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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.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Italy on Sunday, killing several and leaving an estimated 3,000 people homeless. A number of renaissance era buildings were damaged or destroyed in a region known for it's production of Parmigiano and Grana cheeses. [Source: The Seattle Times via ASCE SmartBrief. Image: LUCA BRUNO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS via Seattle Times]
A bicyclist went around the barricades at the California Highway 1 Devil's Slide Tunnel project after work hours and rode his bike through one of the tunnels, recording video as he went. I don't advocate that kind of dangerous behavior, but I must admit that it is neat to see a tunnel nearing completion after several years of work. [Source: YouTube]
Grouting work done earlier in the week was a possible cause of a bulge in the lining of a train tunnel under the River Thames. Two trains hit the bulge before the line was closed, but neither train derailed. [Source: New Civil Engineer]
The Oregon DOT stopped work on a 10-mile stretch of Highway 20 back in 2010 after several landslides were discovered during construction. Four bridges that were constructed by Yaquina River Constructors, a subsidiary of Granite Construction, were displaced by the landslides. The contractor was paid a total of $173 million for the project, and under the terms of the settlement, $15 million was returned to the State. According to an ODOT spokesman, they are looking to rebid the project this year with a projected completion date of 2015, 6 years behind the original schedule. The winning bid for the original project was $129 million, and the new projected cost is $290 to $310 million. [Source: TDN.com. Image: NewsLincolnCounty.com]
This is an interesting geology mystery that they may be getting closer to solving. On top of a 36 foot high vertical cliff on the coast of Ireland is a tabular bedrock formation. Giant boulders of this material have been pushed inland at a rate as high as 1 foot per year and initial research indicated it would have to be a Tsunami to move them. But Ireland hasn't had a Tsunami since 1755. Evaluation of historic maps prepared by surveyors and carbon dating of tiny clams in the crevices of the rock indicate that the movement has indeed been happening in the past 60 years, indicating that storm waves are causing the movement. Time to refine the models I guess. [Source: UChicago.edu via Geology.com. Image: UChicago.edu]
This video from RockWare shows a 4D Google Earth tour of a simulated groundwater contamination plume migration created using several tools in their RockWorks software package.
Here is a collection of new, revised and updated ASTM standards from April 2012 that may be of interest to geoprofessionals. See the list after the break...
A backyard-sized sinkhole opened up recently behind a Windermere, Florida home, causing the home to be deemed unsafe. The residents said one of their kids was enjoying a hammock in the area just the night before. All of the kids and pets living in the house were safe even though the roughly 100 foot by 100 foot sinkhole came within about 3 feet of the house. The residents were renting the house and the home owner had sinkhole insurance. [Source: MSN. Image: CBC.CA]
Raw Sinkhole Video
Here is some raw video footage of the sinkhole to give you a better perspective from the ground and the air.
This fall, TRB will release Rockfall: Characterization and Control, which will address rockfall hazard identification and evaluation, investigation process, mitigation options, and maintenance and management programs.
The 400 page publication will include a DVD with video clips of rockfall field tests and several historical movies documenting rockfall field activities.
Because of the expected high demand for this report, TRB is taking advance pre-publication orders. Shipping costs will be waived for all orders received prior to October 1, 2012. Click the link below for ordering info. [Source: TRB. Image: TRB]
Dr. Yonathan Admassu from Kent State University Ashtabula has released a free rock slope stability software package for kinematic analysis of planar, wedge and toppling modes of failure.
DipAnalyst is an application software developed for a new quantitative kinematic analysis approach as well as the traditional stereonet-based method. The quantitative kinematic analysis, instead of relying on representative discontinuity values, considers all discontinuities and their possible intersections to calculate failure indices.
Dr. Dave Petley (The Landslide Blog) was recently in China meeting with members of the Three Gorges Dam University. They took him on a tour of several sites, including the impressive ship locks with an excavation depth of over 170 meters necessitating 2,000 cable anchors and 100,000 rock bolts. Check out the link below for more photos. [Source: The Landslide Blog. Image: The Landslide Blog]
Here is a collection of new, revised and updated ASTM standards from April 2012 that may be of interest to geoprofessionals. See the list after the break...
