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  • Construction on the new Louisville VA Medical Center clears a major milestone

    The construction site of the new Louisville VA Medical Center has seen a lot of changes since the first shovels of dirt were ceremonially dug during the groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 11, 2021. Contractors have been busy performing various earthwork activities as well as drilling on the site in preparation for the first blasting to break up the bedrock under the site which took place Feb. 21.

  • USACE releases contact information should public find yellow plastic tubing on Cape Cod

     The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District announced today contact information if

  • Annual dredging of Ventura Harbor starts, with completion slated for mid-March

    Annual dredging commenced Feb. 14 in Ventura Harbor to deepen the federal navigation channel and sand traps to their authorized levels, with a scheduled completion timeframe of mid-March.

  • USACE seeks comments on the revised recommended plan for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District announces a 45-day public comment period for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project Draft Revised Project Implementation Report and Environmental Impact Statement (PIR/EIS). Comments are due April 4, 2022.

  • 22-012 Lower Monumental Dam closes public dam crossing Feb. 23 to perform navigation lock maintenance

    Kahlotus, Wash. – Officials at Lower Monumental Lock and Dam are closing dam crossings to the public on Wednesday Feb. 23, because of navigation lock maintenance.

  • USACE and SFWMD celebrate Indian River Lagoon-South C-23/24 Stormwater Treatment Area Groundbreaking Ceremony

    FORT PIERCE, Fla.-Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District (USACE) and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) hosted a groundbreaking event to celebrate the start of construction on the Indian River Lagoon- South C-23/24 Stormwater Treatment Area.

  • Flannagan Lake goes into deep drawdown

    John W. Flannagan Lake is performing a deep drawdown in order to perform inspections and maintenance on the dam.

  • Microbiome Perturbations During Domestication of the Green June Beetle (Cotinis nitida)

    Abstract: Animal-associated microbiomes are critical to the well-being and proper functioning of the animal host, but only limited studies have examined in-sect microbiomes across different developmental stages. These studies revealed large shifts in microbiome communities, often because of significant shifts in diet during insects’ life cycle. Establishing insect colonies as model laboratory organisms and understanding how to properly feed and care for animals with complex and dynamic life cycles requires improved data. This study examined laboratory-raised green June beetles (Cotinis nitida) captured from the field upon emergence from pupae. Starting with wild-caught adults, two generations of beetles were reared in the laboratory, ending with an entirely laboratory-raised generation of larvae. The study compared the microbiomes of each generation and the microbiomes of larvae to adults. This study suggests that a diet of commercial, washed fruit for adults and commercial, packaged, organic alfalfa meal for larvae resulted in depauperate gut microbiome communities. Fermentative yeasts were completely absent in the laboratory-raised adults, and major bacterial population shifts occurred from one generation to the next, coupled with high morbidity and mortality in the laboratory-raised generation. Providing laboratory-raised beetles fresh-collected fruit and the larvae field-harvested detritus may therefore vastly improve their health and survival.

  • Sampling Interplanetary Dust from Antarctic Air

    Abstract: We built a collector to filter interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) larger than 5 µm from the clean air at the Amundsen Scott South Pole station. Our sampling strategy used long duration, continuous dry filtering of near-surface air in place of short duration, high-speed impact collection on flags flown in the stratosphere. We filtered ~107 m3 of clean Antarctic air through 20 cm diameter, 3 µm filters coupled to a suction blower of modest power consumption (5–6 kW). Our collector ran continuously for 2 years and yielded 41 filters for analyses. Based on stratospheric concentrations, we predicted that each month’s collection would provide 300–900 IDPs for analysis. We identified 19 extraterrestrial (ET) particles on the 66 cm2 of filter examined, which represented ~0.5% of the exposed filter surfaces. The 11 ET particles larger than 5 µm yield about a fifth of the expected flux based on >5 µm stratospheric ET particle flux. Of the 19 ET particles identified, four were chondritic porous IDPs, seven were FeNiS beads, two were FeNi grains, and six were chondritic material with FeNiS components. Most were <10 µm in diameter and none were cluster particles. Additionally, a carbon-rich candidate particle was found to have a small 15N isotopic enrichment, supporting an ET origin. Many other candidate grains, including chondritic glasses and C-rich particles with Mg and Si and FeS grains, require further analysis to determine if they are ET. The vast majority of exposed filter surfaces remain to be examined.

  • Environmental Impact of Metals Resulting from Military Training Activities: A Review

    Abstract: The deposition of metals into the environment as a result of military training activities remains a longterm concern for Defense organizations across the globe. Of particular concern for deposition and potential mobilization are antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and tungsten (W), which are the focus of this review article. The fate, transport, and mobilization of these metals are complicated and depend on a variety of environmental factors that are often convoluted, heterogeneous, and site dependent. While there have been many studies investigating contaminant mobilization on military training lands there exists a lack of cohesiveness surrounding the current state of knowledge for these five metals. The focus of this review article is to compile the current knowledge of the fate, transport, and ultimate risks presented by metals associated with different military training activities particularly as a result of small arms training activities, artillery/mortar ranges, battleruns, rocket ranges, and grenade courts. From there, we discuss emerging research results and finish with suggestions of where future research efforts and training range designs could be focused toward further reducing the deposition, limiting the migration, and decreasing risks presented by metals in the environment. Additionally, information presented here may offer insights into Sb, As, Cu, Pb, and W in other environmental settings.