scholarly journals Vertical and horizontal datums used in the Lower Mississippi Valley for US Army Corps of Engineers projects

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Vertical Datum ◽  
The Mean

Six geodetic datums have been used by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mississippi River Commission (MRC), for river surveys in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV). These legacy elevation datums are the Cairo datum, the Memphis datum, the Mean Gulf Level (MGL), the Mean Sea Level (MSL), the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) 1929, and the North American Vertical Datum 1988 (NAVD88). The official geodetic datum currently prescribed by the USACE is NAVD88 (USACE 2010). In addition to these different geodetic datums, hydraulic datums are in use by the USACE for rivers, lakes, and reservoir systems. Hydrographic surveys from the Mississippi River are typically based on a low water pool or discharge reference, such as a low water reference plane (LWRP), an average low water plane (ALWP), or a low water (LW) plane. The following technical note is intended to provide background information about legacy datums used in the LMV to permit comparison of historic maps, charts, and surveys pertaining to the Mississippi River in the LMV. The purpose of this report is to provide background information and history of different published horizontal and vertical datums used for presentation of hydrographic survey data from the Mississippi River. The goal is to facilitate understanding of differences with comparison to other historic surveys for change-detection studies along the river. Conversion values are identified herein for the earlier surveys where appropriate, and methods are presented here to evaluate the differences between earlier and later charts and maps. This report is solely intended to address the LMV area and historic surveys made there. This note is not applicable to areas outside of the LMV. Throughout this technical note, historic hydrographic surveys and data from the Memphis, TN, to Rosedale, MS, reach will be used as examples of features of interest for discussion purposes. Selected historic hydrographic survey sheets at Helena, AR, are included as Plates 1 to 3 (Appendix C) of this document and will be used as examples for discussion purposes.

scholarly journals Modeling the effect of increased sediment loading on bed elevations of the Lower Missouri River

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Shelley
Keyword(s):  
Missouri River ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Sediment Management ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Sediment Loading ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Sediment Model

This US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Regional Sediment Management Technical Note (RSM-TN) documents the effects of increased sediment loading to the Missouri River on bed elevations in the lower 498 miles. This was accomplished using a one-dimensional (1D) HEC-RAS 5.0.7 sediment model.

Engineers, Science, and the Public Interest: Water Resources Planning in the Atchafalaya Basin

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-308
Author(s):  
Martin Reuss
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
The Public ◽  
Oil Gas ◽  
Resources Planning

The work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Atchafalaya (Uh-CHAFF-a-LIE-uh) Basin in southern Louisiana is an especially revealing example of the problems facing government agencies trying to balance conflicting economic and environmental demands. The basin contains precious wetlands and wildlife and major economic resources such as oil, gas, timber, and fish. It is also the center of one of the most hydrologically dynamic areas in the world. For the Corps, the basin serves as a vital part of the flood-control system for the entire lower Mississippi Valley. The problem was to reconcile this purpose with the continuing need for resource exploitation and increased concern for protecting the environment. In the Atchafalaya Basin, science proved its limitations and the art of politics its worth. This was a natural laboratory that taught engineers and environmentalists alike.

Water level management for enhanced fish and wildlife habitat production in Upper Mississippi River navigation pools : an Engineering with Nature® review of practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Theiling ◽  
Benjamin McGuire ◽  
Gretchen Benjamin ◽  
Dave Busse ◽  
Jon Hendrickson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
River System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Upper Mississippi River ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army

There is a long history of fish and wildlife management associated with Upper Mississippi River navigation dams owned and operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Many operational changes have been made to improve aquatic habitat, with recent emphasis on pool-scale drawdowns to enhance wetland benefits without affecting navigation or other uses. This special report describes projects successfully incorporating Engineering With Nature® principles in a review of the physical setting and historical fish and wildlife habitat management efforts using Upper Mississippi River System navigation dams. We reviewed 80 years of adaptation and lessons learned about how to integrate navigation operations and wildlife management. Several experiments have revealed the capacity to produce thousands of hectares of emergent and submersed aquatic plants, restoring much-needed riparian habitat for a variety of aquatic, wetland, and avian species.

scholarly journals Hydraulic dike effects investigation on the Mississippi River : Natchez to Baton Rouge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David May ◽  
David Biedenharn ◽  
Tate McAlpin ◽  
Ty Wamsley
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Baton Rouge ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Relative Level ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
The U.S

