Charged with operating more than 13,000 miles of coastal navigation channels, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs robust decision-support technologies to better manage its vast portfolio. ERDC’s Coastal Inlets Research Program infuses these technologies into the hands of practitioners to ensure mission success. The program develops a robust suite of engineering technology focused on Coastal Modeling, Inlet Engineering, Inlet Geomorphic Evolution and Coastal Navigation Portfolio Management. Its tools support the Corps of Engineers from engineers and scientists working at the project scale to regional- and national-level business line managers overseeing the Navigation Operations and Maintenance Program. Its modeling techniques accelerate the prediction of processes and cut costs by several orders of magnitude.

As the value of land in and around streambanks has increased, engineers at the ERDC Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) have responded to the need for effective stream erosion control and bed and bank protection by offering innovative training and techniques.

Every day, engineers at the ERDC Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) are searching for innovative ways to adapt and apply military technologies to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. The Lightweight Modular Causeway System (LMCS) is one such technology, which when fielded, will provide a versatile capability for military and disaster response planners.