GeoPrac.net All Headlines

13-Story Tower Topples Over in Shanghai

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:22:44 +0100

A 13-story apartment tower in the Lotus Riverside Development toppled over almost intact in Shanghai on June 26. The apartment building was still under construction and one worker was killed. According to the Shanghai Daily, there was an excavation for an underground parking garage immediately next to the failed structure. From the photos and video, it appeared that the building fell away from the excavation. More info and video after the break. (Imaginechina via AP Images via Wall Street Journal)

Ohio DOT Adopts GIS-Based EQuIS for Its Geotechnical Data Management

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:44:16 +0100

Redlands, California—The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will implement an enterprise version of EarthSoft's Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) for ArcGIS to better manage, analyze, and share geotechnical data throughout the organization. An agreement between ODOT and EarthSoft, an ESRI business partner, will see EarthSoft provide the transportation industry standard Data Interchange for Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists (DIGGS) as electronic data deliverables (EDD). The new data will then reside and be accessible through ODOT's enterprise-wide geographic information system (GIS)-supported EQuIS database.

Devil's Slide Tunnel Update and First Attempts to Tame the Landslide

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:01:59 +0100

The Devil's Slide Tunnel project is on schedule and on budget according to a news story at ABC7News.com from earlier in June. The video (shown after the break) has a few nice shots showing rock bolting, soil nailing at the portals, and the geologic mapping and laser scanning that happens at the tunnel face.

I also came across a very neat article about how the Ocean Shore Railroad Company was the first to try to cut into the slope along what is now PCH 1 at the Devil's Slide back in the early 1900s. They were trying to connect the then rural farming community of Half-Moon Bay with San Francisco. The railroad fought the reoccurring landslide and serious rockfalls. Ocean Shore Railroad went bankrupt in 1922 and pulled up its rails, making room for the current highway. (Photo at left from halfmoonbaymemories.com)

Dam Safety News for June - 44 Most Hazardous Coal Ash Dams

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:44:06 +0100

The Association of State Dam Safety Officials publishes a great collection of news links every month. In this batch, there are a number of articles related to the TVA coal ash dam failure, including links to a recently released EPA list of the 44 coal ash dams rated with a high hazard. Initially, the EPA was not releasing the locations at the request of the USACE because of fears that the dams may become a terrorism target. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Other interesting news items from the ASDSO included a dam failure in Brazil that killed 7 people, a leaking dam in Kentucky, the possibility of rebuilding Teton Dam in Idaho (site of a famous dam failure), seepage at Howard Hanson Dam in Washington State.

First Lunar Landing 20 Years Later and Stuck Spirit Rover

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:00:00 +0100

It's hard to believe that such a tremendously historic scientific and cultural event is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this month! On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts "Buzz" Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to set foot on the Moon. [Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin near a leg of the Lunar Module. (From enwiki), NASA Source]

One of the first featured articles I published on GeoPrac was a remarkable narrative by my NCS Consultants, LLC colleague, Dr. Ed Nowatzki, sharing his recollections of his work on the geotechnical (soils engineering)aspects of the design of the first lunar lander or LM. I was doubly reminded of his article recently, first because of the milestone anniversary, but also because a different spacecraft was having some soil-related trouble on the Planet Mars.

Drilled Shaft Rig Topples Over in Queensland, Australia

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:31:49 +0100

Fortunately nobody was seriously injured as a drilled shaft rig toppled over at a construction site in Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. No word on what caused the accident at the building site. The operator was inside the cab at the time and suffered minor bruises. The article mentioned that the mast of the rig landed in between two other pieces of equipment and fell on an area that was occupied by a group of workers just moments earlier. (Photo by Michaela O'Neill, thedaily.com.au)

ASTM Updates June 2009

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:54:26 +0100

D5434 - "Standard Guide for Field Logging of Subsurface Explorations of Soil and Rock" and D4429 - "Standard Test Method for CBR (California Bearing Ratio) of Soils in Place" are two standards revised this month that may be of interest to geotechnical engineers. Those in the construction services and materials testing business should take a look at a number of changes to relevant standards. This month there are also a few revised standards related to detection of different ions in water. I also see that there are a number of geothermal and solar standards that were reapproved this month, most of them seem to have been last modified in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Click through for the full list of new, revised and reapproved ASTM standards from June.

