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  • Maine Department of Transportation seeks permit for proposed work in Eaton Brook and Felts Brook

     The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District received a permit application to conduct

  • Quantifying the Effect of Subcritical Water Repellency on Sorptivity: A Physically Based Model

    Abstract: Soil water wettability or water repellency is a phenomenon that can affect infiltration and, ultimately, runoff. Thus, there is a need to develop a model that can quantitatively capture the influence of water repellency on infiltration in a physically meaningful way and within the framework of existing infiltration theory. The analytical model developed in this study relates soil sorptivity (an infiltration parameter) with contact angle (a direct measure of water repellency) for variably saturated media. The model was validated with laboratory experiments using a silica sand of known properties treated to produce controlled degrees of water repellency. The measured contact angle and sorptivity values closely matched the model‐predicted values. Further, the relationship between the frequently used water drop penetration time test (used to assess water repellency) and sorptivity was illustrated. Finally, the direct impact of water repellency on saturated hydraulic conductivity was investigated due to its role in infiltration equations and to shed light on inconsistent field observations. It was found that water repellency had minimal effect on the saturated hydraulic conductivity of structureless sand. A quantitative model for infiltration incorporating the effect of water repellency is particularly important for post‐fire hydrologic modeling of burned areas exhibiting water repellent soils.

  • Tim Sepkoski: transitioning from boots to business shoes

    Former Army Staff Sergeant Timothy Sepkoski recently received an end-of-service award from the Far East District for his military service as a Quality Assurance Representative (QAR) within the Southern Resident Office (SRO). His dedication and hard work throughout his time as a Soldier with SRO showcased how much of an asset he was to the team, which helped in securing a job during Sepkoski’s transition from Soldier to Civilian.

  • Safety is paramount in district dredging operations

    Each year the Louisville District dredges approximately a million cubic yards of silt and sediment

  • Final environmental documents released for USFS visitor center relocation in Lake Isabella

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District has released its final supplemental environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for the relocation of the U.S. Forest Service visitor center at the Isabella Lake Dam Safety Modification Project in Kern County.

  • Corps of Engineers helps break ground on new Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center

    Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and contractors gathered June 16 at the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus to break ground on the new Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center.

  • Carlyle Lake Fireworks Spectacular Postponed

    CARLYLE LAKE – The Fireworks Spectacular to be held this Saturday, July 3, has been postponed until Labor Day weekend due to unforeseen circumstances. There will also be no food vendor. Although there will not be a fireworks display, the Dam Jam, Sandcastle Building Contest, and Beach Games are still scheduled to take place in the Dam West Day Use Area, so there is still plenty of fun to had at Carlyle Lake. Visitors are also reminded that fireworks, including sparklers, are not permitted on Corps of Engineers property.

  • Increased Rainfall Stimulates Permafrost Thaw Across a Variety of Interior Alaskan Boreal Ecosystems

    Abstract: Earth’s high latitudes are projected to experience warmer and wetter summers in the future but ramifications for soil thermal processes and permafrost thaw are poorly understood. Here we present 2750 end of summer thaw depths representing a range of vegetation characteristics in Interior Alaska measured over a 5-year period. This included the top and third wettest summers in the 91-year record and three summers with precipitation close to mean historical values. Increased rainfall led to deeper thaw across all sites with an increase of 0.7 ± 0.1 cm of thaw per cm of additional rain. Disturbed and wetland sites were the most vulnerable to rain-induced thaw with ~1 cm of surface thaw per additional 1 cm of rain. Permafrost in tussock tundra, mixed forest, and conifer forest was less sensitive to rain-induced thaw. A simple energy budget model yields seasonal thaw values smaller than the linear regression of our measurements but provides a first-order estimate of the role of rain-driven sensible heat fluxes in high-latitude terrestrial permafrost. This study demonstrates substantial permafrost thaw from the projected increasing summer precipitation across most of the Arctic region.

  • Mercury Isotopes Reveal Atmospheric Gaseous Mercury Deposition Directly to the Arctic Coastal Snowpack

    Abstract: Springtime atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) lead to snow with elevated mercury concentrations (>200 ng Hg/L) in the Arctic and Antarctic. During AMDEs gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) is photochemically oxidized by halogens to reactive gaseous mercury which is deposited to the snowpack. This reactive mercury is either photochemically reduced back to GEM and re-emitted to the atmosphere or remains in the snowpack until spring snowmelt. GEM is also deposited to the snowpack and tundra vegetation by reactive surface uptake (dry deposition) from the atmosphere. There is little consensus on the proportion of AMDE-sourced Hg versus Hg from dry deposition that is released in spring runoff. We used mercury stable isotope measurements of GEM, snowfall, snowpack, snowmelt, surface water, vegetation, and peat from a northern Alaska coastal watershed to quantify Hg sources. Although high Hg concentrations are deposited to the snowpack during AMDEs, we estimate that ∼76 to 91% is released back to the atmosphere prior to snowmelt. Mercury deposited to the snowpack as GEM comprises the majority of snowmelt Hg and has a Hg stable isotope composition similar to Hg deposited by reactive surface uptake of GEM into the leaves of trees in temperate forests. This GEM-sourced Hg is the dominant Hg we measured in the spring snowpack and in tundra peat permafrost deposits.

  • 21-035 Corps seeks public input for Ice Harbor Master Plan Revision

    BURBANK, Wash.– The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District (Corps) has prepared a draft Ice Harbor Master Plan with an accompanying draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Environmental Assessment (EA) to revise the outdated 1977 Ice Harbor Master Plan. The Corps will be accepting comments from July 1 through 30, 2021.