Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
Established 1 February 1961 (1 February 1961)
Research type Cold-regions science and engineering
Director Robert E. Davis
Address 72 Lyme Road
Location Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
Coordinates: 43°43′26″N 72°16′23″W / 43.72389°N 72.27306°W / 43.72389; -72.27306
Zip code
 03755-1290
Website www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Locations/CRREL/

The Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) is a United States Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center research facility headquartered in Hanover, New Hampshire that provides scientific and engineering support to the U.S. government and its military with a core emphasis on cold environments. CRREL also provides technical support to non-government customers.

CRREL arose from a consolidation of three antecedent organizations whose purpose was to understand frozen ground, permafrost, snow and ice as factors which were important in strategic northern areas during the Cold War. In its first 25 years CRREL researchers contributed to the understanding of polar ice caps, permafrost, and the engineering technology for developing natural resources in cold climates, such as Alaska. More recently, CRREL researchers have made contributions to science in climate change, the understanding of wave propagation for sensor systems, the control of snow on structures and ice in navigable waterways, and the environmental remediation of military installations.

Mission areas

The stated mission of CRREL is to "solve interdisciplinary, strategically important problems of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Army, DOD, and the Nation by advancing and applying science and engineering to complex environments, materials, and processes in all seasons and climates, with unique core competencies related to the Earth's cold regions."[1]

Sampling mud sediments for contaminants that were causing waterfowl deaths at Eagle River Flats, near Anchorage, Alaska.

The technical areas that CRREL staff reportedly engage in are:[2]

Simulation of terrain, depicting the probability of detecting helicopters from the center of the grid.

Facilities

Evaluation of surfactants to control oil on ice-infested water within the refrigerated test basin of the Ice Engineering Facility.

The main facility is located in Hanover, New Hampshire north of Dartmouth College. The facilities include:

Other laboratories cover chemistry, biology, and civil engineering topics.[13]

CRREL maintains an office at Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, Alaska, and an office at the Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District in Anchorage, Alaska.[12]

History

CRREL was formed on 1 February 1961 from a merger of the earlier Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE)[14] with the Arctic Construction and Frost Effects Laboratory (ACFEL).

Antecedents and establishment

Cold room for studying snow and ice at SIPRE

CRREL's antecedents and establishment were chronicled in an official history.[15] In 1944-53 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established three independent organizations that were the antecedents to CRREL. Within its New England Division, the Corps of Engineers founded the Frost Effects Laboratory to "coordinate research on the effects of frost on the design and construction of roads, airfields and structures in frost-affected areas," based in Boston, Massachusetts in 1944. The Corps of Engineers' St. Paul (Minnesota) District established its Permafrost Division in 1944 to determine design methods and construction procedures for the construction of airfields on permafrost.

The Corps established SIPRE (the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment) in 1949, which moved to Wilmette, Illinois in 1951. Its purpose was to "conduct basic and applied research in snow, ice and frozen ground." In 1953, the Corps merged the Frost Effects Laboratory and Permafrost Division of the St. Paul District to establish ACFEL (the Arctic Construction and Frost Effects Laboratory) in Boston. In 1959, SIPRE researchers participated in the establishment of Camp Century in Greenland to study technical and scientific issues with a facility, based on the Greenland Ice Cap. Having built a new facility for the combined SIPRE and AFCEL organizations, the Corps established CRREL on 1 February 1961 in Hanover, New Hampshire,

1961-1986

Thermal drill used to bore into the Greenland ice sheet at Camp Century.

During its first quarter century, CRREL researchers and staff were active in the Arctic, Antarctica, Alaska and the Great Lakes, providing climatic history data, addressing resource extraction issues and extending winter navigation.

Drilling through ice caps

In 1966, CRREL researchers successfully drilled through the Greenland ice cap to a depth of 4,550 feet (1,390 m). The effort took three years, but provided a continuous ice core that represented more than 120,000 years. This extended the ability of scientists to interpret climatic history and became an early source of information about global climate change. In 1968, the same CRREL team was the first to penetrate the Antarctic ice cap, after drilling through over 7,100 feet (2,200 m) of ice, providing a climatic record at a second location on the globe.[15][16]

Facilitating Alaska North Slope oil development

Trans-Alaska pipeline, supported by heat pipes traversing discontinuous permafrost in Alaska.

