Currents in Sabine Lake and Sabine Pass, Texas, 6 June to 6 July 1990 : final report

"Current meters were deployed in Sabine Lake and Sabine Pass on 6 June 1990 to monitor the current speed and direction, water temperature and salinity for a period of one month. They were recovered successfully on 5 and 6 July 1990. General Oceanics model 6011 tilt-type current meters were deployed approximately 75 cm from the bottom in each place. The meters were set to average a burst of 32 readings of 2-second duration every 10 minutes. At Sabine Lake, the meter was attached to the flare-off pipe of abandoned McCarter Oil platform S-2 10937 at 29° 54.45'N; 093° 52.11'W (Loran-C reading). It was suspended from a steel cable between the last two flare-off pipe supports, as far from the influence of the platform as possible. Warning flags were attached to the cable to alert boaters. In Sabine Pass, the meter was deployed in the center of the ship channel at a depth of 18 m. A taut-line mooring was used with a subsurface float about 2.5 m off the channel floor. To relocate the meter, a cable was run to the outer range marker B, where a ballasted line was brought up separately to the NW corner of the range-marker platform. This was chained and padlocked to the platform base. No LORAN -C readings were taken here, but the meter was on a bearing of 255° true from the range marker platform, and in the channel center. At both deployment and recovery, profiles of temperature and salinity were made using a Sea-Bird model SBE-9 CTD. These data were used to verify the salinity value measured by the current-meter conductivity sensor.

To Texas Water Development Board ... Austin, TX

12 July 1990