27 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Evaluation of the Potential Impacts of the Proposed Mobile Harbor Navigation Channel Expansion on the Aquatic Resources of Mobile Bay, Alabama

Abstract: This report assesses potential impacts to aquatic resources resulting from proposed navigation channel expansion activities within Mobile Bay, Alabama. This work was conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District, to support development of a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. Changes in water quality and hydrodynamics were evaluated for potential impacts to benthic macroinvertebrates, wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, oysters, and fish. The assessment includes extensive characterization of baseline conditions, evaluation of estimated post-project conditions related to aquatic resource habitat (e.g., changes in salinity, dissolved oxygen). An analysis of potential impacts related to a 0.5-m sea level rise scenario were also evaluated. Results suggest that no substantial impacts in aquatic resources within the study area are anticipated due to project implementation, as the area of greatest potential changes to environmental conditions are already adapted to natural shifts in salinity (and other factors), and to conditions resulting from the existing navigation channel. Although sea level rise has the potential to alter aquatic resource habitats with Mobile Bay, additional impacts related to project implementation remain negligible under the 0.5-m sea level rise scenario.

26 Apr 2020

CRREL, Area Fire Departments and the NH Department Environmental Services work to contain spill

The Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory discovered a Number 2 heating oil leak from a boiler at its facility at approximately 4 p.m., Saturday, April 25. The CRREL facility is located at 72 Lyme Road in Hanover. No injuries have been reported. CRREL, along with the Hanover, Lebanon, Hartford and Norwich Fire Departments and the New Hampshire Department for Environmental Services are working together to contain the spill. Residents are asked to stay away from the area at this time.

23 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: A Comparison of GenCade,  Pelnard-Considere, and LITPACK

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) is to investigate the basic physics and numerical code of GenCade by running a series of simplified test cases and comparing the results to another numerical shoreline evolution model and an analytical solution. The complementary numerical code is the widely used shoreline evolution model LITPACK. The analytical model is the original solution derived by Pelnard-Considere (1956). The underlying assumption in all three approaches is a beach profile of constant shape so that shoreline change is driven by long-shore transport processes and a combination of independent sediment sources or sinks (e.g., sea level change, subsidence). The CHETN presents a descriptive overview of the theory behind the models followed by an inter-comparison using a set of four test cases involving shoreline change in the vicinity of idealized coastal structures and a beach nourishment. GenCade shows good agreement with LITPACK, and both models compare well to the analytical solution for these idealized cases. The GenCade results indicate that the underlying numerical code and basic physical process are consistent with other widely used shoreline modeling systems.

23 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Cross-Shore Transport Feature for GenCade

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) is to introduce a new cross-shore transport capability in GenCade. The cross-shore transport feature is based on a new empirical algorithm that includes wave velocity skewness to calculate the near-bed sediment flux. Validation of the new algorithm was achieved using shoreline position data collected at the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Field Research Facility (FRF) located in Duck, NC. This CHETN presents the theory behind the new cross-shore transport feature and validation using data collected at the FRF. Comparisons with and without the cross-shore feature are presented to demonstrate the improved GenCade performance. The CHETN concludes information that should be considered when using this new feature.

23 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Conspecific Attraction as a Management Tool for Endangered and At-Risk Species on Military Lands

Abstract: Movements of wildlife species and associated colonization of habitats is often unpredictable, potentially leading to ineffective management and/or interference with military training. Habitat restoration for wildlife management on military lands is a common, yet expensive, response to federal conservation and mitigation mandates, yet viable wildlife populations often fail to become established on restored habitat. Conspecific attraction, using the tendency for individuals of the same species to settle near one another, can be a cost-effective means of attracting animals to newly created or restored habitats. This work demonstrated the use of conspecific attraction as an alternative tool for encouraging colonization of restored habitats by at-risk birds and amphibians. Conspecific attraction was relatively straightforward to employ, but its effectiveness varied among species. We demonstrated clear success in attracting some bird (northern bobwhite; Colinus virginianus) and frog (wood frogs; Lithobates sylvaticus) species into our target areas but other species showed a neutral response. Conspecific attraction presents a cost-effective alternative to current management practices such as translocation or colonization after habitat is created or restored. Only minimal equipment costs (<$300/broad-cast station) and nominal work-hours are required to set up the equipment, and total cost was ~$1,200 per demonstration plot annually.

23 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Use of Convolutional Neural Networks for Semantic Image Segmentation Across Different Computing Systems

ABSTRACT: The advent of powerful computing platforms coupled with deep learning architectures have resulted in novel approaches to tackle many traditional computer vision problems in order to automate the interpretation of large and complex geospatial data. Such tasks are particularly important as data are widely available and UAS are increasingly being used. This document presents a workflow that leverages the use of CNNs and GPUs to automate pixel-wise segmentation of UAS imagery for faster image processing. GPU-based computing and parallelization is explored on multi-core GPUs to reduce development time, mitigate the need for extensive model training, and facilitate exploitation of mission critical information. VGG-16 model training times are compared among different systems (single, virtual, multi-GPUs) to investigate each platform’s capabilities. CNN results show a precision accuracy of 88% when applied to ground truth data. Coupling the VGG-16 model with GPU-accelerated processing and parallelizing across multiple GPUs decreases model training time while preserving accuracy. This signifies that GPU memory and cores available within a system are critical components in terms of preprocessing and processing speed. This workflow can be leveraged for future segmentation efforts, serve as a baseline to benchmark future CNN, and efficiently support critical image processing tasks for the Military.

