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  • Survey Vessels Blackwater and Seminole deployed in Hurricane Ian Relief

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District has deployed two survey vessels to survey the waterways in support of the Hurricane Ian and USACE’s Jacksonville District.

  • Automated Ground-Penetrating-Radar Post-Processing Software in R Programming

    Abstract: Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a nondestructive geophysical technique used to create images of the subsurface. A major limitation of GPR is that a subject matter expert (SME) needs to post-process and interpret the data, limiting the technique’s use. Post-processing is time-intensive and, for detailed processing, requires proprietary software. The goal of this study is to develop automated GPR post-processing software, compatible with Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. (GSSI) data, in open-source R programming. This would eliminate the need for an SME to process GPR data, remove proprietary software dependencies, and render GPR more accessible. This study collected GPR profiles by using a GSSI SIR4000 control unit, a 100 MHz antenna, and a Trimble GPS. A standardized method for post-processing data was then established, which includes static data removal, time-zero correction, distance normalization, data filtering, and stacking. These steps were scripted and automated in R programming, excluding data filtering, which was used from an existing package, RGPR. The study compared profiles processed using GSSI soft-ware to profiles processed using the R script developed here to ensure comparable functionality and output. While an SME is currently still necessary for interpretations, this script eliminates the need for one to post-process GSSI GPR data.

  • Corps of Engineers announces emergency permitting procedures to support recovery following Hurricane Ian

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District announced that it received authority to issue alternative/emergency permitting procedures in response to conditions resulting from Hurricane Ian.

  • Investigations into the Ice Crystallization and Freezing Properties of the Antifreeze Protein ApAFP752

    Abstract: Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) allow biological organisms, including insects, fish, and plants, to survive in freezing temperatures. While in solution, AFPs impart cryoprotection by creating a thermal hysteresis (TH), imparting ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI), and providing dynamic ice shaping (DIS). To leverage these ice-modulating effects of AFPs in other scenarios, a range of icing assays were performed with AFPs to investigate how AFPs interact with ice formation when tethered to a surface. In this work, we studied ApAFP752, an AFP from the beetle Anatolica polita, and first investigated whether removing the fusion protein attached during protein expression would result in a difference in freezing behavior. We performed optical microscopy to examine ice-crystal shape, micro-structure, and the recrystallization behavior of frozen droplets of AFP solutions. We developed a surface chemistry approach to tether these proteins to glass surfaces and conducted droplet-freezing experiments to probe the interactions of these proteins with ice formed on those surfaces. In solution, ApAFP752 did not show any DIS or TH, but it did show IRI capabilities. In surface studies, the freezing of AFP droplets on clean glass surfaces showed no dependence on concentration, and the results from freezing water droplets on AFP-decorated surfaces were inconclusive.

  • White Sands Missile Range Thurgood Canyon Watershed: Analysis of Range Road 7 for Development of Best Management Practices and Recommendations

    Abstract: Thurgood Canyon, located on White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), contains an alluvial fan that is bisected by a primary installation road and is in the proximity of sensitive fish habitats. This project was initiated to determine if and how sensitive fish habitats at the base of the fan are impacted by the existing drainage infrastructure and to assess the condition and sustainability of the existing transportation infrastructure. Findings show that the current drainage infrastructure maintains flow energy and sediment carrying capacity further down the fan than would occur in its absence. However, frequent to moderately rare (small to medium) flood events dissipate over 2 km from sensitive habitat, and overland flow and sediment do not reach the base of the fan. Controlled flow diversion is recommended upstream of the road to mitigate infrastructure or habitat impacts during very rare (very large) flood events. A comprehensive operation and management approach is presented to achieve sustainable transportation infrastructure and reduce the likelihood of impacts to the sensitive habitat.

  • Buried-Object-Detection Improvements Incorporating Environmental Phenomenology into Signature Physics

    Abstract: The ability to detect buried objects is critical for the Army. Therefore, this report summarizes the fourth year of an ongoing study to assess environmental phenomenological conditions affecting probability of detection and false alarm rates for buried-object detection using thermal infrared sensors. This study used several different approaches to identify the predominant environmental variables affecting object detection: (1) multilevel statistical modeling, (2) direct image analysis, (3) physics-based thermal modeling, and (4) application of machine learning (ML) techniques. In addition, this study developed an approach using a Canny edge methodology to identify regions of interest potentially harboring a target object. Finally, an ML method was developed to improve automatic target detection and recognition performance by accounting for environmental phenomenological conditions, improving performance by 50% over standard automatic target detection and recognition software.

  • NR 22-23: Contract awarded for Center Hill Dam Spillway Gates Replacement Project

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 29, 2022) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District awarded a $91,250,000 contract today to American Bridge Company for the Center Hill Dam Spillway Gates Replacement Project.

  • USACE cancels temporary full road closure of Highway 177 across Norfork Dam

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is canceling the full road closure for Highway 177 across Norfork Dam that was previously scheduled for Oct. 7 and 8. New dates have not been selected at this time.

  • USACE announces 2023 camping fee increase at Greers Ferry Lake

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will increase camping fees at Greers Ferry Lake beginning Jan. 1. Non-electric sites will increase to $18, electric sites (30/20 amp) $22, electric (50 amp) $24, electric (30/20 amp and water) $26 and electric (50 amp and water) $28. The fees are used to recover a portion of the cost of administering, operating, maintaining and improving the parks.

  • Corps’ hurricane response mission finds new home in Portland

    As Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida Sept. 28, more than a dozen volunteers with the Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared for a new mission: taking calls from those affected by the natural disaster.