The 1967 discovery of oil north of Alaska’s Brooks Range raised two basic questions that CRREL was positioned to answer as a consultant to participating oil companies: how to extract oil from frozen terrain, permafrost, or from under the perennially frozen Beaufort Sea, and how best to transport the crude oil to the continental U.S. for refining and consumption.

CRREL staff members participated in the exploration of two transportation options, the use of an ice-breaking oil tanker, and the use of an over-land pipeline that would cross much of Alaska over regions of permafrost. As for the Beaufort Sea, CRREL researchers conducted studies of the properties and behavior of arctic sea ice, which would present a problem for off-shore drilling operations.[17] CRREL researchers were active participants in both voyages of the icebreaking oil tanker SS Manhattan to assess the feasibility of the sea transport option. At the same time, CRREL engineers reviewed and advised the federal inspector of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. During the construction of the pipeline, CRREL researchers studied the engineering implications of foundations and roadways over permafrost and ice.[15][18]

Freshwater navigation

In the 1970s CRREL supported a Corps of Engineers initiative to extend navigation through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway throughout the winter. They developed methods to address icing of locks and the clogging of waterways with floating ice that included booms, bubblers, and coatings of locks.[15][19]

Cold War role

Move of DYE 2 radar facility to new foundations on the Greenland ice cap.

CRREL played a role in assisting the U.S. Air Force to establish[20] and maintain a system of Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line facilities during the Cold War era. In 1976, a CRREL researcher was instrumental in the moving of a 10-story-high, 3,300-ton DEW Line facility on the Greenland Ice Cap from a foundation that had been compromised by the movement of the ice on which it was built to a new foundation.[21] In 1984, CRREL personnel completed their survey reports for 31 sites of the new North Warning System that replaced the DEW line.[15][22]

A continuing scientific exchange between CRREL and Soviet cold regions research institutions began in 1972, these included the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Leningrad and Permafrost Research Institute in Yakutsk.[15]

1986-present

CRREL's second 25 years saw the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War and a shift in funding that reduced the emphasis of direct appropriations from Congress to a greater reliance on reimbursement for research from CRREL's customers, as evidenced by the sponsorship of its technical reports.[23] Customers funding CRREL research included various components of the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy. In addition, civilian agencies turned to CRREL for research answers, including the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. In addition, a variety of private organizations funded CRREL research to solve problems that they faced. CRREL's list of technical reports lists 27 topical categories, covering science and engineering.[24]

Military research

Army vehicle maneuvering in thawing conditions.

CRREL continued to grow its capability to serve the U.S. military with programs in signal propagation that would facilitate the detection of enemy movements via infrared imaging, radar,[25] acoustics[26] or seismic[27] sensors in any meteorological conditions. It served the environmental needs of the U.S. Army by facilitating the identification and clean-up of contaminants on training lands, due primarily to partially detonated explosives[28] or unexploded ordnance (UXO).[29] Other researchers addressed mobility issues with vehicles over snow and muddy terrain. CRREL researchers participated in defining tactical runway requirements for the C-17 military transport aircraft.[30]

Civilian research

Ice station SHEBA base, Canadian Coast Guard Ship Des Groseilliers (right) with CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.
ICESCAPE crew crosses meltwater ponds to retrieve airdropped supplies, July 2011.

CRREL staff continued to make a mark in polar research, both in the Arctic and Antarctic. In the Arctic, CRREL researchers were active in modeling shipping in the Northern Sea Route[31] and the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) experiment, conducted in the Arctic Ocean from October 1997 to October 1998 to provide polar input to global climate models.[32][33] Other researchers performed traverses of Antarctica and Greenland to collect data, pertinent to global climate change.[34] In 2010, a CRREL researcher was co-chief scientist on another icebreaker-based scientific mission, called "Impacts of Climate Change on Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment" or ICESCAPE, to determine "the impact of climate change on the biogeochemistry and ecology of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas."[35]

