20 Aug 2020

Special permit archery hunt scheduled for Perry Lake

PERRY, Kan. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Perry Lake announces the opening of the application process for its annual Special Archery Hunt at Longview and Rock Creek parks to be held Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2020 and Slough Creek park Oct. 16 – Dec. 31, 2020.  Applications are due Sept. 7, 2020. This is a specially permitted, archery-only hunting event. Hunting is not usually allowed in the park areas at Perry Lake; however, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosts this annual hunt in areas that are closed to public hunting to prevent overpopulation of deer.

20 Aug 2020

Corps to temporarily close River Run East and West Parks

ASHDOWN, Ark. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Millwood Tri-Lakes Project Office is temporarily closing access to the River Run East and West Recreation Areas at 8 a.m. Aug. 23 to make repairs to the Millwood Lake stilling basin. Depending on weather, the stilling basin work should be complete by mid October.

20 Aug 2020

St. Paul resident selected for prestigious award

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, D.C., recently selected St. Paul, Minnesota, resident and St. Paul District Chief of Logistics Mike McGarvey as recipient of the National Meritorious Logistician of the Year Award.

20 Aug 2020

Himes engineers future of Omaha District

Col. Mark Himes took command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, July 8 from outgoing commander Col. John Hudson. Himes, the District’s 36th commander, says he is fired up about his new job, and is honored by the opportunity to contribute to the Corps of Engineers’ legacy and to be able to build upon its storied history.

20 Aug 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Spatial and Temporal Variance in the Thermal Response of Buried Objects

ABSTRACT:  Probability of detection and false alarm rates for current military sensor systems used for detecting buried objects are often unacceptable. One approach to increasing sensor performance and detection reliability is to better understand which physical processes are dominant under certain environmental conditions. Incorporating this understanding into detection algorithms will improve detection performance. Our approach involved studying a small, 3.05 × 3.05 m, test plot at the Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ERDC-CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire. There we monitored a number of environmental variables (soil temperature moisture, and chemistry as well as air temperature and humidity, cloud cover, and incoming solar radiation) coupled with thermal infrared and electro-optical image collection. Data collection occurred over 4 months with measurements made at 15 minute intervals. Initial findings show that significant spatial and thermal temporal variability is caused by incoming solar radiation; meteorologically driven surface heat exchange; and subsurface-soil temperatures, density, moisture content, and surface roughness.

20 Aug 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Shallow Water Seakeeping Tests with Columbia Class Submarine for Integration into the Environmental Monitoring and Operator Guidance System

Abstract: The Environmental Monitoring and Operation Guidance System (EMOGS) tool was developed in 1989 to provide a real-time risk analysis for underkeel clearance for the Ohio class submarine while in transit to the Naval Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia. The program computes expected submarine response for input water level, depth, speed, wave, and other input conditions using shallow-water motion transfer functions generated by the strip theory tool, Large Amplitude Motion Program (LAMP). The integration of the new Columbia class submarine into EMOGS required that new transfer functions be developed using LAMP. The LAMP results are to be validated using measured motions from physical model laboratory testing. This report summarizes a laboratory study of the Columbia class submarine response in shallow-water waves. The study was conducted at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, and was done in direct support of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. These seakeeping tests were performed in a shallow basin with a multi-directional wave generator, with measured still water vessel motions and measured vessel motion in regular and irregular waves of varying height, period, and direction.

20 Aug 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Evaluating Collection Parameters for Mobile Lidar Surveys in Vegetated Beach-Dune Settings

Purpose: The goal of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) is to compare collection parameters and gridding techniques for mobile lidar surveys of beach-dune systems in the northern Outer Banks, NC.

20 Aug 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Utilizing Stream Flows to Forecast Dredging Requirements

Abstract: In recent years, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has spent an average of approximately a billion dollars annually for navigation channel maintenance dredging. To execute these funds effectively, USACE districts must determine which navigation channels are most in need of maintenance dredging each year. Traditionally, dredging volume estimates for Operations and Maintenance budget development are based on experiential knowledge and historic averages, with the effects of upstream, precipitation-driven streamflows considered via general-rule approximations. This study uses the Streamflow Prediction Tool, a hydrologic routing model driven by global weather forecast ensembles, and dredging records from the USACE Galveston District to explore relationships between precipitation-driven inland channel flow and subsequent dredged volumes in the downstream coastal channel reaches. Spatially based regression relationships are established between cumulative inland flows and dredged volumes. Results in the test cases of the Houston Ship Channel and the Sabine-Neches Waterway in Texas indicate useful correlations between the computed streamflow volumes and recorded dredged volumes. These relationships are stronger for channel reaches farther inland, upstream of the coastal processes that are not included in the precipitation-driven hydrologic model.

20 Aug 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Three Rivers, Southeast Arkansas Navigation Study: Ship Simulation Report

Abstract: The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River System (MKARNS) is a major inland waterway that begins at the Port of Catoosa in Tulsa, OK, and travels to the confluence of the White and Mississippi Rivers. Over the years, many structures have been built to help control overland flow between the White, Arkansas, and Mississippi Rivers. These structures have required a significant amount of rehabilitation, which has resulted in high maintenance costs. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas Waterways Commission conducted the Three Rivers Southeast Arkansas Feasibility Study (also known as the Three Rivers Study). The Three Rivers Study focused on providing long-term dependable navigation in the MKARNS. From this study, a proposal was developed that included a 1,000 ft reopening of the Historic Cutoff and a reinforcement of several areas near the White River. In 2019, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center Ship/Tow Simulator was used to perform a navigation study to ensure the proposed modifications did not negatively impact navigation on the White River section of the MKARNS. Assessment of the proposed modifications was accomplished through analysis of ship simulations completed by experienced pilots, discussions, track plots, run sheets, and final pilot surveys.

20 Aug 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: A Proposed Ecosystem Services Analysis Framework for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Abstract: Ecosystem goods and services (EGS) have been promoted as a way to effectively examine tradeoffs and improve communication of project-related environmental outcomes in terms of human well-being. This document proposes a framework to inform the development of any future guidance to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) District planners for projecting changes in EGS from proposed civil works activities. The framework offers an analytical and communications approach for incorporating EGS in USACE decision-support processes. The core of the framework is a conceptual model that establishes a series of causal relationships that link management actions to EGS benefits/damages, applying economic concepts in both monetary and non-monetary benefit relevant indicators. The six-step planning process is used to demonstrate how the EGS framework might be integrated into existing analytic approaches and modified to fit different levels of resource availability and decision contexts. A hypothetical case study is used to demonstrate analytic techniques. The framework is compatible with goals to create a single decision-support document covering National Environmental Policy Act requirements and planning objectives when comparing project alternatives. The example is intended to generally illustrate the use of EGS in any type of program planning or project evaluation.