30 Nov 2022

Automation of Gridded HEC-HMS Model Development Using Python: Initial Condition Testing and Calibration Applications

Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers’s (USACE) Hydrologic Engineering Center-Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) rainfall-runoff model is widely used within the research community to develop both event-based and continuous rainfall-runoff models. The soil moisture accounting (SMA) algorithm is commonly used for long-term simulations. Depending on the final model setup, 12 to 18 parameters are needed to characterize the modeled watershed’s canopy, surface, soil, and routing processes, all of which are potential calibration parameters. HEC-HMS includes optimization tools to facilitate model calibration, but only initial conditions (ICs) can be calibrated when using the gridded SMA algorithm. Calibrating a continuous SMA HEC-HMS model is an iterative process that can require hundreds of simulations, a time intensive process requiring automation. HEC-HMS is written in Java and is predominantly run through a graphical user interface (GUI). As such, conducting a long-term gridded SMA calibration is infeasible using the GUI. USACE Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) has written a workflow that utilizes the existing Jython application programming interface (API) to batch run HEC-HMS simulations with Python. The workflow allows for gridded SMA HEC-HMS model sensitivity and calibration analyses to be conducted in a timely manner.

8 Nov 2022

Network Development and Autonomous Vehicles: A Smart Transportation Testbed at Fort Carson

Abstract: In this work, a smart transportation testbed was utilized at Fort Carson to demonstrate three use cases for the primary purpose to plan, develop, demonstrate, and employ autonomous vehicle technologies at military installations and within the surrounding communities to evaluate commercially available Connected and Automated Vehicles and the potential to reduce base operating costs, improve safety and quality of life for military service members and their families, and deliver services more efficiently and effectively. To meet this purpose, an automated vehicle shuttle, an unmanned aerial system, and a wireless network were used and tested during the project. Results for the automated shuttle indicated that de-spite the quantity of data generated by operations, the contractors may not be ready to share information in a readily usable format. Additionally, successful use by the public is predicated on both knowing their mobility patterns and staff members promoting trust in the technology to prospective riders. Results for the unmanned aerial system showed successful identification of foreign object debris and runway cracks at the airfield. The wireless network is now operational and is used for additional work which utilizes the installed traffic cameras.

25 Oct 2022

Numerical Modeling of Mesoscale Infrasound Propagation in the Arctic

Abstract: The impacts of characteristic weather events and seasonal patterns on infrasound propagation in the Arctic region are simulated numerically. The methodology utilizes wide-angle parabolic equation methods for a windy atmosphere with inputs provided by radiosonde observations and a high-resolution reanalysis of Arctic weather. The calculations involve horizontal distances up to 200 km for which interactions with the troposphere and lower stratosphere dominate. Among the events examined are two sudden stratospheric warmings, which are found to weaken upward refraction by temperature gradients while creating strongly asymmetric refraction from disturbances to the circumpolar winds. Also examined are polar low events, which are found to enhance negative temperature gradients in the troposphere and thus lead to strong upward refraction. Smaller-scale and topographically driven phenomena, such as low-level jets, katabatic winds, and surface-based temperature inversions, are found to create frequent surface-based ducting out to 100 km. The simulations suggest that horizontal variations in the atmospheric profiles, in response to changing topography and surface property transitions, such as ice boundaries, play an important role in the propagation.

6 Oct 2022

Old Post Reevaluation, Fort Huachuca, AZ

Abstract: The US Congress codified the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), 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 resources, 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 potentially eligible for the NRHP. Fort Huachuca is situated at the foot of the Huachuca Mountains in southern Cochise County, Arizona. It is located approximately 15 miles north of the border with Mexico and 75 miles southeast of Tucson. It was founded in 1877 as a frontier cavalry fort and remains one of the oldest military installations in the West. The objective of this report is to inventory the real property within Fort Huachuca’s Old Post, the historic core of the installation. Each resource is enumerated and accompanied by a list of reports discussing its potential NHL or NRHP eligibility. Subsequently, each resource is accompanied by a short description, which includes its location and current status within the recently created Old Post Historic District.

30 Sep 2022

White Sands Missile Range Thurgood Canyon Watershed: Analysis of Range Road 7 for Development of Best Management Practices and Recommendations

Abstract: Thurgood Canyon, located on White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), contains an alluvial fan that is bisected by a primary installation road and is in the proximity of sensitive fish habitats. This project was initiated to determine if and how sensitive fish habitats at the base of the fan are impacted by the existing drainage infrastructure and to assess the condition and sustainability of the existing transportation infrastructure. Findings show that the current drainage infrastructure maintains flow energy and sediment carrying capacity further down the fan than would occur in its absence. However, frequent to moderately rare (small to medium) flood events dissipate over 2 km from sensitive habitat, and overland flow and sediment do not reach the base of the fan. Controlled flow diversion is recommended upstream of the road to mitigate infrastructure or habitat impacts during very rare (very large) flood events. A comprehensive operation and management approach is presented to achieve sustainable transportation infrastructure and reduce the likelihood of impacts to the sensitive habitat.

