Researchers at ERDC’s Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, have kept watch on the coast for more than 40 years, creating a vibrant research hub that remains at the forefront of coastal science and engineering today. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, the internationally renowned coastal observatory serves as a natural lab and test bed for field instrumentation and numerical models. Its ever-expanding and evolving array of sensors continuously measures waves, currents and morphology, providing foundational datasets that have been used in more than 1,000 scientific publications to date. The FRF supports ERDC’s civil and military missions by advancing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ knowledge of the coastal environment through field observation, data analysis, numerical exploration, and technology development. If it is coastal research, the FRF is one of the first places people are going for the data, tools and expertise needed to solve their complex challenges.

The Coastal Engineering Research Board has set the standards for the coastal engineering community throughout the past century. With its membership including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leaders and prominent civilians internationally recognized in the coastal engineering field, the seven-member board advises the Corps’ commander on coastal engineering and science. Throughout its history, CERB has been instrumental in shaping new innovations and approaches, including the establishment of a Field Research Facility along the North Carolina coast, development of airborne LIDAR bathymetry, and the promotion of a new approach to manage systems through risk reduction. Today, CERB continues to be an internationally renowned voice whose recommendations will leave resounding impacts for generations to come.

The Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory partnered with multiple government agencies and Worcester Polytechnic Institute to test oil spill response research. The laboratory, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), is implementing new methods to burn crude oil more efficiently.

Icing threatens the safety and success of military and civilian operations around the globe, as the rapid accumulation of ice can hinder mobility, damage infrastructure and impede communications. Existing treatments are either both costly and labor intensive or limited in their scope because little is known about the underlying scientific principles that make passive coatings effective. That’s why a team of ERDC researchers is conducting innovative basic research to unravel the physical processes that govern ice adhesion. Their research will create a fundamental understanding of the microscale mechanisms that control how ice attaches to various surfaces, paving the way for future development of new protective and advanced materials and the expansion of existing treatments to broader applications and other fields. This project is another example of how ERDC’s basic research is solving the impossible problems of our future battlespace.

Icing threatens the safety and success of military and civilian operations around the globe, as the rapid accumulation of ice can hinder mobility, damage infrastructure and impede communications. Existing treatments are either both costly and labor intensive or limited in their scope because little is known about the underlying scientific principles that make passive coatings effective. That’s why a team of ERDC researchers is conducting innovative basic research to unravel the physical processes that govern ice adhesion. Their research will create a fundamental understanding of the microscale mechanisms that control how ice attaches to various surfaces, paving the way for future development of new protective and advanced materials and the expansion of existing treatments to broader applications and other fields. This project is another example of how ERDC’s basic research is solving the impossible problems of our future battlespace.

Researchers at ERDC’s Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, have kept watch on the coast for more than 40 years, creating a vibrant research hub that remains at the forefront of coastal science and engineering today. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, the internationally renowned coastal observatory serves as a natural lab and test bed for field instrumentation and numerical models. Its ever-expanding and evolving array of sensors continuously measures waves, currents and morphology, providing foundational datasets that have been used in more than 1,000 scientific publications to date. The FRF supports ERDC’s civil and military missions by advancing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ knowledge of the coastal environment through field observation, data analysis, numerical exploration, and technology development. If it is coastal research, the FRF is one of the first places people are going for the data, tools and expertise needed to solve their complex challenges.

Since its creation following the Great Flood of 1927, the Engineer Research and Development Center and its forerunner have constructed thousands of physical models to support projects across our nation in streams, rivers, inlets, estuaries and coasts. ERDC has the deep expertise and unique facilities to do robust physical modeling of coastal and hydraulic structures, including two three-dimensional wave generators and three two-dimensional wave flumes. It also combines its vast physical modeling capabilities with high-tech numerical modeling to improve navigation, optimize the design of structures, understand the response and resiliency of natural features, and solve some of the toughest civil works and military operational challenges facing our nation today. ERDC’s models are value-added, saving projects millions of dollars by improving designs and saving them from failure.

The Coastal Engineering Research Board has set the standards for the coastal engineering community throughout the past century. With its membership including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leaders and prominent civilians internationally recognized in the coastal engineering field, the seven-member board advises the Corps’ commander on coastal engineering and science. Throughout its history, CERB has been instrumental in shaping new innovations and approaches, including the establishment of a Field Research Facility along the North Carolina coast, development of airborne LIDAR bathymetry, and the promotion of a new approach to manage systems through risk reduction. Today, CERB continues to be an internationally renowned voice whose recommendations will leave resounding impacts for generations to come.

The deadly force of post-wildfire floods can destroy infrastructure and habitats even miles away from the burned areas. Santa Barbara County, California experienced this first hand in January 2018, following the Thomas Fire. Researchers from ERDC's Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory are improving models to help communities like Santa Barbara better understand and manage the impact of debris flows. As the wildfire ends, our work begins. For more information, contact: Wildfire@erdc.dren.mil

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is proud to have a long history of discovering, developing and delivering new ways to protect our environment. Today, ERDC continues to produce world-class research to support the Corps of Engineers’ Environmental Operating Principles. That includes methods to remove blue-green algae from large bodies of water and break down its toxins into useful products like biofuels and fertilizer. ERDC is leading a collaborative effort to address the legacy issues of PFAS, and is providing more environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies for Army installations. It is helping the Corps beneficially use dredged sediment to nourish wetlands, and is helping local governments prepare for the flood threat that follows destructive wildfires. ERDC’s commitment to improving and sustaining the environment remains steadfast.

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.

Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite has made headlines for his plans to construct makeshift hospital rooms across the country as the Nation prepares for an onslaught of COVID-19 patients. On Monday, Semonite turned to the Engineer Research and Devleopment Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg to ask for help accomplishing that mission. Within an hour of the initial phone call, the ERDC Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff had gathered and begun preparing to build two types of mock-up hospital rooms.

Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite has made headlines for his plans to contruct makeshift hospital rooms across the country as the Nation prepares for an onslaught of COVID-19 patients. On Monday, Semonite turned to the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg to ask for help accomplishing that mission. Within an hour of the initial phone call, the ERDC Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff had gathered and begun preparing to build two types of mock-up hospital rooms.

Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite has made headlines for his plans to construct makeshift hospital rooms across the country as the Nation prepares for an onslaught of COVID-19 patients. On Monday, Semonite turned to the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg to ask for help accomplishing that mission. Within an hour of the initial phone call, the ERDC Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff had gathered and begun preparing to build two types of mock-up hospital rooms.