CIRP June 2010 eNewsletter

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Issue 22, June 2010

In this Newsletter:

Public Release of CIRP Wiki (http://cirpwiki.info)

CIRP staff is working diligently to make our wiki site the most useful and handy place to find information about our R&D. The end of July is scheduled to be the release date for the fully functional wiki site, but it is up and running now. Links are available to every CIRP publication and even to a few new "living" documents that will be updated as model features change or are added, and as the graphical interfaces change over time. In this way, documentation never becomes out of date. We have heard your requests for a better way to find information about the Coastal Modeling System (CMS) modules and have added a “Documentation Portal” that contains three sections: Technical Documentation; User Guide; and Examples, and Applications. We foresee this area being a nexus of information. Eventually, the Surface-water Modeling System will refer to these wiki pages if a user selects “Help” within the CMS modules. If you have any questions about CIRP or our products, try looking at the CIRP wiki page to find the information you need; if you can't locate it, let us know, and we will update the site!

POC: (ERDC) Mitchell Brown, Mitchell.E.Brown@usace.army.mil

Successful CIRP Technology-Transfer Workshop

The New Orleans District (MVN) hosted the CIRP's 12th Annual Technology Transfer Workshop (and 34th CIRP workshop overall) on 17 May (Beginner Day) and 20-21 May (Main Hands-On Workshop). The workshop featured two CIRP products – the Coastal Modeling System (CMS,http://cirp.usace.army.mil/products/index.html), and the recently released Channel Portfolio Tool (CPT, see item 3 below; https://itlgis01.usace.army.mil/ECID/Default.html). Presentations from Dr. Kelly Legault and Steve Bratos, SAJ, and Irene Watts, NAE, highlighted District applications of the CMS to regional coastal navigation projects. Nineteen attendees participated in the Surface-water Modeling System (SMS)-CMS Beginner Day. Forty-one participated in the hands-on workshop during 20-21 May, with representation from 13 District and Division offices, seven consulting engineering firms, NOAA, Louisiana Office of Coastal Restoration and Protection, and five universities. Special guests were Jim Walker, HQ Navigation Business Line Manager, and Jeff Lillycrop, Technical Director for Navigation. Attendees provided feedback and new ideas for the recently-updated CIRP wiki (http://cirp.usace.army.mil/wiki/Main_Page). Hearty thanks to New Orleans District's Cherie Price and Melanie Goodman for hosting us, and to all the attendees and speakers. Our next technology-transfer workshop is scheduled for 7-9 February 2011, prior to the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association’s (FSBPA) conference at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront in Jacksonville, FL (see http://www.fsbpa.com/conferences.html). Watch the CIRP website for content of the workshop and to register.

POC: (ERDC) Julie Rosati, Julie.D.Rosati@usace.army.mil


Debut of Channel Prioritization Tool (CPT)

The Channel Portfolio Tool (formerly the Channel Prioritization Tool) has undergone continued development while also being used by HQ Navigation Business Line Leader Jim Walker for coordination with the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). In late January, Mr. Walker presented CPT results for the Top 59 Corps Navigation projects to the AAPA, showing estimates of the monetary value of waterborne tonnage transiting at shoal-vulnerable depths. These results indicated that on average, $400+ million worth of waterborne cargo is disrupted for every foot of reduced draft in the Top 59 projects. At the National Dredging Meeting in Washington, DC in May, Mr. Jeff McKee from HQ presented CPT to District representatives as an example of Corps efforts to apply the Asset Management philosophy to the vast portfolio of navigation channels. The developmental version of CPT is currently available online to Corps users at: https://itlgis01.usace.army.mil/CPTWeb/. Future plans include automated upload of recent channel survey data and interfacing with a channel shoaling toolbox to provide improved estimates of future limiting depths.