Other CRREL researchers developed ways to upgrade and maintain the research facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation in Antarctica, including the design and construction of a new South Pole Station and developing criteria to allow modern aircraft to land on snow runways.[36] CRREL staff explored and helped develop a new overland supply route across the Ross Ice Shelf over the Antarctic Range and the Antarctic ice cap to lower the cost of supplying the South Pole Station.[37][38]

In its Corps of Engineers Civil Works mission, CRREL researchers developed innovative ways to avoid ice jams and databases to address the widespread occurrence of such problems.[39] A substantial Ice Engineering Facility was built to support modeling of these problems. A Remote-Sensing and GIS (Geographical Information System) facility and organization were established to better employ the resources of satellite imagery and mapping of information to address problems world-wide.[40] Another major facility, the Frost Effects Research Facility, was built to study problems associated with airfields and roadways, subject to freeze-thaw. An automated loading machine was acquired to simulate the passage of vehicle and aircraft tires on pavements.[41] In building technology, researchers helped develop statistical means to identify snow and icing loads throughout the United States[42] and standards for measuring heat loss,[43][44] roof moisture detection,[45] and frost-protected shallow foundations.[46]

Realignment

In October 1999, CRREL became a member of an umbrella organization of Corps of Engineers laboratories, called the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). The consolidation of seven laboratories, the Coastal and Hydraulics, Environmental, Geotechnical and Structures, and Information Technology Laboratories in Vicksburg, Mississippi; the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in Champaign, Illinois; CRREL in New Hampshire.; and the Topographic Engineering Center in Alexandria, Virginia established the ERDC in four geographic sites around the country.[47]

Remediation of trichloroethylene spills

Originally, CRREL cold-room facilities used trichloroethylene (TCE) as a refrigerant. At the time there were few known environmental hazards attributed to TCE. Subsequently, TCE has been identified as a carcinogen. In 1970, an industrial accident resulted in a spill of approximately 3,000 gallons of TCE. In 1978, TCE was introduced into the ground via an experimental well. After the 1990 discovery of TCE in groundwater, CRREL embarked on a remediation plan, approved by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), with assistance from the U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency and the Corps of Engineers New England Division. NHDES reports that CRREL no longer stores TCE on site and the remediation of TCE in the groundwater is subject to monitoring in test wells.[48] According to an Army press release cited in the local newspaper,[49] the Army expanded monitoring of TCE at other locations on the CRREL campus and found some elevated readings in 2011. Thereafter, they initiated a monitoring well and soil sampling program to map the concentrations of the substance on the site. The information gained should lead to a new cleanup strategy for the site, according to the 2012 report.[50] Army environmental specialists have detected TCE at neighboring residential and school properties.[51][52]

Awards

Army Research and Development

The Army Research and Development Achievement Award is provided to distinguished researchers working within the Army laboratory system. Some notable CRREL recipients were:[15]

Army laboratory awards

As a laboratory, CRREL received Army awards for excellence in 1975 and 1978.[15] In 1991 and 1994 CRREL won the Army Laboratory of the Year award for excellence.[57][58] In 1997 the laboratory won the overall Army Laboratory of the Year award.[59] After joining ERDC in 1999, CRREL has been a consistent contributor of accomplishments that allowed ERDC became a frequent winner of the Army Research Laboratory of the Year award, five times in its first eight years.[60]

