Publications:Newsletters/Apr2012

Issue 29, December 2012

In this Newsletter:

Thanks to NAP, with help from NAB and NAN, for hosting our 13th Annual CIRP workshop!

The 13th Annual (38th sequential) Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP) workshop was held March 6-8 at the U.S. Army Engineer Philadelphia District, with attendance from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Charleston, Chicago, Galveston, and Norfolk Districts, the North Atlantic Division, and Stevens Institute of Technology. For the first time, the workshop was simultaneously presented via webinar to an additional 11 attendees from CHL, HDR, Inc., Roberge Associates, Applied Technology and Management, Galveston District, and the Narvik University College in Norway. The CIRP instructors included Tanya Beck, Mitch Brown, Ashley Frey, Honghai Li, Lihwa Lin, and Alex Sanchez and covered beginning Coastal Modeling System (CMS) and Surface-water Modeling System (SMS); the regional beach and inlet shoal evolution model GenCade, which is also in the SMS; and Advanced CMS. The CMS and GenCade are being advanced by the CIRP and Regional Sediment Management Programs to provide tools to evaluate engineering alternatives at inlets and adjacent beaches within a regional sediment management framework.

POC: Julie Rosati, julie.d.rosati@usace.army.mil

Did you miss the workshop? Announcing CIRP Webinar series.

Three webinars are planned for the summer of FY12:

1. - Coastal Modeling System (CMS) Basics (Jun 11-15)
2. - Advanced Topics with the CMS (June 18-22)
3. - GenCade (11-13 September)

All webinars will be from 1-3 pm CDT each day. Please register on the CIRP website (see link below) and we will send more information as these dates approach.

POC: Mitch Brown (Webinar #1), mitchell.e.brown@usace.army.mil
POC: Alex Sanchez (Webinar #2), alejandro.sanchez@usace.army.mil
POC: Ashley Frey (Webinar #3), ashley.e.frey@usace.army.mil

CMS Application in a SERDP Demonstration Project

The CIRP team has recently completed modeling of morphologic evolution using the Coastal Modeling System (CMS) for the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The SERDP was a 3-yr project to examine potential effects of sea-level rise (SLR) triggered by climate change during the twenty-first century, with a focus on the military infrastructure in mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The study is part of an integrated coastal hazard risk assessment framework conducted at ERDC. The CMS, coupled with the regional hydrodynamic and wave models, calculated sediment transport and morphology change corresponding to global SLR combined with local tides, storm surge and waves in the nearshore and storm water inundated areas. The CMS results were analyzed to characterize the vulnerability of military installations, assess potential threats to structures and the navigation channel, and quantify the risks of mission impairment under the SLR scenarios with design tropical and extra-tropical storms. The project received the 2010 ERDC Research and Development Achievement Award.

POC: Honghai Li, honghai.li@usace.army.mil
POC: Lihwa Lin, lihwa.lin@usace.army.mil

Modeling of waves for Pt Judith Harbor of Refuge, RI

The CIRP team is presently assisting US Army Engineer District, New England, in estimating wave conditions in vicinity of the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge. Because the breakwater protecting this main Harbor of Refuge deteriorated in recent years, wave heights have increased in the harbor. The jetty stone may need to be replaced with larger armor stone. The sizing and viability of concrete armor units as a substitute for stone will also be investigated. CIRP is participating in the study by applying CMS-Wave to transform a 57-yr (1954-2010) wave hindcast GROW data source from an offshore point to the project site. Both BOUSS-2D and CMS-Wave are being used to estimate storm wave fields in the harbor complex with consideration of wave diffraction, reflection, transmission, breaking, runup and overtopping processes.

POC: Zeki Demirbilek, zeki.demirbilek@usace.army.mil
POC: Lihwa Lin, lihwa.lin@usace.army.mil

Pros and Cons of Sediment Tracer Studies (Guest Contributor, Rod Moritz, NWP)

{Editor: Several Districts have asked about the benefits and costs for sediment tracer studies. The NWP has recently conducted several of these studies at the Mouth of the Columbia River, WA/OR. CIRP asked Rod Moritz, NWP to discuss this for us in a guest column for this quarter's eNewsletter. Rod's discussion encompasses many aspects of tracer studies and we've had to abbreviate his comments for inclusion here. However, we've provided a link to his full discussion and recent paper below. Thanks, Rod!}

A sediment tracer study is a method to evaluate the in-situ dispersal patterns affecting a specific sediment type within a targeted area of interest. For a given sediment tracer study, a mass of tracer particles is manufactured to mimic characteristics of the specific sediment targeted for evaluating at a given study area; in terms of the sediment size gradation, density, hardness, shape, and fall speed within the water column. The sediment tracer is deployed at a defined drop zone (DZ) and repeated sediment in-situ sampling is performed at the DZ and surrounding area to "track" the dispersal of the released tracer material. For a tracer study to be successful, it is necessary to be able to detect the tracer at very low levels in each collected sediment sample (1 part per billion). This detection capability enables tracking of the tracer after significant dispersion by waves and/or currents. Analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of recovered tracer indicates the spatial extent of tracer sediment transport during the data collection time-frame. The total cost for executing a tracer study adjacent to an energetic coastal inlet (high sediment dispersion) can approach $500,000. Executing a similar scope sediment tracer study within a LOW sediment dispersion study area can be less than $200,000. Although these costs represent a sizable investment, results from a successful tracer study can be very effective for describing sediment transport pathways within a complex or contentious area.

Read more here: Primer - http://cirp.usace.army.mil/news/Moritz_tracer_primer.pdf
CS11 paper - http://cirp.usace.army.mil/Downloads/PDF/CS11_Moritz.pdf

POC: Rod Moritz, hans.r.moritz@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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