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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <title>In-Stream Vegetation as a Nature-Based Approach to Scour Control at Bridge Crossings
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2627352</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Scour and erosion are well-established as leading causes of bridge failures in North America. While bridge crossings often include countermeasures for scour control and mitigation, the majority of existing scour countermeasures are considered expensive, impractical, and ineffective. Although routinely commented on in state-of-practice reports and highly beneficial in building and maintaining sustainable communities and ecosystems, nature-based solutions have been overlooked as an approach to scour control. A knowledge base which provides scientific evidence of the efficacy of green infrastructure such as in-stream vegetation for scour control at bridge crossings is not currently available. Evaluation based on detailed bathymetric and flow field measurements is necessary for future development of practical guidelines.
The proposed research will employ extensive physical modelling to explore the efficacy of in-stream vegetation for scour control at bridge crossings. Experiments will be conducted in the laboratory facilities of IIHR – Hydroscience & Engineering, which include a high-gradient sediment-capable tilting flume with a sediment recess. Robust flow measurement techniques, including particle image velocimetry (PIV) and acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV), will provide insight into distribution of velocity components, shear and normal stresses, and higher-order turbulence moments in the flow field of interest due to inclusion of vegetated sections in the channel. The results of the physical modelling efforts will enhance the severely limited understanding of the influence of green infrastructure elements on the scour mechanism. The primary anticipated product is the initiation of a knowledge base for the development of a framework of guidelines to be used in practice.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2025 14:20:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2627352</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Use of Small UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) for Field Measurement of Hydraulic Parameters in Small Drainage Basins</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2548656</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will examine the feasibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (aka drones) to field measure water surface elevations with corresponding velocities and water depths (bathymetry) within a 10% accuracy in calculated discharge compared to conventional methods.  Conventional methods would include surveying each section and using some form of a current meter such as the USGS Type AA Current Meter to determine streamflow velocities.  Conventional methods for determining discharge require surveying and can be time consuming, costly, and unsafe during flooding events, thus is seldom undertaken for smaller drainage basins.  Any high-water marks recorded are hard to determine what the corresponding discharge was for that elevation, hence, unreliable for the calibration of hydraulic models.  Being able to efficiently and safely determine an accurate water surface elevation with the corresponding velocity and water depths across a section can help calibrate hydraulic modeling when it comes time for replacing the structure. If used during a flooding event, it could provide more useful information than a typical high-water mark or extreme high-water mark as an associated discharge can be connected to that elevation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 30 Apr 2025 09:13:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2548656</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Technology for Bathymetric Surveying of Riverine Environments</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2236945</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) needs a diverse set of cost-effective, reliable, and efficient tools to periodically map the bathymetry of various bodies of water across the state. Bathymetric data collection is used by NCDOT in several ways, including as input data for hydraulic modeling software (e.g., for flood risk assessment), to plan dredging operations, and to monitor scour around bridges. The long-term goal of this research is to improve the capability of NCDOT to efficiently and cost-effectively collect high-quality bathymetric survey data using unmanned surface vessel platfonns in inland bodies of water. The specific research objectives are (1) experimentally evaluate a professional hydrographic survey unmanned surface vessel (USV) for NCDOT-relevant inland survey use cases, (2) transition USV survey capability to NCDOT, and (3) review unmanned surface vessel/sonar technologies to envision and support current and future NCDOT needs.
The University of North Carolina (UNC) Charlotte team will purchase a commercial hydrographic survey USV (the HyDrone from Seafloor Systems, Inc.) and gain expertise in deploying, operating, recovering, and maintaining the vehicle as well as processing resulting data using HYPACK ECHO software during the first year of the project. Following this preliminary/familiarization phase, the UNC Charlotte will plan and execute an extensive field-testing campaign that will evaluate the USVs data collection capabilities within the context of the following scenarios: (1) survey in shallow-water rivers/streams with moderate currents, (2) survey in a difficult-to-access ponds, (3) survey in the vicinity of structures (e.g., near a bridge or large culvert). Based on field testing results, a set of recommended vehicle mission planning procedures, operating protocols/workflows, and data processing procedures tailored for NCDOT-use will be developed. The UNC Charlotte will support the transition of the USV to NCDOT by providing documentation, guidance, and training for NCDOT operators. In parallel to this main effort, the UNC Charlotte team will conduct a comprehensive literature review of sonar-based technologies, including manned systems and unmanned platforms, for current and future NCDOT applications. This technology review will identify NCDOT priorities and objectives, develop a design specification rating system, and evaluate candidate platforms. The literature review will be synthesized into a comprehensive report that summarizes the key findings, the results of the cost-benefit analysis, and provides interpretation and recommendations.
