Articles by rockman

Project Related

Geotechnical Engineering of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge

October 8, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Geotechnical Engineering of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge

When you hear about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, most people may think of the old Galloping Gertie footage (just for fun, I’ll add some video after the break). Of course the original bridge collapsed in 1940 shortly after opening. A new bridge was completed in 1950, and a second bridge was just opened to traffic on July 15, 2007. Gerard Buechel, the president of Shannon Wilson, examines the geotechnical challenges of constructing this massive bridge in an article post on DJC.com. Imagine constructing a 20-story reinforced concrete building, now imagine constructing it entirely under water! Read on for the link to the article and Galloping Gertie video. (Photo  by frarytd)

[…]

General

Geologists Recover Pieces of San Andreas Fault from 2 Miles Deep

October 7, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Geologists Recover Pieces of San Andreas Fault from 2 Miles Deep

As a follow up to a previous post, the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) team has announced that they have successfully completed their drilling and obtained cores of the San Andreas Fault at depths in excess of 2 miles below the surface.  The zone of interest is approximately 135-ft in length. The core size is 4-in diameter. They have cemented in a 7-in casing and the next phase of the project will be to perforate the casing within the fault and install monitoring equipment consisting of seismometers, accelerometers, tiltmeters and a fluid pressure transducer. Read on for more info and links. (Image credit: EarthScope / NSF)

[…]

No Picture
Press Releases

CNN Highlights Dams in Danger

October 7, 2007 rockman Comments Off on CNN Highlights Dams in Danger

How to Find the One in Your Backyard

Washington, D.C. [Editor] Thursday, October 4, 2007 by American Rivers (Contact info at bottom of press release) [/Editor] — More than ten thousand dams across America could become killers if they fail and 1,333 of those dams are considered structurally deficient. Today, on CNN’s American Morning, an alarming story by Sean Callebs showed the dire state of our nation’s dams. In one instance in Ohio, hundreds of people live right on top of a dam that has been deemed structurally deficient by engineers.

[…]

Geologic Hazards

Soledad Mountain Road Landslide Update

October 7, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Soledad Mountain Road Landslide Update

Residents of approximately 75 of the 111 homes evacuated after the slide have been allowed back into their homes.  The City of San Diego is not wasting any time in determining the cause of the slide. The first of three 100-ft deep exploration shafts was excavated on Friday, and a Forensic Geologist from a firm hired by the City was sent down the hole to observe geology conditions and to locate the actual slip surface. Also, claims of leaking City water and/or sewer pipes prior to the failure have begun to surface. More details in the full post. (Photo by NELVIN CEPEDA / San Diego Union-Tribune)

[…]

No Picture
Uncategorized

Test Map

October 4, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Test Map

Test this map {mosmap width=’80%’|align=’right’||tooltip=’home’|zoom=’4’|overview=’2’|text=’Test Text’|marker=’0′}   {mosmap width=’500’|height=’400’|lat=’52.052312’|lon=’4.447141’|zoom=’3’| zoomType=’Large’|zoomNew=’0’|mapType=’Satellite’| showMaptype=’1’|overview=’0’|text=’sv DWO’|lang=”} (remove returns or when you copy this example) You can change any of the parameters: width, height You must put the units behind […]

Geologic Hazards

Landslide Occurs in Residential La Jolla California

October 4, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Landslide Occurs in Residential La Jolla California

A landslide occured about 9am PT yesterday in a residential neighborhood of La Jolla, just north of San Diego. No injuries have been reported, but estimates are that 2,500 people are without either power or gas because of toppled power lines and ruptured gas lines. The Soledad Mountain Road is currently impassable. I’ll update this post as more information becomes available. In the mean time, check out some video and a  location map after the break.

[…]

No Picture
Press Releases

Congress Begins Process of Reforming the Corps

October 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Congress Begins Process of Reforming the Corps

American Rivers Joins Senator Feingold in Calling on Congress to Finish the Job

WASHINGTON, DC, [Editor] September 24, 2007 [/Editor] – The Senate today passed the conference report for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007. The conference report passed the House on August 1, 2007. The bill will now be sent to the President, who has threatened to veto the $21 billion dollar authorization bill.

 

[…]

Miscellaneous

Happy Birthday Karl Terzaghi!

October 2, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Happy Birthday Karl Terzaghi!

I got an email from my fellow geo-webmaster at Dan Brown and Associates, Robert Thompson wishing me and his other geotechnical colleagues a "Happy Karl Terzaghi’s Birthday!" so I thought I would pass it on […]

Software Updates

Rockscience Releases Settle3D Software

September 28, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Rockscience Releases Settle3D Software

Rockscience, Inc. of Toronto CA is perhaps best known (as their name implies) for their software related to rock slopes and tunneling, such as Dips, Slide, Swedge, Examine3D and others. However their latest software product, Settle3D is for settlement analysis in soils. Read on for some features and screen shots. 

[…]

Geologic Hazards

Utah Geologic Hazards Group Finishes Report

September 28, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Utah Geologic Hazards Group Finishes Report

As we mentioned in a previous post, the State of Utah had experienced several slope failures in approved, permitted subdivisions. Those failures prompted the governor to form the Geologic Hazards Working Group (GHWG) to evaluate […]