8 September 2010 – The National Science Foundation-sponsored Geo-engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Team is traveling to Christchurch, New Zealand to document the effects of the Magnitude 7.0 earthquake that occurred on 4 September 2010. The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center is also co-sponsoring this effort. GEER teams focus on documenting geotechnical effects of extreme events as part of the U.S. National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).
Professor Russell Green, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, is coordinating the investigation of the earthquake’s geotechnical impacts. Other Team members are Professors Edward Kavazanjian, Arizona State University; Brady Cox, University of Arkansas; Scott Ashford, Oregon State University; Tara Hutchinson, University of California at San Diego; Mr. John Allen, TRI Environmental, Inc.; and Mr. William Godwin, Fugro William Lettis & Associates, Inc.
The New Zealand members of the Team include Professors Misko Cubrinovski, Elisabeth Bowman, Brendon Bradley, Mark Quigley (all from the University of Canterbury), Mick Pender, Rolando Orense, and Tam Larkin (all from the University of Auckland).
Additionally, the GEER Team is coordinating its efforts with teams organized by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and ASCE Technical Committee on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering (TCLEE).
Advancing earthquake-resistant design requires that we understand what happened during this significant earthquake. It is critically important, because extreme events engineering is an experiencedriven field. Immediately following the occurrence of an event, perishable data that can be used to advance our understanding must be systematically collected. Field observations are particularly important in the field of geo-engineering, because it is difficult to replicate in the laboratory soil deposits built by nature over thousands of years. Documenting and sharing the key lessons learned from major events around the world contributes significantly to advancing research and practice in engineering.
PLAN
GEER Team member John Allen currently resides in Christchurch, NZ and has been performing preliminary reconnaissance of the earthquake damage, which will help focus the efforts of the other members of the Team upon their arrival. The remaining US members of the Team will be in country by Friday, September 10. An initial aerial reconnaissance will be performed by helicopter to get an overall assessment of damage and damage patterns. This will be followed up by meetings with the New Zealand members of the Team, as well as with local Geotechnical Engineer and Geological Engineer practitioners.
The Team will be working in the field until September 16, with the initial plan to focus efforts on:
- Building foundation response
- Liquefaction and other ground failures
- Performance of landfills
- Performance of bridges and other lifelines
- Performance of port facilities
The US participants will be working hand-in-hand with the New Zealand Team members.
CONTACT
Additional information is available by contacting the GEER Steering Committee Chair, Professor Jonathan Bray, Ph.D., P.E. of UC Berkeley at +1 510 642 9843 or bray@ce.berkeley.edu. Information on GEER is available at http://www.geerassociation.org/.
