A&M researcher studies protecting
Texas coast from oil contamination
Government agencies and private companies
trying to protect the Texas coast from spilled oil have
too little information to do the job, a Texas A&M
ocean engineer says.
“Government agencies and ship owners handling
the situation are handicapped by having insufficient
data on currents and tides at Galveston Island and
San Luis Pass,” Dr. John B. Herbich said.
The Texas A&M ocean engineer is calling for mea
surements of ebb and flood tides under both on shore
and off-shore winds at every inlet, cut and pass on the
Texas coast.
Herbich said he recently saw two oil sheens enter
ing West Bay through the San Luis Pass, on the west
end of Galveston Island. The oil probably came from
the leaking Burmah Agate which collided with a
Liberian freighter Nov. 4.
Herbich, director of Texas A&M’s Center for
Dredging Studies, has also observed preparations
and measures taken to protect bays, contain spilled
oil and clean up oil on beaches.
“Texas bays and estuaries are most important for
marine life along the Texas coast. They are fragile and
subject to major environmental damage by oil con
tamination,” Herbich said.
“It is really impossible to design an effective way of
protecting the estuaries and bays from spilled oil
without knowledge of the currents and tides, he
said.
He proposed that lateral and wind-driven currents
and tidal currents on both sides of inlets be measured
as the basic information from which protection would
be devised.
“Given this data, and knowledge of how booms,
barriers and other containment equipment perform,
it becomes possible to determine probabilities of
keeping oil out of these delicate marine life breeding
grounds,” Herbich said.
“During a storm, there’s no way to keep oil in the
G ulf from being driven into bays. But at other times,
it should be possible to deploy barriers across inlets
to keep oil out, if it is known how effective a barrier is
needed,” he said.
Under Herbich’s guidance Texas A&M ocean en
gineering programs have already made studies of
some coastline features, such as Rollover and San
Luis passes, Brown Cedar Cut and the Corpus
Christi Fish Pass, an artificial opening in Mustang
Island.
He was measuring currents at San Luis Pass when
he saw the oil sheen. The data will help determine
measures to prevent erosion of the west end of Gal
veston Island.
Herbich said tide and current measurements arc
also needed at Cavallo Pass between Mustang and
Padre Islands, the artificial Matagorda Inlet, Port
Mansfield Cut and Brazos Santiago Pass near Brown
sville.
There s a right way and a wrong way to produce design pro
jects. Paul M. Mason, a veteran of more than 30 years here.
Battalion photo by Debbie Golla
explains the basics of design to his EDG 106 students (from
left) Andy McMillen, Mike Murphy and Patrick Moore.
In 33 years, changes seen
By DEBBIE GOLLA
Special to The Battalion
■ Paul M. Mason, an associate pro-
issor in Engineering Design
■rapines, has a lot of stories to tell
lout Texas A&M University. He’s
len teaching here almost 34 years.
I One of the big changes has been in
Impus architecture.
■ ‘‘Today they build them (new
liildings) like mausoleums,” Mason
W. “They used to have more to
lem hack then.
I Mason is well known for his anec
dotes of past experiences with stu
dents, and will often tell stories of his
time in World War II.
I “I love war stories, said Rick Pen-
ir, an electrical engineering major
in one of Mason’s EDG 106 classes,
enter said he’s seldom found an in
ductor who will provide the class
ith a little history along with the
tegular course material.
“It’s good because you do a little
work, then hear a little story,” Pen-
ter said.
Mason often tells his students that
he’s not a male chauvinist pig, just an
old “redneck.”
Mason said he’s seen few changes
in students over the past 30 years,
“except that maybe they’re a little
smarter now.”
Mason graduated from Texas
A&M in 1939 with a bachelor’s de
gree in Industrial Education, and re
ceived his master’s in the same field
in 1947.
In 1946, Mason began his career of
teaching at Texas A&M, and has
been a professor in EDG 105 and 106
ever since.
Mason said that it doesn’t seem too
long ago that he was the youngest in
the department, but now he’s the
oldest and will retire in three years.
(He won’t answer students’ inquiries
about his age, but 62 is a good guess.)
“He’s a lot of fun, he’s down to
earth — just a good of boy,” said
Mike Murphy, an industrial en
gineering major.
Mason said that he used to teach
differently; he used to be more hard-
nosed.
“But I learned students can learn
more if you kid around with them.
“You know, teachers are frus
trated thespians. Now, that may
sound like a bad word, but all it
means is that they’re frustrated
actors,” he said with a grin.
Mason said he really enjoys
teaching college students, and has
had few disciplinary problems with
them.
Mason added that his students
make him feel like he’s only a few
years older than they are, and it
seems to be unanimous that his stu
dents in turn enjoy him.
Three
favorite
nesting
sM
elose to
A&M.
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