17 Jul 2026

Improved Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (BUDM) Laboratory Methods for Low-Stress Consolidation

Abstract: The purpose of this Dredging Operations and Environmental Research (DOER) Program technical note (TN) is to present the improved laboratory methods for low-stress consolidation to support the beneficial use of dredged material (BUDM). Despite the growing practice of BUDM to support coastal environments, significant knowledge gaps persist in the behavior (e.g., consolidation and erodibility) of hydraulically placed cohesive sediments. The consolidation of deposited sediment dictates the resultant surface elevation, a key design component controlling the hydroperiod and shear strength of wetland ecosystems, which are key indicators of the long-term health and stability of the wetland. The existing US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) consolidation testing of ultrasoft materials utilizes settling columns that rely on highly time-consuming, experimental laboratory methods that are prone to human-induced errors. Therefore, an updated laboratory methodology that incorporates scientific advancements to manage consolidation and erodibility measurements is essential to providing practical testing with a higher degree of certainty for BUDM designers and ultimately helping to support USACE’s goal of reaching 70% BUDM.

16 Jul 2026

The Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) Screening Process: Stage A Development and National Results

Abstract: Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) pilots demonstrate the potential to use modern forecasting methods to manage water more effectively. Growing demand for water, coupled with rising incidence of both drought and flood conditions, creates urgency for adapting reservoir operations. The FIRO Screening Process is a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) effort to gauge readiness for and provide a point of entry to the FIRO approach. Screening identifies USACE reservoirs that might be candidates for FIRO implementation. This report offers an overview of Stage A of the FIRO Screening Process, which eliminates sites with prohibitive barriers to FIRO (e.g., no controlled outlet, no water control plan, poor forecast skill). Stages B and C entail more in-depth assessments of potential benefits and challenges of implementing FIRO at a site. This report provides an overview of the screening approach, the development of Stage A, and results from screening the national portfolio of USACE reservoirs. Stage A eliminated 184 reservoirs (31 percent) of the national portfolio from further consideration for FIRO. The 409 sites (69 percent) of the national portfolio that passed Stage A are eligible for further screening of FIRO suitability in Stage B.

15 Jul 2026

Characterization Methods for Navigation-Channel Sediment and Debris

Purpose: The purpose of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) is to describe the equipment and methods available for characterizing sediment and debris located in navigation channels. This overview is intended for US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) district personnel involved in dredging project planning, engineering, design, and operations. The tools outlined in this note include side-scan sonars, multibeam echosounders, sub-bottom profiling, penetrometers, and physical sediment sampling, all of which can aid planning for dredging, including beneficial use of dredged material. These tools are particularly relevant at sites that have not been dredged in many years and for new work, including channel deepening.

14 Jul 2026

Evaluation and Improvement of Postfire Curve Number Methods in Arid and Semiarid Watersheds

Abstract: This research assesses the Soil Conservation Service curve number (SCS-CN) loss method’s suitability for postfire hydrologic processes. The SCS-CN method, favored for its simplicity, was not designed for post-wildfire application. We evaluated two existing methods that adjust the SCS-CN model for wildfire effects and proposed a revised method. This new method adjusts the initial abstraction ratio (λ) and CN based on antecedent soil moisture conditions. Three wildfire-impacted Southern California watersheds were modeled using the SCS-CN method. Prefire data were used to estimate the average CN for each subbasin, which were then used to evaluate the SCS-CN methods for postfire application. This study found that unadjusted SCS-CN application underestimated excess-precipitation volume and peak discharges. The Higginson method had mixed success, while the Livingston method overestimated peak discharges and excess-precipitation volume. The revised method performed best when compared against observed data using various performance metrics. The study concludes that adjusting λ and CN based on antecedent root zone soil moisture conditions consistently improved model performance. The overestimation by the Livingston method underscores the need for caution when applying regional methods.

14 Jul 2026

Shoreline Change in Response to Wind- and Vessel-Generated Waves at Mordecai Island, New Jersey

Abstract: Mordecai Island is an undeveloped island in southeastern Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. It shelters the adjacent area and provides important habitat but also has a long history of erosion, breaching in the 1980s. Dredged sediment was used to fill the breach, various shore protection features have been added, and future erosion mitigation is planned to include an emergent breakwater. The proximity to Beach Haven Inlet, the fetch over Barnegat Bay, and the short distance from the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway mean that tidal currents, wind waves, and vessel wakes are all potential drivers of erosion. Water level, current, and wave data were collected from November 2019 to January 2020 and June 2021 to August 2021 to help characterize forcing, and a machine learning algorithm was developed to identify vessel wakes. Spatial distributions of wind waves and vessel wakes were inferred from simplified models, their reasonableness assessed with measurements, and they were compared to shoreline retreat data. Shoreline retreat was determined from topobathymetric data spanning 2014 to 2019. Comparisons can provide insights about the observed erosion, but marsh edge retreat can be highly variable and strongly influenced by a range of factors that was not in the scope of this study.