The overall outcome of this project will be to integrate a small SBES-equipped USV into a subset of inland survey work conducted by NCDOT. This will increase NCDOT's operational efficiency and provide time savings. This project will also benefit NCDOT by providing exposure and knowledge related to sonar and USV technology that will inform future acquisition and/or future research directions
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Aug 2023 09:36:35 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2236945</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Demonstrating the Capabilities of UAS Topobathymetric LiDAR Mapping in Support of DOT Project Planning, Monitoring and Modeling</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2003589</link>
      <description><![CDATA[University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) has uniquely positioned itself as a leader in the unmanned aerial systems (UAS hereafter) field over the last several years, in large part thanks to a research contract awarded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in August 2019, slated to end Dec. 31st 2021. Through prior UAS work led by PI Pricope and the work completed under RP2020-04 (Fusing multi-source UAS-derived data to improve project planning and the NCDOT Wetlands Prediction Model), the researchers have gained invaluable experience working with UAS-collected topographic LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data and this uniquely positions UNCW to continue to lead the development of frontier applied data collection, processing and implementation for NCDOT’s next generation topo-bathymetric LiDAR integration. Previous work has enabled the research lab to: (1) develop field data collection, sampling, calibration and validation protocols for effective UAS data collection and processing using both fixed-wing passive, as well as rotocopter-mounted active (LiDAR) sensors; (2) implement effective, replicable and transparent processing workflows to create validated, ortho-photogrammetrically and planimetrically correct UAS-derived products, following ASPRS technical standards for imagery and LiDAR data horizontal and vertical positioning accuracy; and (3) develop and apply geospatial analytical data classification (including machine learning) workflows and UAS to satellite imagery fusion techniques. Work conducted at multiple coastal wetland sites throughout the southeastern NC showed that the capabilities of topographic LiDAR data collection are severely limited in water-covered, partially-inundated, or tidally-influenced zones, where LiDAR returns are null. In this proposal, building on the extensive field, lab, data processing and machine learning classification approaches developed under RP2020-04, the research team makes the case for extending NCDOT’s LiDAR capabilities by adding the capabilities of a topo-bathymetric LiDAR instrument to the array of UAS-borne sensors in NCDOT’s inventory. The team proposes to conduct highly applied research across a spectrum of clear, tannic and turbid waters of varying depths to fill gaps and improve data quality and collection capabilities for activities that include planning, monitoring and inspections. Examples of applications and data products include but are not limited to planning guidance for bridge, drainage, ferry, mitigation and abatement projects, modeling and mapping flooding and stormwater management approaches, aquatic habitats, hydrography, substrate and sediment transport, underwater archeology, and tidally-influence zones, and monitoring debris accumulation (dams, bridges), scouring, shoaling, channelization and sedimentation in ferry or shipping corridors. The team plans to accomplish five distinctive tasks: (1) conduct thorough literature and technical review of the state-of-the-art in the UAS-based topo-bathy space both from an academic and industry perspective, including outreach and a review of other state DOTs similar capabilities and approaches; (2) create a replicable and easy to implement project design and sampling strategy that spells out pre- and mission criteria and considerations to ensure safe and successful project execution; (3) design and execute field data collections across a gradient of use cases and conditions and conduct outreach to public schools in the region during this process; (4) implement end-to-end data pre- and processing workflows for the site data collected and construct an implementation practicality envelope that clearly spells out what is and is not feasible and accomplishable with the request technology from an applied perspective by area of application (planning, modeling and mapping, and monitoring); and (5) conduct sustained outreach throughout the duration of the project to K-12 and university students from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, conduct a 2-day NCDOT training/webinar series and create clear and usable final deliverables, including but not limited to technical instructions manuals for all stages of planning, collection, preprocessing, processing and visualizations, data dictionaries and metadata for all datasets created during the project, and final copies of all data collected. This project will result in time and cost savings through increased inspection capabilities, improved mapping and models of water areas, and more robust measurements of drainage system capacities.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2022 08:50:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2003589</guid>
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