• Boundary line maintenance at J. Strom Thurmond Project begins

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Workers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District at J. Strom Thurmond Project have begun work to inspect and re-paint approximately 50 miles of the existing boundary line. R&D Maintenance Services, a contractor with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, uses bright orange paint to make boundary line “witness trees” more visible and easier to identify, as well as trimming heavy brush to clear the boundary line between witness trees. This routine boundary maintenance does not move present property lines. The work makes existing property lines more visible.
  • USACE hosting virtual workshop for Cave Run Lake Master Plan Update

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of updating its 1984 Master Plan for Cave Run
  • Corps of Engineers’ chief signs off on Malibu Creek ecosystem restoration, elevates project to Congress

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District and its partner, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Angeles District, are one step closer on a project to restore Malibu Creek’s ecosystem after receiving support from the Corps’ top brass. Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, the Corps’ commanding general and 55th U.S. Army chief of engineers, signed the Malibu Creek Ecosystem Restoration project chief’s report Nov. 13 at the Corps’ headquarters in Washington D.C., which elevates the report to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and to Congress for consideration of project authorization.
  • Safety Apprentice Hones Skills By Taking Over 775 Hours of Training in a Year

    Sometimes a job is created just for you. Such is the case for Gregory Pavelka. In fact, his entry into the FED was almost serendipitous.
  • Rast named USACE Silver Jackets Coordinator for 2019

    The Silver Jackets Coordinator of the Year Award recognizes outstanding individual USACE efforts and contributions to a Silver Jackets team. The award recipient for 2019 is Mr. Brian Rast, of the Kansas City District. Mr. Rast serves as the USACE Silver Jackets Coordinator for the Kansas and Missouri Silver Jackets teams and has made significant contributions to meeting the states’ priorities for flood risk management in these roles. Mr. Rast has utilized the State Silver Jackets teams’ webpages to effectively communicate the teams’ partnership and interagency efforts and to keep past work readily accessible for reference. He has focused on building relationships between federal agencies to support the state teams, including co-facilitating a USACE-FEMA Partnering Meeting and establishing a Federal Partners Mitigation Workgroup. Mr. Rast readily shares his knowledge and expertise by conducting training sessions with partners on floodplain management plans and nonstructural flood risk management approaches.
  • USACE seeks public input for Norfork Lake Master Plan revision process

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is notifying the public that the scoping comment period for the Norfork Lake Master Plan revision will begin November 16.
  • USACE seeks public input for the Millwood Lake Master Plan and Shoreline Management Plan revision process

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is notifying the public that the scoping comment period for the Millwood Lake Master Plan and Shoreline Management Plan revisions will begin November 16.
  • Long-Term Stability and Efficacy of Historic Activated Carbon (AC) Deployments at Diverse Freshwater and Marine Remediation Sites

    Abstract: A number of sites around the United States have used activated carbon (AC) amendments to remedy contaminated sediments. Variation in site-specific characteristics likely influences the long-term fate and efficacy of AC treatment. The long-term effectiveness of an AC amendment to sediment is largely unknown, as the field performance has not been monitored for more than three years. As a consequence, the focus of this research effort was to evaluate AC’s long-term (6–10 yr) performance. These assessments were performed at two pilot-scale demonstration sites, Grasse River, Massena, New York and Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Aberdeen, Maryland, representing two distinct physical environments. Sediment core samples were collected after 6 and 10 years of remedy implementation at APG and Grasse River, respectively. Core samples were collected and sectioned to determine the current vertical distribution and persistence of AC in the field. The concentration profile of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediment pore water with depth was measured using passive sampling. Sediment samples from the untreated and AC-treated zones were also assessed for bioaccumulation in benthic organisms. The data collected enabled comparison of AC distribution, PCB concentrations, and bioaccumulation measured over the short- and long-term (months to years).
  • Magnetorheological Composite Materials (MRCMs) for Instant and Adaptable Structural Control

    Abstract: Magnetic responsive materials can be used in a variety of applications. For structural applications, the ability to create tunable moduli from relatively soft materials with applied electromagnetic stimuli can be advantageous for light-weight protection. This study investigated magnetorheological composite materials involving carbonyl iron particles (CIP) embedded into two different systems. The first material system was a model cementitious system of CIP and kaolinite clay dispersed in mineral oil. The magnetorheological behaviors were investigated by using parallel plates with an attached magnetic accessory to evaluate deformations up to 1 T. The yield stress of these slurries was measured by using rotational and oscillatory experiments and was found to be controllable based on CIP loading and magnetic field strength with yield stresses ranging from 10 to 104 Pa. The second material system utilized a polystyrene-butadiene rubber solvent-cast films with CIP embedded. The flexible matrix can stiffen and become rigid when an external field is applied. For CIP loadings of 8% and 17% vol %, the storage modulus response for each loading stiffened by 22% and 74%, respectively.
  • Publication Notification: Distribution of the Two-Point Product of Complex Amplitudes in the Fully Saturated Scattering Regime

    Abstract:  This Letter considers probability density functions (pdfs) involving products of the complex amplitudes observed at two points (which may, in general, involve separations in space, time, or frequency) in conditions of fully saturated scattering. First, the pdf is derived for the product of the complex amplitude at one point with the conjugate of the complex amplitude at another point. It is shown that the real and imaginary parts of this product each have a variance gamma pdf. Second, expressions are derived for several joint pdfs involving complex amplitude products and powers at two points.