7 Jul 2026

GREAT v1.0: Global Real-time Early Assessment of Tsunamis

Abstract: We introduce a tsunami warning technology towards a global real-time analysis. The technology is based on the analysis of acoustic signals generated together with the tsunami, due to the compression of the water layer. The acoustic signals propagate much faster than the tsunami and thus can be recorded at hydrophone stations, which in turn enables the analysis in real time. The presented technology comprises a collection of models that have been integrated into a software with the goal to make it operational and to complement efforts by warning centres and provide a more reliable assessment, globally. The main models that were integrated into the software are presented and briefly discussed. Test cases performed by the software are compared with DART buoy observations, showing satisfactory agreement, though discrepancies arise in particular at far distances and locations separated by land. The calculation time of a full global-scale analysis is in the order of tens of seconds on a standard multi-core machine, without reliance on pre-computations, making it an appropriate real-time forecast.

26 Jun 2026

Examination of Analytical Shear Stress Predictions for Coastal Dune Evolution

Abstract: Existing process-based models for simulating coastal foredune evolution largely use the same analytical approach for estimating wind-induced surface shear stress distributions over spatially variable topography. Originally developed for smooth, low-sloping hills, these analytical models face significant limitations when the topography of interest exhibits large height-to-length ratios and/or steep, localized features. In this work, we utilize computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to examine the error trends of a commonly used analytical shear stress model for a series of idealized two-dimensional dune profiles. It is observed that the prediction error of the analytical model increases compared to the CFD simulations for increasing height-to-length ratio and localized slope values. Furthermore, we explore two data-driven methodologies for generating alternative shear stress prediction models, namely, symbolic regression and linear, projection-based, non-intrusive reduced-order modeling. These alternative modeling strategies demonstrate reduced overall error but still suffer in their generalizability to broader sets of dune profiles outside of the training data. Finally, the impact of these improvements on aeolian sediment transport fluxes is examined to demonstrate that even modest improvements to the shear stress prediction can have significant impacts on dune evolution simulations over engineering-relevant timescales.

26 Jun 2026

Water Quality and Sediment Dispersal from Placement of Dredged Material over Former Shell Mining Beds in Mobile Bay, Alabama

Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) continues to advance regional sediment management practices including Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (BUDM) to reduce dredging costs while improving outcomes for coastal communities and ecosystems. This report describes two field studies conducted to better understand sediment retention and water quality implications associated with in-bay strategic placement of dredged material within former oyster-shell mining areas within Mobile Bay, Alabama. Deployed instrumentation and periodic campaigns of bed and water quality sampling provided data prior to dredged-sediment placement through more than a year after placement. Bed sampling and acoustic sub-bottom profiling indicated that the dredged material deposit was spatially variable in thickness and composition. Placed sediment accumulated quickly, within hours of placement, followed by a 2–4 month period with relatively small adjustments. Beyond 6 months, bed elevation changes became stable at near-background levels. Water quality data indicated that impacts to dissolved oxygen and turbidity associated with the dredged material placement are minor and short-lived. Notably, all water quality parameters remained within the normal range of variability observed within the dynamic Mobile Bay ecosystem. Collectively, these sediment bed and water quality studies support future data driven BUDM decision-making within the Mobile Bay region.

22 Jun 2026

Beach-fx Application Guide: A User’s Trail Guide to Beach-fx

Abstract: Beach-fx is a comprehensive analytical framework used for the evaluation of the physical performance and economic benefits of shore-protection projects related to beach nourishment. The model employs an event-driven Monte Carlo simulation of a project’s life cycle and tracks the physical and economic evolution of the beach. The computational architecture of Beach-fx is set up such that the model relies on external databases that are accessed at run time. There are three external databases: the Input Database (IDB), Output Database (ODB), and Shore Response Database (SRD). The IDB and SRD describe the coastal area under study, the environmental forcing that can impact the area, the structures in the area that are susceptible to damages, and estimates of the morphologic response to the environmental forcing. The ODB stores output data and statistics for each simulation. This document summarizes the steps necessary to prepare the external databases, build a Beach-fx study, and understand the results from model runs. The aim is to provide the Beach-fx user with a comprehensive guide that provides insight to the Beach-fx process from beginning to end.

11 Jun 2026

Simulation of Dredged Material Placement in the San Francisco Bay Using a Multi-Dimensional Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport Model

Abstract: The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, has developed an Adaptive Hydraulics (AdH) 2D, hydrodynamic and sediment transport model for San Francisco Bay. This model supports the US Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, in informing navigation and sediment management decisions as part of the Regional Dredged Material Management Plan (RDMMP), which evaluates dredging methods and placement alternatives over a 20-year planning horizon. There is a need to assess the long-term fate of dredged material placed at in-bay sites to better understand associated benefits and potential impacts. This report documents the development, calibration, and validation of the AdH 2D model for conditions in 2022. The model was applied to simulate the multimonth dispersion and transport of dredged material from four sites. Model results demonstrate that sediment transport patterns are influenced by seasonal hydrodynamic forcing and grain-size composition, with coarser material forming stable deposits that persist over time. The findings of this study inform sediment management strategies under the San Francisco Bay RDMMP and support efforts to reduce navigation risks and enhance beneficial use opportunities. The study recommends field data collection to improve sediment characterization at placement sites and strengthen predictive modeling and planning efforts.