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Special Welcome Message from Scott Burns and Rafig Azzam, IAEG
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| Prof. Rafig Azzam, President, IAEG
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Welcome to our 54th IAEG Connector, the electronic newsletter connecting engineering geologists around the world.
We showcase the annual field trip taken by Professor Vasilis Marinos of Aristotle University in Greece to central Europe every year with his students! Professor Marinos is also one of our two vice presidents of IAEG for Europe. Enjoy the photos and his summary! We encourage other groups to send us their photos of their field trips!
Many great news items this week!
Enjoy the issue!
Scott Burns, now Past President, IAEG, and editor, IAEG Connector, and Rafig Azzam, President, IAEG
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IAEG
The field trip took place in Italy and France in spring 2019 and was particularly focused on two great and tragic worldwide known failures of dams where the lack or the misinterpreted engineering geological information was liable for these failures. The students visited the Vajont dam disaster in Italy, where a huge massive landslide of several hundreds of millions of m3, fall in the reservoir and created a wave overtopping the dam and led to complete destruction of the town of Longarone, and around 2000 losses of life, in 1963. The dam itself stands in place, so well it was designed and constructed. The students also visited the site of the Malpasset thin arch dam in southern France that breached on 1959 due to the particular geological structure in the foundation that allowed the development of uplift pressure, creating a massive dam-break wave, 40 metres high and moving at 70 kilometres (43 mi) per hour, affecting communities and the town of Frejus, causing hundreds of deaths. All the essential engineering geological factors that played role to the failure mechanism were analysed associated with a field work.
We also visited: i) The leaning tower of Pisa in Italy discussing the soil conditions and all the remedial measures that succeeded to eliminate a risk of failure that was lurking, ii) Venice and the problem of its sinking, the sea water fluctuations, the climate change and foundation issues, iii) Cinque Terre (Italy) and its rock slope stability issues and stabilization measures, iv) La Clapi`ere landslide (France), one of the largest active landslides started from a toppling mechanism (millions of m3) in Europe, v) The Sautet dam (France) and its leakages from the reservoir through a postglacial buried river bed, vi) Mont Blanc (Chamonix-France), where we reached a height of 3842m at Aiguilles du Midi (one of the highest picks a cable car can reach), vii) Aosta valley (Italy) in its deep gravitational landslides, viii) Valgrisenche dam (initially 132m height lowered by 52m after demolition) (Italy) and its active gigantic landslide in the reservoir.
Of course, many other issues of broader interest (technical, geomorphological, historical, cultural) were discussed.
A similar field trip was performed in the past by Emeritus Prof. Paul Marinos, to civil engineering students (National Technical University of Athens-NTUA), under the course of Engineering Geology.
IAEG
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To go to the website, click here. We have added the following too.
As you will notice, we have a new design and user-friendly search functions. We have three social media accounts, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, to post photos on the web (and short films) in the Photo Gallery of our website. We also have direct connection with IAEG Connector and Frontiers in Earth Science.
In the new website, there are no more restricted areas and it is not
necessary to register on the website. If you want to make changes to the
Commissions or National Groups or to report Congresses or Courses, you must
send the material to be posted on the website to webeditor@iaeg.info.
All members of the IAEG are urged to participate more actively in
updating the website and send photographs of construction sites and events
that may affect our association with a brief descriptive caption and with
the name of the author. Even webinars are welcome, and from now, even the
presentations in PowerPoint of projects and research with their results will be welcome. Please
send all material to webeditor@iaeg.info.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IAEG2016
Instagram: iaegenv
LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3109098/
EOEC-GiT4NDM
Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
24-26 June 2019
The 6th International Conference on Earth Observation for Environmental Changes (EOEC 2019) and the 8th International Conference on Geo-information Technologies for Natural Disaster Management (GiT4NDM 2019) aim to advance research and development, as well as encourage innovative applications of Geomatics technologies in environmental change studies, geospatial information management toward implementation of sustainable development goals and 2030 smart environment and cities using artificial intelligence and deep learning; and to address the international co-operation in environmental change studies using advanced geospatial tools, spatiotemporal models and Earth observation systems. The conference offers an interdisciplinary forum in the fields of remote sensing, surveying and mapping, geodesy and geosciences, geography, marine science, forestry, renewable energy, environment, transportation, natural hazards, disaster management and climate change science.
