Publications:Newsletters/Jun2011

Issue 26, June 2011

In this Newsletter:

First Announcement:37th CIRP Technology-Transfer Workshop

37th CIRP Tech-Transfer Workshop, August 19-21, 2011, San Diego, CA

http://content.asce.org/conferences/copricoastal2011/events.html

***If you plan to attend, please email Julie Rosati, Julie.D.Rosati@usace.army.mil, so we can better plan for the workshop. ***

Please join us for the 37th Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP) Technology Transfer Workshop, scheduled for August 19, 20, and 21, prior to the 2011 Conference on Coastal Engineering Practice.

Register here: http://content.asce.org/conferences/copricoastal2011/registration.html

The workshop is organized in three sessions as follows:

• Fri, Aug 19, 1:00-5:00 p.m. Introduction to the Coastal Modeling System (CMS) and Surface-water Modeling System (SMS). (Beginners). The CMS is an integrated wave, current, sediment transport, and morphology change system within the SMS interface. This half-day session is intended for new users of the CMS and SMS and will include an overview of the CMS bathymetry, creating wave and flow grids, set up with basic parameters, and simple hands-on examples with which participants can practice applying CMS.
• Sat, Aug 20, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Overview and Applications of GenCade. (Beginner thru Advanced) GenCade is a regional shoreline and inlet evolution model available within the SMS. GenCade is a combination of the popular GENESIS shoreline change model together with Cascade, which incorporates regional geomorphology as well as exchange of sediment between the shorelines and inlet shoals and channels.
• Sun, Aug 21, 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Coastal Modeling System Applications for Coastal Engineering Practice. (Intermediate level; must have taken Friday Introduction to CMS and SMS, or have prior CMS/SMS experience). Applications of the CMS for coastal engineering analysis at Ocean Beach, Dana Point, and Pillar Harbor, California will be discussed, and additional hands-on data will be provided for practice. These engineering projects include advanced features such as telescoping grids, structure transmissibility, and CMS applications with the Particle Tracking Model (PTM).

Instructors: Mitchell Brown, Ashley Frey, Honghai Li, Lihwa Lin, and Rob Thomas
POC: Julie Rosati, Julie.D.Rosati@usace.army.mil

CIRP collaborating on Boussinessq Modeling in FY12

Corps Districts have identified a number of engineering capabilities based on the Boussinesq Modeling technology (BMT). Through the Statement of Needs (SoNs), users have requested engineering Toolboxes for navigation and flooding applications. The tools requested are address Corps’ various advanced wave-structure-ship numerical modeling needs including: planning, design and maintenance of coastal navigation and inlets; nonlinear wave modeling in coastal projects; design and modification of ports, harbors and marinas; navigation channel deepening, widening and realignment; ship transit risk assessment in channels and ports; effects of ship wakes on shores and waterway banks; functional performance metrics for levees and coastal structures; runup/overtopping of coastal structures; assessment of flood/inundation in coastal areas; and tsunami impacts on harbors and open coast regions. To address these needs, CIRP in coordination with other R&D programs is supporting BMT R&D in FY12. The priority for the BMT research will first focus on development of an unstructured grid finite volume Boussinesq type wave model, release the Runup/Overtopping Toolbox, and coupling BOUSS-2D with CMS-Wave and STWAVE models. A one-hour discussion with feedback will be held in conjunction with the Coastal Working Group (CWG) meeting in Vicksburg in August.

POC: Zeki Demirbilek, Zeki.Demirbilek@usace.army.mil

Breakwater Modeling at Pillar Point Harbor, CA

The USACE District, San Francisco, and CIRP researchers are conducting a hydrodynamic and sediment transport numerical modeling study at Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay, CA. Following the construction of Pillar Harbor in the early 1960s, the local wave and beach erosion patterns changed significantly due to the existence of the harbor breakwaters. Because the breakwaters were designed as semi-permeable structures, sediment has accumulated inside the harbor. The Coastal Modeling System is being applied to simulate coastal processes that control circulation and sediment transport in the harbor and adjacent beaches. To reduce the coastal erosion and improve the harbor circulation conditions, options for beach nourishment and alternative structure modifications will be tested and evaluated through model simulations for combined hydrodynamic and wave conditions. The model results will provide the technical information necessary for the Pillar Harbor and Half Moon Bay Stakeholders to better understand the existing coastal conditions and to look for solutions. The present project also includes a field data collection program underway during May-June 2011.

POC: Honghai Li (CHL), Honghai.Li@usace.army.mil
POC: Lisa Andes (SPN), Lisa.C.Andes@usace.army.mil

Assessment of Regional Sediment Transport and Potential Solutions at Sargent Beach, TX

The USAE District Galveston and CIRP researchers are conducting a study with the Port of Bay City to identify solutions to stop erosion of critical beach habitat and increase protection from tropical storms in Matagorda County, TX. The two primary areas of concern are Sargent Beach and 2 – 3 miles of beach on Matagorda Peninsula located approximately 1 mile east of the Mouth of Colorado River (MCR) navigation channel. Matagorda County has approximately 60 miles of shore facing the Gulf of Mexico, from Cedar Lakes Pass on the north to Pass Cavallo on the south. This long stretch of coast contains a number of natural and human-influenced environments, including two federal navigation channels (shallow draft MCR; deep draft Matagorda Ship Channel (MSC), a flood relief inlet (Mitchells Cut)), dune-backed sandy beaches along east Matagorda Bay, and a sand-deficient area with clay outcrops at Sargent Beach where an 8-mile long revetment protects the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), which is a waterway of national interest. GenCade, RMAP, and SBAS will be applied to quantify regional sediment transport and to evaluate potential solutions. Detailed analysis of structural performance will then be assessed using the CMS. Model results will provide the technical basis for preliminary structure design and feasibility analyses.

POC: Rob Thomas, Robert.C.Thomas-iii@usace.army.mil

Did Mining Ocean City Ebb Tidal Shoal exacerbate the Stinky Beach Scour Hole?

In response to a Dredging Operation Technical Support (DOTS) request from Mr. Bob Blama, Baltimore District, CHL researchers Mary Anderson, Mitch Brown, Jane Smith, and Julie Rosati are applying the Coastal Modeling System (CMS) to evaluate the forcing (waves and currents) potentially causing a deep scour hole directly inside Ocean City Inlet, Maryland, in the vicinity of Stinky Beach. The question to be answered in this quick study is, has mining of outer edge of the ebb tidal shoal exacerbated the scour hole? DOTS funding for up to 2 weeks of an ERDC researcher's time is available for any District navigation-related questions by emailing Doug Clarke, DOTS program manager, with a brief description of the concern.

POCs: Mary Anderson, Bob Blama (CENAB), Mitch Brown, Jane Smith
POC: Julie Rosati, Julie.D.Rosati@usace.army.mil

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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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