Lateral Load Testing of Drilled Shafts For Cable Barriers - ADSC Study

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:57:05 +0100

ADSC published a summary of some research being conducted by the University of Texas, Arlington (UTA) through funding by TxDOT. The research involves the lateral load testing of drilled shafts that are used for cable barriers in median applications in the State of Texas. The South Central Chapter of ADSC donated the drilling, setting of steel and placement of concrete for the project. (Photo by TxDOT via ADSC)

Dead Sea Sinkhole Could Swallow Tourists, Close Facilities

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:44:07 +0100

Sinkholes at the Dead Sea have threatened tourists and forced Israeli (and perhaps Jordanian)authorities to close various facilities and cancel development plans to avoid these geologic hazards. These are not your typical Karst sinkholes. According to a recent AP article, they are caused by the erosion of salt deposits by fresh water as a result of the lowering of the water level. This is a human caused phenomenon as current size of the Dead Sea is just 1/3 of its size in 1960 since water has been diverted from the Jordan River, its main tributary to be evaporated for its phosphates. At the end of the article is an interesting note that the World Bank is currently evaluating a proposal to replenish the Dead Sea by digging a $15 Billion canal from the Red Sea, about 100 miles away. (Photo by urban_hipster)

Swedish Nuclear Waste Repository Could Begin Construction in 2016

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:31:00 +0100

ENR reports that a nuclear waste repository for spent nuclear fuel in Sweden could begin construction as early as 2016. The facility would consist of 50km of tunnels in granite bedrock up to 500-m deep. The proposed site is approximately 75-km north of Stockholm. The projected cost of the facility is $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion (US$ I presume). The Swedes would be chasing the Finns who might be the first country to have a permanent underground nuclear waste repository for spent nuclear fuel. (Illustration by BBC of Finland's proposed repository)

Geo-Institute Releases Jet Grouting Guideline Document

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:19:00 +0100

Jet Grouting is a ground improvement technology used to mix the insitu soils with cement to create a soil cement column. The systems can be single, double or triple fluid jet grouting. The common element to all three is the cement grout. The double fluid systems involve using another fluid (typically air) to increase the velocity of the jet to better scour the soil. Triple fluid systems typically use water and air to scour the material and grout is delivered via a third nozzle. (Photo courtesy of NCS Consultants, LLC)

The Jet Grouting Task Force of the Grouting Committee of the Geo-Institute of the ASCE (phew!) has prepared a guideline document that will be of use to any owner, engineer or contractor involved in a jet grouting project, and it reads like an outline for a specification but with commentary. The task force was made up of representatives from contractors (including Nicholson Construction and Geosystems, Hayward Baker and Bechtel), owners (including USBR, FHWA) and consultants (too many to list).

GEO5 Finite Element (FEM) and Tunneling Software Distributed by gINT Software

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:31:03 +0100

GEO5 Finite Element Method software increases design safety, feasibility

Santa Rosa, CA – June 16, 2009 – gINT Software, Inc.

FINE Software’s GEO5 FEM and Tunnel software is newly available in North America through its exclusive distributor, gINT Software. GEO5 FEM is designed for civil engineering firms looking for cost-effective solutions for both new development projects and for existing sites affected by geotechnical problems such as terrain settlement, excavation and slope stability, sheet piling, and underpinning.

[Editor] Disclosure: gINT Software, Inc. is a sponsor of GeoPrac. All images courtesy of gINT. Read on for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

Trimble Yuma Field Tablet PC has Pricing Info

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:12:15 +0100

I introduced this ruggedized field tablet PC by Trimble here back in March, but there wasn't any pricing information available at that time. To refresh, it has a military grade ruggedized design to keep out dirt and water, 32GB solid state drive (no moving parts), built in GPS, Wi-Fi, bluetooth 2.0, 2 integrated digital cameras with geotagging functionality (why 2?), Windows Vista Business, and a 7" sunlight readable screen all in a 2.6-lb package. Read on for the $$.

Good Stuff From Ontario-geofish

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:52:01 +0100

This is not the first time I've posted links to blog posts from the Ontario-geofish blog by Harold A. Some times I blatantly rip him off, but hopefully he doesn't mind since I try to credit him whenever I post about an article he found. I guess he has more time for surfing since he's retired! :) Here are a couple of his recent posts that I found interesting. (Image by NASA)

[Fixed] Video: Keller Geotechnical installing Ground Anchors at Gainsboro

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:27:37 +0100

Nothing too exciting here, but geotechnical videos are kind of few and far between, so I like to share them. It looks like its some kind of anchored sheet pile wall.

