Mission-Aransas Estuary
The Mission-Aransas Estuary is located in the coastal bend of Texas, and consists of Aransas Bay, Copano Bay and several smaller bays, including Saint Charles Bay, Mission Bay, and Redfish Bay. The estuary has a direct connection to the Gulf of Mexico through the Entrance Channel of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel (Aransas Pass), but is largely protected by a barrier island, San Jose Island. This estuary covers 111,780 acres and has an average depth of five and a half feet. Typically the estuary receives an average of 490,000 acre-feet of freshwater inflow from it's major rivers, the Aransas and Mission Rivers, and surrounding coastal basins. The estuary is surrounded by Aransas, Refugio, and San Patricio counties and is affected by planning activities of both the South Central-Region L Regional Water Planning Group and the Coastal Bend-Region N Regional Water Planning Group.
Selected Mission-Aransas Estuary Studies
- Schoenbaechler, C., C.G. Guthrie, and Q. Lu. 2011. Coastal Hydrology for the Mission-Aransas Estuary. February 22, 2011. Texas Water Development Board, Austin, Texas. 15 pp.
- Guthrie, C.G., J. Matsumoto, and Q. Lu. 2010. TxBLEND Model Calibration and Validation for the Guadalupe and Mission-Aransas Estuaries. July 2010. Texas Water Development Board, Austin, Texas. 46 pp.
- TDWR. 1981. Nueces and Mission-Aransas estuaries: A study of the influence of freshwater inflows. LP-108. Texas Department of Water Resources, Austin, Tx. 381pp.
- Chen, G.F. (Appendix by TWDB). 2010. Freshwater inflow recommendation for the Mission-Aransas estuarine system. Texas Parks and Wildlife, Austin, Tx. 120pp.