• Ship Simulator of the Future in Virtual Reality

    Introduction: The Army’s modernization priorities include the development of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) simulations for enabling the regiment and increasing soldier readiness. The use of AR/VR technology at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is also growing in the realm of military and civil works program missions. The ERDC Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) has developed a ship simulator to evaluate bay channels across the world; however, the current simulator has little to no physical realism in nearshore coastal regions (Figure 1). Thus, the ERDC team is researching opportunities to advance ship simulation to deliver the Ship Simulator of the Future (SSoF). The SSoF will be equipped with a VR mode and will more accurately resolve nearshore wave phenomena by ingesting precalculated output from a Boussinesq-type wave model. This initial prototype of the SSoF application is intended for research and development purposes; however, the technologies employed will be applicable to other disciplines and project scopes, including the Synthetic Training Environment (STE) and ship and coastal structure design in future versions.
  • Lock and Dam #3 temporary closure

    The William O’Huske Lock and Dam (#3) will be closed from October 3, 2022 through January 2023 for
  • USACE Archaeological Program

    When you think “archaeology” do you think “U.S. Army Corps of Engineers?” Probably not. Archaeology brings up images of Indiana Jones, dusty tombs and getting chased out of caverns by giant rolling boulders. Yet, despite this, USACE curates the second largest collection of cultural resources in the United States, second only to the Smithsonian Institution.
  • Always Ready, Always There and Always Forward

    The Transatlantic Expeditionary District, headquartered at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, is the only district in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that is expeditionary and forward deployed. As a contingency district, it has relied on stateside Corps districts and state Army National Guard units to fill the various positions necessary to take on the complex engineering and construction environment in the Middle East.
  • USACE delivers generators in support of Hurricane Fiona response in Puerto Rico

    (SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Sept. 21, 2022 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) successfully installed a 240 Kva generator provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the Diagnostic Treatment Center of Guanica, Puerto Rico Sept. 21, providing sufficient temporary power to the facility until commercial power is restored.
  • Lake Washington levels to drop below 20 feet

    Lake Washington’s level projected to drop below 20 feet Sept. 21, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are taking steps to conserve water during the year’s dry weather through lockage efficiency.
  • Evaluation of Climatic and Hydroclimatic Resources to Support the US Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program

    Abstract: Short-term climatic and hydrologic interactions, or hydroclimatology, are an important consideration when delineating the geographic extent of aquatic resources and assessing whether an aquatic resource is a jurisdictional water of the United States (WOTUS) and is therefore subject to the Clean Water Act (CWA). The now vacated 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) required the evaluation of precipitation and other hydroclimatic conditions to assess the jurisdictional status of an aquatic resource based on normal hydroclimatic conditions. Short-term hydroclimatic conditions, such as antecedent precipitation, evapotranspiration, wetland delineation, and streamflow duration assessments, provide information on an aquatic resource’s geo-graphic extent, hydrologic characteristics, and hydrologic connectivity with other aquatic resources. Here, researchers from the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) evaluate tools and data available to practitioners for assessing short-term hydroclimatic conditions. The work highlights specific meteorological phenomena that are important to consider when assessing short-term hydroclimatic conditions that affect the geographic extent and hydrologic characteristics of an aquatic resource. The findings suggest that practitioners need access to data and tools that more holistically consider the impact of short-term antecedent hydroclimatology on the entire hydrologic cycle, rather than tools based solely on precipitation.
  • Special Dierks Lake youth deer hunt announced

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking applications from youth hunters who would like to participate in a special modern gun deer hunt Nov. 5 and 6 at Dierks Lake.
  • USACE Vicksburg District lowers pool at Thatcher Lock and Dam for routine inspections

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District will lower the Thatcher Lock and Dam (L&D) pool one-foot next week to conduct a routine inspection of the poiree needle system.
  • Corps of Engineers announces emergency permitting procedures

    (SAN JUAN, PR - Sept. 21, 2022) - 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 Fiona.