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Category: Publications: Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL)
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  • User Guidelines on Catchment Hydrological Modeling with Soil Thermal Dynamics in Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA)

    Abstract: Climate warming is expected to degrade permafrost in many regions of the world. Degradation of permafrost has the potential to affect soil thermal, hydrological, and vegetation regimes. Projections of long-term effects of climate warming on high latitude ecosystems require a coupled representation of soil thermal state and hydrological dynamics. Such a coupled framework was developed to explicitly simulate the soil moisture effects of soil thermal conductivity and heat capacity and its effects on hydrological response. In the coupled framework, the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory (GIPL) model is coupled with the Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) model. The new permafrost heat transfer in GSSHA is computed with the GIPL scheme that simulates soil temperature dynamics and the depth of seasonal freezing and thawing by numerically solving a one-dimensional quasilinear heat equation with phase change. All the GIPL input and output parameters and the state variables are set up to be consistent with the GSSHA input-output format and grid distribution data input requirements. Test-case simulated results showed that freezing temperatures reduced soil storage capacity, thereby producing higher peak and lower base flow. The report details the functions and format of required input variables and cards, as a guideline, in GSSHA hydrothermal analysis of frozen soils in permafrost active areas.
  • Building Elevation in Mangrove Communities: Use of Regional Sediment Management to Increase Coastal Wetland Resilience to Sea-Level Rise

    Abstract: This Regional Sediment Management technical report outlines initial steps to implement a proof-of-concept physical model to develop demonstration scale evidence that supports managed wetland transgression through sediment augmentation via a thin-layer placement strategy. The proof-of-concept physical model will evaluate the ability of thin-layer placement to increase elevation and enhance recruitment within coastal scrub mangrove wetlands most vulnerable to sea-level rise. The investigation sought to identify feasible project locations, sediment sources that included beneficial use of dredged material opportunities, and environmentally acceptable construction techniques. Results of this initial step will be used to secure funding to permit, construct, implement, and monitor the proof-of-concept physical model. The results of this initiative will inform and direct management measure development for the ongoing Biscayne Bay Southeastern Everglades Restoration Project, the only coastal component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the only component with an obligation to increase habitat resilience. Results are applicable to areas throughout the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific Coasts of the United States where direct preservation, enhancement, and restoration of mangrove and other coastal wetland communities will build coastal resiliency, reduce storm hazards damage, and create habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife species, particularly as sea levels rise.
  • Waterway Engineering Applications of Automatic Identification System Data along the Mississippi River and at Lock Structures

    Abstract: The USACE, St. Louis District, is responsible for maintaining navigation channels along with multiple lock and dam structures on the Mississippi River, a vital inland waterway that carries millions of tons of commodities every year. Understanding commercial vessel traffic patterns is fundamental to informing decisions about construction projects and to efforts to improve communication to mariners. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data provides time-stamped and geo-referenced vessel position reports for most commercial vessels operating in the District’s area of interest. This paper describes how AIS data has been successfully used by St. Louis District waterway managers to (1) prevent conflicts with the navigation industry by revealing active fleeting areas that were under consideration for the construction of river training structures; and (2) identify changes in vessel approaches to a lock structure under different river flow conditions, providing operational information that could be used in future navigation alerts to mariners. This paper concludes with a list of suggested best practices for waterways managers who want to start, or expand, their use of AIS data.
  • Hurdles to Beneficial Use of Dredged Material: Root Cause Analysis

    Purpose: This technical note (TN) summarizes high points of an internal review of US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dredging and dredged material management practices, specifically beneficial use of dredged material (BUDM), that USACE manages from various navigation channels and ports around the nation.
  • Ecological Model to Evaluate Borrow Areas in the Lower Mississippi River

    Abstract: An aquatic analysis of constructing borrow areas adjacent to the main line levees in the Lower Mississippi River was conducted as part of an Environmental Impact Statement for upgrading the levee system. A Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) regression model based on field collections was developed to predict fish species richness as a function of the morphometry and water quality of borrow areas. The HSI score was multiplied by acres of borrow areas created during construction to obtain habitat units (HUs) for each alternative indicating a substantial gain of fishery habitat in the floodplain. Environmental features identified by the model to increase fish species richness and overall habitat heterogeneity include the shape of the pit (e.g., bowl-shaped with deep water rather than long rectangular with shallower water), the availability of littoral areas for fish spawning and rearing, using best management practices such as tree screens and bank stabilization to lower turbidity, adding islands, and creating sinuous shorelines. The project results in an overall gain in aquatic habitat by creating permanent or semi-permanent water bodies on the floodplain that our research indicates may be occupied by at least 75 species of fish contributing to the overall biodiversity of the lower Mississippi River.
  • Potential Lock Operations Management Application (LOMA) Hardware Installation Sites along the Ohio River to Improve Automatic Identification System (AIS) Reception and Transmit Range

