Shifting Sands and Changing Shores: Coastal Dynamics Monitoring Results Released for Padre Island National Seashore, 2017–2025

View of vegetated foredune near South Sprint Pass at Padre Island National Seashore. Dunes help buffer the coastline from storms and high tides.

NPS / JANE CARLSON

The National Park Service’s Gulf Coast Network (GULN) has published a new report revealing findings from nearly a decade of monitoring shoreline and coastal topography at Padre Island National Seashore. The Coastal Dynamics Monitoring at Padre Island National Seashore, Texas: 2017–2025 Data Summary report presents results from the 2025 field season and evaluates patterns of change over time using long-term datasets. Monitoring included shoreline surveys along the park’s entire Gulf shoreline and repeated elevation measurements at 23 fixed cross-shore transects.

Science-Based Stewardship of a Dynamic Coast

Padre Island’s beaches and dunes are constantly shifting, and long-term monitoring helps park managers protect this unique and ever-changing coastal landscape.

The 23 Gulf Coast Network coastal topography survey transects at Padre Island National Seashore (red lines) and extent of shoreline monitoring (yellow line). The locations of weather and water level monitoring stations are indicated with orange or blue circles.

NPS / GULN

Key Findings

Key findings show that Padre Island’s coastline is dynamic, with shoreline position retreating an average of 0.7 meters (2.3 feet) per year from 2017 to 2025, along with ongoing changes in dune elevations and beach profiles. High tide events and storm activity are strong forces that cause rapid changes, while more constant forces like wind speed and direction, and Gulf currents drive longer-term changes. Tracking these patterns helps park managers understand and predict the nature of change on this undeveloped coastline that plays a vital role in buffering storm impacts.

Shoreline change along Padre Island National Seashore. The bar chart shows average annual shoreline retreat or advance in five-mile segments, while the map highlights transects with the highest rates of change. Green indicates the fastest advance; red indicates the fastest retreat.

NPS / GULN

From Data to Decisions

These findings help park managers make informed decisions about resource protection, visitor safety, and infrastructure planning, while also offering the public a clearer picture of how Padre Island’s unique coastal environment is changing over time.

This work is part of the NPS Vital Signs Monitoring Program, which conducts geomorphology surveys at Padre Island every other spring. Additional data and summaries from previous surveys are available in GULN’s Shoreline and Coastal Topography Monitoring Projects in IRMA.

Full Report

Access the complete 2017-2025 data summary report in the NPS Datastore through the link below.

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Supplementary Materials

Access the 2025 Supplementary Materials in the NPS datastore through the link below.

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