This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here February 3, 2021 Special Welcome Message from Scott Burns and Rafig Azzam, IAEG Prof. Rafig Azzam, President, IAEG Welcome to the 139th IAEG Connector, the electronic newsletter connecting environmental and engineering geologists around the world! There is so much happening in the world related to engineering geology! First, a major report about the aging of dams and their safety is highlighted below. A new magma observatory in Iceland is being drilled to a magma chamber. Very interesting photos of landslides from Norfolk, England and Turkey are mentioned. An incredible landslide at Rat Creek occurred this week when a Pacific Ocean "atmospheric river" drenched the most landslide prone road in America, Highway 1 in Big Sur California, produced a large landslide. And finally geologists are monitoring infrasound music from volcanic craters to understand their activity. Enjoy the issue! Scott Burns, now Past President, IAEG, and editor, IAEG Connector, and Rafig Azzam, President, IAEG .IAEG NEWS RMEGV2021 call for abstracts IAEG On behalf of the Japanese Society for Rock Mechanics and the Japan Society of Engineering Geology, we are pleased to hold “RMEGV2021: 5th International Workshop on Rock Mechanics and Engineering Geology in Volcanic Fields.” The information on the Workshop has already been uploaded on the IAEG website. Important Dates March 31, 2021 Abstract Submission Deadline April 9, 2021 Notification of Abstract Acceptance May 31, 2021 Proceedings Paper Submission Deadline July 30, 2021 Notification of Proceedings Paper Acceptance READ MORE ARC13 2021 goes virtual IAEG As previously announced, IAEG-ARC13 Organizing Committee continues to monitor evolving factors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The evolving situation continues to throw up new uncertainties. You must also be aware that even with vaccines, safety measures, and travel restrictions are likely to continue into 2021. We value the tremendous benefit of an in-person meeting, but due to the need to guarantee attendee safety, the logistics will be problematic. In order to avoid the late cancellation of an in-person meeting, the meeting will still go ahead but in an all virtual setting instead. We look forward to having you join us for this fully online event, and will be reaching out with complete details and the updated program shortly. Happy New Year 2021! READ MORE YEG-IAEG official YouTube channel introduced IAEG The YEG group has organized and recorded five series of webinars. Each webinar is comprised of two presentations, one from a more experienced engineering geologist and one from a younger professional. So, 10 presentations in total. You can access them here. Each month a new 2-hour presentation will be added from distinguished invited keynote speakers. Chile becomes newest national group to join IAEG! IAEG The IAEG Executive Committee has unanimously voted to accept Chile as the newest national group or IAEG! This decision will be officially ratified at the next IAEG Council meeting. Special thanks to Vice President for South America, Professor Jorge Bejerman of Argentina, who has been recruiting national groups in South America. More good news is that we are close to having another national group from Bolivia! Thank you Vice President Jorge too!!! Free lectures on large landslides from iRALL iRALL Look back the lectures here. You can also watch the lectures by scanning the QR code. Click here to view the lecturers and topics. For more information, please visit: SKLGP Website http://en.sklgp.cdut.edu.cn/ iRALL Website http://irall.sklgp.cdut.edu.cn/ Newest issue of the Bulletin is now released IAEG Click here to view the Bulletin. Abstract deadline extended to March 5, 2021, for the First IAEG South American Regional Conference (in Argentina, September, 2021) IAEG Euroengeo2021 in Athens, Greece, moved to October 7-10, 2021 IAEG As we have stated before, the main goal of the organizing committee of the European Regional IAEG conference is to host an event with physical presence and face to face fruitful discussions. Therefore, following the oncoming EU and Greek Ministry of Health recommendations regarding the organization of public events, we have decided to move the congress to mid fall, on October 7th to 10th, 2021. We are optimistic that during the next few months, the situation regarding the epidemic will have improved; therefore, this will be the final change of date. In the unlikely situation of more epidemic restrictions, the event will be organized virtually. We remain excited to host this event and to finally make an IAEG event after so many years in Europe. The new deadline for full paper and/or new abstract submissions is the 31st of March 2021. Please keep in mind that the latest information will always be available at www.euroengeo2020.org. READ MORE ARC13 call for abstracts IAEG The 13th Asian Regional Conference (ARC13) of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG) is calling for abstract for both industry and academic presentation submissions. The conference theme is “Engineering Geology for Sustainable Resource and Infrastructure Development.” The conference will be in Singapore from November 15-19, 2021. We are seeking papers that will provoke debate, stimulate discussion, and offer new ideas, learning and the dissemination of research findings. Submissions from industry professionals are encouraged on current or future projects, methodologies and technologies. We are encouraging academic submissions based on research outcomes and developments. ARC13 organizers intend for ARC13 to adopt an in-person meeting format. However, this cannot be promised because attendee safety is top priority and in view of restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. If the situation does not improve, the meeting may take the form of online presentations. Once decided, an announcement will be made and the registration fees informed accordingly. READ MORE IAEG Newsletter Issue No. 4 IAEG Click here to view the most recent newsletter. .OTHER CONFERENCES 10th Nepal Geological Congress, March 7-8, 2021, goes virtual Nepal Geological Society Nepal Geological Society has decided to conduct 10th Nepal Geological Congress from March 7-8, 2021, to exchange experiences, knowledge and recent findings in the field of geosciences and its application among the geoscientists without borders. The Congress