GEOINFORMATION
Here are some interesting and useful links that provide information on geology, soils, and geotechnical engineering. These sites aren’t just for geotechnical engineers or geologists; these sites provide info that everyone may find of interest.
Geoprofessional Business Association
Consulting geoprofessionals work in a high-risk field. Because most of what we do is underground, there is much we can’t see and can’t predict. Therefore, our line of work is prone to complications and unexpected conditions during construction. There is a great organization that helps consulting geoprofessionals and our clients manage our risk: the Geoprofessional Business Association.
Elevate Geoprofessional Value
The clients that hire consulting geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, and geoenvironmental professionals sometimes use the wrong criteria when choosing their consultants. Instead of selecting the most qualified consultant, they instead choose the lowest cost, and you always get what you pay for. Low fee often results in low value. Commoditization of consulting geoprofessional services creates lots of problems. For more information about this concern, check out the Elevate Geoprofessional Value website.
RockD App
If you’re wondering about the bedrock that is below you, whether it is 2 feet deep or 2000 feet deep, there’s a free app that can tell you everything you need to know. Check out the RockD app. It will tell you the name of the rock formation that is below your current location, all sorts of geological info about that rock, and show you a geologic map of your current location.
Geotechtools Website
The Geotechtools website provides tremendous resources about ground improvement to anyone involved in design or construction. You have to set up an account, but it is free to anyone. The website provides descriptions and applicability of all the various types of ground improvement that can reduce foundation costs on your project. The “Technology Selection” tool is an interactive process that asks questions about your project and recommends a ground improvement method that may work on your site.
Historic Aerial Photographs Online
(Before Google Earth®)
When we need to understand if any other structures used to exist at our projected sites, we all use Google Earth® to look at old aerial photographs. However, those photos typically only go back about 30 years. If you want to find older aerial photographs or topographic maps, check out the Historic Aerials website: You can find aerial photos and topo maps as old as the 1930s here.
USDA Soil Maps
If you’d like to learn about the soil at a project site anywhere in the USA, check out the Web Soil Survey. The US Department of Agriculture of Agriculture mapped all the soils in the USA decades ago. Their effort was focused on agricultural aspects of soil, but they also mapped the geotechnical engineering aspects of the soil. That information can be helpful when completing a preliminary geotechnical evaluation of a site. Click on the “Start WSS” button on the website and you can zoom in on any site and create a variety of soil maps and reports for that site.
