September 2021 - GEOTILL provides geotechnical, construction testing and Environmental services Indianapolis Indiana

Microbial material modification helps to control frost heave and saline soil solidification

Source: Microbial material modification helps to control frost heave and saline soil solidification Chinese researchers recently conducted a study on process of biogas generation improving physical and mechanical properties of soil. A research team led by Sheng Yu from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environmental Resources (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), together with their colleagues from Southeast University, has implanted Pseudomonas Stutzeri in the soil pores and induced it to produce nitrogen bubbles, and they also analyzed the influence mechanism of mitigation of sand liquefaction using biogas bubbles. In the natural environment, there are many microorganisms in rock and soil masses, and its metabolic activities will change physical and mechanical properties of rock and soil. These microbial activities can be controlled, enhanced and used to solve geotechnical problems, and such methods have been named as biogeotechnologies. As an emerging interdisciplinary field, it has developed rapidly in recent years due to its advantages of low carbon and friendly environment. From the perspective of practical application, biogeotechnologies can be used for rock and soil reinforcement, sealing of water leakage, prevention of sand liquefaction, soil erosion resistance control, and contaminated soil treatment and so on. Based on the above research results, the NIEER research group is exploring to apply biogeotechnologies to frost heave control and saline soil solidification, and has achieved some preliminary results. In this study, the researchers applied biogas generation process to soil frost heaving treatment, and studied improvement of biogas production performance under low temperature conditions. Results showed that sealing effect of bubbles and microorganisms on the water migration path can reduce soil permeability coefficient by one order of magnitude. Besides, they also introduced biomineralization to solve the prominent problem of saline soil with high chloride content in Northwestern China. Based on excellent curing effect, they analyzed the deterioration mechanism of [...]

By kk42|September 30th, 2021|Geotechnical Iowa, Geotechnical Kansas, Geotechnical Nebraska, Geotechnical Indiana, Environmental Indiana, Geotechnical Illinois, Geotechnical Michigan, Geotechnical Missouri, Geotechnical Minnesota|0 Comments

Researchers in Tasmania design special drill for million year old ice core project

Source: Researchers in Tasmania design special drill for million-year old ice core project to help find answers to climate crisis | The Singleton Argus | Singleton, NSW Answers to the world's climate crisis may be discovered in a 2.8 kilometer pole of million-year-old ice that is set to be extracted from Antarctica and delivered back to research labs in Tasmania for atmospheric testing. Australian Antarctic Division researchers in Tasmania have designed and manufactured a 400-kilogram drill for the million year old ice core project which is capable of operating in minus 55 degree temperatures. It will bore down into 2.8 kilometers of ice, which is believed to be up to 1.5 million years old, to extract three meter sections of ice, or ice core, at any one time. Up to 8 tons of ice will then be brought back to research labs for AAD researchers to extract data and information about past temperatures, sea ice levels and wind patterns in Antarctica. Australian Antarctic Division engineers spent two months preparing blocks of ice that would replicate Antarctic ice, which were then used to test the specially designed drill. Picture: Australian Antarctic Division It will also be used to answer a "long standing mystery" in Antarctic research about the frequency of ice ages. The project is part of this year's Antarctic research season which has been dubbed the most ambitious season that the AAD have ever undertaken, with 500 scientists and up to 800 tons of cargo to be shipped to Antarctica. Australian Antarctic Division chief scientist Nicole Webster said the million year ice core project is an incredible milestone for climate research. She said layers in the ice core are like "pages in a diary", where tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice core contain atmosphere and other [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical Alaska, Geotechnical Colorado, Geotechnical Idaho, Geotechnical Montana, Geotechnical Utah|0 Comments

Access partners Moraturwa University to introduce Fibre Optic Monitoring Technology

Source: Access partners Moraturwa Uni. to introduce Fibre Optic Monitoring Technology - Business News | Daily Mirror Access Engineering PLC (AEL) has joined hands with the University of Moratuwa, supported by the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) of the University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford to collaborate in the research project ‘Introduction of Fibre Optic Monitoring Technology to Sri Lanka’. The research project will be led by Dr. Kasun Kariyawasam and his research team from the University of Moratuwa with support from CSIC, an active member of the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities through the University of Cambridge together with Dr. Sinan Acikgoz from the University of Oxford. It has been identified that Sri Lanka has not yet advanced in the concept of Smart Infrastructure in comparison with the developed world despite its numerous advantages. Also, Fibre Optic Monitoring Technology which has significantly developed over the last two decades has not yet been introduced to Sri Lanka. However, the boom in construction experienced in post-war Sri Lanka has now provided an ideal testing bed for research in Fibre Optic Monitoring Technology. Access Engineering PLC, the leading construction enterprise in Sri Lanka will be providing the much needed support for this research project due to the company’s involvement in several major construction projects in the island. The research project aims to introduce the Fibre Optic Monitoring Technology to Sri Lanka and use the unique climatic, geotechnical and material conditions present to further study this technology in the areas of integrity testing of piles, axial shortening of multi-story buildings, scour monitoring of bridges and damage detection of historic structures. This new initiative of Access Engineering to support the research for the Introduction of Fibre Optic Monitoring technology to the island nation is yet another [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical Georgia, Geotechnical California, Geotechnical Massachusetts, Geotechnical Texas, Geotechnical Illinois|0 Comments

Sustainable solution to mining’s ‘red mud’ waste enters final stage of testing

Source: Sustainable solution to mining’s ‘red mud’ waste enters final stage of testing | Central Queensland Today University of Queensland has developed technology that could rehabilitate mine waste back to useful soil is entering full-scale trials. University of Queensland has developed technology that could rehabilitate mine waste back to useful soil, with the technology now entering full-scale trials. Developed by researchers at UQ’s Sustainable Minerals Institute in partnership with Rio Tinto and Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) the bio-engineering technology works by transforming bauxite residue, a by-product of alumina refining also commonly called ‘red mud’, into a soil-like material capable of hosting plant life. QAL Environment and Tailings Manager Trent Scherer said there was an excitement amongst the team to see the project move to a full-scale trial. “After years of watching various trials unfold within our daily work environment, to now be able to see the tangible outcomes of UQ’s work unfolding has been encouraging for the team,” he said. Mr Scherer said QAL were committed to minimizing their environmental footprint through their 5-YES program and the funding and resources provided to this project were further steps in that journey. In 2018 QAL commenced works for their 5-Year Environmental Strategy, comprising of 60 capital works projects and culture change initiatives. With a budget of $440 million designed to improve the environmental performance of QAL. This initiative with UQ is in addition to the 5-YES funding and QAL are hoping will pave the way for the future of tailings management. Ecological Engineering of Mine Wastes Group Leader Professor Longbin Huang said the technology would be trialed on an operational scale at two red mud sites in Queensland after the team secured new multi-million dollar funding agreements with Rio Tinto and QAL. “The technology demonstrates how transformative industry-academia partnerships can [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical Kentucky, Geotechnical Illinois, Drilling Illinois, Drilling Kentucky, Geotechnical Pennsylvania, Geotechnical West Virginia, Geotechnical Wyoming|0 Comments

Mitigating carbon may have unintended consequences

Source: Mitigating carbon may have unintended consequences | Penn State University UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Controlling carbon release into the atmosphere will reduce carbon dioxide and slow global warming, but could there be unintended consequences for human health? Now, thanks to a three-year grant of about $400,000 from the National Science Foundation, researchers at Penn State will investigate potential positives and negatives of decarbonization. "There can be unintended health co-harms from some carbon mitigation strategies," said Wei Peng, assistant professor of international affairs and civil and environmental engineering and principal investigator on the project. "For instance, large-scale bioenergy production may drive up food prices, which leads to nutrition-related health co-harms." Of course, mitigating carbon can also bring health benefits, including a reduction of pollution in the atmosphere. "Tangible human health co-benefits can motivate stronger support for climate policy," said Peng. The researchers aim to improve understanding of what factors determine the size and scope of health outcomes from decarbonization and to identify strategies most likely to yield overall health benefits. Focusing on the U.S., Peng and her team will develop a framework integrating energy, food and health. They will improve health variables in a state-level integrated assessment model and connect it to a fine-resolution, health impact assessment model. They will also develop a large number of scenarios of decarbonization to encompass future uncertainties, technology and markets. This project is the extension of two seed grants from Penn State's Institutes of Energy and the Environment and Institute for Computational and Data Sciences. Vivek Srikrishnan, assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering, Cornell University, is the co-principal investigator (PI) on this project. Peng is also a co-PI on a project looking to model the interactions of climate change, air quality and social inequalities. This five-year, $1.5 million NSF grant, co-led by Mark [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical North Carolina, Geotechnical California, Geotechnical New York, Geotechnical Oklahoma, Geotechnical Oregon, Geotechnical Texas, Geotechnical Washington, Geotechnical Alabama, Geotechnical Iowa, Geotechnical Kansas|0 Comments

Lancaster County sinkhole raises concern over detours, emergency responder response times

Source: Lancaster County sinkhole raises concern over detours, emergency responder response times | WHP LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A nearly 20-foot sinkhole on State Route 324 (Marticville Road) between Sprecher Road and West Penn Grant Road in Lancaster County is causing detours for community members and concern over delays for emergency responders. PennDOT implemented a detour Sunday night, originally anticipating work to fill the sinkhole would begin in a month. PennDOT Engineering District 8 Press Officer Dave Thompson exclusively tells CBS 21 News’ Samantha York Thursday the timeline has extended. “We expect this road might be closed into next spring before we can actually start working on it,” Thompson says. “That’s- that’s news to me,” New Danville Fire Company Fire Chief Brad Shenk says. 20% of his 25 active volunteer firefighters live on the opposite side of the sinkhole and respond to emergencies from home in a rural town. He says being delayed for a few minutes can make a big difference when time is of the essence, requesting the sinkhole to be filled sooner. “It’s going to have an adverse effect on our response times to get those members here,” Shenk tells CBS 21’s Samantha York. “We’re a small fire company, we’re counting on everybody to go up at any given time, whoever’s available responds and these guys are going to be delayed by several minutes.” Community members speculate the sinkhole, which reaches from the middle of the road through a drainage ditch and into adjacent property, has something to do with new construction nearby. However, the cause remains undetermined by officials – which is causing the delay in getting it fixed. “We’ve assessed what needs to be done, but we need to get some- an agreement in place with a local property owner that’s property is adjacent to [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical Missouri, Geotechnical Pennsylvania, Geotechnical Alabama, Geotechnical Florida, Geotechnical Texas, Geotechnical Kentucky, Geotechnical Tennessee|0 Comments

New Estimate Makes Groundwater Earth’s Largest Water Reservoir on Land

Source: New Estimate Makes Groundwater – Not Ice Sheets – Earth’s Largest Water Reservoir on Land – Leak Herald Hot springs, which can source deep groundwater, are one of the places on the surface where there is evidence of rainwater circulating to depths of two kilometers and deeper. In the states, the top places for finding groundwater are Mississippi, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. New research doubles volume of salty water two to 10 kilometers beneath the surface that could store waste fluids, sequester carbon, and direct our search for extraterrestrial life. New research more than doubles the estimated volume of ancient, salty groundwater stored deep within Earth’s crust. Around 24 million cubic kilometers (5.8 cubic miles) of groundwater reside within the top two kilometers (1.2 miles) of Earth’s crust. This shallow groundwater is what we use for drinking and irrigation, and it’s mostly freshwater. But below that are vast reservoirs of brine, some of it hundreds of millions to more than a billion years old, locked away in the rocks. The question was: How much is there? A new study estimates there are around 20 million cubic kilometers of deep groundwater, or enough to fill around 4,800 Grand Canyons. Combined with previous estimates of shallower groundwater, the new research finds underground water is the largest reservoir of water on land, measuring 44 million cubic kilometers and surpassing the volume of Earth’s ice sheets. “This estimate expands our conceptual and practical understanding of the amount of water that Earth holds, and it adds a whole different dimension to the hydrologic cycle,” said Grant Ferguson, a hydrogeologist at the University of Saskatchewan who was lead author of the new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters, which publishes high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences. [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical Kansas, Geotechnical Mississippi, Geotechnical Nebraska, Geotechnical Arkansas, Geotechnical South Dakota|0 Comments

