9 May 2025

Smart Installation Weather Warning Decision Support

Abstract: Army installation commanders need timely weather information to make installation closure decisions before or during adverse weather events (e.g., hail, thunderstorms, snow, and floods). We worked with the military installation in Fort Carson, CO, and used their Weather Warning, Watch, and Advisory (WWA) criteria list to establish the foundation for our algorithm. We divided the Colorado Springs area into 2300 grids (2.5 square kilometers areas) and grouped the grids into ten microclimates, geographically and meteorologically unique regions, per pre-defined microclimate regions provided by the Fort Carson Air Force Staff Weather Officers (SWOs). Our algorithm classifies each weather event in the WWA list using the National Weather Service’s and National Digital Forecast Database’s data. Our algorithm assigns each event a criticality level: none, advisory, watch, or warning. The traffic network data highlight the importance of each road segment for travel to and from Fort Carson. The algorithm also uses traffic network data to assign weight to each grid, which enables the aggregation to the region and installation levels. We developed a weather dashboard in ArcGIS Pro to verify our algorithm and visualize the forecasted warnings for the grids and regions that are or may be affected by weather events.

9 May 2025

An All-Hazards Return on Investment (ROI) Model to Evaluate U.S. Army Installation Resilient Strategies

Abstract: The paper describes our project to develop, verify, and deploy an All-Hazards Return of Investment model for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center to provide army installations with a decision support tool for evaluating strategies to make existing installation facilities more resilient. The need for increased resilience to extreme weather was required by U.S. code and DoD guidance, as well as an army strategic plan stipulating an ROI model to evaluate relevant resilient strategies. The ERDC integrated the University of Arkansas designed model into a new army installation planning tool and expanded the scope to evaluate resilient options from climate to all hazards. Our methodology included research on policy, data sources, resilient options, and analytical techniques, along with stakeholder interviews and weekly meetings with installation planning tool developers. The ROI model uses standard risk analysis and engineering economics terms and analyzes potential installation hazards and resilient strategies using data in the installation planning tool. The model calculates the expected net present cost without the resilient strategy, with the resilient strategy, and ROI for each. The minimum viable product ROI model was formulated mathematically, coded in Python, verified using hazard scenarios, and provided to the ERDC for implementation.

9 May 2025

Headstone Inventory and Scanning at Mare Island Naval Cemetery, California

Abstract: The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) tasked the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Re-search Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), with inventorying and scanning the nonmilitary headstones at Mare Island Naval Cemetery. The cemetery is located in Vallejo, California, and is part of the Mare Island Naval Ship-yard historic district, which was listed concurrently on the National Register of Historic Places and as a national historic landmark in 1975. The research in this report will assist the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), NCA, with compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). This report contains a list of headstones that need to be repaired or re-placed and a list of headstones that need to be corrected due to errors. Separate from this report, NCA will be provided with 3D models in .obj (for computer numerical control [CNC]) or .stl (for 3D printing) format. These formats are industry-standard CNC fabrication methods used to cut new stones. This technology will preserve the artistic elements of the stones that would be lost in an AutoCAD rendering process.

9 May 2025

Mill Springs Mill, Kentucky: A History and Analysis

Abstract: The US Congress codified the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, the nation’s most effective cultural resources legislation to date, mostly through establishing the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The NHPA requires federal agencies to address their cultural re-sources, which are defined as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object. Section 110 of the NHPA requires federal agencies to inventory and evaluate their cultural resources, and Section 106 requires them to determine the effect of federal undertakings on those eligible or potentially eligible for the NRHP or listed on the NRHP. The Mill Springs Mill is found in south-central Kentucky, within Wayne County, a county bordering Tennessee. The mill, spring pools, granary, and recreation area are owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The site has run as a grist mill ever since its construction in the 1800s but has also been given other purposes, such as a roadside park starting in 1949 until the late 1970s and then a USACE recreation area. The mill is listed on the NRHP, while the grounds are part of the Mill Springs Battlefield, which is on the NRHP and also a national historic landmark. This report provides a comprehensive historic context for the features and buildings at the Mill Springs Mill in support of Section 110 of the NHPA.

6 May 2025

Technical Recommendations for the Identification and Management of Potential Acid Sulfate Soils in an Ecological Restoration Context

Abstract: Restoration projects are being implemented to address natural and anthropogenic threats to coastal wetlands, including increased inundation and historic land use alterations. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and other organizations introduce dredged sediments into coastal environments to increase elevation and stabilize marsh platforms. However, some dredged sediments either contain iron sulfide compounds (i.e., iron monosulfide [FeS] and pyrite [FeS₂]) or form them after application. Under aerobic conditions, FeS and FeS₂ can rapidly oxidize, which generates acidity that can dramatically lower the soil pH, impacts plant establishment, and threatens the success of wetland restoration projects. Recommendations are needed to properly manage iron sulfide containing materials through project design, screening, monitoring, and adaptive management. Tools and techniques exist to evaluate dredged sediments for the presence of FeS and FeS₂ prior to and following marsh sediment applications, and project design and construction approaches can minimize associated acidification risks. This report provides a framework for properly identifying and managing sediments containing iron sulfide minerals during wetland restoration projects. These technical recommendations provide dredged sediment beneficial use practitioners a decision support tool for the successful management of iron sulfide containing dredged sediments to increase the ecological function and sustainability of coastal wetlands.

