ERDC scientists support Navy relocation plans

Published Jan. 27, 2012
Repair facility.

Repair facility.

Polaris Point Ship

Polaris Point Ship

Jan. 27, 2012

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APRA HARBOR, Guam — ERDC Environmental Laboratory's (EL) Dr. Deborah Shafer is leading a series of interdisciplinary teams studying dredging effects on coral reefs and providing assistance to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command-Pacific Division. The study centers around the proposed expansion in capabilities of Guam's Apra Harbor to include a deep-water wharf and turning basin, as well as improvements to shore-side infrastructure. The improvements will support U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.

"With the current plans to relocate forces from Okinawa to Guam, the deep-water wharf is essential to Navy operations in the area," Shafer said. "A team of internationally recognized scientists and engineers are employing state-of-the-art science to recommend best management practices to minimize losses of coral reef associated with the proposed dredging operations, to predict dredging effects on Apra Harbor coral reefs, and facilitate the design of appropriate mitigation for any unavoidable impacts to those coral resources."

A substantial portion of U.S. military personnel in Okinawa, Japan, are scheduled for relocation to Guam by 2014. According to the latest estimates by the Department of Defense, the military buildup on Guam is projected to cost about $7.5 billion in construction costs through 2016. The study will assist in predicting and assessing the dredging effects on coral reef ecosystems, as well as help determine compensation plans for impacts to those coral resources.

ERDC Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) scientists Drs. Joseph Gailani, Tahirih Lackey, Sung-Chan Kim and Dave King are using the Curvilinear-grid Hydrodynamics Model in Three Dimensions (CH3D) and the Particle Tracking Model (PTM) to predict sediment levels in the water and deposited on the sea floor from the proposed dredging. Dr. Robert Richmond, University of Hawaii, will be interpreting the PTM model output to evaluate potential effects on sensitive coral resources in the vicinity of dredging operations. Richmond is well-known for his research on sedimentation effects on Pacific corals.

Another aspect of the research involves developing a method to predict losses in coral reef ecological function from the proposed dredging, and also to predict potential gains from mitigation alternatives under consideration. Current coral assessment techniques are not well suited to assess and predict dredging effects.

Shafer has more than 20 years experience in developing functional assessment tools for coastal wetlands and is collaborating with Dr. John McManus, director of the National Center for Coral Reef Research at the University of Miami. In 2007, McManus chaired the five-year review of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Coral Reef Conservation Program, which led to major changes in its structure and activities.

Shafer led an interagency workshop Nov. 7–8, 2011, in Guam to discuss the preliminary recommendations for the proposed coral assessment tools. More than 25 scientists attended the workshop, facilitated by ERDC's Julie Marcy. Agencies represented included the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans, Guam Environmental Protection Agency and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Headquarters and Pacific Division.