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.

Regional

California Snow Pack Just 29% of Normal

May 10, 2007 rockman Comments Off on California Snow Pack Just 29% of Normal

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the California State Department of Water Resources indicates the Sierra snow pack is at just 29% of normal leading state officials to start pushing water conservation measures. According to […]

Software Updates

GeoStudio 2007 Released

May 10, 2007 rockman Comments Off on GeoStudio 2007 Released

As of May 1st, GEO-SLOPE International Ltd. has released GeoStudio 2007, a major update to their popular suite of geotechnical and geo-environmental modeling software. The suite included SLOPE/W, SEEP/W, SIGMA/W, QUAKE/W, TEMP/W, CTRAN/W, AIR/W and VADOSE/W. Read on for some of the new features.

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Available Resources

ASTM Updates

May 10, 2007 rockman Comments Off on ASTM Updates

An April 30th update on newly approved ASTM standards and work items related to soils, rock and related areas. Read on for the list. 

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Regional

Blasting Accident in Virginia

May 10, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Blasting Accident in Virginia

A blasting accident in Berryville Virginia involving West Virginia Drilling company Geological Technologies, Inc. is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s office. The blast, which occured on 4/20/07 (?) sent rock up to 1,200 […]

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Miscellaneous

Drilling Accident Fatality

May 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Drilling Accident Fatality

This is old news, but we just recently became aware of it. On January 17 of 2007, Ezra Gordon, 25 was killed in a drilling accident. Ezra was an employee of Crux Subsurface, Inc. of […]

Press Releases

Wold Creek Dam – “Significant chance of failure”

May 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Wold Creek Dam – “Significant chance of failure”

WASHINGTON–The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) today released the Wolf Creek Dam Consensus Report, Engineering Risk and Reliability Analysis, an external independent peer review that validates the USACE high-risk classification of the dam and the interim risk reduction measures currently in effect.

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Project Related

World’s 2nd Longest MSE Wall

May 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on World’s 2nd Longest MSE Wall

ENR Reports that Pennsylvania Route 22/322 now has the longest MSE Wall in the U.S. and Canada, and the 2nd longest in the world. The project is located in Mifflin County, Pa. and involves adding […]

Geologic Hazards

Assessment of Volcanic Hazard in Yellowstone

April 30, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Assessment of Volcanic Hazard in Yellowstone

[Update 5/10/07] A small swarm of  earthquakes measuring up to 2.7 on the Richter Scale was recorded in the Yellowstone area on  Wed. May 2, 2007 [/Update]

The USGS has released an Open File Report (OFR) entitled Preliminary Assessment of Volcanic and Hydrothermal Hazards in Yellowstone National Park and Vicinity. Possible future violent events in the active hydrothermal, magmatic, and tectonic system of Yellowstone National Park pose potential hazards to park visitors and infrastructure. Most of the national park and vicinity are sparsely populated, but significant numbers of people as well as park resources could nevertheless be at risk from these hazards. Read on for the link.

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Press Releases

Hayward Baker Completes Ambitious Landslide Repair Project on U.S. Highway 61 in Mississippi

April 30, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Hayward Baker Completes Ambitious Landslide Repair Project on U.S. Highway 61 in Mississippi

Hayward Baker, Inc., announces the completion of an ambitious landslide repair project for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The work was conducted along a stretch of U.S. Highway 61, one of the nation’s landmark roads that extends from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico.

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