How RUSLE2 Benefits Ag, Mining, Urban Design, and Other Sectors
Nearly 80 years of erosion data in the United States informs the massive RUSLE2 database, led by the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. In this episode, Dave Lightle shares his 40+ years of experience with the RUSLE2 mathematical prediction tool for erosion processes and better land management planning, including how the system extended beyond being a tool... »
Enhanced Wicking Geotextile Emerges from an Engineering Challenge
The Alaska Department of Transportation brought a specific engineering challenge to TenCate Geosynthetics: the need to enhance lateral drainage from roadway subgrades to minimize frost boils. The company came back not only with a design solution but a very unique geotextile, one which is now finding many different applications. Mark Sikkema of TenCate Geosynthetics discusses the development and us... »
PODCAST: Improving Waterways and Coasts with Geosynthetics
Waterway health and coastal resiliency are some of the most highly debated topics in infrastructure, as work or lack of addressing an issue in one locality can greatly impact another further down the river or coast. This complicates permitting and finalizing solutions. Joe Little of Little Environments PLLC spent some years working in Australia, where geosynthetics have frequently been deployed in... »
PODCAST: Creating Strong Environmental Programs
Infrastructure projects often shape our futures for the better, but they can also be tremendous sources of pollution—especially without proper attention to erosion and sediment control—and lead to poor relations with a community for a project’s stakeholders. How do we improve these relationships? How do we create strong environmental programs on construction sites? How do we give communities a sen... »
PODCAST: Proper Drainage and Venting of Geosynthetic Barrier Systems
The field of geosynthetics has seen a strong increase geomembrane performance debate. The topics have looked roundly at performance in exposed environments, in buried service conditions (e.g., landfill lining), from installation perspectives, and much more. The Berlin 2 think-tank gathering in 2014 on HDPE geomembranes, Queen’s University’s barrier studies, and the Geosynthetic Institute’s ever-gr... »
PODCAST: Bob Mackey on the State of Geosynthetics Education
A few years ago, the International Geosynthetics Society revived its Educate the Educators program. The initiative was developed in the early 1990s to help educate engineers, regulators, and academics about geosynthetic materials, which were flourishing in field use. More than 20 years later, the field of geosynthetics had grown enormously—but how to engineer with these materials had not become st... »