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Rockman's Ramblings

Landslide Video But Not What You Think

August 15, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Landslide Video But Not What You Think

There is nothing funny about landslides, particularly when you consider the tremendous loss of life that happens all the time around the world, most recently in Taiwan, China, Sierra Leone and elsewhere. But the well known humor site, the Onion has taken a pretty good crack at this usually unfunny subject in their video “news” clip Reporter In Helicopter Pretty Sure Landslide Down There Somewhere. Its a very amusing video that’s really about journalists and their attempts to get the scoop about a story, not really about landslides at all. Click through for the embedded video. Happy weekend. […]

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Available Resources

UC Berkley GeoEngineering Lectures on YouTube

June 3, 2009 rockman Comments Off on UC Berkley GeoEngineering Lectures on YouTube

UC Berkley has a bunch of lectures online, including three geoengineering themed ones. It appears that they were all from lectures given as a part of the 27th Annual GeoEngineering Distinguished Lecture Series on May 8, 2009. So if you have an hour plus to kill per lecture (and I haven’t yet), you can check out one of the following.

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Video thumbnail of Rockfall protection installation
Geologic Hazards

Rockfall Protection Videos from G.T.S.

May 21, 2009 rockman 2

Video thumbnail of Rockfall protection installation More videos! French Company G.T.S. has posted some great videos on rockfall protection systems on their YouTube channel. I don’t speak French, so I can’t give you any more info on the company (although their website looks like it has plenty of info!). But the videos cover the preparation of, drilling for,  and installation or rockfall protection fences and barriers as well as a couple of general rockfall ones. They just have video with background music, so no worries about a language barrier. You can watch the installation video below.

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Failures

Video: Freeport Maine Culvert Failure and Road Collapse

March 23, 2009 rockman Comments Off on Video: Freeport Maine Culvert Failure and Road Collapse

imageA colleague of mine sent me an amazing video of a culvert failure and subsequent road collapse in Freeport Maine during a storm. The culvert was unable to accommodate the high volume of water, and it was backing up behind the roadway embankment like a dam, and spilling out onto the roadway. In a span of about 3 minutes, the entire section of road collapsed and was washed downstream. I don’t know the exact date the video was taken, but it appears to be in August of 2008. Click through for the video.

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USGS Documentary Riding the Storm - Landslide Danger in the San Francisco Bay Area
Geologic Hazards

USGS Landslide Documentary Video

March 17, 2009 rockman Comments Off on USGS Landslide Documentary Video

USGS Documentary Riding the Storm - Landslide Danger in the San Francisco Bay Area The USGS has a documentary on landslide video on landslide danger in the San Francisco Bay area entitled “Riding the Storm”. I think the target audience is more general than geologist or engineer, but it is still interesting. The bullet points from the USGS site:

  • A catastrophic 1982 rainstorm triggered 18,000 landslides in the Bay Area, claiming 25 lives and causing $66 million in property damage
  • The combination of steep slopes, weak rocks, and intense winter storms make Bay Area uplands an ideal setting for landslides
  • Landslides include both swift, potentially deadly debris flows and slower, but destructive deepseated slides
  • Learn what USGS scientists have discovered about landslide dynamics and which slopes are most susceptible to sliding
  • Hear the devastating stories of Bay Area residents affected by landslides and learn to recognize the danger signs

Click through to view the trailer and for links to download the full video. (Image credit: USGS)

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Landslide hits ambulance - from LiveLeak.com
Geologic Hazards

Landslide Videos from Brazil

December 10, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Landslide Videos from Brazil

Landslide hits ambulance - from LiveLeak.comDr. Dave has posted links to a few scary landslide videos from the recent heavy rains affecting the Santa Catarina province of Brazil. This latest one shows an ambulance being swept off a road by a “small” landslide. The ease with which the vehicle is moved is quite impressive. It didn’t appear that anyone was injured in this particular landslide but I’m sure there might have been some underwear changing involved. Elsewhere in the region people have not been so lucky and there is a heavy death toll. Click through for two videos.

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Geologic Hazards

What Would a Large Earthquake Do to Downtown L.A.?

November 7, 2008 rockman Comments Off on What Would a Large Earthquake Do to Downtown L.A.?

USGS LogoFrom the USGS Newsroom:

USGS scientist Ken Hudnut fills us in on how science created the theoretical magnitude 7.8 earthquake behind the Great Southern California ShakeOut—the largest earthquake preparedness drill in U.S. history, coming Nov. 13—and what such an earthquake would do to downtown Los Angeles.

Seems like they did it right wiith this study. They had multiple teams independenlty come up with the ground shaking model, then had different structural engineers who are experts in seismic design of large buildings review the tall buildings in the L.A. area for the design earthquake. They say that buildings would likely come down in the 7.8 magnitude event. Click through to watch the video interview from the USGS.

 

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Available Resources

Video: RPI Geotechnical Engineering Centrifuge

September 3, 2008 rockman Comments Off on Video: RPI Geotechnical Engineering Centrifuge

I stumbled across this video for the geotechnical engineering centrifuge at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Centrifuge testing is a popular way to economically test models at much higher loads and pressures than you would normally be able to in the laboratory. The goal is to more accurately represent the real world conditions. Click through for the video.

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