29 Sep 2022

Fort McCoy Firing Ranges and Military Training Lands: A History and Analysis

Abstract: The US Congress codified the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), 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 resources, which are defined as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object. Section 110of 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 potentially eligible for the NRHP. Fort McCoy is entirely within Monroe County in west-central Wisconsin. It was first established as the Sparta Maneuver Tract in 1909.The post was renamed Camp McCoy in 1926. Since 1974, it has been known as Fort McCoy. This report provides a historic context for ranges, features, and buildings associated with the post’s training lands in support of Section 110 of the NHPA.

13 Sep 2022

Standard Operating Procedures for Open-Air Solid Waste Burning in Contingency Locations

Abstract: Service engineer doctrine and field manuals, such as Army Techniques Publication 3-34.40, Technical Manual 5-634, and Army Regulation 420-1, offer guidance on solid waste management but do not provide the level of detail and practical guidance for open-air burning of solid waste to reduce risk to the Warfighter. Studies have shown that there could be ill health effects to service members from exposure to toxins from open-air burning. Further practical guidance is necessary to ensure that if there are no other means available for solid waste disposal, the risks associated with open-air burning are minimized as much as possible during contingency operations. Commands have limited resources and reduced personnel available to study which open-air burning procedures are optimal based on readiness and mission requirements. Planning for efficiency and risk avoidance in open-air burning operations includes several facets (e.g., site planning, processing, and recordkeeping considerations). This special report provides operational guidance to minimize risk of open-air burning for the Warfighter and other joint service personnel, particularly when there is no other alternative to open-air burning, during initial phase operating a burn pit or for waste management planning to establish standard operating procedures.

12 Sep 2022

Evaluation of 11 Buildings in the Fort McCoy Cantonment

Abstract: The US Congress codified the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), 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 potentially eligible for the NRHP. Fort McCoy is in west-central Wisconsin, entirely within Monroe County. It was first established as the Sparta Maneuver Tract in 1909. The post was renamed Camp McCoy in 1926. Since 1974, it has been known as Fort McCoy. This report provides historic context and determinations of eligibility for buildings in the cantonment constructed between 1946 and 1975 and concludes that none are eligible for the NRHP. In consultation with the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Officer (WISHPO), this work fulfills Section 110 requirements for these buildings.

16 Aug 2022

Installation Utility Monitoring and Control System Technical Guide

Abstract: Army policy calls for each installation to install a building automation system (aka utility monitoring and control system [UMCS]) to provide for centralized monitoring of buildings and utilities to reduce energy and water commodity and maintenance costs. Typically, the UMCS, including building control systems (BCS), is installed and expanded in piecemeal fashion resulting in intersystem incompatibilities. The integration of multivendor BCSs into a single basewide UMCS, and subsequent UMCS operation, can present technical and administrative challenges due to its complexity and cybersecurity requirements. Open Control Systems technology and open communications protocols, including BACnet, LonWorks, and Niagara Framework, help overcome technical incompatibilities. Additional practical considerations include funding, control systems commissioning, staffing, training, and the need for a commitment to proper operation, use, and sustainment of the UMCS. This document provides guidance to Army installations to help achieve a successful basewide UMCS through its full life cycle based on DoD criteria and technical requirements for Open Control Systems and cybersecurity. It includes institutional knowledge on technical solutions and business processes amassed from decades of collaboration with Army installations and learned from and with their staff. Detailed activities spanning both implementation and sustainment include planning, procurement, installation, integration, cybersecurity authorization, and ongoing management.

3 Aug 2022

You can go your own way: No evidence for social behavior based on kinship or familiarity in captive juvenile box turtles

Abstract: Behavioral interactions between conspecific animals can be influenced by relatedness and familiarity. To test how kinship and familiarity influenced social behavior in juvenile Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina), 16 captive-born individuals were reared under semi-natural conditions in four equally sized groups, where each group comprised pairs of siblings and non-siblings. Using separation distance between pairs of turtles in rearing enclosures as a measure of gregariousness, we found no evidence suggesting siblings more frequently interacted with one another compared to non-relatives over the first five months of life. Average pair separation distance decreased during this time but may have been due to turtles aggregating around resources like heat and moist retreat areas as colder temperatures approached. At eight months old, we again measured repeated separation distances between unique pair combinations and similarly found no support for associations being influenced by kinship. Agonistic interactions between individuals were never observed. Based on our results, group housing and rearing of juvenile box turtles did not appear to negatively impact their welfare. Unlike findings for other taxa, our results suggest strategically housing groups of juvenile T. carolina to maintain social stability may not be an important husbandry consideration when planning releases of captive-reared individuals for conservation purposes.