Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.
Issue link: https://engineer.epubxp.com/i/145930
Channel Surveys T he St. Louis District uses sonar-based surveys to verify that a 300- by 9-foot channel exists. The survey equipment shoots 256 pulses of sound 60 times per second into the water below. The sound waves bounce off physical features on the river bottom, and the resulting echo is analyzed to confrm the depth. The survey team can create a three-dimensional representation of the river bottom with its modern sonar and global positioning satellite surveying equipment. Detailed surveys include up to 900 reference points per square foot, allowing reliable detection of objects as small as a softball. An excavator hauls rock from the bottom of the channel. Channel patrol surveys are performed every 2 weeks during a low-water event. The patrols survey the depth of the river at the center and at each boundary of the channel every 10 meters over several miles. These surveys are posted online each month, making them available to the river industry and other river stakeholders. More detailed surveys of particular stretches of the river are performed before and after dredging operations. Comprehensive surveys are done every 2 to 3 years over large stretches of the river to monitor the progress of river training structures. Using locks and dams, river training structures, and rock and sediment removal, USACE worked to maintain a safe and reliable navigation channel despite record drought conditions. As a result, no ships or barges were grounded within the channel of the Mississippi River. This was due to the dedicated work of the military and civilian USACE team members and their U.S. Coast Guard and river industry partners. Captain Collins is a U.S. Army Reserve engineer serving as a project engineer with the St. Louis District of USACE on an active duty for operational support tour. He holds master's degrees in business administration and analytical chemistry from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Dedication The following members of the Engineer Regiment have been lost in overseas contingency operations since the last issue of Engineer. We dedicate this issue to them. Private First Class Barrett L. Austin Company A, 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team Fort Stewart, Georgia Mr. Hyun K. Shin U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Division Hesperia, California Sergeant Tristan M. Wade 573d Engineer Company, 2d Engineer Battalion, White Sands, New Mexico 36th Engineer Brigade May–August 2013 Engineer 23