23 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Optimized Low Size, Weight, Power and Cost (SWaP-C) Payload for Mapping Interiors and Subterranean on an Unmanned Ground Vehicle

ABSTRACT: Section 3 of the FY15 Force 2025 Maneuvers Annual Report indicates that in Dense Urban Areas (DUA), specifically in a subsurface, surface, or super-surface structure, the ability to identify threats will be diminished. Most commercially available LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) systems are specifically designed for high-resolution aerial imaging and mapping applications. As a result, they tend to be large, heavy, power-hungry, data bandwidth intensive, and expensive. They also employ lasers that are not typically eye-safe, which limits their overall effectiveness in subterranean and the interiors of subsurface or super-surface structures. However, due to recent advances in the automotive industry, there are new generations of Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) sensors that are eye-safe, making them suitable for use indoors and in subterranean environments. While these tradeoffs limit their effective use to hundreds of meters (compared to kilometers for their more expensive counterparts), they are ideal candidates for use in subterranean and building interiors. While cameras fill this niche to some extent, the volumetric calculations provided by these sensors provide additional intelligence to shape the security of the environment and offer more precision when maneuvering troops. These sensors would provide the warfighter with situational understanding in previously inaccessible locations. Therefore, to aid in the Army’s need to obtain and maintain situational understanding in DUAs, the authors propose utilizing low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) sensors, on a robot platform, for surveying and mapping underground structures and building interiors. Rapid/near real-time data processing is possible by utilizing open-source software and commercial off the shelf (COTS) components. Using the preferred sensor payload autonomously was also explored.

22 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: The Forefront : A Review of ERDC Publications, Spring 2020

Abstract: The Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is the premier civil works engineering and environmental sciences research and development arm of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). As such, it partners with the Army, Department of Defense (DoD), federal agencies, and civilian organizations to help solve our Nation’s most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences. A special government knowledge center, ERDC Information Technology Laboratory’s Information Science and Knowledge Management (ISKM) Branch is critical to ERDC’s mission, fulfilling research requirements by offering a variety of editing and library services to advance the creation, dissemination, and curation of ERDC and USACE research knowledge. Serving as the publishing authority for the ERDC, ISKM publishes all ERDC technical publications to the Digital Repository Knowledge Core, sends a copy to the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) and creates a press release about each publication on the ERDC website. The Forefront seeks to provide an additional mechanism for highlighting some of our technical publications to the ERDC, USACE, Army, and DoD communities. This publication also encourages those outside ERDC to contact us about using ERDC editing services. For more information regarding the reports highlighted in this publications or others that ERDC researchers’ have created, please contact the ISKM virtual reference desk at erdclibrary@ask-a-librarian.info or visit the ISKM’s online repository, Knowledge Core, at https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/ .

22 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: SPDAT Rainfall and Streamflow Analysis at Mobile, Alabama

ABSTRACT: This Dredging Operations and Environmental Research (DOER) program technical note (TN) seeks to explain how the Storm and Precipitation Dredging Analysis Tool (SPDAT) can be used to determine dredging response to varying rainfall levels at a given site. This TN will focus on the historical dredging records in the Mobile Bay Ship Channel and rainfall levels in that area. The analysis presented in this TN will form the basis for how the tool methodology can be used to and compare rainfall and dredging records to determine response trends at other sites. The results from the tool analysis can inform dredging managers about how much dredging may be expected under similar rainfall or tropical storm conditions for future cycles.

22 Apr 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Analysis of Nearshore Placement of Sediments at Ogden Dunes, Indiana

ABSTRACT: The harbor structures/shoreline armoring on the southern Lake Michigan shoreline interrupt sand migration. Ogden Dunes, Indiana, and the nearby Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore observed shoreline erosion due to engineered structures associated with Burns Waterway Harbor (east of Ogden Dunes) impeding natural east-to-west sediment migration. To remedy this, USACE placed over 450,000 cubic meters (m3) of dredged material post-2006 in the nearshore of Ogden Dunes. However, the effectiveness of nearshore placements for shoreline protection and littoral nourishment is not fully established. To improve nearshore placement effectiveness, USACE monitored the June/July 2016 placement and subsequent movement of 107,000 m3 of dredged material in the nearshore region at Ogden Dunes. This involved an extensive monitoring scheme (three bathymetry surveys, and two acoustic Doppler current profiler deployments), a Coastal Modeling System (CMS) numerical model of the changes following placement, and a prediction of sediment transport direction using the Sediment Mobility Tool (SMT). The SMT-predicted sediment migration direction was compared to observations. Observations indicated that between 10/11/2016 and 11/15/2016 the centroid of the sediment above the pre-placement survey moved 17 m onshore. These observations agreed with SMT predictions — onshore migration under storm and typical wave conditions. CMS accurately reproduced the hydrodynamic features.