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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Galveston District (SWG) is directly responsible for monitoring and maintaining consistent depths for more than 1,000 miles of channel to provide safe navigation and mooring for military, commercial, and private maritime vessels along the Texas Gulf Coast.
SWG keeps each channel dredged to a specified depth, each year dredging millions of cubic yards of material, enough to fill the Houston Astrodome two and a half times.
Dredging is the removal of material - which can be soil, sand, clay, or other sediments - from the bed of a body of water. To determine where to dredge and how much material needs to be removed, USACE hydrographers, or water surveyors, conduct regular studies of channel depths.
Survey data is collected through single-beam or multi-beam sonar from small craft, large ships, and airplanes. Multi-beam sonar is mounted on an adjustable arm which is lowered next to the survey vessel during operation. The single-beam sonar sensor is mounted underneath the vessel. Both systems are networked to computers in the ship cabin, where surveyors monitor and record their depth findings, while the boat captain keeps the vessel on course and out of the way of other boat traffic.
In addition to its dedication to keeping Texas Gulf Coast waterways open, SWG is committed to teaming with others to strengthen STEM-related programs that inspire current and future generations of young people to pursue careers in STEM fields.
That’s why SWG’s, Corpus Christi Resident Office recently opened the doors and gangplank of one of its survey vessels to students from the Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science (CBI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC).
The CBI students have spent most of their time in college studying land surveying and are interested in pursuing careers in surveying and hydrography.
James M. Naismith, CBI’s, Chair for Excellence in Hydrographic and Coastal Surveying, teaches Hydrography to surveyor program students. On April 4, 2024, Naismith took a group of 10 students on a dockside tour of the SWG survey vessel Vannoy with help from SWG hydrographers.
“The primary goal of the tour was for the students to see an entire multi-beam echo sounder system as installed and being used on a survey vessel,” Naismith said. “They are introduced to the various equipment that makes up the system in class and the tour gives them a chance to consolidate what they have learned.”
USACE multi-beam and single-beam survey data is plotted on maps to identify shoaled areas — areas that have become shallower than the required depth and require dredging. Hydrographers also map channel bottoms before and after dredging, to accurately measure the amount of material moved, and accurately pay the dredging contractor for work completed.
USACE staff displayed both echo sounder systems for the CBI students and answered questions.
This tour marked an important first for both organizations.
Andrew N. Smith is the area engineer for SWG’s Southern Area Office. He began his career with USACE in 1996.
“This is the first time we have had students from CBI visit our survey vessels and is a direct result of Jim (Naismith) and Darrell (Johnson) working together to make that happen,” Smith said. “USACE has had a long relationship with CBI/TAMUCC over my career. Most of that occurred at the professional level between leadership of both organizations.”
Darrell W. Johnson is an SWG Southern Area Office supervisory civil engineer.
Johnson and Naismith wanted to provide TAMUCC students some “show and tell” aboard a USACE survey vessel, Johnson said.
Hydrographic surveying and the extension of that into dredging and heavy civil works construction is a small community that isn’t very well known, according to Smith.
“We do cool stuff in cool places, but generally keep it to ourselves,” Smith said. “Getting young folks exposed to the business and letting them know that rewarding careers can be made outside of what most people imagine is typical engineering/surveying/construction is fantastic.”
Robert Esparza, a hydrographic survey technician from the Corpus Christi Resident Office, enjoyed sharing his career with the CBI students.
“It was a great time,” Esparza said. “The majority of the students did not really have too much exposure to the hydrographic side of surveying or were aware (the) Army Corps of Engineers did that type of work. It was a great eye opener for them.”
Several CBI students developed an interest in hydrography during the tour, said Daniel Key, a survey team technical lead with the Corpus Christi Resident Office.
“Overall, it was a great opportunity to show young surveyors one of the greatest survey assets the Army Corps has and what a wonderful job this is,” Key said. “I was able to explain our multi-beam and single-beam systems, along with Robert Esparza, and how they are used to find out how much our channels shoal and how the Army Corp handles dredging operations.”
The young men and women seemed to enjoy seeing and hearing about how we perform our mission, and the equipment, Key continued.
“Several of them asked about employment opportunities with our district, and I made sure they knew where to go to find our job listings,” Key said.
To learn more about the Conrad Blucher Institute, visit https://www.conradblucherinstitute.org/.
To find career opportunities with USACE, SWG, visit www.usace.usajobs.gov and enter the 77550 Zip Code.
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2024 15:44 |
| Story ID: | 470552 |
| Location: | CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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