Sedimentation and Hydrodynamic Study of U.S. Coast Guard Station Boat Basin, Port Huron, Michigan

摘要

The U.S. Coast Guard Station, Port Huron, Michigan, is located at the southern end of Lake Huron near the lake's transition to the St. Clair River. A co-located small boat basin used for berthing search and rescue vessels has experienced chronic shoaling since its construction 1931. Multiple basin configuration changes have been made with the intention of reducing shoaling and/or annual dredging requirements to an acceptable level and to reduce wave energy, which causes mooring problems in the harbor. The location of the basin at this dynamic lake-to-river transition site is particularly problematic because of the strong unidirectional currents that influence sediment transport and navigation into and out of the basin. A field study and sediment-transport analysis examined the bathymetry and hydrodynamics of lower Lake Huron as they relate to the shoaling and resonance problems inside the basin. In addition, a physical model study identified a modified basin configuration that reduces both entrance shoaling and undesirable wave energy in the basin.