will be organized in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. Due to the worldwide spread of COVID-19, the organizing committee of 10th Nepal Geological Congress has decided to conduct the congress virtually in web based platform. We will continuously monitor the situation, and inform about the possibility of physical presence of the domestic participants if they want. READ MORE 1st IAEG South American Regional Conference in Córdoba, Argentina, Sept. 6-10, 2021 IAEG The 1st IAEG South American Regional Conference will take place in the city of Córdoba in coincidence with the 2nd Argentine Congress of Geology Applied to Engineering and the Environment. The event will take place Sept. 6-10, 2021, within the Córdoba Regional Faculty of the National Technological University. The activity marks the return of IAEG to the region after 35 years, so we trust that the initiative will be a pleasant moment for its participants, involving the scientific and professional community of the region. Click here to view more details on the English website. Click here to view more details on the Spanish website. READ MORE .LINKS TO NEWSLETTERS OF OUR SISTER SOCIETIES 'Sister Society' Newsletter Links IGS (Geosynthetics) ISSMGE (ISSMGE News & Information Circular) IUGS E-Bulletin #172 IAPG - Geoethics .GEOLOGY NEWS An interesting example of coastal erosion at Happisburgh in Norfolk, England The Landslide Blog Large parts of the coastal cliffs in the county of Norfolk, in eastern England, are subject to rapid (and accelerating) rates of erosion. The very weak materials offer low resistance to the remorseless attack of the North Sea waves. READ MORE Planning an international magma observatory Eos Magma is the final frontier of Earth’s crust. It is unexplored for good reasons: Extreme temperatures and pressures impede access by scientists and their instruments. READ MORE 'Mass aging' of dams a global safety and financial risk, UN report says Circle of Blue A global dam-building binge that spanned the early to mid-20th century is now reaching a turning point, according to a report published by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. These dams are nearing middle and old age, when their operation and maintenance poses growing financial, environmental and safety challenges. READ MORE Losses from landslides in Turkey The Landslide Blog As written by Dave Petley, "I’ve featured landslides of various types in Turkey over the years – the combination of topography, climate, tectonics and people in that country make it highly susceptibe to landslides. A new paper just published in the journal Landslides has analysed landslide losses in Turkey based upon a database of fatal events in the period 1929 to 2019." READ MORE New warning system in Bangladesh to tackle rising landslide risk Reuters A new system that can warn people of landslides nearly a week in advance is set to be launched in Bangladesh later this year, helping tackle increasing risks from a disaster linked to climate-change-driven extreme rainfall, experts said. Developed by the United Nations and Bangladesh’s environment ministry, the warning system uses satellite imagery, rainfall measurements and other meteorological data to predict landslides in vulnerable regions. READ MORE Rat Creek: A large washout generated by an atmospheric river in California The Landslide Blog A large atmospheric river rainfall event struck California. It dumped large amounts of rainfall on several of the large areas affected by the terrible 2020 wildfire season. READ MORE Monitoring volcanic craters with infrasound 'music' Eos Volcanic craters act as giant horns that emit intense low-frequency sounds. Changes in this infrasound may be used to track rising lava lakes and identify signals of future eruptions. READ MORE Aging dams in India, US, other nations pose growing threat The Hindu The analysis includes dam decommissioning or aging case studies from the U.S., France, Canada, India, Japan and Zambia and Zimbabwe. According to the report, the world is unlikely to witness another large dam-building revolution as in the mid-20th century, but dams constructed then will inevitably be showing their age. READ MORE Salinas, California, neighborhood suffers major damage in mudslide KCBS-FM At least one person was hurt and an estimated two dozen homes suffered minor to severe damage after a mudslide in Monterey County, California. The Monterey County Regional Fire Protection District said Wednesday "20 to 25 homes and outbuildings" in Salinas sustained damage in the mud flow. One resident was injured while escaping their home. It was feared heavy rain would cause slides up and down the California coast, though ground largely held. READ MORE Science Headlines IAEG Check out what's going on in the world of geological science: Six-wavelength spectroscopy can offer new details of surface of Venus (Phys.org) Did frozen mud balls make life on Earth possible (Macquarie University) Diamonds need voltage (GFZ GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Helmholtz Centre via ScienceDaily) .CALENDAR OF EVENTS Date Event Location Feb. 22-26, 2021 13 International Symposium on Landslides Virtual March 5-7, 2021 1st Geoengineering, Climate Change and Sustantinable Development Conference Bangladesh May 10-14, 2021 IFCEE Expo Dallas, Texas May 16-19, 2021 EuroGeo 7 Warsaw, Poland June 14-18, 2021 Cities on Volcanoes 11 Heraklion, Crete, Greece Aug. 16-21, 2021 36th IGC Delhi, India Sept. 6-10, 2021 1st IAEG South American Regional Conference Córdoba, Argentina Oct. 7-10, 2021 Euroengeo — 3rd European Regional Conference of IAEG Athens, Greece Oct. 17-20, 2021 International Conference on Scour and Erosion Arlington, Virginia Nov. 15-19, 2021 ARC 13 Singapore Sept. 14, 2022 FedIGS Chengdu, China Sept. 15-20, 2022 IAEG Congress Chengdu, China Sept. 18-22, 2022 12th International Conference on Geosynthetics Rome, Italy   IAEG Connector E-News Connect with IAEG Jason Zimmerman, Director of Publishing, MultiView, 469-420-2686 | Download media kit Katina Hernandez, Executive Editor, MultiView, 469-420-2675 | Contribute news International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment IAEG, c/o Dr. Scott Burns, Portland State University, PO Box 751   |  Portland, OR 97207  503-725-3389  |  Contact Us  |  www.iaeg.info Click here to unsubscribe.  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. 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