Study of Harbor Improvements at St. Paul Harbor, St. Paul Island, Alaska. Coastal Model Investigation.

• Main Author: Bottin, Robert R., Jr
• Other Authors: COASTAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER VICKSBURG MS
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1996
• Subjects: Hydrology; Limnology and Potamology; Fluid Mechanics; *ALASKA; *MARINE ENGINEERING; *HARBORS; *HYDRAULIC MODELS; TEST AND EVALUATION; MANEUVERABILITY; CONTROL SYSTEMS; COASTAL REGIONS; OCEAN WAVES; AUTOMATION; MATERIALS; SURFACES; THREE DIMENSIONAL; TIDAL CURRENTS; SPECTRA; OPERATION; STORMS; DATA ACQUISITION; PATTERNS; SALTS; GENERATORS; CIRCULATION; SEDIMENTS; HEIGHT; CHANNELS(WATERWAYS); BREAKWATERS; WAVES; ISLANDS; UNDERWATER; SHORES; TRACE ELEMENTS; OFFSHORE; COAL; LAGOONS(LANDFORMS); REEFS; BERING SEA; ST. PAUL ISLAND; COASTAL MODELS; Bering Sea; Breakwater; Salt Lagoon; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA317776; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA317776

A 1:100-scale (undistorted) three dimensional coastal hydraulic model was used to investigate the design of proposed harbor improvements at St. Paul Harbor, St. Paul Island, Alaska, with respect to wave and current conditions in the harbor and sediment patterns at the site. Wave induced circulation and sediment patterns seaward of the main breakwater as a result of a submerged reef also were investigated. The model reproduced approximately 2,865 m (9,400 ft) of the St. Paul Island shoreline, the existing harbor, the surface area of Salt Lagoon with its connecting channels to the harbor, and sufficient offshore area in the Bering Sea to permit generation of the required test waves. Proposed improvements consisted of deepening the entrance channel, constructing a maneuvering area and installing a wave dissipating spending beach inside the existing harbor, and constructing a submerged reef seaward of the main breakwater. An 18.3-m-long (6O-ft-long) unidirectional, spectral wave generator, an automated data acquisition and control system, and a crushed coal tracer material were used in model operation. It was concluded from test results that: a. During periods of severe storm wave activity with extreme high-tide conditions, wave heights in the existing harbor will exceed 1.7 m (5.5 ft) along the dock in the lee of the main breakwater and 0.8 m (2.5 ft) at the TDX Dock.