Press Releases

If you have a geo-related press release, or you have come accross one somewhere on the web, you can post it in this category.

Press Releases

Ohio DOT to use EQuIS for Geotechnical Data Management

June 25, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Ohio DOT to use EQuIS for Geotechnical Data Management

June 19, 2008. EarthSoft today announced that it has received a contract from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for an Enterprise version of EQuIS for geotechnical data management, including support of new DIGGS (Data Interchange for Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Specialists) EDDs.

[Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release. Screen capture credit: EarthSoft, Inc. [/Editor] 

[…]

Press Releases

TenCate opens new factory in China for the growing geosynthetic market

June 16, 2008 rockman Comments Off on TenCate opens new factory in China for the growing geosynthetic market

Royal Ten Cate
Almelo, The Netherlands, 13 June 2008

Today marks the opening by Royal Ten Cate (Koninklijke Ten Cate nv) of its new factory for geosynthetic materials near the city of Zhuhai (pop. 1.5 m) in Guangdong province, China. TenCate Geosynthetics will use this plant to produce textiles for the strongly growing Asian market. The initial workforce will number some 150. [Editor] (At left: TenCate Mirafi® N-Series non-woven geotextile.) Click through for the rest of the press release. Source: Geosynthetica. [/Editor]

[…]

Press Releases

New DT80G and DT85G Geotechnical Data Loggers

June 16, 2008 rockman Comments Off on New DT80G and DT85G Geotechnical Data Loggers

Release date: June 3, 2008

We are pleased to announce several new products from dataTaker, the new DT80G and DT85G Geotechnical Data Loggers along with the CEM20 Channel Expansion Module.

[Editor] (Photo from Datalogger Inc.) Click through for entire press release. [/Editor]

[…]

Press Releases

Yucca Mountain Moving Forward

June 5, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Yucca Mountain Moving Forward

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission – No. 08-106 – June 3, 2008

NRC RECEIVES DOE’S LICENSE APPLICATION TO CONSTRUCT HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission received an application today from the U.S. Department of Energy for a license to construct the nation’s first geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev.

“We are ready to get to work on this challenging review,” said NRC Chairman Dale E. Klein. “Congress has given the NRC a strict timetable for reviewing this application, and I want to assure the American people that we will perform an independent, rigorous and thorough examination to determine whether the repository can safely house the nation’s high-level waste. The NRC’s licensing decision will be based entirely on the technical merits.” [Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release [/Editor]

 

[…]

No Picture
Press Releases

AMEC To Acquire Specialist U.S. Environmental and Geotechnical Consultancy

June 5, 2008 rockman Comments Off on AMEC To Acquire Specialist U.S. Environmental and Geotechnical Consultancy

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. USA (June 4, 2008) AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, announces today that it has reached agreement to acquire Geomatrix Consultants, Inc. (Geomatrix) from its owner-managers for US$85 million. [Editor] Read on for the entire press release. [/Editor]

[…]

Press Releases

New Study Shows Odds High for Big California Quakes

April 15, 2008 rockman Comments Off on New Study Shows Odds High for Big California Quakes

Released: 4/14/2008 12:02:15 PM

California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes.

The likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%-and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state.

[Editor] At Left: Figure 1. The colors on this California map represent the UCERF probabilities of having a nearby earthquake rupture (within 3 or 4 miles) of magnitude 6.7 or larger in the next 30 years. As shown in the table, the chance of having such an event somewhere in California exceeds 99%. The 30-year probability of an even more powerful quake of magnitude 7.5 or larger is about 46%. [/Editor]

[…]

Press Releases

National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 7-11 2008

April 7, 2008 rockman Comments Off on National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 7-11 2008

 

April 7-11 is National Workzone Awareness Week (NWZAW) which draws attention to the hazards roadway construction crews face from motorists not heeding safety warnings. For 2006—the last year for which data is available—more than 1,000 died in work zones. Figures for 2007 will be released by the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse later this year. Motorists are also at risk for not following work zone safety precautions. They may face damage to their vehicles, injuries, and loss of life. For 2006, 614 motorists died in work zone crashes. (Graphic by Caltrans)

Below are a few items to think about the next time you’re driving through a workzone taken from a Caltrans fact sheet. More after the break (sorry for the “Duh” ones, but I didn’t write them). As someone who occasionally works on the road and knows many more people who do, please, please remember to slow down!

  • Most injuries and deaths in the Cone Zone are from rear-end collisions.
  • If you slow from 65 to 55 mph for one mile, you only lose 10 seconds on your travel time.
  • The first cause of death for people aged 16 to 20 is car crashes. Even if you don’t lose your life causing a car crash, it could still cost you your license or a heavy fine.
  • If a car’s speed is doubled, the stopping distance is doubled twice over. For example, if a car traveling at 30 mph requires 100 feet to stop, the same car at 60 mph takes not 200 but 400 feet to stop.
  • At 60 mph, you’re traveling 88 feet per second. A lot can happen in one second, so give yourself plenty of room to stop in case of an emergency.
  • For the 15,000 miles of California highway Caltrans maintains, it must buy 120,000 new cones every year to replace ones run over by careless drivers.

[…]

Press Releases

Seeing Beneath the Surface: Use of Ground Penetrating Radar in Earth Science Research

February 18, 2008 rockman 2

Boulder, CO, USA –Studying the arrangements of sediments and sedimentary rocks in Earth’s near-surface layers received a recent boost from a new volume published by the Geological Society of America. Stratigraphic Analyses Using GPR, GSA Special Paper 432, offers a state-of-the-art overview of ground penetrating radar applications in the field of shallow subsurface stratigraphic analysis. [more…]

[…]

No Picture
Press Releases

NOAA, USGS Warning System to Help Protect Southern Californians from Debris Flows and Flash Floods

December 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on NOAA, USGS Warning System to Help Protect Southern Californians from Debris Flows and Flash Floods

Released: 11/7/2007 1:18:29 PM

Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192		 Clarice Nassif Ransom &n=Clarice+Nassif+Ransom">1-click interview
Phone: 703-648-4299

Matt Ocana (NOAA)
Phone: 801-524-5692

Winter Rains on Burn Areas Could Spawn New Danger

NOAA logo A debris flow and flash flood warning system developed jointly by NOAA’s National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey will help protect Southern Californians from potentially devastating debris flows-commonly known as mud slides- and flash floods in and around burn areas created by the recent wildfires.

[…]