READ MORE
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
12-15 June 2019
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Design
Sustainable development has called for efficient bioresource utilization, sustainable energy production, effective environmental remediation/management and advanced material development. Research and innovation are critical to satisfy these pressing needs. This proposed conference will offer a timely opportunity to stimulate new research activities in technological and managerial advancement. Eminent academic researchers, industrial practitioners, green groups and governmental departments from different sectors in the local and international context will gather to share scientific and technical inputs as well as political feedback through active discussion.
READ MORE
The MINEX Forum
25-27 June 2019 in Sofia, Bulgaria
Situated in the Western Tethyan belt, Bulgaria is a developing player in the mining industry of Europe, with significant reserves of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc. This is an exciting time for the regional mining industry as technological advances at key properties and facilities, and investment from significant international players is bringing a new dynamism to the industry.
The forum will provide an in-person platform for networking and the sharing of the latest business intelligence, opportunities, trends and insights from mining and exploration companies and experts from the countries of the Balkans region as well as wider Europe and the rest of the world. It will also facilitate interaction with policymakers, key decision-makers and global investors.
Sign up today!
Here are some key dates to remember:
Deadline for exhibitor registration: 14 June 2019
Deadline for delegate registration: 21 June 2019
READ MORE
Summer School on Historic and Prehistoric Landslides
30 June-5 July
Trentino and Veneto regions (Northeast Italian Alps)
Applications are open for the Summer school for early career scientists on historic and prehistoric landslides in the northern Italian Alps — Implications for new hazard maps in mountainous areas.
READ MORE
Minex Kazakhstan 2019 Conference
We are pleased to invite you to review the materials of the 10th MINEX Kazakhstan Mining and Exploration Forum which took place in Nur-Sultan on 2-4 April 2019. The forum was organized under the central theme "Opening up new frontiers" which reflects the exciting prospects emerging in the mining sector due to the ongoing reforms.
This year, the forum has brought together more than 450 executives from 16 countries, representing 152 mining and metallurgical companies, ministries, geological committees, investment companies, banks, stock exchanges, service companies and mining equipment manufacturers.
Over 80 speakers and panelists presented at the forum. The themes addressed during the forum included the key trends and projects developing in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
During the forum’s plenary and technical sessions, we have conducted survey asking delegates to share their views on changes evolving in Kazakhstan’s mining industry.
Please open the hyperlinks to review post-event results and press releases
To purchase a full report containing presentation slides, videos and photos, please complete this order form.
University of Zurich
1-6 Sept. 2019
Morteratsch (Switzerland)
Topics to be covered in lectures, excursions and workshops include dating techniques such as numerical methods
(radiocarbon, exposure dating with cosmogenic nuclides, OSL, 137Cs, 210Pb, etc.), dendrochronology, anthracology, archaeomagnetic dating, palaeolimnology, as well as relative methods like soil weathering and Schmidt-hammer technique. See also attached flyer.
List of lecturers:
Holger Gärtner (WSL), Paolo Cherubini (WSL), Markus Egli (Univ. of Zurich), Susan Ivy-Ochs (ETH Zurich/Uni Zurich), Dmitry Tikhomirov (ETH Zurich/Uni Zurich), Dennis Dahms (Univ. Northern Iowa), Irka Hajdas (ETH Zurich), Jérôme Poulenard (University Savoie Mont Blanc), Eileen Eckmeier (LMU University of Munich), Evdokia Tema (Univ. of Torino), Pierre Valla (Univ. of Bern), Nathalie Dubois (EAWAG) and others.
The Summer School is open to young researchers (Ph.D. students and post-docs) worldwide.
Participation is competitive and will be limited to a maximum of 20.
The registration fee (750 CHF) includes accommodation (room sharing required),
half board and lunch, field trips and teaching material.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 30 April 2019
Click here to register.
READ MORE
The Korean Society of Engineering Geology
Jeju Island, Republic of Korea (South Korea)
23-27 Sept. 2019
Call for abstracts
12th ARC of IAEG is calling for abstracts towards engineering geologists around the globe to make this conference meaningful and fruitful. Please be noticed with the information as follows.
