GeoPrac.net is a community of practitioners of geotechnical engineering, geological engineering, engineering geology, geophysics, hydrogeology and related disciplines. We offer members and visitors the foremost collection of geo-related articles, news, and online resources to keep those geo-professionals in practice at the forefront of their respective fields.
10 of the most replied to GeoThreads from various forums related to geotechnical engineering and engineering geology. If you prefer, check out the most recent GeoThreads.
Did Leonardo paint himself as Mona Lisa? - SeattlePI.com
Why did I add this article? A very loose tie-in with geophysics as the group of scientists plans to use small cameras and ground penetrating radar to confirm the presence of Da Vinci's remains. They hope that if the French Government allows them to do carbon testing and DNA testing and if his skull is intact, they can take measurements on his skull and use forensic facial reconstruction techniques and compare them to the Mona Lisa to determine if it is really a self portrait in disguise.
Mining (Haiti) destruction for data to help others - latimes.com
'The National Science Foundation, the primary funder of such missions, is now evaluating proposals from investigators hoping to study the geologic and engineering aspects of the quake, such as the way houses crumpled and how soil moved and changed.'
Texas officials say failed wall not built to plan - Houston Chronicle
'Assistant City Manager T.C. Broadnax wrote in an e-mail obtained by the San Antonio Express-News that inspectors' field observations Friday found limestone was not mortared throughout the wall as plans called for.'
VDV - Virtual Disaster Viewer - Haiti Earthquake
Shows overlays of various data and imagery available related to the Haiti Earthquake. It uses Microsoft Virtual Earth as an interface and was originally developed after the Wenchuan China Earthquake.
GIS on a shoestring - Adventures in GIS Blog
Arne at the adventures in GIS Blog writes about his company's (agency's) approach to digitizing and cataloging years of old boring logs using Google Earth and some inexpensive software to bridge between ArcMap and Google Earth.
Another El Nino storm just moved through Southern California culminating in significant rainfall on Saturday producing mudslides and debris flows in the area hit by this past September’s Station Fire. More after the break. (Photo from Sacramento Bee, David McNew - Getty Images)
A new Google Maps based interface for viewing earth fissures in four Arizona counties has been launched by the AZGS. Earth fissures are a serious geologic hazard in Arizona where they have been known to reach lengths of up to 1-mile, depths of 40-ft and widths of up to 15-ft. They pose a risk to vehicles, structures, livestock and people in addition to creating potential pathways for contaminants to reach groundwater.
In 2007 some high profile earth fissures in the news motivated the Arizona State Legislature to mandate that the AZGS undertake an earth fissure mapping program and make the information available to the public so they can make informed decisions regarding real estate transactions. This new interface is a much improved way of meeting that second mandate.
I was reading the ASCE News, January edition which announced the 5 finalists for the 2010 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Award and I was struck by the significant geotechnical engineering and geoengineering components of these projects. Read on as I highlight some of things hidden beneath the ground of these remarkable projects.
The January newsletter was really late, so I just decided to wait until the beginning of this month and combine it with February. Highlights include Haiti Earthquake coverage, Top Content for December and January and more. You can find this newsletter and all the others in our Newsletter Archive and you can subscribe using the form on this site or directly through Constant Contact.
Engineers watch Texas homes for more moving soil - Star-Telegram via ASCE SmartBrief
Interesting that the representatives from Centex (formerly Pulte) acknowledge they didn't have a permit for the wall but insist the followed industry standard construction practices. The City said it will be looking for permits for all Pulte retaining walls built in the City.
Retaining Wall Failure - San Antonio TX - RetainingWallExpert.com
They have collected some nice photos, including a number of nice aerial angles I haven't seen before.
States awarded nearly $8B in high-speed rail funding - AASHTO - High Speed Rail
The White House has announced that 21 states and the Northeast Corridor will receive high-speed and passenger rail grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Nine states will receive grants for rail planning studies.
