20 May 2025

Guidance for Managers of USACE Waterbodies: Deploying the ERDC CyanoSTUN™ for Suppression of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to guide US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) district personnel in using the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) CyanoSTUN™ (Cyanobacterial Suppression Through Ultraviolet-Light-C Neutralization) vessel for suppression of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). This document describes CyanoSTUN’s capabilities and components, intended operating conditions, and instructions for safe and effective operation of the vessel.

15 May 2025

Discriminating Buried Munitions Based on Physical Models for Their Thermal Response

Abstract: Munitions and other objects buried near the Earth’s surface can often be recognized in infrared imagery because their thermal and radiative properties differ from the surrounding undisturbed soil. However, the evolution of the thermal signature over time is subject to many complex interacting processes, including incident solar radiation, heat conduction in the ground, longwave radiation from the surface, and sensible and latent heat exchanges with the atmosphere. This complexity makes development of robust classification algorithms particularly challenging. Machine-learning algorithms, although increasingly popular, often require large training datasets including all environments to which they will be applied. Algorithms incorporating an understanding of the physical processes underlying the thermal signature potentially provide improved performance and mitigate the need for large training datasets. To that end, this report formulates a simplified model for the energy exchange near the ground and describes how it can be incorporated into maximum-likelihood ratio and Bayesian classifiers capable of distinguishing buried objects from their surroundings. In particular, a version of the Bayesian classifier is formulated that leverages the differing amplitude and phase response of a buried object over a 24-hour period. These algorithms will be tested on experimental data in a future study.

14 May 2025

Autonomous Robotics Development in Robot Operating System (ROS) 2 Humble

Abstract: This report presents a novel Robot Operating System (ROS) 2–based simulation framework designed to facilitate the development and testing of an autonomous navigation stack. Elements of the navigation stack, including lidar odometry, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), and frontier exploration, are discussed in detail. The key features of the navigation stack include real-time performance and scalable architecture. The simulation results were applied to a physical robot. As a result, the physical robot was able to autonomously map the interior of a building and to generate 2D occupancy and 3D point clouds of the environment.

14 May 2025

Robot Operating System Innovations in Autonomous Navigation

Abstract: This report presents the results of simulations conducted in preparation for the 2024 Maneuver Support and Protection Integration Experiments (MSPIX) demonstration. The study aimed to develop and test a system for autonomous navigation in complex environments using advanced algorithms to enable the robot to avoid obstacles and navigate safely and efficiently. The report describes the methodology used to develop and test the autonomous navigation system, including the use of simulation, to evaluate its performance. The results of the simulation tests are presented to highlight the effectiveness of the navigation solution.

13 May 2025

Development and Testing of the FRAME Tool on a 200-Mile Reach of the Lower Mississippi River

Abstract: Understanding the likely long-term evolution of the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) is a challenging mission for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that remains difficult for conventional river engineering models. A new type of model is currently in development, tasked with revealing uncertainty-bounded trends in sediment transport and channel morphology over annual, decadal, and centennial timescales. The Future River Analysis and Management Evaluation (FRAME) tool is being designed with river managers and planners in mind to provide exploratory insights into plausible river futures and their potential impacts. A unique attribute of the tool is its hybrid interfacing of traditional one-dimensional hydraulic and sediment transport modeling with geomorphic rules for characterizing the morphological response. This report documents the development of a FRAME test-bed model for a 200-mile reach of the Mississippi River upstream of Vicksburg, Mississippi. This testbed allowed development and testing of the prototype FRAME tool in a data-rich environment. This work identified proposed future developments to provide river managers and planners with a fully functional tool for delivering insights on long-term morphological response in river channels across a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

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.