CIRP March 2011 eNewsletter
Issue 25, March 2011
In this Newsletter:
Passing of Dr. Nicholas C. Kraus/Dedication of Coastal and Hydraulics Library
The CIRP and the broader coastal research community experienced a great loss on February 3, 2011 with the passing of Dr. Nicholas C. Kraus. To recognize Dr. Kraus' many outstanding contributions to the CIRP, coastal science and engineering, and the Corps of Engineers, the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory's (CHL) Library will soon be dedicated in his honor. Dr. Kraus had a tremendous and lasting impact on the field of coastal engineering, including publication of over 400 papers and reports with 170 different co-authors. Additionally, Dr. Kraus was a tireless advocate of the need for archiving previous studies and investigations, compiling over 80 years worth of coastal reports and documents during his time with CHL. Dr. Kraus served as the editor of Shore and Beach from 1999 until 2003, and he was able to collect the entirety of the S&B journal archives for inclusion in the CHL Library. He also initiated a library technical oversight group that made recommendations for improving the library and purchasing new books. Dr. Kraus was an excellent mentor to those who knew him, and he will be sorely missed by all members of the CIRP team.
POC: Irene Watts (NAE), Irene.Watts@usace.army.mil, and entire CIRP team.
12th Annual CIRP Technology Transfer Workshop
The 12th Annual (36th sequential) CIRP Workshop was held in conjunction with the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Conference in Jacksonville, FL, 7-9 February, 2011. Thirty-one attendees participated in beginner and advanced Coastal Modeling System hands-on sessions in two parallel sessions over two days. Optional plenary sessions on the Channel Portfolio Tool (CPT), Coastal Structures Management, Analysis, and Ranking Tool (CSMART), and Regional Morphology and Analysis Package (RMAP) were provided each afternoon. The workshop closed with a half-day plenary session on GenCade, a regional shoreline and inlet change model available in SMS 11.0. Attendees represented Canada, Mexico, China, and Puerto Rico; five universities; five consulting firms; ERDC; and USACE district offices. The workshop was dedicated to CIRP's long-time mentor and leader, Dr. Nicholas C. Kraus, who passed away on February 3, 2011. If you'd like to obtain the workshop pdfs and hands-on files, these can be downloaded from: ftp://workshop:ws2011@chlraid.wes.army.mil/Workshop . The next CIRP workshop will be in late August in conjunction with the Coastal Engineering Practice Conference; details will be posted on the CIRP website as they are available.
POC: Julie Rosati(CHL), Julie.D.Rosati@usace.army.mil
Mixed Sediment R&D with funding from the Internal Research and Investment Program (IRIP)
The Coastal and Hydraulics Lab is funding two members of the CIRP, Tanya M. Beck and Alejandro Sanchez, to conduct laboratory experiments on nonuniform (multiple-sized) sediment transport in a wave flume. The two studies are primarily concerned with sediment grain-size distribution and selective sediment transport processes controlling the morphology of the nearshore and ebb- and flood-tidal deltas. The first set is of cross-shore sediment transport in a 3-ft wave flume. Experiments will consist of a designed, mixed sediment grain-size distribution shaped to a beach profile, with features such as different bar morphologies and nearshore berms. Next, cross-shore sediment transport and infilling of a channel with simulated tidal currents will be examined including the addition of different morphologic features such as swash bars. These analyses on the evolution of the spatial grain-size distribution are the basis of, and integral, to this unique study. A better understanding of selective sediment transport at tidal inlets with laboratory experiments will aid in the improvement of morphology models and existing coastal sediment transport formulas. The experiments began in March and will continue through the end of May.
POC: Tanya M. Beck(CHL), Tanya.M.Beck@usace.army.mil POC: Alejandro Sanchez(CHL), Alejandro.Sanchez@usace.army.mil
Pillar Point Harbor, CA Modeling and Field Data Collection Study
The USACE District, San Francisco, and CIRP are conducting a hydrodynamic and sediment transport numerical modeling study at Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay, CA. Following the construction of the 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 are designed as semi-permeable structures, sediment 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 in May-June 2011.
POC: Honghai Li(CHL), Honghai.Li@usace.army.mil POC: Lisa Andes(SPN), Lisa.C.Andes@usace.army.mil
CSMART Supports Great Lakes Coastal Structures Asset Management
CIRP has recently partnered with coastal engineers in the Great Lakes Districts (Dave Wright, LRE; Paul Bijhouwer, LRB; and Tim Kroll, LRC) to provide improved coastal structure definitions and condition ratings within the web-based Coastal Structures Management, Analysis, and Ranking Tool (CSMART; available to Corps personnel at https://itlgis01.usace.army.mil/CPTIWRWeb/Structures). The CIRP began development of CSMART in FY2008 to give Corps decision makers ready access to relevant data concerning the significance of coastal jetty and breakwater functionality. CSMART couples the structure entries in the Enterprise Coastal Inventory Database (ECID) with separate datasets covering commercial tonnage (Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center), commercial fishing (NOAA), Coast Guard Incident reports, and cruise and ferry usage (US-DOT). In the present effort, LRD will provide improved spatial definitions (i.e. polylines) of coastal jetty and breakwater structures on the Great Lakes as well as reach-level condition ratings for inclusion within the CSMART database and interface. These upgrades will allow CSMART to provide more straightforward decision support to LRD personnel during annual Operations and Maintenance (O&M) budget formulations.
POC: Ned Mitchell(CHL), Kenneth.N.Mitchell@usace.army.mil
What's new on the CIRP Wiki?
CIRP researchers continually update the wiki to provide information about recent applications of products as well as information about R&D advances. If you have an application of a CIRP product you'd like to post, please email Mitch Brown (see below).
Two new GenCade applications are discussed on the CIRP wiki:
- One conducted by Taylor Engineering: Vilano_Beach,_St._Johns_County,_FL
- And the second an application to Point Lookout, New York, for the NAN: GenCade_Application_at_Point_Lookout,_NY
POC: Mitch Brown(CHL), Mitchell.E.Brown@usace.army.mil
Engineer Research & Development Center
3909 Halls Ferry Road, Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory
Vicksburg, MS 39180
251-635-9519