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GeoNews
Oasis near Death Valley fed by ancient aquifer under Nevada Test Site PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:53
BYU geology professor Steve Nelson at Ash Meadows

Groundwater from the Nevada Test Site, location of numerous nuclear test explosions, could eventually migrate 50 miles to Ash Springs, a haven for 24 unique plant and animal species. The 10,000 gpm springs were sampled and the water chemistry was anaylzed to determine the source of the water in an area that averages around 4-in of rain per year. The results indicate that the source is near the Nevada Test Site, and the water takes some 15,000 years to travel approximately 50-miles along a fault zone. The study authors are Michelle Bushman and Professor Steve Nelson. [Source: BYU via National Driller Magazine. Image: BYU]

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:58
 
Weekend CUP for September 1, 2010 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:52
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:52
 
ASTM Updates August 2010 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:23

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTMThe folks at the ASTM Committee on Concrete and Concrete Aggregate have been very busy recently.  The past month has seen a whole slew of new and revised standards on concrete sampling and testing.  Be sure to check it out if you are in the CQA biz.

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:25
 
18th Century Ship Discovered in World Trade Center Foundation Excavation PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Thursday, 26 August 2010 13:03
18th Century Ship in foundation excavation for WTC Vehicle Security Building

In the foundation and basement excavation for the Vehicle Security Center at the World Trade Center cite, an 18th century cargo ship was discovered approximately 20- to 30-ft below street level. It was likely a type of vessel known as a Brigantine, a work-horse of the coastal trade that may have travelled as far North as New England for lumber and as far South as Barbados to pick up sugar and mollasses.

Geotechnical specialty contractor Nicholson Construction (a GeoPrac.net sponsor) is a member of the joint venture constructing the foundations system. From the National Driller Magazine, Foundation Report email newsletter:

Nicholson, with joint venture partner E.E. Cruz, constructed the Vehicle Security Center's perimeter foundation walls. The water-tight excavation support system includes 40,000 square feet diaphragm wall, 6,000-square-foot secant pile wall, and a jet grout cutoff wall. Nicholson currently is installing tieback anchors to support the foundation walls. The joint venture's $41 million contract also includes the excavation of 160,000 cubic yards of rock, soil, and miscellaneous materials. The project is scheduled to be complete in late August.

I'm guessing that schedule might be delayed somewhat now! There is a really neat 360-degree panarama of the efforts to catalog and recover the ship at the site. [Source: NYTimes.com. Image: National Driller Foundations Report Newsletter]

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Last Updated on Thursday, 26 August 2010 13:04
 
Layne Christensen Company Acquires Interest in South American Geotechnical Companies PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Thursday, 26 August 2010 12:53

MISSION WOODS, Kan., Aug. 25, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Layne Christensen Company ("Layne") (Nasdaq:LAYN) today announced the acquisition of a 50% interest in Diberil Sociedad Anonima, a Uruguayan company and parent company to Costa Fortuna (Brazil and Uruguay). Costa Fortuna, with operations in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Montevideo, Uruguay, is one of the largest providers of specialty foundation and specialized marine geotechnical services in South America. Layne has mineral exploration operations already in Brazil and sees the expansion of its geotechnical construction business into this market as a very strategic opportunity. Costa Fortuna, with 250 employees, produced approximately $25 million in revenue and $4.5 million in earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2009. Layne's investment for its 50% interest included the purchase of shares from individuals for $10.1 million and the purchase of shares directly from Diberil for $4.8 million resulting in, net of Layne's interest in Diberil, an economic investment of $12.5 million. Subsequent to the acquisition, both shareholders contributed $1.25 million in cash for working capital. In addition, and as part of this transaction, Diberil purchased from Layne 100% of the stock of Layne GeoBrazil for $4.8 million. Layne will record activity from its investment in Diberil as equity in earnings of affiliates.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

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Last Updated on Thursday, 26 August 2010 13:00
 
GEO-SLOPE GeoStudio 2007 Version 7.17 Update - Fix for Win7 Licensing Issues PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 12:44

GeoStudio 2007 Icon GEO-SLOPE International, makers of the GeoStudio 2007 geotechnical software suite have announced a version 7.17 update for their GeoStudio 2007 software products, which includes SLOPE/W, SIGMA/W and SEEP/W, QUAKE/W and others. This release is mainly a fix for licensing issues with Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

From GeoStudio Current News. If you are interested, read about the full list of changes in GeoStudio 2007 Version 7.17.

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 12:44
 
Weekend CUP for August 23, 2010 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Monday, 23 August 2010 12:57
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World Record O-Cell Load Test in St. Louis, MO! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Monday, 23 August 2010 05:55
O-Cell frame being lowered into drilled shaft excavation at New Mississipi River Bridge on I-70 project.

My colleage Robert Thompson at Dan Brown and Associates has posted about the World Record O-Cell test they were involved in on the new Mississippi River Bridge for I-70 in St. Louis, Missouri. The new record load is 36,000 tons, eclipsing the previous record of 32,000 tons set in Korea in 2005. This test was recently featured in ENR Magazine as well, and Civil Engineering Magazine before that. [Source: Dan Brown and Associates, PLLC. Image: ENR]

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Magco drills deep foundations for Phoenix Airport PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Thursday, 19 August 2010 16:17
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Sky Train pronect

Magco was the drilled shaft subcontractor for Hansel Phelps Construction on two separate contracts on the Terminal 4 Project at the Phoenix Sky Harbour Airport. In this very nicely written article, the numerous material, equipment, logistical and other challenges on the project are described, including fighting the sand, gravel and cobbles (known locally as the SGC) from the Salt River. Pockets of Boulders were also encountered along with relatively shallow groundwater. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges was drilling and constructing the shafts with limited space and overhead clearance. I should also acknowledge my colleagues at Gannett Fleming who were involved in geotechnical and structural design on the project. [Source: GeoDrilling International. Image: Hensel Phelps Construction]

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France starts on nuclear waste storage project PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Monday, 16 August 2010 16:26
The tunnels of the Bure laboratory are still being carved out of the 150 million-year-old rock.

Apparently the French are working on their nuclear waste storage facility, they already have a research laboratory constructed about 1/2-km underground. The actual repository will come on line around 2025 and be one of the first to be put into service (only Sweden and Finland likely ahead), and one of the largest planned. The host rock is some kind of limestone layer. [Source: Ontario-geofish. Image: B. Tinoco/ANDRA by way of Nature.com]

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Last Updated on Sunday, 15 August 2010 23:28
 
Weekend CUP for August 15, 2010 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Sunday, 15 August 2010 23:21
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Last Updated on Sunday, 15 August 2010 23:21
 
Flooding and Landslides in China’s Gansu Province, Zhouqu County PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randy Post   
Sunday, 15 August 2010 23:16
Landslide toll in Zhouqu county, Gansu Province, China

Over the past week there has been devastating flooding and landslides in the Gansu Province of China, particularly in Zhouqu county.  According to BBC, the latest death toll numbers are at 1,239.  Here are some recent links I’ve collected. (Photo: Daily Mail)

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Last Updated on Sunday, 15 August 2010 23:23
 
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