Oregon Releases Online Geologic Map Interface

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:14:34 +0100

At the end of last month, the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) issued this press release describing their new online interface for their statewide digital geologic map. The online version only covers the eastern portion of the state at the present time. But the interface is not too shabby with the ability to view conventional stratigraphy information, rock properties layers or general rock type. Available overlays include faults, highways, formation boundaries, cities/towns and USGS quad grids. You can also add a shaded relief map or topographic map base map or combine them both. And a feature I wish was more common in some of these online interfaces, they have the ability to export images when you get the view you want. It appears that you can do it at resolutions up to 1200 ppi.

Emergency Repair of Allegheny River Lock No. 6

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:37:00 +0100

Severe erosion was discovered on an October 2008 inspection of Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 6 near Pittsburgh, PA, a US Army Corps of Engineers structure. In the Q1 2009 issue of PileDriver Magazine from the PDCA, a project spotlight describes the $2.9 million Sheet Piling and Grouting Emergency Repair project performed by Brayman Construction Corporation to repair the dam and lock. (Illustration from PileDriver Magazine, Q1 2009, V6, No. 1)

The dam and lock was built in 1927-1928 and is 992-ft wide by 12.4-ft high. The lock itself is 56-ft by 360-ft. The foundations for the concrete dam structure consisted of timber pilings with a steel frame on top.

The survey performed by divers had found more erosion than was anticipated and the worst section extended approximately 29-ft underneath the dam in a 200-ft section, threatening to undermine the dam. Brayman Construction began the repair work in early November of 2008 and was completed with most repairs by mid-January of 2009. The fixes included installation of a sheet pile wall on the downstream side of the dam along with erosion protection on the downstream side. Concrete was tremied into the eroded portion and through drilled holes in the dam at other locations to ensure that the voids were filled.

VBA and Excel for Engineers and Scientists – Part 3

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:23:20 +0100

In this third and final installment of the popular VBA and Excel for Engineers and Scientists series, we will look at one of the most important techniques for extending Excel with VBA, the Range Object. I'll show you the best way to refer to single cells, multiple cells, how to get values from them and put values back into ranges using the VBA. And we'll program up a simple Monte Carlo Simulation example and lastly we'll look at how to read and write to text files and to manipulate files and folders in Windows.

Free GIS Software for Analysis and Visualization of Surfaces

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:34:33 +0100

SlashGeo pointed me to LandSerf, an interesting bit of free GIS software (not open source) for viewing and analysis of DEMs, TINs, and other files in 3D. It uses OpenGL for the 3D graphics, and has a variety of features for lighting/shading, blending of multiple images, and supports a bunch of import and export file formats. It runs on PCs, Macs, and Linux/Unix as long as you have the Java Runtime Environment. I didn't explore too far, but it appears that it also has some scripting/API support. (Image by LandSerf)

Chongquing Landslide in China Kills at least 79, Traps 27 Miners

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:16:51 +0100

A 12 million cubic meter landslide occurred in Wulong county in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on Friday. There are some excellent blog posts on this rockslide at Dave's Landslide Blog. This massive failure occurred in the vicinity of a mine (Iron ore?) being run by a private company since 2004 after Chinese government geologists labeled the site dangerous resulting in it being closed in 2000 after over 50-years of production. (Photo from Suomen Kuvalehti via Dave's Landslide Blog)

UC Berkley GeoEngineering Lectures on YouTube

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:12:14 +0100

UC Berkley has a bunch of lectures online, including three geoengineering themed ones. It appears that they were all from lectures given as a part of the 27th Annual GeoEngineering Distinguished Lecture Series on May 8, 2009. So if you have an hour plus to kill per lecture (and I haven’t yet), you can check out one of the following.

Devil’s Slide Repair and Tunnel Bypass Presentation

Thu, 28 May 2009 08:26:39 +0100

[Updated Thursday May 29, 2009 - 1:00 PM PDT] Added a photo of the AIS Kaiser S2 excavator (spider excavator), and added photos of the Devil's Slide debris dump where they have put the landslide material removed and the material from the tunnel excavation. [/Update]

Grant Wilcox, Geology Branch Chief with CALTRANS Office of Geotechnical Design West gave a presentation on the Devil’s Slide repair along PCH Highway 1 at the Southwest Geotechnical Engineer’s Conference on May 12 in Phoenix. I’ve posted about the project here before. When I saw Mr. Wilcox, I knew he looked familiar but I couldn’t figure out why. At the beginning of his presentation he made light of his being on You-Tube…then it clicked! He gave a nice overview of the history of the failures, the geology, and the tunnel project. What follows are a few quick tidbits from his talk based on my notes. (Photo via Caltrans site).