POC: (ERDC) Ned Mitchell, Kenneth.N.Mitchell@usace.army.mil


GenCade Application for Onslow Bay, NC

The CIRP, the Regional Sediment Management Program, and the Wilmington District (SAW) are presently applying GenCade for an RSM-approach study along Onslow Bay, NC. GenCade is a recently developed numerical model that combines the capabilities of the GENESIS model and the Cascade model. Onslow Bay is located between Cape Lookout and Cape Fear, NC, and includes 100 miles of beaches and 11 inlets. The study will determine the long-term behavior of the combined beaches and inlet shoals as a sediment-sharing system. The variable resolution GenCade grid for Onslow Bay represents stabilized and unstabilized inlets, a revetment, more than 100 locations with sandbags placed for shore protection, numerous beach fills, and major dredging actions at the inlets. Initial 20-year simulations are driven by six Wave Information Study wave gauges (http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/wis). The study will also include intensive Coastal Modeling System representations at Beaufort and Masonboro Inlets to understand sediment transport pathways and navigation channel performance.

POC: (ERDC) Ashley Frey, Ashley.E.Frey@usace.army.mil


Regional Sediment Management (RSM) Workshop, 14-16 September 2010, St. Augustine, FL

The Annual Regional Sediment Management (RSM) Program Workshop will be held 14-16 September 2010 at the Casa Monica Hotel (http://www.casamonica.com/) in St. Augustine, FL. As with past RSM workshops, the agenda will include a program review of active RSM program projects. Because 2010 is the 10th anniversary of the Corps’ official implementation of RSM, the agenda will focus on progress over the past 10 years and RSM in the future. What do we need to move forward and meet future goals? On 16 Sep, the Jacksonville District will host a field trip to the St. Johns County RSM project followed by an eCoastal workshop to discuss recent updates to the application and user needs. The RSM workshop will be preceded by a Beach Nourishment workshop (see next item).

POC: (ERDC) Linda Lillycrop, Linda.S.Lillycrop@usace.army.mil


Beach Fill workshop planned in conjunction with RSM Workshop

The CWG will host a 1-day workshop on beach nourishment design on Monday, 13 September, in conjunction with the Regional Sediment Management (RSM) workshop in St. Augustine, FL (see previous item). The workshop will cover practical issues related to beach fill design including the pros and cons of the overfill ratio and equilibrium profile approaches for estimating design cross-section fill volumes, beach fill longevity tips and calculation techniques, cross-section design considerations and calculation techniques, physical and economic performance calculation approaches, and overall project lay-out considerations and construction issues. This workshop will be of greatest value to new coastal engineers with limited beach fill design experience.

POC: (NAE) John Winkleman, John.H.Winkleman@usace.army.mil
POC: (NAN) Lynn Bocamazo, Lynn.M.Bocamazo@usace.army.mil
POC: (ERDC) Mark Gravens, Mark.B.Gravens@usace.army.mil


Inside Look at the Coastal Engineering Certificate Program (CECP), Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA

The Coastal Engineering Certificate Program (CECP) is an opportunity for a practicing engineer to study coastal engineering at the graduate level. David Basco, PhD, P.E. instructs four courses over four semesters: Introduction to Coastal Engineering, Beach and Dredging Engineering, Coastal Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport Processes, and Design of Coastal Structures. Course content incorporates a wide range of topics such as: coastal engineering theory and practice, coastal geology, coastal planning, and real-world applications. The classes can be taken at Old Dominion University located in Norfolk, VA, or online, through live video streaming. Class is held at Old Dominion University, Wednesday evenings, from 7 – 10pm (EST) over a 15-week semester. The online interface allows communication with fellow online students and the instructor during live video record. The online environment is friendly and similar to a classroom setting. In addition, the course format is flexible: each lecture is video archived, allowing students to go back at anytime and review a lesson. Having residence in Buffalo, NY, the CECP online feature allowed me to enroll in the program and has benefited my career. The CECP exposed me to coastal engineering theory and practice, including water wave mechanics, longshore sediment transport, coastal modeling, and design of coastal structures. I have used this technical knowledge in project applications. The course notes, references, websites, and text are excellent resources for project. I highly recommend the CECP to anyone interested in enhancing their career through coastal engineering graduate study.

POC: (LRB) Colleen O'Connell, Colleen.M.O'Connell@usace.army.mil


Julie D. Rosati

Engineer Research & Development Center
3909 Halls Ferry Road, Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory
Vicksburg, MS 39180

251-635-9519

julie.d.rosati@usace.army.mil

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