Month: March 2010

New regional manager for Midwest operations of Moretrench
Press Releases

Joseph A. Sopko, Ph.D., P.E., joins Moretrench to head up new Midwest office

March 10, 2010 rockman Comments Off on Joseph A. Sopko, Ph.D., P.E., joins Moretrench to head up new Midwest office

New regional manager for Midwest operations of Moretrench Moretrench is pleased to announce that Joseph A. Sopko, Ph.D., P.E., has joined the company as Regional Manager for its Midwest operations. Strategically located just north of Milwaukee in Port Washington, Wisconsin, the new office will offer the full range of Moretrench’s technologies to the Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis areas. These include dewatering and groundwater control, ground freezing, earth retention and excavation support, deep foundations, underpinning systems, grouting systems and environmental remediation.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of this press release from GeoPrac.net premier sponsor Moretrench. [/Editor]

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Weekend CUP

Weekend CUP March 8, 2010

March 8, 2010 rockman Comments Off on Weekend CUP March 8, 2010

… and 27 more. Click through for the rest.

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60-ft plus deep sinkhole in Frostproof takes a carport, threatens a house
Geologic Hazards

Dozens of Sinkholes in Plant City, Florida after Farmers Pump Extra Water Trying to Protect Crops from Bitter Cold

March 8, 2010 rockman 1

60-ft plus deep sinkhole in Frostproof takes a carport, threatens a houseIn early January of this year, Florida experienced some unusually cold temperatures that forced Plant City area strawberry farmers to pump extra groundwater to try to protect their crops. Over the course of about 11 days, the groundwater table in areas of Plant City was lowered by as much as 60-ft.

Almost immediately as many as 80 sinkholes began opening up around that region. Including ones that jeopardized a 500,000-gallon water tower, several that shut down an elementary school and numerous ones that shut down roads and highways and affected individual property owners. Around 20 local homeowners were left homeless after sinkholes left their house uninhabitable. For comparison, based on data from Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Sinkhole Database for the period of 1998 to 2008 (the last year for which data is available), 77 sinkholes were reported to have opened up in Polk, Pasco and Hillsborough counties combined.

Local officials are seeking help from the State and FEMA to cover the estimated $3 million in damages.  That figure is double what Plant City received from FEMA for the particularly bad 2004 hurricane season. And that dollar amount does not include what individual homeowners and property owners will be seeking from their insurance carriers. (Photos by Tampa Bay Online)

Read on for maps of Plant City sinkhole locations and more information.

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Excavator mounted drilled shaft rig topples over in Austin, Texas
Failures

Drilled Shaft Rig Topples in Austin, Texas [Video]

March 2, 2010 rockman Comments Off on Drilled Shaft Rig Topples in Austin, Texas [Video]

Excavator mounted drilled shaft rig topples over in Austin, Texas An excavator mounted drill rig drilling shafts as part of a project to pass utilities under I-35 near 51st Street toppled over while trying to move in soft, rain soaked soil. The Austin Fire Department was able to extract the operator from the cab and he was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, a minor miracle. I’m not sure what the purpose of the drilled shafts were for. Since the project was for some kind of utility pipe jacking under the freeway, I’m speculating it was drilling holes for temporary shoring for the jacking pit or something along those lines. I’m sure OSHA will be looking into the incident. Video news story after the break. (Photo from Austin KXAN.com).

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Geologic Hazards

Chile Earthquake Links – March 1, 2010

March 1, 2010 rockman Comments Off on Chile Earthquake Links – March 1, 2010

A few interesting links related to the Chile Earthquake. Over the next days and weeks, I will try to highlight interesting news and blog posts related to this event. Chile Earthquake: Soft ground bites the […]

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Weekend CUP

Weekend CUP March 1, 2010

March 1, 2010 rockman Comments Off on Weekend CUP March 1, 2010
  • Dam Safety News for January and February – Association of State Dam Safety Officials
  • Illustrated Guide to Nonprofit GIS and Online Mapping – Slashgeo
    "The Guide includes: * a brief introduction to mapping and GIS (geographic information systems) technology and concepts. * examples of successful nonprofit projects using GIS and/or mapping technologies. * helpful strategies for planning your own mapping/GIS project. * a review of public data sources with freely available data. * a brief review of free and low-cost tools for nonprofit mapping and GIS projects."
  • New Training Video on How to Heat Seam and Field Test Geomembranes – Cadwaller Technical Services via GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
    See the techniques of hot wedge welding, extrusion welding, hot air welding, destructive testing, and non-destructive testing demonstrated and discussed by one of the industry’s most experienced and qualified training teams. Includes information relevant to all geomembrane materials and all forms of heat seaming and heat seaming equipment. $80 plus $10 shipping for an 80-minute DVD broken up into 25 sections.
  • Polk County US-64 Rockslide Update – WTVC NewsChannel 9
  • Lessons to be learned from Haiti’s tsunami – BBC News via Ontario-geofish

… and 10 more. Click through for the rest.

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Chile Earthquake 2010 - Destroyed appartment building
Geologic Hazards

Chile Earthquake 2010 – Magnitude 8.8

March 1, 2010 rockman Comments Off on Chile Earthquake 2010 – Magnitude 8.8

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile on Saturday, centered about 200 miles southwest of the capital, Santiago and 70 miles north-northeast of Concepcion, one of the worst hit areas. According to the USGS event page, […]