In April 1978, a survey (BEACHobs) of Mustang Island Gulf beach was initiated by the author. The on-going survey is done bi-daily and extends a distance of 12.1 km from Gulf Access Road #1 to Gulf Access Road #2 (Fig. 1). BEACHobs was initially done to monitor the bird populations on this section of the beach which, in 1978, was less-visited by beach-goers than other sections of Mustang Island and North Padre Island Gulf beaches. This was primarily because it is distant from population centers in Port Aransas and Corpus Christi and the only beach access was by automobile. Also, the distance between access roads (7.25 miles) deterred people from driving its length. In 1978, however, a building boom was about to start on Mustang Island and the concept of the survey was to record bird population response to disturbance as the beach became more accessible to people via the beachfront condominiums. The survey soon expanded to include counts of people and automobiles, items of marine debris, measurements of surf zone oceanographic and beach weather conditions, simple measurements of beach widths, and location of tide lines, berms, driving lanes, and the dunes. Erosion/ accretion and other beach morphological measurements reported here were made from September 1979 through June 2000 at a single location, and from September 1988 through June 2000 at eight additional locations spaced at approximately one-mile intervals. ... The present study is unique in the number (>3,000), frequency (bi-daily), and duration (21 years) of measurements made.Texas General Coastal Land Office contract 98-291R, Coastal Management Program, Cycle 3, subrecipient grant agreementA publication (or report) of the Coastal Coordination Council pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration award no. NA87OZ025131 August 2000Marine Scienc
