COASTAL DATA MONITORING, COLUMBIA RIVER, OR 


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Portland 
District, enlisted Evans-Hamilton, Inc. (EHI), to support the 
Corps in monitoring short- and long-term waves and 
sediment movement in the vicinity of the south side of the 
mouth of the Columbia River. The Portland District 
supplied all equipment, including the mooring tripod, with 
the exception of expendable items such as instrument 
batteries, wire rope, and buoys. The Corps emphasized 
that retrieval of instruments was key to the successful 
execution of the work. 

SCOPE AND APPROACH 

Upon delivery of all the equipment, EHI personnel made a 
thorough inspection of all instrumentation, including the 


Oceanographic Tripod Instrumentation 
With ADCP and Acoustic Release. 

tripod mount. Because the client stressed retrieval of all 
instrumentation from the beginning, EHI advised the client 
not to use the mount they had provided. From past 
experience in the proposed deployment area, EHI knew the 
mount provided would jeopardize retrieval efforts. EHI 
proposed a different mount system with a proven history of 
data return for the Columbia River mouth. In addition, 
predeployment tests of the Sontek Ocean Probe proved the 

meter was not working properly. EHI suggested that the 
client replace the unit prior to deployment. 

RESULTS 

The mooring package was successfully retrieved, all 
instrumentation downloaded, and the data processed within 
the client’s schedule and budget. Because of the success 
of the deployment and EHI personnel’s interaction and 
intervention, the Portland District has expressed full 
confidence in EHI’s ability to successfully carry out field 
efforts and has since requested EHI’s involvement in 
additional scopes of work.