• CONTRACT AWARDED FOR ADVANCE MEASURES IN SAN MIGUEL AND MORA COUNTIES

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, awarded a $4.1 million contract July 15, 2022, to implement additional measures to protect key critical infrastructure in San Miguel and Mora counties, New Mexico, in response to the recent damage caused by the local wildfires.
  • Trinidad Lake staff help area children learn about water and water safety

    Albuquerque District staff from the Trinidad Dam project office participated in two area water safety outreach events in May.
  • USACE, Reclamation to co-host ribbon cutting ceremony for Lower Yellowstone diversion dam, fish passage project

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will co-host an official ribbon cutting ceremony on July 26, at 11:00 a.m. on Joe’s Island near Glendive to celebrate the completion of the Lower Yellowstone Intake Diversion Dam Fish Passage Project. The celebration will also acknowledge Reclamation’s 120th anniversary.
  • Allen Earhart Selected as USACE’s 2022 Sustainability Hero

    Mr. Allen Earhart has been selected as USACE’s 2022 Sustainability Hero.
  • Leveraging Production Visualization Tools In Situ

    Abstract: The visualization community has invested decades of research and development into producing large-scale production visualization tools. Although in situ is a paradigm shift for large-scale visualization, much of the same algorithms and operations apply regardless of whether the visualization is run post hoc or in situ. Thus, there is a great benefit to taking the large-scale code originally designed for post hoc use and leveraging it for use in situ. This chapter describes two in situ libraries, Libsim and Catalyst, that are based on mature visualization tools, VisIt and ParaView, respectively. Because they are based on fully featured visualization packages, they each provide a wealth of features. For each of these systems we outline how the simulation and visualization software are coupled, what the runtime behavior and communication between these components are, and how the underlying implementation works. We also provide use cases demonstrating the systems in action. Both of these in situ libraries, as well as the underlying products they are based on, are made freely available as open-source products. The overviews in this chapter provide a toehold to the practical application of in situ visualization.
  • Impacts of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) on Erosion Behavior of Muddy Sediment

    Abstract: Recent policy changes regarding the placement of dredged material have encouraged the USACE to increase its beneficial use (BU) of the sediments dredged from the nation’s navigation channels. A good portion of this material is fine grained (<63 mm), which traditionally has limited use in BU applications, in part due to its dispersive nature. A need exists to evaluate the potential of stabilizing and using fine-grained sediment (FGS) in BU projects. Previous studies have shown the addition of granular sand to FGS reduces the mobility of the bed. The potential of using Granular Activated Carbon (GAC), an amendment commonly used in environmental capping involving FGS, as a similar bed stabilizing material was explored in this study. A series of laboratory erosion tests using Sedflume were performed on FGS-GAC mixtures that ranged from 5% to 20% GAC by mass. Results suggested that GAC content ≤10% had no influence on the stability of the bed while GAC content ≥15% appeared to reduce both critical shear stress (τcr) and erosion rate (n). However, when compared to control cores, those without GAC, clear evidence of bed stabilization of FGS from the addition of GAC was not observed.
  • Scenario Analyses in Ecological Modeling and Ecosystem Management

    Purpose: Ecosystem management and restoration practitioners are challenged with complex problems, diverse project goals, multiple management alternatives, and potential future scenarios that change the systems of interest. Scenario analysis aids in forecasting, evaluating, and communicating outcomes of potential management actions under different plausible conditions, such as land-use change or sea level rise. However, little guidance exists for practitioners on the utility and execution of scenario analysis. Therefore, this technical note highlights the usefulness of scenario analysis as a tool for addressing uncertainty in potential project outcomes. The mechanics of the scenario-analysis process are explained, and examples of different types of scenario analyses are described for context on the breadth of its use. Lastly, two hypothetical case studies of scenario analysis in ecological modeling are presented showing a semiquantitative approach for assessing anadromous fish and a quantitative approach examining freshwater mussel habitat. Overall, this technical note provides a brief review of the utility and application of scenario analyses in the context of ecological modeling and ecosystem management decision-making.
  • Gathright Dam’s pulse release scheduled for today

    The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, scheduled pulse release at Gathright Dam, near Covington, Va., began today, Wednesday, July 20, at approximately 6 a.m.
  • Tetilla Peak Campground at Cochiti Lake now open for camping reservations through Oct. 15, 2022

    The Tetilla Campground is now open to the public for the 2022 recreation season which ends October 15, 2022. Reservations can be made online at www.Recreation.gov.
  • USACE Vicksburg District halts water release at Sardis Dam for routine inspections

    VICKSBURG, Miss. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District has temporarily stopped releasing water at Sardis Lake in preparation for routine maintenance and inspection of several key flood control structures that will take place until August 31.