This report documents an investigation of the hydraulic effects of dikes on water levels in the Mississippi River between Natchez, MS, and Baton Rouge, LA, conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Vicksburg, MS. The investigation was conducted using a previously calibrated Natchez-to-Baton Rouge Adaptive Hydraulics numerical model. The objectives were to alter roughness and height variables associated with the dikes and overbanks encompassed in the numerical model and evaluate their effects on water surface elevations. This academic exercise provides an indication of the relative level of impact associated with modifications to the dikes and overbanks for this portion of the Mississippi River and does not represent future plans or recommendations by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Steady flow simulations were simulated for 12 May 2011 to investigate the variation in model results during the peak of the 2011 flood on the Mississippi River.

scholarly journals AIS data case study : quantifying connectivity for six Great Lakes port areas from 2015 through 2018

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marin Kress ◽  
David Young ◽  
Katherine Chambers ◽  
Brandan Scully
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Preliminary Examination ◽  
The Us ◽  
Port Areas

This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) presents results from a preliminary examination of commercial vessel traffic connectivity between six major port areas on the Great Lakes using Automatic Identification System (AIS) data collected from 2015 to 2018. The six port areas included in this study are Calumet Harbor, IL and IN; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Duluth-Superior, MN and WI; Indiana Harbor, IN; and Two Harbors, MN. These six locations represent an important subset of the more than 100 federally authorized navigation projects in the Great Lakes maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The results are presented in the context of USACE resilience-related policy initiatives as well as the larger topic of maritime system resilience.

scholarly journals Empirical analysis of effects of dike systems on channel morphology and flowlines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey Mayne ◽  
David May ◽  
David Biedenharn
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Channel Morphology ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
The Us ◽  
River Geomorphology ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
Insight Into

A phased study of the dike fields within the Vicksburg and Memphis Districts of the US Army Corps of Engineers was conducted to document the channel morphology trends since dike construction on the Lower Mississippi River (LMR). This included the development of the hydrographic survey database and methodology utilized to identify changes in channel geometry in response to dike construction. A subsequent report will provide further refinements to the approach and results of the comprehensive assessment. Recent Mississippi River Geomorphology and Potamology program efforts have employed the database developed by Mr. Steve Cobb to assess the geomorphic changes in 21 dike systems along the LMR. Previous studies using this database have indicated that the dike fields have not caused a loss of channel capacity. Furthermore, these efforts suggested that the trends in the dike fields are closely related to the long-term geomorphic trends along the LMR. Previous efforts using the Cobb database provided considerable insight into the dike effects on the LMR, but they were limited spatially and temporally. In this study, a database and protocols were developed to allow for a more robust assessment of dike field impacts and to extend the spatial and temporal extents of the analysis.

scholarly journals Difficulties Associated with Predicting Depth of Freeze or Thaw

1964 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
W G Brown
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Calculations ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Design Curve ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
The Us ◽  
Frost Penetration ◽  
Small Alteration

Calculations using the Neumann solution (as modified by Aldrich) and thermal properties of soils (obtained by Kersten) show that the frost penetration depth for the same freezing index for essentially all soils with any moisture content and for dry sand and rock varies by a factor of about 2 to 1. The extremes calculated in this way bracket the experimentally determined design curve of the US Army Corps of Engineers and give it theoretical support. The theoretical calculations and additional experimental data are used as a basis for a small alteration in the slope of the design curve. This modified design curve is recommended for field use because of (1) inherent imperfections in existing theory and (2) practical limitations to precise specification of field conditions.

Concluding Thoughts

2020 ◽  
pp. 186-190
Author(s):  
Mark Walczynski
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Silica Sand ◽  
Illinois River ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
State Management ◽  
The Military

This concluding chapter demonstrates that under state management, Starved Rock State Park grew in popularity. The park provided specialists from the US Army Corps of Engineers with a training area to master the military art of pontoon bridge assembly in preparation for the Allied invasion of Germany in World War II. Equally important, the park was where locals came to work and to relax in the 1950s and 1960s, and it is where today over two million people come to hike, camp, picnic, fish, hunt, and enjoy nature every year. However, the very geologic composition of Starved Rock and its environs has created a new challenge for the twenty-first century. Sand companies now mine silica sand near the park. The challenge is one of balance between protection of the park's fragile natural resources versus the competing interests of local governments and residents desiring new employment opportunities. In addition, the Starved Rock Dam, completed in 1933, raised the level of the Illinois River above the dam about ten feet. Nevertheless, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources employees at Starved Rock State Park are dedicated to preserving and maintaining the park and to serving park visitors.

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