This report was prepared in 1996/97 as background information for the assessment of bypassing systems for the Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project. The information contained within this report has been obtained from a number of sources. The authors wish to thank all those who have provided assistance. In particular, the advice and feedback from project personnel within the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, and Brown and Root as well as Queensland Transport, was greatly appreciated.

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World-wide Sand Bypassing Systems: Data Report

Acoustic and electromagnetic geophysical methods are widely used in coastal studies for determining water depth, identifying bottom sediment type and surficial features, locating man-made objects and hazards, and studying sub-bottom geology and structure. Acoustic methods are broadly divided into categories: 1. high-frequency systems such as echo-sounders whose main purpose is to determine water depth (minimal seafloor penetration); 2. lower-frequency systems with the ability to penetrate bottom sediments. Coastal hydrographic surveys must be conducted by qualified personnel with meticulous quality-control procedures. The maximum practicable achievable accuracy for coastal surveys using echo sounders is about ± 0.5 ft (0.15 m). High-resolution seismic surveys are used for engineering and for beach fill studies. The thinnest bed or layer that can be detected is about λ/4, where λ is the wavelength of the acoustic source.

Monitoring the Coastal Environment; Part III: Geophysical and Research Methods

There is increasing recognition and concern regarding the impacts of modern industrial warfare on the environment. Freshwater ecosystems are perhaps the most vulnerable to warfare-related impacts, which is of concern given that they provide so many essential environmental resources and services to society. Despite this, there has been little work to establish and quantify the types of impacts (both negative and positive) that warfare may have on such systems. This paper firstly highlights why rivers and lakes may be susceptible to warfare-related impacts, before synthesizing the available literature to explore the following main themes: intensification of wartime resource acquisition, use of water as an offensive or defensive weapon, direct and indirect effects of explosive ordnance, increased pollution, introduction of invasive alien species, and positive ecological impacts. This is then followed by a discussion of the implications of such impacts in relation to future warfare, including a consideration of the efficacy of existing legal instruments to protect the environment during conflict, and the trend for war to become more localized and 'informal', and therefore less regulated. Finally, the paper identifies key research foci for understanding and mitigating the effects of warfare on freshwater ecosystems.

The Impacts of Modern Warfare on Freshwater Ecosystems

Sonar rendering systems and methods are described herein. One example is an apparatus that includes a transducer element, position sensing circuitry, processing circuitry, and a display device. The processing circuitry may be configured to receive raw sonar data and positioning data, convert the raw sonar data into range cell data based at least on amplitudes of the return echoes, make a location-based association between the raw sonar data and the positioning data, plot the range cell data based on respective positions derived from the positioning data and rotate the range cell data based on a direction of movement of the watercraft to generate adjusted range cell data. The processing circuitry may be further configured to convert the adjusted range cell data into sonar image data, and cause the display device to render the sonar image data with a presentation of a geographic map.

Sonar rendering systems and associated methods

The navigation mission of the US Army Corps of Engineers entails maintenance and improvement of about 40,000 km of navigable channels serving 400 ports, including 130 of the nation's 150 largest cities. The Corps dredges an average annual 230 million cu m of sedimentary material at an annual cost of about $400 million (US). The Dredging Research Program (DRP) was conceived as an applied R&D program to meet documented needs of the Corps' division and district offices for technological advances to optimize its dredging activities. The $35 million (US), 7-year DRP was initiated in 1988. Many distinct products have been developed by the DRP for which annual and one-time direct and indirect benefits are quantifiable. For the first time in the US, a detailed study has been conducted to accurately quantify and document the economic benefits of a federal R&D program. The DRP applied private industry uncertainty analyses to quantify in dollars Corps-wide use of DRP products. A computerized Monte Carlo simulation, skewed to the right, allowed conservative benefit certainty to be developed from DRP benefit estimates. The certainty simulations provide a 90 percent confidence level ascertaining that application of DRP products will benefit the US at least $14 million (US) annually in 1994, and at least $109 million (US) by 1998, in 1994 dollars.

Accomplishments of the Corps of Engineers Dredging Research Program

: This technical note summarizes a series of full scale tests on the US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) Dredging Research Program (DRP) eductor, a two commercial eductor, and two commercial submersible pumps The note covers test equipment, material, and procedures, used to evaluate the performance of the eductor and submersible pumps in clean sand and a variety of debris types Information provided will assist personnel in selecting equipment for specific dredging and sand bypassing applications

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Controlled Tests of Educators and Submersible Pumps

: Applications of side-scan sonar for inspecting coastal structures were evaluated. Results were based on 6 years of structure inspections, including structures on the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf, and Great Lakes coasts of the United States. Most of the structures inspected were jetties and breakwaters; however, applications for vertical wall structures and dredged material disposal sites are presented. Applications discussed include reconnaissance, inspection, and monitoring. Side-scan sonar is most useful as a reconnaissance and inspection tool, allowing long sections of coastal structures to be viewed quickly, at relatively low cost. Operational and interpretation techniques are discussed. Other supplementary tools and techniques, drivers, ROV's, and sediment samples are often needed to verify questionable side-scan images. Presently, only qualitative monitoring, such as toe failures and slope changes, is possible using side-scan sonar.

Side-Scan Sonar Applications for Evaluating Coastal Structures

: In 1991, the U.S. Army Engineer District, Buffalo, initiated a Civil Works dredging operation on the Toussaint River where it enters into Lake Erie. The Toussaint River is adjacent to the former Erie Army Depot (near Port Clinton, Ohio), a previous Department of Defense facility that used a section of Lake Erie from 1918 through 1965 as an impact area for testing and proof firing Army ordnance. A hydraulic dredge had nearly completed the 42,OOO-m3 (55,000-yd3) project when a 106-mm artillery projectile was found jammed in the cutterhead and the Buffalo District immediately halted dredging operations. Subsequent unexploded ordnance (UXO) investigation and removal actions along the beach of the former Erie Army Depot (from the mouth of the river to approximately 3 miles east) located over 5,000 items of ordnance ranging in size from 20 mm to 165 nun. The Buffalo District, under the auspices of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) - Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS), conducted a demonstration dredging project on the Toussaint River from 10 July through 26 October 1995, that was specifically designed to address the UXO presence. The purpose of this demonstration project was to evaluate the operational effectiveness of a modified clamshell bucket dredging process designed to safely separate and retrieve UXO from the sediment prior to its disposal. During the demonstration, 14,757 m3 (19,300 yd3) of sediment were dredged, 31 inert pieces of ordnance were located and removed, and 6 live UXOs were destroyed (totaling 258 kg (568 lb) of scrap). This paper describes the demonstration project with regard to dredging system design, operation, and associated costs.

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Toussaint River Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Demonstration Dredging Project.

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Dredging

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James E. Clausner

Papers

Controlled Tests of Educators and Submersible Pumps

Side-Scan Sonar Applications for Evaluating Coastal Structures

Toussaint River Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Demonstration Dredging Project.

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Dredging

Side-scan sonar applications for evaluating coastal structures / by James E. Clausner, Joan Pope.