- Abstract submission deadline — May 31
- Pre-registration opens — June
- Earlybird registration deadline (standard registration opens) — July
IAEG's tradition is that all the Commissions shall hold their Commission Meeting at the IAEG regional conference or congress. Since the organizer of 12th ARC is doing preparations for the meeting rooms and is setting up the schedule, it's very important for them to know how many Commissions are going to hold the meetings. If you have such plans, please contact Prof. Hyuck-Jin Park. He would be very glad to assist you with all the arrangements of your meetings during the 12th ARC. His email address is hjpark@sejong.edu.
Click here for more information and abstract submission guidelines.
Visualization — A Powerful Tool or a Potential Problem?
Present your visualization of an engineering geological model at the C25 workshop
being held during the 12th ARC in Jeju Island.
A bottle of fine red Australian wine will be awarded for the best model!
Click here to learn more.
IAEG
Hotel De Bently, Plot 892, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala Street
Utako District, Abuja, Nigeria
27-30 Oct. 2019
The theme of the 2nd IAEG African Regional Congress reflects on the role of geology in the Sustainable
Development of African Countries. Decades of development without planning and planning without accurate
geoscientific data have scuttled Africa's dream for sustained economic growth. An accurate geologic map is
needed to understand the Earth's resources and hazards. A geologic map provides basic data for understanding
both past and present-day processes affecting not only the Earth but also structures created by humans on or in
the earth.
READ MORE
China Xinhua News
See the video here.
READ MORE
Geological Survey of Norway
Twenty-five new unstable rock slopes risk were classified and added to the Norwegian database! Three of them will be periodically monitored.
READ MORE
Planetary Geomorphology
The availability of high resolution imagery of the surface of Mars from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CTX and HiRISE cameras (NASA PDS) allow us to reconstruct fantastic 3D views of the martian topography using stereophotogrammetry technique. Digital terrain models are obtained using the difference in two images of the same target taken from different angles.
READ MORE
USA Today
A strong earthquake hit off El Salvador early Thursday, sending frightened residents running out of their homes in the predawn hours.
Authorities said a small tsunami was possible, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.
"Monitoring of the entire country reflects that there has not been grave or widespread damage," El Salvador's Civil Defense agency said.
READ MORE
Vietnam Plus
As of May 29, floods, whirlwinds, and landslides in Vietnam’s northern region killed two people and injured two others, while causing heavy property losses, according to the Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. The committee said that floods, whirlwinds, and landslides collapsed 53 houses, while blowing the roof off of four factories — forcing one household to evacuate, and drowning 26.2 hectare of rice fields and 17.7 hectare of crops.
READ MORE
WPXI-TV
Severe storms moved through the Pittsburgh area Tuesday night and into Wednesday evening, causing flooding and mudslides.
Hundreds of power outages have also been reported across the area.
READ MORE
Science Alert
A volcano erupted on the Indonesian island of Bali Saturday, sending ash into the sky over surrounding villages and lava pouring down its sides.
The island's Mount Agung put national agencies on notice, causing some flight cancellations but no reported casualties with the eruption, which reportedly spread lava and incandescent rocks over about two miles.
READ MORE
Ars Technica
On Wednesday, Chinese newspapers ran commentaries warning the United States that escalating trade tensions would result in China cutting off its rare-earth-minerals trade with the US. China is the dominant supplier of rare-earth minerals around the world. The minerals are used in all sorts of advanced materials and play a prominent role in the operation of electric motors, wind turbines, and military-related material.
READ MORE
The Landslide Blog
Planets Labs have kindly captured a high-resolution SkySat image of the Joffre Peak landslides. This is a beautiful image, capturing the track of the landslide in full. Note that there are some distortions in the source area, an artifact of the processing of an oblique image to a vertical view. Of course there are better ways to capture imagery of very steep slopes than the use of satellite images. But, importantly, the track is fully imaged.
READ MORE
IAEG
Check out what's going on in the world of geological science:
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| Date |
Event |
Location |
| June 24-26, 2019 |
EOEC Meeting |
Chengdu, China
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| Sept. 17-22, 2019 |
AEG in Asheville |
North Carolina, USA
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| Sept. 23-27, 2019 |
ARC of IAEG
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South Korea
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| Oct. 3-5, 2019 |
ENGGEO 2019 |
Denizli, Turkey
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| Oct. 27-30, 2019 |
2nd IAEG Africa Regional Congress |
Abuja, Nigeria
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| March 2-8, 2020 |
36th International Geological Congress |
Delhi, India
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