• Freshwater Bryozoan are a sign of a healthy lake

    SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah River basin lakes, J. Strom Thurmond, Richard B. Russell and Hartwell, have some strange inhabitants that are alien, globby-looking things, and sometimes mistaken for the eggs of some aquatic creature, but in-fact, they are filter-feeding, microscopic invertebrates known as Freshwater Bryozoan or zooids, and their presence indicates a healthy body of water.
  • Understanding Plant Volatiles for Environmental Awareness: Chemical Composition in Response to Natural Light Cycles and Wounding

    Abstract: Plants emit a bouquet of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in response to both biotic and abiotic stresses and, simultaneously, eavesdrop on emitted signals to activate direct and indirect defenses. By gaining even a slight insight into the semantics of interplant communications, a unique awareness of the operational environment may be obtainable (e.g., knowledge of a disturbance within). In this effort, we used five species of plants, Arabidopsis thaliana, Panicum virgatum, Festuca rubra, Tradescantia zebrina, and Achillea millefolium, to produce and query VOCs emitted in response to mechanical wounding and light cycles. These plants provide a basis for further investigation in this communication system as they span model organisms, common house plants, and Arctic plants. The VOC composition was complex; our parameter filtering often enabled us to reduce the noise to fewer than 50 compounds emitted over minutes to hours in a day. We were able to detect and measure the plant response through two analytical methods. This report documents the methods used, the data collected, and the analyses performed on the VOCs to determine if they can be used to increase environmental awareness of the battlespace.
  • U.S. Army Corps and Miami-Dade County to host charrette for re-initiation of Miami-Dade Back Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management Study

    MIAMI – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Norfolk District and Miami-Dade County, its non-federal sponsor, will host a charrette from November 14 to 18, which will include a public meeting on Monday, Nov. 14 for the re-initiation of the Miami-Dade Back Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study​.
  • Nashville District names King Employee of the Month for August 2022

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 10, 2022) – Pamela King, general supply specialist in the Logistics Section, is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Employee of the Month for August 2022. She is recognized primarily for her efforts to recover a missing property within the district office and streamlining the sub-hand receipt process.
  • Jacksonville District South Florida Operations prepares for Hurricane Nicole

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Nov. 9, 2022)– Bravo Zulu is an often-used Navy phrase that means “Good Job” or “Well Done.” As Hurricane Nicole makes its way toward Florida’s east coast, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District South Florida Operations team prepares for a possible tropical storm or Category 1 hurricane and is securing facilities, providing information to boaters and campers on operational adjustments to navigation, recreation, and Lake Okeechobee operations to keep them safe.
  • Meteorological Influences of a Major Dust Storm in Southwest Asia during July–August 2018

    Abstract: Dust storms can be hazardous for aviation, military activities, and respiratory health and can occur on a wide variety of spatiotemporal scales with little to no warning. To properly forecast these storms, a comprehensive understanding of the meteorological dynamics that control their evolution is a prerequisite. To that end, we chose a major dust storm that occurred in Southwest Asia during July–August 2018 and conducted an observation-based analysis of the meteorological conditions that influenced the storm’s evolution. We found that the main impetus behind the dust storm was a large-scale meteorological system (i.e., a cyclone) that affected Southwest Asia. It seems that cascading effects from this system produced a smaller, near-surface warm anomaly in Mesopotamia that may have triggered the dust storm, guided its trajectory over the Arabian Peninsula, and potentially catalyzed the development of a small low-pressure system over the southeastern end of the peninsula. This low-pressure system may have contributed to some convective activity over the same region. This type of analysis may provide important information about large-scale meteorological forcings for not only this particular dust storm but also for future dust storms in Southwest Asia and other regions of the world.
  • USACE announces virtual BBSEER Project Delivery Team Meeting on November 17

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District invites Project Delivery Team members, stakeholders, partners, and members of the public to attend a virtual Project Delivery Team (PDT) Meeting for the Biscayne Bay and Southeastern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration (BBSEER) Project study on Wednesday, November 17, 2022 from 3 to 5 p.m. PM.
  • USACE Vicksburg District announces Project Partnership Agreement with city of Morton

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District entered into a Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) with the City of Morton, Mississippi, November 9, 2022, as part of the Mississippi Environmental Infrastructure Program (Section 592). For the city of Morton, Mayor Gerald Keeton, Sr. signed the PPA, and Col. Christopher Klein, Vicksburg District commander, signed for USACE. The signing ceremony was held at Morton City Hall. “Congress’ generous investment with the bipartisan infrastructure law injects much needed funding into projects that directly benefit citizens and business in cities across our state,” said Col. Klein. “We are thankful to be a part of such an enormous investment in the water infrastructure of Morton.
  • Gatewood inspiring the Mobile District as she battles cancer

    The novelist James Lane Allen is credited with saying, “Adversity does not build character; it reveals it.” Proving this adage is Tina Gatewood, customer service representative in charge of payroll for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.
  • Engineering With Nature initiative contributes to White House roadmap for accelerating nature-based solutions

    VICKSBURG, Miss. — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature (EWN) leaders contributed to a White House interagency report released Nov. 8 about opportunities for the federal government to accelerate the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS). “The report provides a roadmap with five strategic recommendations for federal agencies to implement, and it provides an agency resource guide of thirty NBS examples in action,” said Dr. Todd Bridges, national lead of EWN.