References

  1. ↑ Davis, Robert E. (2011), CRREL's Mission, retrieved 4 January 2011
  2. ↑ CRREL Technical Areas, 2011, retrieved 4 January 2011
  3. ↑ Biological processes in earth materials, 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  4. ↑ Cold Regions Infrastructure, 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  5. ↑ Environmental fate and transport geochemistry, 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  6. ↑ Public Affairs Office, CRREL Ice Jam Database, retrieved 7 March 2011
  7. ↑ Hydrology and hydraulics, 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  8. ↑ Maneuver support and sustainment., 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  9. ↑ Signature physics, 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  10. ↑ Terrain properties and processes, 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  11. ↑ Water resources geospatial applications, 2011, retrieved 6 March 2011
  12. 1 2 CRREL, Permafrost Tunnel Website
  13. ↑ Tantillo, Thomas J., Facilities, Laboratories, and Test Sites, retrieved 4 January 2011
  14. ↑ SIPRE (Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Research Establishment)
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wright, Edmund A. (June 1986), "CRREL'S first 25 Years—1961–1986", CRREL Pamphlet: 65
  16. ↑ Hansen, B.L.; Landauer, J.K. (1958), "Some results of ice cap drill hole measurements", International Association of Scientific Hydrology, 47 (CRREL Report No: MP 164): 313–317
  17. ↑ Ackley, S.F.; Hibler, W.D. III; Kovacs, A.; Weeks, W.F.; et al. (December 1973), "Investigations performed on the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment March 1971", U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL Report No: RR 315): 66
  18. ↑ Crory, F.E. (November 1991), "Construction guidelines for oil and gas exploration in northern Alaska", U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL Report No: CR 91–21): 83
  19. ↑ Harris, R.L. (chairperson) (September 1979), "The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway Winter Navigation Board—demonstration program final report", U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: 136
  20. ↑ Mock, Steven J. (March 1973), Greenland Operations of the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron and CRREL, retrieved 4 January 2011
  21. ↑ Tobiasson, W.; Tilton, P. (April 1980), "Extending the useful life of DYE-2 to 1986. Part 2: 1979 findings and final recommendations", U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL Report No: SR 80–13): 37
  22. ↑ Hart Crowser Inc (November 1986), Environmental Assessment for North Warning System (Alaska), p. 82
  23. ↑ Hoffmeister, Elizabeth R. (2009), CRREL Technical Publications—Technical Publications by Year, retrieved 12 January 2011
  24. ↑ Hoffmeister, Elizabeth R. (2009), CRREL Technical Publications—Technical Reports by Category, retrieved 12 January 2011
  25. ↑ Gary, Koh (February 1986), "Wavelength-dependent extinction by falling snow", Cold Regions Science and Technology, Cold Regions Science and Technology, Volume 12, Issue 1, February 1986, Pages 51-55, 12 (1): 51–55, doi:10.1016/0165-232X(86)90019-4
  26. ↑ Albert, Donald G; Decato, Stephen N.; Carbee, David L., "Snow cover effects on acoustic sensors", Cold Regions Science and Technology, 52 (2): 132–145, doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2007.05.009
  27. ↑ Hestholm, Stig; Moran, Mark; Ketcham, Stephen; Anderson, Thomas; Dillen, Meindert; McMechan, George (November–December 2006), "Effects of free-surface topography on moving-seismic-source modeling", Geophysics, 71 (6): T159–T166, doi:10.1190/1.2356258
  28. ↑ Howard, Louis (10 September 2008), Alaska: Eagle River Flats—Water Quality Restored to Revive Bird Population, retrieved 10 January 2011
  29. ↑ O’Neill, K. (2005), Ultra-wideband, fully polarimetric ground penetrating radar for UXO discrimination (Project 199902), Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP)
  30. ↑ Shoop, Sally A.; Diemand, Deborah; Wieder, Wendy L.; et al. (October 2008), "Predicting California Bearing Ratio from Trafficability Cone Index Values" (PDF), Opportune Landing Site Program (ERDC/CRREL TR–08–17)
  31. ↑ Mulherin, Nathan; Eppler, Duane; Weatherly, John; Proshutinsky, Tatiana O.; et al. (1996), Development and Results of a Northern Sea Route Transit Model (PDF), CRREL Report 96-5