ASTM Updates May 2009

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:53:42 +0100

In this month's ASTM updates, there is a new standard for determining the laboratory density of soil specimens. Not having a standard for this item was a common problem for us in our practice. The lab would give us a density on ring samples by weiging, drying and weighing again using the known volume of the rings, but there was never any standard to go with it. Other updates this month include ones related to dimension stone, fiber reinforced concrete, sulfate content of soils, and calcium and magnesium content of water.

Buried in Twitter and Geo-terms Searching Fail

Thu, 21 May 2009 20:11:05 +0100

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I'm a geek, I've been wrapped up in a new programming project with PHP and the Twitter API. Its going to be a new feature on the Geoprac site and I'm very excited about it, but its not quite ready for prime time yet.

Have you ever tried to Google a geo-term either for work or general interest and found mostly things that are completely unrelated to what your looking for? For example, try a google search for landslide. Mixed in with all the stuff of interest to geotechnical engineers and geologists are videos and lyrics for Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, the Dixie Chicks etc. Results from google news for landslide show similar problems, you get news stories about landslide victories in elections, on American Idol, etc. That's the kind of stuff I've been dealing with when trying to sift through the sea of tweets out there…but I think its even worse on Twitter because ~~half~~ most of the time, people are twittering about nothing really. We'll see how successful I am at sifting through the crap for the interesting tweets.

But one of my points in writing this post is to plug one of my related sites, GeotechSearch.com. Its a custom search engine powered by Google but it works on the principle of a "whitelist" where it only returns results from a specified list of sites. My list of sites comes from the GeoLinks section of the GeoPrac.net site where links can be submitted by any registered member. So if you or someone else have determined that your company's site or one of your favorite geo-related sites is important enough to include in the GeoLinks, it should be included in GeotechSearch.com results (at least for the right keywords).

So for comparison, try the landslide search on GeotechSearch.com and see what you find. I think it does a pretty good job, but there is always room for improvement by adding more relevant sites to search, so become a member of GeoPrac and then submit your links (you can get there from the GeoLinks page, or from Menu).

Rockfall Protection Videos from G.T.S.

Thu, 21 May 2009 19:36:47 +0100

More videos! French Company G.T.S. has posted some great videos on rockfall protection systems on their YouTube channel. I don't speak French, so I can't give you any more info on the company (although their website looks like it has plenty of info!). But the videos cover the preparation of, drilling for, and installation or rockfall protection fences and barriers as well as a couple of general rockfall ones. They just have video with background music, so no worries about a language barrier. You can watch the installation video below.

Landslide Hazards along Wasatch Front in Utah - Video

Thu, 21 May 2009 19:14:55 +0100

Given the earthquake risk from the Wasatch Fault in Utah and the already steep landslide prone terrain in the area, there is definitely cause for concern about the potential for major landslides in the region. The video linked below describes several slow moving landslides happening right now in developed areas. The news story was put together by Salt Lake City ABC affiliate ABC4 with some links and a few images about the geologic hazard of landslides along the Wasatch Front. Its typical media sensationalism on some levels, but all things considered, its not bad. The photo thumbnail at the left is a pre-development aerial photo of a pretty spectacular landslide deposit and the associated geologic map. The image below shows the same area with the current layout of expensive homes that have been developed. I bet the homeowners have a great view from on top of all that landslide debris! (Photos from ABC4.com)

Micropile Underpinning of US 69 Bridge over Kansas River

Thu, 14 May 2009 19:54:05 +0100

A temporary micropile underpinning foundation system was used to support the abutments of the US 69 bridge over the Kansas River near Kansas City, KS while repairs to the abutment bearing devices were performed. This post is based on my notes from the presentation titled "Emergency Micropile Underpining of the U.S. 69 Truss - Kansas River Bridge" by Jim Brennan, Assistant [State?] Geotechnical Engineer with KDOT. It was the first presentation of the 34th Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference in Phoenix this week. Read on for more.