6 May 2025

Applications of the CRREL–-Geometric Optics Snow Radiative Transfer (GOSRT) Model: Incorporating Diffraction and Simulating Detection of Buried Targets

Abstract: Radiative transfer through a snow surface within the visible and near infrared (NIR) spectra is complicated by the shape, size, and configuration of the snow grains that comprise the snow surface. Ray-tracing and photon-tracking techniques combined with 3D renderings of snow resolved at the microscale have shown promise as a means to directly simulate radiative transfer through snow with no restrictions on the snow grain configuration. This report describes and evaluates the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Geometric Optics Snow Radiative Transfer (GOSRT) model. In particular, we describe the incorporation of the diffraction process into the photon-tracking framework and evaluate how accurately the model simulates the spectral albedo of targets buried within the snow. We find that the model simulated spectral albedo is little affected by the incorporation of diffraction for most applications. However, there are nonnegligible impacts on simulated albedo for small grains in the NIR due to a reduction in forward scattering. We conclude by recommending that diffraction is neglected in CRREL–GOSRT for most cases, as including it substantially increases the computational expense with minimal impacts on the result. Finally, we show that buried targets are only distinguishable for very shallow snowpacks.

5 May 2025

Assessing a Mobile Microgrid to Support Electric Vehicle Charging Stations on Army Installations

Abstract: Supplying reliable, off-grid power is critical for transitioning the Army’s fleet to zero carbon emitting vehicles. At the same time, vehicle charging and mission support equipment may require increased electrical loads than currently experienced at Army installations. Other decarbonization initiatives require clean sources of energy. Using microgrids powered with renewable electricity generation systems is a viable, independent solution for powering electric vehicles. Yet, there is a need to fill information gaps in the performance of these systems for realizing sustainable and resilient energy. The goal of this project was to increase the Army’s energy resilience by reducing reliance on the utility grid by using a compact and mobile microgrid that functions as an EV charging station. In this study, a trailered, mobile microgrid that integrates solar panels, a diesel generator, and batteries is evaluated based on performance under varying conditions. The energy generation capabilities are documented and evaluated for capabilities for powering electric vehicles. The outcomes of this research are the advancement of energy resiliency and the addition of performance in temperate and cold regions to the knowledge base. It is also anticipated this research may be leveraged to facilitate power independence and further support decarbonization efforts.

2 May 2025

Mobile Runway Edge Sheave Anchor Criteria in Asphalt Concrete Pavement

Abstract: The Mobile Runway Edge Sheave (MRES) is used in conjunction with the Mobile Aircraft Arresting System (MAAS) for setback aircraft arresting system (AAS) installations in expedient or temporary situations. There are existing criteria and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for MRES installations on portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement and soil, but these criteria have not been developed for asphalt concrete (AC) pavements. The US Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) tasked the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to develop anchor criteria for the MRES in AC pavement and to perform full-scale load testing on the MRES to evaluate system response under representative loads. Three anchor stake layouts were evaluated under static and cyclic loading conditions: a 32-stake layout, a 16-stake layout, and an 8-stake layout. Elastic-plastic deflection data from the three test series were comparatively analyzed and show that the performance of the 16-stake layout was similar to that of the 32-stake layout for the given loading condition and pavement structure.

1 May 2025

Resilience: Directions for an Uncertain Future Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: The concept of resilience is multi-faceted. This commentary builds upon the analytical distinctions of resilience provided by Urquiza et al. (2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001508). In response to this article, we emphasize several distinctions between resilience and other systems concepts. These include distinctions between resilience, risk, and vulnerability, the tradeoff between resilience and efficiency, resilience contrasted with robustness, the relationship between resilience and sustainability, and finally methods for building resilience-by-design or resilience-by-intervention. Improving understanding of these concepts will enable planners to select resilience strategies that best support their system goals. We use examples from the 2020–2021 coronavirus pandemic to illustrate the concepts and the juxtapositions between them.

1 May 2025

Review of Stream Assessments for Evaluating Ecological Impacts and Benefits

Purpose: This technical note synthesizes common stream assessment methods and highlights their scope, data requirements, and ecological functions to assist practitioners and researchers in selecting appropriate tools for evaluating and managing stream ecosystem impacts and benefits.