The Manitowoc Containment Facility is an engineered structure designed to hold materials excavated during dredging activities in Manitowoc Harbor (Wisconsin). Confined Disposal Facilities (CDFs) like this one are one of the most widely used strategies for managing and containing dredge materials. Also known in some areas as Dredge Material Management Areas (DMMAs), these facilities require long-term maintenance to ensure...

AGRU America’s podcast series explores geosynthetic applications and polymeric material advances that beneficially influence the performance of infrastructure. The latest episode finds Cody Miles discussing geosynthetics in aquaculture. (Listen below.) “Ideally … the majority of the operating costs in an efficient fish farm comes from the feed,” Miles says. “Therefore, using components such as cages or pipe systems that require...

The month of October offers plenty of playoff baseball for Geosynthetica's editor to obsess over in his free time (while his wife rolls her eyes and his daughter uses the distraction as a way to download another 40 games onto her iPhone), but it isn't all fun and games. It's also a month of engaging learning online. Here's a...

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) invests tens of thousands of dollars in engineering research, both in-house and with its GSI Fellowships program. The latter endeavor has supported Master’s and Doctoral students around the world in significant ways. These recipients, in turn, have entered the engineering field or progressed further in engineering with a background that features a strong understanding of...

Start the week with the latest in the geoengineering world. Here's the GeoWire conversation for the week of September 28. WORK SMARTER. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Himanshu Gupta argues that one thing that could accelerate the adoption of climate-friendly technologies and designs is if more climate scientists chose industry over academia. Is capitalism responsible for climate damage? Polluting industries that choose to operate...

The historic moat in Delitzsch, Germany had been losing water for decades and threatened to become swampy. Renovation plans included the planting of reeds. To prevent reed roots from growing into the bed and impair the moat, a multi-barrier seal was requested. The planners chose Bentofix® X from NAUE. This geosynthetic clay liner features a polyethylene coating on one side...

Start the week with the latest in the geoengineering world. Here's the GeoWire conversation for the week of September 21. WORK SMARTER. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT It's Climate Week in New York! European oil and gas companies have broadened their businesses with significant investments in renewables. American companies, conversely, have doubled down on fossil fuels. Germany, meanwhile, seems to be playing a double...

Immediately following 2014's 10th International Conference on Geosynthetics (September 2014, Berlin), a high-level, one-day workshop on exposed HDPE geomembranes convened at the headquarters of BAM, Germany’s Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. The event, Berlin 2, brought together field luminaries who represented not only the international practice but multiple perspectives from geosynthetics: polymer and additive package development, manufacturing, testing,...

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative uses a collaborative process to align natural and engineered systems "to efficiently and sustainably deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits." A large network of government agencies and non-governmental organizations (e.g., The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund) contribute knowledge and resources to EWN projects, publications, workshops, public outreach,...

GeoAmericas 2020 will be the first major geosynthetics conference to be held entirely online. The new format has been welcomed by the global community and a very noteworthy series of lectures has been announced. The 4th Pan-American Regional Conference on Geosynthetics will take place online 26 – 31 October 2020, giving participants plenty of flexibility to balance their learning schedule with work. We preview...