To support and expand BOEM's National Offshore Sand Inventory, these funds will be used to collect geological and geophysical OCS data to assess sand and gravel rsources available for protection of communities and critical infrastructure in Texas from coastal storms.

The funds will support

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a study that will provide a definitive OCS dataset of teh Brazos Region offshore central Texas, a high priority area for coastal protection identified by Texas General Land Office (GLO) and tehe U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The GLO and BOEM have already provided over $4 million towards offshore geophysical surveys to map critical sediment resources offshore the upper Texas Coast.

The study supported by this funding will expand those surveys to the Brazos Region to identify OCS sediment resources through data collection, processing, interpretation, and final reporting to identify banks and model shoals.

The funds will aid in understanding the geology of coastal systems on the inner shelf environment offshore Texas, further build BOEM's OCS database, and collect additional geophysical and geotechnical data in areas with data gaps for coastal restoration nourishment assessments.

Datasets will be housed in the authoritative Marine Minerals Information System and shared with state agencies such as GLO, Federal partners (USACE, U. S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and other stakeholders.

This funding complements other data collection efforts that the University of Texas is doing for BOEM in OCS areas, as well as previous BOEM-funded surveys in coordination with GLO and USACE.