  32. ↑ Perovich, Donald; Moritz, Richard C.; Weatherly, John (2003), SHEBA: The Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (PDF) (03048 ed.), National Science Foundation
  33. ↑ Uttal, Taneil; Curry, Judith A.; McPhee, Miles G.; Perovich, Donald K.; et al. (February 2002), "Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean" (PDF), American Meteorological Society: 255–275, 12 January 2011
  34. ↑ Albert, M.R.; Shuman, C.; Courville, Z.; et al. (2004), "Extreme Firn Metamorphism: Impact of Decades of Vapor Transport on Near-Surface Firn at a Low-Accumulation Glazed Site on the East Antarctic Plateau", Annals of Glaciology, 39: 73–78, doi:10.3189/172756404781814041
  35. ↑ Craig, Mike, ICESCAPE Participants, NASA Earth Science Project Office, retrieved 12 January 2011
  36. ↑ Blaisdell, George L.; Lang, Renee M., "Pegasus: A glacial-ice runway for wheeled flight operations at McMurdo Station" (PDF), Antarctic Journal, 30 (1–4)
  37. ↑ Rejcek, Peter (5 November 2005), "Going for the Pole—Traverse team plans to complete journey to South Pole in January" (PDF), The Antarctic Sun, pp. 1, 7, retrieved 11 January 2011
  38. ↑ Jacobel, R. W.; Arcone, S.A.; Welch, B.C.; et al. (2009), "Ice Attenuation and Basal Conditions from Radar Observations Along the US-ITASE Traverse in East Antarctica", Geophysical Research Abstracts, 11 (02577)
  39. ↑ White, K.D. (1996), "A new ice jam database" (PDF), Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 32 (2): 341–348, doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.1996.tb03456.x
  40. ↑ Pangburn, Timothy (August 2004), Remote Sensing / GIS Center, retrieved 11 January 2011
  41. ↑ Cortez, Edel (January 2007), "Pavement Subgrade Performance Study" (PDF), U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ERDC – CRREL TR–13228): 147
  42. ↑ ASCE (2010), "Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures" (PDF), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE/SEI 7–10): 658, ISBN 9780784410851
  43. ↑ ASTM (2010), "Standard Practice for In-Situ Measurements of Heat Flux in Industrial Thermal Insulation Using Heat Flux Transducers", ASTM International (C1041 – 10): 6, doi:10.1520/C1041-10
  44. ↑ ASTM (2007), "Standard Practice for In-Situ Measurement of Heat Flux and Temperature on Building Envelope Components", ASTM International (ASTM C1046 – 95(2007)): 9, doi:10.1520/C1046-95R07
  45. ↑ ASTM (2010), "Standard Practice for Location of Wet Insulation in Roofing Systems Using Infrared Imaging", ASTM International (ASTM C1153): 6, doi:10.1520/C1041-10
  46. ↑ ASCE (1 December 2001), "Design and Construction of Frost-Protected Shallow Foundation, (FPSF)", American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE 32–01): 48, ISBN 0-7844-0564-6
  47. ↑ ERDC Public Affairs Office, ERDC History, retrieved 9 January 2011
  48. ↑ NH Department of Environmental Services (2008), US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, retrieved 16 February 2011
  49. ↑ Armbrust, Bryan (9 December 2012), "Sampling Activities at CRREL", Valley News: B2
  50. ↑ CRREL Public Affairs Office. "Trichloroethylene (TCE)". Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  51. ↑ Brubeck, Sarah (27 March 2013), "Contaminant 'Migrating'", Valley News: A1, A3, retrieved 2013-03-27
  52. ↑ Brubeck, Sarah (30 March 2013), "More Contaminant Found", Valley News: A1, A2, retrieved 2013-04-01
  53. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Editors, "Army R&D Achievement Awards", Army R&D Newsmagazine (1967–2003)
  54. ↑ Editors (April 2006), "2005 Army Research and Development Achievement Awards", Army AL&T Online, retrieved 6 March 2011
  55. ↑ ERDC Public Affairs Office (10 October 2010), "Army R&D Achievement Award recipients named", ERDC Archived News Releases, retrieved 11 August 2012
  56. ↑ Editors (Fall 2009), "ERDC Researchers Win 2009 Army R&D Achievement Awards", Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer—Midwest Region, retrieved 11 August 2012
  57. ↑ Army R&D Newsmagazine (September–October 1991), Army R&D Awards, p. 39
  58. ↑ RDECOM Newsmagazine (Winter 2005–2006), Army R&D Awards
  59. ↑ Army R&D Newsmagazine (November 1998), Army R&D Awards, pp. 22–23
  60. ↑ ERDC Public Affairs Office (30 September 2009), ERDC Named 2009 Army Research Laboratory of the Year – 3rd Consecutive Year, retrieved 9 January 2011

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