Southwest Geotechnical Conference Wrapup

Wed, 13 May 2009 18:50:03 +0100

[Editor] Updated Thursday May 28, 2009 2:15pm [/Editor]

I was able to attend the first full day of the 34th Southwest Geotechnical Conference in Phoenix, AZ yesterday. The conference, sponsored by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the FHWA, is going on through tomorrow, and I wish I could have attended the rest of the sessions, but I had to get back to work! There were some very interesting presentations, and I made some valuable contacts that will hopefully result in some additional articles and other content for GeoPrac. Below are some of the highlights for me, some of which I plan to elaborate on in separate posts. When I do, I'll update this post with the links. The highlights were…

Voids Open as a Result of Tunneling Under Seattle's Beacon Hill

Thu, 07 May 2009 19:41:00 +0100

The Seattle Times (hat tip to ASCE SmartBrief) has reported that seven voids have been discovered above the Beacon Hill Tunnel with one opening up at the ground surface. The tunnel is being constructed by Sound Transit, the area's transportation agency as part of a roughly $2.6 billion (yep, billion) light-rail project connecting downtown Seattle with the University of Washington and SEA-TAC airport. The voids were a result of running sand pockets in the otherwise stable clay units that were encountered by the tunnel boring machine or TBM. These voids migrated up like a chimney with one reaching the surface, almost 160-ft above the tunnel. This void was apparently 21-ft deep and opened up in a resident's front yard and could have easily swallowed her up as she noticed it while gardening. The other voids were discovered at a depth of 20- to 65-ft below the ground surface. More after the break. (Illustration from Seattle Times)

Florida Agency Using Cement-Polyurethane Foam Mix to Plug Sinkholes

Wed, 06 May 2009 19:54:43 +0100

Hillsborough County Florida is using a mix of expanding polyurethane foam and conventional cement grout as a more cost effective means of filling sinkholes. Officials say the mix uses 30 to 40% less grout adding up to a 30% cost savings. The article in the Tampa Tribune did not indicate the contractor or product name that they are using but apparently several agencies in California and other states are using the same material. Story via ASCE SmartBrief.

Landslide Mitigation Examples in Japan

Wed, 06 May 2009 19:38:04 +0100

A couple of weeks ago the Landslides Under a Microscope blog had two nice posts about Landslide Mitigation examples in Japan. The author references the book "Landslides in Japan" (1996), but I'm not sure if the photos were scanned from there, or came from the author's own photo collection or what. But there was one post focusing on control works for landslide mitigation and another on restraint works for landslide mitigation. (Photo from Landslides Under a Microscope blog)

gINT Software Announces Enterprise Version for Centralized Subsurface Data Management

Tue, 05 May 2009 19:39:24 +0100

New SQL Server Version Offers Benefits for Companies with High-Volume Data

Santa Rosa, CA – May 5, 2008 – gINT Software, Inc.

gINT Software announces the release of "gINT Enterprise," a new SQL Server version of gINT. gINT Enterprise offers unlimited centralized data storage as well as multi-project reporting and extended querying power. With the new SQL Server integration, gINT Enterprise offers a far superior range of subsurface data management capabilities above and beyond what can be done in a standard Microsoft Access™ database.

[Editor] Disclosure: gINT Software, Inc. is a sponsor of GeoPrac. All images courtesy of gINT. Read on for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

kcICON Drilled Shafts Completed

Tue, 05 May 2009 19:06:43 +0100

The drilled shaft foundations for the kcICON bridge over the Missouri River have been completed according to Dan Brown and Associates, LLC, the geotechnical engineers on the job. The 1700-ft long bridge conveys the I-29/35 over the River with the central spans being cable-stayed and supported by a single pylon in the river. The foundations for the central pylon consist of 8 10.5-ft diameter shafts socketed into bedrock. The land-based bents are supported on 6.5 to 8-ft diameter shafts and the abutments are on driven piles. Some of the drilled shafts were post-grouted as well. The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2011. Find much more about the project at the DBA website. (Photo by Dan Brown and Associates)

UK Firm Charged With Manslaughter in Death of Geologist

Mon, 04 May 2009 19:42:18 +0100

A geotechnical company in the UK has been charged with manslaughter after the death of a geologist on September 5, 2008 according to the UK publication, the New Civil Engineer. This is believed to be the first charges brought up under the British Parliament's "Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007". The geologist was killed when the walls of a test pit collapsed while he was collecting samples during a site survey. The Director of the firm faces charges as well that could include jail time if found guilty. More details about the charges can be found at Personneltoday.com as well as a description of the law. A 2008 press release from the Gloucestershire Constabulary shares some recollections of the victim's family and friends. My heart truly goes out to the family and loved ones of the victim, it sounds like he was a wonderful person. (Photo credit: SWNS via New Civil Engineer)

