As the year comes to a close, we take a closer look at the analytics to see how users have interacted with the site and to gauge our most-read articles. Readers do not interact with all content, of course. As expected, they focus on their particular areas of engineering interest. That might be a sector of engineering (e.g., transportation, coastal protection), a type of information (e.g, an abstract from our database), identifying an event to attend (via our calendar), searching for a supplier (via the Buyer’s Guide), etc.
With that in mind, and with the site usage spread across more than a half a million readers, we find fairly close numbers between pretty diverse content in our most-read articles.
Listed below are 2016’s Top 10 stories so far, arranged here alphabetically rather than by current rank. (We will reveal our final rankings for 2016 in the December 29 newsletter.) Some positions will shift before the year concludes.
While there is still time for a new story to enter the list, it would be a massive challenge. The least read of these stories has enjoyed ~5000 reads. It is more likely that an older story (such as those ranked 11 – 15) might edge into the Top 10. We’ve listed those near-contenders too.
It will be almost impossible for a story published after today to reach #1 for the year. The biggest story on this list has had 7500+ reads.
TRENDS IN TOP STORIES
The earliest of the stories in these lists comes from February 3 and the latest publication date from November 13. They focus on work with geomembranes and GCLs (7 stories), geogrid reinforcement (3), geotextiles and geotextile tubes (2), and one each about geotechnical software, a company profile, and an association leadership change. These are project stories, technology stories, discussion-provoking contributions, round-up articles of what is available in the field. They focus on coastal protection, mining, waste management, wastewater, bridge work, and much more.
The impact of social media is apparent in the lists. Nearly all of the stories that have edged ahead of the hundreds of others published on Geosynthetica are ones that our staff has shared in social media and which the companies and people featured in them have also picked up and shared. This is especially true for companies with a presence across multiple social media platforms.
Special Note: We are ranking only those stories published in 2016. There were, in fact, three items from the archives that ranked in the top 10. They were:
- INTERVIEW: Polymeric Strap Reinforcement for MSE Walls (Published 2015)
- Forthcoming IGS Conferences, 2016 to 2018 (Published 2014)
- Stress Cracking in HDPE Geomembranes: What it is and How to Avoid it (Published 2002!!)
GEOSYNTHETICA’S TOP 10 MOST-READ ARTICLES for 2016
(Listed alphabetically, not by traffic rank)
13-Year Study of Exposed, Green Geomembrane Cover
Published September 28
34m High MSE Walls for Cerro Verde Copper Mine Crushers
Published March 28
Airport Runway Redesign with Geosynthetic Reinforcement
Published April 7
Avoiding Whales in Anaerobic Digesters
Published October 20
Bridge Approach Embankment with MSE Walls and Pulverized Fuel Ash
Published November 13
Earth Anchors for an Exposed Geomembrane Cover
Published March 24
Geosynthetic Design Software and Calculator Tools
Published June 9
Geotextile Tubes for Breakwaters and Beach Restoration in Mexico
Published September 15
ITA Elects Brazil’s Celestino as New President
Published April 29
Successful Field Trial for Graphene-Enhanced Geotextiles
Published August 25
KEEPING IT CLOSE – STORIES RANKED BETWEEN 11 – 15
(Again, alphabetically listed; not listed by traffic ranking)
10 Geomembrane Questions
Published June 28
Celebrating 10 Years and Looking More Like a Titan Each Day
Published July 8
Brine Ponds for Coal Seam Gas Operations
Published July 20
GCLs Continue to Influence Barrier Designs
Published February 3
The Lighter Side of Geomembranes
Published September 7