    Abstract: The purpose of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering technical note (CHETN) is to propose a list of candidate sites along the Ohio River for the installation of Automatic Identification System (AIS) shoreside towers within the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lock Operations Management Application (LOMA) program. The LOMA program manages a network of terrestrial (shoreside) AIS sites (Figure 1) and vessel-mounted AIS sites with receive and transmit capability. However, there are known limits to the reception and transmission areas served by existing shoreside towers (referred to as “coverage gaps”) along the Ohio River (DiJoseph et al. 2021). Parties interested in improving AIS coverage to enhance maritime domain awareness and navigational safety along the Ohio River may wish to pursue the installation of LOMA program hardware for this purpose.
  • Hydraulic Sorting of Dredged Sediment in a Pipeline: An Evaluation of the Sediment Distribution Pipe

    Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently established a goal to beneficially use 70% of material dredged from the nation’s navigable waterways by the year 2030. Most of the sediments dredged by the USACE are heterogeneous mixtures of mud and sand, which can limit beneficial use of dredged material (BUDM) applications. Innovative technologies that can sort material during the dredging process are needed to help increase BUDM practices. This investigation sought to evaluate the ability of a sediment distribution pipe (SDP) to sort particles during transport in a pipeline. Field demonstrations were conducted during dredged material placements at Sturgeon Island, New Jersey. Velocity within the pipeline was found to be inadequate for efficient hydraulic sorting of fines (<75 μm) and produced inconclusive results. Small scale laboratory SDP experiments found that effluent from the SDP holes had an altered sediment texture compared to the initial slurry and that hydraulic sorting was occurring within the pipeline. However, outflow from the SDP holes was inconsistent, and typically >90% of the sediment mass was discharged out the end of the pipeline. Sorting efficiency of the SDP could not be accurately assessed in the current experimental configuration.
  • Amphibious Uncrewed Ground Vehicle for Coastal Surfzone Survey

    Abstract: The capability of a commercial off-the-shelf amphibious bottom crawling robot is explored for surveying seamless topography and bathymetry across the beachface, surfzone, and very nearshore. A real-time-kinematic (RTK) antenna on a mast was added to the robotic platform, a Bayonet-350 (previously the C2i SeaOx). Data collected from the robot were compared with those collected by the Coastal Research Amphibious Buggy (CRAB) and the Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo (LARC), unique amphibious vessels capable of collecting seamless topography and bathymetry in use for decades at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Field Research Facility (FRF). Data were compared on five different days in a range of wave conditions (Hs < 1 m in 8-m depth) resulting in a root-mean square difference of 8.7 cm and bias of 2 cm for 24 different cross-shore profile comparisons. Additionally, a repeatability test was performed to assess measurement uncertainty. The repeatability test indicated a total vertical uncertainty (TVU) of 5.8 cm, with the highest spatial error at the shoreline.
  • An Examination of Multihazard Marine Transportation System (MTS) Response and Recovery Operations during the 2020 Hurricane Season

    Abstract: The Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS), Resilience Integrated Action Team (RIAT), was established in 2014 to foster the coordination and coproduction of knowledge that incorporates the concepts of resilience into the marine transportation system (MTS). The RIAT defines resilience as a four-phase cycle that incorporates preparation, response, recovery, and adaptation activities to minimize disruption to the MTS. The RIAT utilizes this definition of resilience to convene first-responder CMTS agencies to examine challenges and successes and make recommendations about past hurricane seasons. The 2020 hurricane season saw a record-breaking number of storms form in the Atlantic basin during a global pandemic. As a result, federal agencies were challenged to operate in a multihazard posture, and many former lessons learned needed to be adjusted to this unprecedented situation.
  • Preliminary Permafrost Predictions within the Chena River Watershed, Alaska, Using Landscape Characteristics

    Purpose: This Technical Note presents a method to create permafrost predictions in the Chena River watershed near Fairbanks, Alaska, using landscape characteristics. We produced probabilities for near-surface permafrost in the Chena River watershed using a published algorithm applied in a nearby region. The methodology presented serves as a proof of concept for developing permafrost maps using similar data in other cold regions.