Federal panel to examine nuclear waste storage - ReviewJournal.com (Las Vegas) via Ontario-geofish
Like Harold pointed out on his post, the blue ribbon commission seems completely full of politicians and relatively few scientists. I think Harold is right, appears like a long shot that the US will go for a deep geologic repository type system.
San Juan Capistrano, California (January 25, 2010) Boulderscape Inc, the nationwide leader in sculpted retaining wall finishes, is pleased to announce the launch of it’s newly resurfaced web site, www.boulderscape.com.
The new site was designed to increase functionality for clients and is complete with comprehensive photo galleries, videos, case studies, and technical information. [Editor] Click through for the full press release. [/Editor]
A 20 to 30-ft high retaining wall in a subdivision in San Antonio Texas failed on Sunday causing an evacuation of 80 homes. After an initial inspection, some 55 home-owners were allowed to return. The massive tension cracks that opened along the wall and behind it were 12-15-ft deep and 6-8-ft wide. Reportedly, the wall had problems even before the subdivision was even constructed. More after the break. (Photo by Jerry Lara – San Antonio Express-News)
Assessing the Damage in Haiti - Map - NYTimes.com
Maps showing the location of the strike-slip fault along the plate boundary relative to the City of Port-Au-Prince. Also shows locations of maximum damage, temporary shelters and road blockages apparently based on analysis of recent GeoEye satellite imagery. Thanks Pancho!
UT Engineer to Lead Team Mapping Haiti Destruction - The University of Texas at Austin
'To develop safer, future engineering design procedures, the seven-person team will spend an intensive week documenting the effects of the Magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Their efforts are sponsored by the Geo-engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association which is supported by the National Science Foundation.'
State Route 264 cleanup, repair continues - Navajo-Hopi Observer
This link has some nice pictures of a small to moderate sized rockfall event in Northern Arizona. It was large enought to shut down the highway. Thanks to my colleagues Gregg and Pancho for pointing this out.
UT Engineer to Lead Team Mapping Haiti Destruction - The University of Texas at Austin
'To develop safer, future engineering design procedures, the seven-person team will spend an intensive week documenting the effects of the Magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Their efforts are sponsored by the Geo-engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association which is supported by the National Science Foundation.'
Ground Freezing Challenges for Horizontal Connection Between Shafts Under Difficult Geologic and Hydrostatic Conditions
by Mr. Kenneth E. Wigg, P.E., Senior Engineer with Moretrench American Corporation, Rockaway, New Jersey
Thursday, February 11, 2010 at The Newark Club, One Newark Plaza, Newark, New Jersey.
Ground freezing to assist in horizontal tunneling presents unusual challenges to the ground freezing design-build contractor. Stresses on the frozen ground vary with depth and the strength and water tightness of the interface between the frozen ground and existing structures is critical. For the East Side CSO Tunnel project, in Portland, Oregon a hand-mined tunnel was completed between two existing concrete slurry wall shafts at 42.7m (140ft) below ground surface. This presentation discusses the design, installation and operation of the ground freezing system, together with QA/QC measures employed to ensure full closure and maintain structural competency of the frozen ground during the tunneling activities.
Design and Installation of Micropiles and Drilled Shafts
in Association with ADSC Northeast Chapter
Thursday, March 25, 2010 at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey.
This full day seminar will cover general and special topics relating to the design and construction of micropiles and drilled shafts. Topics will include micropile design techniques and structural considerations, case histories of difficult micropile installations and the use of hollow bar micropiles.
Another El Nino storm just moved through Southern California culminating in significant rainfall on Saturday producing mudslides and debris flows in the area hit by this past September’s Station Fire. More after the break. (Photo from 
I was reading the ASCE News, January edition which announced the 5 finalists for the 
A 20 to 30-ft high retaining wall in a subdivision in San Antonio Texas failed on Sunday causing an evacuation of 80 homes. After an initial inspection, some 55 home-owners were allowed to return. The massive tension cracks that opened along the wall and behind it were 12-15-ft deep and 6-8-ft wide. Reportedly, the wall had problems even before the subdivision was even constructed. More after the break. (Photo by Jerry Lara – San Antonio Express-News)