Variable Colours for Reports in gINT Part 1

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:28:00 +0100

[Editor] Miles Davis of Quantum Geotechnical Ltd. and gINTDev gives us a sneak peak at a "future feature" in gINT. Of course, gINT Software is a Premier Sponsor of GeoPrac, and the article has been published with the complete knowledge of the company. We welcome this first contribution from Miles and look forward to Part 2 and future articles sharing his gINT expertise! [/Editor]

Twitter and Widgets

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:51:34 +0100

I hope that GeoPrac is always near the front of the pack in the geo-industry when it comes to Web 2.0 and social media. With that in mind, I'm excited to announce that GeoPrac is finally on twitter! (http://twitter.com/geoprac/) You can use it as an alternative to the RSS feeds as each item posted to the site will show up in the twitter feed (with a little lag perhaps). But I also hope to start using it to interact with visitors and members and as a micro-blog where I post links to news items and stories that either didn't lend themselves well to a GeoNews post or I flat out didn't have time to write up. I admit I'm still discovering twitter, but feel free to drop me a tweet!

I also wanted to create a Widget for the items posted here, so I decided to use Widgetbox.com. I think it looks pretty slick with the teaser images I usually post showing up along with the post's title. If you run a blog or website, by all means feel free to add it! Click through to see it in action.

Niagara Tunnel - Crappy rock, Horizontal stress, SLOOOOOW progress

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:37:18 +0100

[Updated July 1, 2009] A few new posts from Ontario-geofish [/Updated]

Those with interest in rock mechanics and tunneling might be interested in this project. The Ontario Power Generation (OPG) company is the owner of a $600M (Canadian) construction project to create a third hydro power tunnel under Niagara Falls. Apparently the project is having all kinds of problems with overbreak in some very difficult tunneling conditions which means very slow progress and big $$ overruns. (Photo from niagarafrontier.com)

I've been meaning to post something on this project for some time. I admit that my perspective is biased by the viewpoint you can find on the Ontario-geofish blog. I've mentioned Harold Asmis before, he's the owner of the OG blog, and a former OPG employee if I understand correctly. He left OPG for a career doing geophysics and earthquake engineering for the Nuclear Power industry in Canada. I highly recommend his blog, he has great insight into tunneling, earthquakes, siting of nuclear power plants not to mention opinions on all kinds of other things. His writing style is very colorful and entertaining as well.

So, Harold has written a whole series of blog posts on the Niagra Tunnel project, including a 5-part series entitled "The Disaster of the Niagara Tunnel" and a 4-part series called "Niagara Tunnel: doing it Right". He is not directly involved with the project, but his long career with OPG and related disciplines gives him some great insights. I've collected a list of some of his blog posts on the Niagara Tunnel project as well as a few other links about the project. Click through for the good stuff.

Provo Utah Rock Fall Event

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:51:32 +0100

The rock at left travelled nearly a mile down the slope and picked up some significant velocity before impacting a house, hitting the back wall and damaging the ceiling before dropping through the floor into the garage and damaging the garage door. In an often-overlook advantage of the current financial crisis, the house was currently in foreclosure and therefore not occupied at the time of the damage. Read on for links, more info and a map of the location so you can view the terrain. (Photo by Provo Fire Department by way of Utah Geologic Survey)

ASTM Updates April 2009

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:12:27 +0100

Our monthly ASTM standards update for those in the geotechnical, geo-environmental, hydrogeology and geo-construction fields. This month there are some new standards related to structural cementitious panels, revisions to standards related to slate and dimension stone, and a reapproved standard for monitoring well protection among others. Click through for more info.

GeoStudio 2007 Update - Version 7.14

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:36:50 +0100

GEO-SLOPE International, makers of the GeoStudio 2007 geotechnical software suite have announced a significant update to their GeoStudio 2007 software products, which includes SLOPE/W, SIGMA/W and SEEP/W, QUAKE/W and others. The update includes several new features and a large number of fixes. The last update of GeoStudio 2007 was in September of 2008. New features of interest include: