Geofish Caused the Niagara Tunnel Collapse

Article

"The crown fall happened in a area surrounding a 20-year old bore hole," said Ernst Gschnitzer, Project Manager for Strabag. "The hole had a long time to deteriorate and eventually the ground gave way."

I didn't exactly drill that borehole, but it was drilled shortly after I helped define the St. Davids Gorge with geophysics. That was just after the old Geotechnical Engineering Department broke up, and I was shuffled to nuclear. Before that, we always grouted up an exploration borehole, in fact it was the law because of possible natural gas in the region. My old colleagues have a lot to answer for!

So, the TunnelTalk article is out. I'm glad they could pin the 100 ton collapse to a single old borehole, because without that extraordinary cause, the whole tunnel would be suspect. The Queenston Shale is totally impermeable, so that was one heck of a hole to have caused water damage! I'm glad all the other holes didn't do this.

The sandstone has proven to be abrasive, and I think there are more sandstone layers ahead for them. I'm glad they talked to the reporter, since I wasn't expecting much. Oh well, it's good be wrong, since I was way too gloomy on this. If my mechanism is correct, we shall have some more major collapses, but for now, let's regard this happy article as a Christmas present! :)

Nuclear Waste Worth a Fortune

Article

Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) reported a net income surge in the third quarter despite falling customer demand. Profit gains were mainly due to returns in investment branches set up to manage nuclear fixed asset removal and nuclear waste management, the company said.

But, they are going to blow it all on their Niagara Tunnel, and digging waste into Bruce karst.

Shipping Cranes in Earthquakes

Article

Container cranes are used to load and unload ships in ports and are critical to port operations. Past earthquakes have highlighted the vulnerability of container cranes to damage from even moderate earthquakes.

I was about to give this my "Most Hopeless Research" award, but I've canceled that (it sounds nasty!). All research is interesting in some way. Still, you can see that the nature of the shipping crane makes it a 'disposable item' when an earthquake hits. The best you can do is have some other area ready, with cranes ready to erect. But the cranes aren't the problem here. Dock areas are almost always on dirt fill, put directly on muck. The seismic amplifications are 10 to 100 times, and not much survives. These shipping cranes are mobile on absolutely flat pavement, and that just isn't going to stay that way.

I think this project is more like designing earthquake-resistant shelves in a brick china shop. :)

Geologists Do Math?

Article

Introductory geology courses at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and across the nation will teach rock-solid math skills to undergraduates studying the geosciences with the help of a new Web-based program.

“In the 1980s, we witnessed a decline in the amount of math included in introductory geology texts that coincided with an attempt to attract more students to the major,”....

Now, I know a lot of geologists, but they don't do math. :) They probably buy lottery tickets!


The preceding was a joke! I do not know of any Geologist Barbie Doll that said "Math is tough." Geologists are fine human beings.

Tunnel Talk Talks to Me

Well, they are probably the only ones with enough brains to do a spread on the Niagara Tunnel. All they need to find is another rock mechanics expert to review the pictures. I've never found one who blabs like I do, but maybe they can. Trouble is, if you blab, you lose credibility and income, by definition. To paraphrase: "I'm not going to join any club, who will have me as a member, and I'm not going to believe any expert who tells me anything."

Geology and Evolution

Article

A team of scientists led by the University of Adelaide has reconstructed a history of marine barriers, mountain building and glacial cycles in New Zealand over millions of years, using the first complete genetic history of the moa.
So, something interesting does happen in NZ! (besides geology scandals!) In a neat reversal of roles, you can get an idea of geology dynamics by looking at the dna of ancient species. Of course, our good neighbours down south, won't appreciate this.....

But the rest of us can enjoy the complexities of evolution.

Water polo stills

I'm quite proud of these stills! I'm filming in hd video, but was zooming in real close to try to get stills. The video is terrible when you do this, but the stills are good. You then select frame by frame to get a good moment. Most is blurry because the shutter speed is slow, but some frames crystallize. I then use the 'unsharp' mask to eliminate the slight motion blur.

Far better than shooting stills in water polo, where the splashing water makes things difficult.