News

News, announcements, policy updates, spotlighted websites, software updates and other info that may be of interest to practicing geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, geophysicists, hydrogeologists and related professions.

Dataforensics, Inc. Logo
Press Releases

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District to Implement Dataforensics PLog Enterprise for Geotechnical Data Management

July 6, 2009 rockman Comments Off on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District to Implement Dataforensics PLog Enterprise for Geotechnical Data Management

Dataforensics, Inc. Logo

Norcross, GA, July 6, 2009 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (USACE – NO) has issued a contract to Dataforensics, a leader in geotechnical data management software development and implementation, for its PLog Enterprise software.  The contract not only includes deployment of the PLog Enterprise system but expanding its capabilities to work with Oracle databases and with ArcSDE technology. [Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]

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A building at the Lotus Riverside complex in Shanghai’s Minhang district collapsed
Failures

13-Story Tower Topples Over in Shanghai

July 3, 2009 rockman Comments Off on 13-Story Tower Topples Over in Shanghai

A building at the Lotus Riverside complex in Shanghai’s Minhang district collapsed A 13-story apartment tower in the Lotus Riverside Development toppled over almost intact in Shanghai on June 26. The apartment building was still under construction and one worker was killed. According to the Shanghai Daily, there was an excavation for an underground parking garage immediately next to the failed structure. From the photos and video, it appeared that the building fell away from the excavation. More info and video after the break. (Imaginechina via AP Images via Wall Street Journal)

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ESRI Logo
Press Releases

Ohio DOT Adopts GIS-Based EQuIS for Its Geotechnical Data Management

July 2, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Ohio DOT Adopts GIS-Based EQuIS for Its Geotechnical Data Management

ESRI Logo Redlands, California—The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will implement an enterprise version of EarthSoft’s Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) for ArcGIS to better manage, analyze, and share geotechnical data throughout the organization. An agreement between ODOT and EarthSoft, an ESRI business partner, will see EarthSoft provide the transportation industry standard Data Interchange for Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists (DIGGS) as electronic data deliverables (EDD). The new data will then reside and be accessible through ODOT’s enterprise-wide geographic information system (GIS)-supported EQuIS database.

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Ocean Shore Railroad Tracks at the Devil's Slide in the early 1900s.
Project Related

Devil’s Slide Tunnel Update and First Attempts to Tame the Landslide

July 1, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Devil’s Slide Tunnel Update and First Attempts to Tame the Landslide

Ocean Shore Railroad Tracks at the Devil's Slide in the early 1900s. The Devil’s Slide Tunnel project is on schedule and on budget according to a news story at ABC7News.com from earlier in June. The video (shown after the break) has a few nice shots showing rock bolting, soil nailing at the portals, and the geologic mapping and laser scanning that happens at the tunnel face.

I also came across a very neat article about how the Ocean Shore Railroad Company was the first to try to cut into the slope along what is now PCH 1 at the Devil’s Slide back in the early 1900s. They were trying to connect the then rural farming community of Half-Moon Bay with San Francisco. The railroad fought the reoccurring landslide and serious rockfalls. Ocean Shore Railroad went bankrupt in 1922 and pulled up its rails, making room for the current highway. (Photo at left from halfmoonbaymemories.com)

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Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin near a leg of the Lunar Module
Rockman's Ramblings

First Lunar Landing 40 Years Later and Stuck Spirit Rover

July 1, 2009 rockman Comments Off on First Lunar Landing 40 Years Later and Stuck Spirit Rover

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin near a leg of the Lunar Module [Editor] For crying out loud. Two weeks later, and I finally notice the title of my post was 20 years off! Its the 40th anniversary, not the 20th. Sheesh! [/Editor] It’s hard to believe that such a tremendously historic scientific and cultural event is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this month! On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts “Buzz” Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to set foot on the Moon. [Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin near a leg of the Lunar Module. (From enwiki), NASA Source]

One of the first featured articles I published on GeoPrac was a remarkable narrative by my NCS Consultants, LLC colleague, Dr. Ed Nowatzki, sharing his recollections of his work on the geotechnical (soils engineering)aspects of the design of the first lunar lander or LM. I was doubly reminded of his article recently, first because of the milestone anniversary, but also because a different spacecraft was having some soil-related trouble on the Planet Mars.

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American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTM
Miscellaneous

ASTM Updates June 2009

June 29, 2009 rockman Comments Off on ASTM Updates June 2009

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTMD5434 – “Standard Guide for Field Logging of Subsurface Explorations of Soil and Rock” and D4429 – “Standard Test Method for CBR (California Bearing Ratio) of Soils in Place” are two standards revised this month that may be of interest to geotechnical engineers. Those in the construction services and materials testing business should take a look at a number of changes to relevant standards. This month there are also a few revised standards related to detection of different ions in water. I also see that there are a number of geothermal and solar standards that were reapproved this month, most of them seem to have been last modified in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Click through for the full list of new, revised and reapproved ASTM standards from June.

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