the entrance channel, which causes vessel damage as well as damage to the sheet 

 pile. 



The existing project has become inadequate to meet the needs of the current 

 fleet, due in part to the growth in the local fishing industry. Fisheries' management 

 changes and increasing interest in the fishing industry have changed the fishing fleet 

 in Norton Sound. The fleet, once composed solely of large fish processors that did 

 not stop in Nome, is now composed of mostly 9.8-m-long (32-ft-long) vessels, 

 which must frequently use the harbor. Barge lightering operations in Nome are also 

 different from when the project was constructed, and barge operators are increas- 

 ingly burdened by the narrow, sharp-bended, entrance channel configuration. Nome 

 needs expanded moorage facilities to accommodate the increased number of 

 commercial vessels using the harbor. Current facilities in the area are crowded, 

 inadequate, and sometimes unsafe. Vessels currently incur damages due to ground- 

 ing and bumping against the sheet pile or each other. 



In summary, there are multiple purposes for navigation improvements at Nome 

 Harbor. Improvements would (a) provide a safer harbor with more efficient access 

 for the design fleet; (b) provide additional moorage for small fishing vessels, tugs, 

 and barges; and (c) reduce operation and maintenance costs (USAEDA 1996). 



Purpose of the Model Investigation 



At the request of the U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska , a coastal hydraulic 

 model investigation of Nome Harbor was initiated by the U.S. Army Engineer 

 Waterways Experiment Station (WES) to accomplish the following: 



a. Study wave, current, and shoaling conditions for the existing harbor 

 configuration. 



b. Determine the impacts of a new entrance channel and harbor configuration 

 on wave-induced current patterns and magnitudes, sediment transport 

 patterns, and wave conditions in the new channel and mooring area. 



c. Optimize the length and alignment of a new breakwater structure required 

 to provide adequate protection. 



d. Optmize the length and alignment of causeway extensions, in conjunction 

 with the new breakwater, to provide adequate protection for waves and 

 currents and minimize shoaling problems. 



e. Develop remedial plans for the alleviation of undesirable conditions as 

 necessary. 



/ Determine if the proposed design could be modified to significantly reduce 

 construction costs without sacrificing the desired level of protection. 



Chapter 1 Introduction 



