Geologic Hazards
Java Mud Volcano Summary
I haven’t posted anything about the mud volcano in Indonesia, but it has been an interesting story and an ongoing one as well. It is usually referred to as the Java mud volcano, or perhaps […]
Articles by rockman
Geologic Hazards
Almost half of Oregon schools at high risk during quake
An alarming report on Oregon’s school’s susceptibility to earthquakes was issued by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to their State’s legislature. The Oregonian reports hat 46% of the schools had a "very […]
Geologic Hazards
Trenching on Weber Segment of Wasatch Fault
The Salt Lake Tribune published an article recently on some trenching activity by the Utah Geologic Survey and the USGS to better date past movements on this active fault.
Miscellaneous
New Device for Detecting Bridge Damage from 30-ft away
Engineers at MIT have developed a new technique for detecting damage in concrete bridges and piers that could increase the safety of aging infrastructure by allowing easier, more frequent, onsite inspections that don’t interfere with traffic or service.
Press Releases
UW to develop specifications for large ocean observatory off coast of Washington
The University of Washington has been allocated $2.2 million for a planning phase to develop detailed engineering specifications for a cabled underwater research facility to be built off the coast of Washington and Oregon, and associated with the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate. The facility will extend continuous high-bandwidth (tens of Gigabits/second) and power (tens of kilowatts) to a network of instruments widely distributed across, above and below the seafloor. (Image by University of Washington)
Geologic Hazards
National Geographic Article on New Orleans Levees
National Geographic has published an article on the New Orleans levee system entitled "New Orleans Levees, Are They Safe?". The article indicates, as has been reported from other sources, that the levees are now back […]
Standards and Codes
ASTM Standards and Work Items
An update on some new and revised standards and new work items from ASTM.
Geologic Hazards
Earth Fissures on Phoenix PBS Affiliate “Horizon” Show
Phoenix Arizona’s PBS affiliate, KAET-TV, Channel 8 had a segment on Earth Fissures on their May 30th episode of "Horizons". They interviewed one resident of the Chandler Heights area that has problems with earth fissures on her property. They also interviewed Todd Shippman with the AZGS in the field. Todd is the project manager for the AZGS’ earth fissure mapping program. The bulk of the program was an interview with Lee Allison, the head of the AZGS and the Arizona State Geologist. He explains the earth fissure mapping program, and the planning scale maps that were just released this week on the AZGS Website. Click through for embedded video of the segment from the Horizon Website. You can also download it as a podcast if you wish. (Photo courtesy of NCS Consultants, LLC.)
Standards and Codes
Lawsuit could prohibit geologists from making maps
On his blog, Arizona State Geologist, Lee Allison reports: A lawsuit filed against the federal government by four trade associations could prohibit geologists, geographers, and many other professionals from making maps using federal funds, according […]
Press Releases
20 years of Yucca Mountain research now available for scientific review
Boulder, Colorado, USA — The scientific community can now take a long-awaited look at the research behind the selection of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the nation’s high-level radioactive waste repository.