) within a few kilometers of the Houston Ship Channel was completely blocked by a 200 m long and 1.5 m deep plug of silt and fine sand. This paper documents and explains this unusual sedimentation event. It then presents a new method for calculating ship wave-induced sediment transport into tidal creeks. Between November 2005 and January 2006, measurements of velocity, pressure, and suspended sediment concentration were taken in the creek approximately 150 m seaward of the plug. The data indicated ship wave-induced bores (one per ship). Each bore caused a net sediment transport of approximately 0.4 m3 toward the plug, enough to explain the observed rate of sediment accumulation. Cores of the plug showed that the plug material was consistent throughout, suggesting a single pathway (from the bay). During the period of plug formation, rainfall and creek discharge were relatively low indicating a likely factor for the plugging. Model calculations showed that significant ship wave-induced sediment transport into Pine Gully would occur only when Pine Gully mean depth is less than 0.8 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]