CIRP July 2012 eNewsletter
Issue 30, July 2012
In this Newsletter:
Transportation Research Board - Marine Transportation System (TRB-MTS) Conference
CIRP was represented at the recent biennial MTS R&D conference "Diagnosing the Marine Transportation System: Measuring Performance and Targeting Improvement," held in Washington, DC, 26-28 June 2012. Ned Mitchell was a member of the planning committee. The conference engaged stakeholders from government, academia, and the private sector in examining the use of performance indicators in maritime transportation and waterways management and identified indicators that fully consider the MTS in the context of the overall supply chain. Conference participants explored, through the application of performance metrics, how the MTS and multimodal connectors perform. Among the 130 participants were representatives from other federal agencies, academia, the shipping industry, and other USACE offices. His presentations are available at:
URL: http://cirp.usace.army.mil/news/events/TRB2012/
POC: Ned Mitchell, Kenneth.N.Mitchell@usace.army.mil
POC: Jeff Lillycrop, Jeff.Lillycrop@usace.army.mil
ICCE Conference papers
Several CIRP researchers presented applications of CIRP collaborative research at the International Conference on Coastal Engineering (ICCE), including Tanya Beck, Ashley Frey, Honghai Li, and Lihwa Lin. Ms. Beck presented a CIRP-Regional Sediment Management (RSM) study in conjunction with the Jacksonville District, at St. Johns County, FL, titled "Inlet and adjacent shoreline processes at cascading time scales using the Coastal Modeling System and GenCade." Ms. Frey discussed a study at Sargent Beach, TX, conducted with the Galveston District titled "Modeling alternatives for erosion control at Matagorda County, Texas with GenCade." Dr. Li presented a study for Norfolk, VA in conjunction with the Stragegic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) study titled "Numerical modeling of coastal inundation and sedimentation by storm surge, tides, and waves at Norfolk, Virginia, USA." Dr. Lin discussed a joint CIRP-RSM study titled "Littoral transport modeling for Ocean Beach and San Francisco Bight, California." The ICCE is the premiere coastal engineering conference offered every 2 years. These ICCE presentations are posted at:
URL: http://cirp.usace.army.mil/news/events/ICCE2012/
POC: Tanya Beck, Tanya.M.Beck@erdc.dren.mil
POC: Ashley Frey, Frey@erdc.dren.mil Ashley.E. Frey@erdc.dren.mil
POC: Honghai Li, Honghai.Li@erdc.dren.mil
POC: Lihwa Lin, Lihwa.Lin@erdc.dren.mil
CIRP Webinars: 2 of 3 completed
The Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP) gave two weeks of instructional webinars on the Coastal Modeling System from 11-15 and 18-22 June 2012. The first week was "Coastal Modeling System Basics" and the second week was "Advanced Coastal Modeling System Modeling". Each instructional webinar was two hours each day of the week and went through hands-on instruction and examples of advanced CMS applications. Approximately 50 participants attended the first week, taught by Mitchell Brown, and 42 participants the second week of webinars which had Alex Sanchez as instructor. Attendees originated from USACE District offices, State agencies, consulting firms, and academia in the U.S. and the international coastal engineering community.
The CIRP is offering one more webinar in the series, "Regional Coastal Shoreline Evolution Model: GenCade" taught by Ashley Frey on 16-18 Oct. For more information, to download presentation and example data files, and to register for future webinars, please see the CIRP website:
URL: http://cirp.usace.army.mil/webinars/
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
CIRP wants your input: New 3x3x3 Process Required for Feasibility Studies
On February 8, 2012, Major General Walsh introduced a "3x3x3" rule for conducting Feasibility studies. The new 3x3x3 rule states that all feasibility studies should be completed in no more than three years, at a cost of no more than $3 million, utilizing 3 levels of vertical team coordination, and of a "reasonable" report size. CIRP is working to streamline data preparation and connectivity between models and databases to help you in this more rapid process. But we need your input! We are very interested in what you need to help you accelerate quality feasibility studies. Please let us know what would help you in getting these studies done.
POC: Julie Rosati, Julie.D.Rosati@usace.army.mil for all of CIRP
New Study at Merrimack Estuary, Salisbury Beach and Plum Island, MA
CIRP and the New England District (NAE) are conducting a nearshore modeling study at the Merrimack Estuary, Salisbury Beach and Plum Island, MA. The Coastal Modeling System (CMS) will be set up to simulate waves, currents, and sediment transport for combined hydrodynamics and wave action to evaluate a variety of structural and non-structural alternatives. The study will examine erosion on Plum Island downdrift of the inlet and the reduced navigability of the inlet under various ambient conditions and project alternatives. The simulation results will provide the technical information necessary for NAE and the local sponsor to develop a sand management strategy for the inlet and adjacent beaches. The study findings will be documented in a technical report.
POC: (ERDC) Mitchell Brown, Mitchell.E.Brown@usace.army.mil
POC: (ERDC) Honghai Li, Honghai.Li@usace.army.mil
POC: (NAE) Irene Watts, Irene.Watts@usace.army.mil
POC: (NAE) John Winkelman, John.H.Winkelman@usace.army.mil
Engineer Research & Development Center
3909 Halls Ferry Road, Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory
Vicksburg, MS 39180
251-635-9519