Europe on course for healthier, more sustainable soil

Source: On course for healthier, more sustainable soil On course for healthier, more sustainable soil Soil is home to about a quarter of all living species. Credit: Amadeu Biasco, Shutterstock If we want to transition to a greener, healthier and more climate resilient Europe, it is important to ensure our soils are in good condition. However, the quality of soils is worsening because of unsustainable management practices, depletion of resources, climate change and pollution. Soil hosts a quarter of our planet's biodiversity and is home to about a quarter of all living species. But how many of us give this precious resource a second thought? We should, because soil directly or indirectly produces about 95% of our food. Soil is important in so many other ways, too. It provides us with raw materials to fight diseases and ecosystem services that purify our drinking water, lower the risk of floods and droughts, and store huge amounts of carbon to alleviate climate change. Storehouse of life Soil biodiversity is the life that exists within the soil, from bacteria to earthworms. These living organisms keep soil healthy and fertile. Soil biodiversity is key to meeting European Green Deal objectives such as climate neutrality, biodiversity restoration, zero pollution, healthy and sustainable food systems, and a resilient environment. The EU wants to lead the transition towards healthy soils for food, people, nature and the climate by 2030. One problem is that about 970 million tons of soil is lost to erosion each year in Europe. If this underground treasure is so important to us, then why are we allowing it to be destroyed? To repair or reverse the damage to soil's rich yet fragile habitat takes decades—even centuries. We need to preserve the quality of soil before it is too late. Soil health is a major concern for the commission. It [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical Nebraska, Geotechnical California, Geotechnical New Mexico, Geotechnical New York, Geotechnical Vermont|0 Comments

Project removes old, disused dams to make healthier waterways

Source: Project removes old, disused dams to make healthier waterways - VTDigger Seen through the window of Patty Smith’s home in East Bethel, James Rogers, left, and Fran Rhynhart, right, watch as Ben Canonica, of Canonica Farm and Forest, makes a buffer to protect the bank of the Second Branch of the White River while preparing to remove the Hyde Dam on Tuesday, Sept. 15. “As kids, this was our playground,” said Rhynhart. “All the East Bethel village kids would swim here.” Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News EAST BETHEL — A yellow excavator ambled over the uneven bed of the Second Branch of the White River as it rearranged boulders above the Hyde Dam earlier this month. Within weeks, the dam will be gone, opening 60 miles of waterways for fish passage. From the 1700s to the 1950s, hydropower ruled and the Hyde Dam in turn gave life to a sawmill, a gristmill, a creamery and a woolen mill that employed over 30 workers in 1860. The current dam replaced an older dam destroyed in what is known as the Great Vermont Flood of 1927. These days, industry has departed from the Second Branch. A half-acre plot of empty land on the north side of the dam gives no hint of the artifacts of production buried below. The mill that leans on the southern edge of the dam is now a home. Conservation nonprofits and state agencies worked together to remove the dam, part of a statewide effort to remove out-of-use dams to improve rivers for both wildlife and people. Greg Russ, a watershed restoration coordinator at the White River Partnership who is overseeing the project, estimated that it will cost anywhere between $120,000 and $150,000. He listed many reasons to remove the dam, for both the [...]

By kk42|September 29th, 2021|Geotechnical Connecticut, Geotechnical Massachusetts, Geotechnical New Hampshire, Geotechnical New York, Geotechnical Rhode Island, Geotechnical Vermont, Geotechnical Alaska|0 Comments

Himalayan hydropower ‘clean but risky,’ warn scientists

Source: Himalayan hydropower 'clean but risky,' warn scientists With its steep topography and abundant water resources the Himalayas offer sustainable, low-carbon hydropower for energy-hungry South Asia. But there is a catch—the mountain range falls in one of the world's most seismically active regions. A group of 60 top Indian scientists and environmentalists wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month seeking his intervention in stopping "any more hydroelectric projects in the Himalayas and on the Ganga whether under construction, new or proposed." The letter cites the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's sixth assessment report which says that the Himalayas have been affected by warming. The report warns that "rising temperature and precipitation can increase the occurrence of glacial lake outburst floods and landslides over moraine-dammed lakes" in high mountain Asia. Moraine consists of rocks and soil left behind by moving glaciers. Hydropower, the world's largest source of renewable electric power with1,308 gigawatts of installed capacity in 2019, is expected to play a critical role in decarbonizing power systems, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an inter-governmental body. Stretching 2,400 kilometers in an arc that includes the world's highest peaks, the Everest in Nepal and K2 in Pakistan, the Himalayas rank high among global hot spots for developing hydropower, though only 20 percent of the estimated 500 gigawatt potential has been tapped so far. But that situation is rapidly changing with hydropower projects mushrooming along the Himalayan arc—which covers territory in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan—despite proven risks from quakes, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods. The immediate trigger for the appeal to Modi was a decision by India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to allow the restarting of seven controversial hydropower projects in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Three of these projects—Tapovan-Vishnugad (520 [...]

By kk42|September 28th, 2021|Geotechnical Tennessee, Geotechnical Alabama, Geotechnical California, Geotechnical Idaho, Geotechnical Montana, Geotechnical New York, Geotechnical Oregon, Geotechnical Washington|0 Comments

Monthly Archives: September 2021