Geomechanics.io

A catastrophic breach on the Llangollen Canal near New Mills Lift Bridge, Whitchurch has drained a long pound and damaged the embankment, despite recent routine inspections reporting no visible defects. Engineers from the Canal & River Trust are now investigating potential failure mechanisms, including internal erosion, leakage paths and historic construction weaknesses in the canal lining and embankment core. The incident raises immediate questions over current visual inspection regimes for ageing UK canal earthworks and whether more frequent intrusive or remote condition monitoring is needed on high-consequence reaches.

Geoquest Australia is deploying turn-key geotechnical systems to reduce geo-risk and weather-related damage to transport infrastructure under rising sea levels, higher rainfall intensity and more frequent extreme heat and fire events. The company is focusing on sustainably produced ground improvement and erosion control products, including stabilisation solutions for road embankments and coastal assets, to limit scour, slippage and pavement failure during intense storms. For asset owners, the approach points to integrated design–supply packages that combine geosynthetics, drainage and soil reinforcement to extend asset life and cut maintenance interventions.

Soil nailing has been selected as the primary long-term stabilisation method for a failing section of Swanage seafront, with works expected to cost at least £4.5M. The scheme will address ongoing ground movement and slope instability affecting coastal infrastructure and promenade assets, where traditional retaining solutions have proved less viable. Designers and contractors will need to manage marine exposure, corrosion protection for nails and facing, and construction sequencing to maintain public access along this constrained shoreline.

The International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, via the International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories, has opened a call for papers for a Special Issue on “Geo-Hazards: Lessons from the Ground”. Submissions are sought on documented case histories of landslides, liquefaction, sinkholes, tailings failures and other geo-hazards, emphasising in-situ data, back-analyses and performance of mitigation works. The issue targets practice-oriented lessons for design, monitoring and risk management, with detailed ground investigation records and instrumentation results strongly encouraged.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is assessing options for a new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and a strategic geological gas storage facility to bolster UK gas resilience. An FSRU would provide ship-based LNG storage and regasification at an import terminal, while geological storage would likely use depleted gas fields or salt caverns for high-volume, seasonal buffering. The work signals potential demand for large-diameter offshore pipelines, high-pressure injection wells and long-term integrity management of underground gas containment.

New research on Australian expansive clays warns that more frequent intense rainfall and drought cycles are accelerating differential movement and cracking in lightweight buildings, pavements and transport corridors founded on shrink–swell soils. The work points to heave and settlement driven by deep moisture fluctuations, with particular concern for lightly loaded slabs, shallow footings and low-volume roads where historical climate data underestimates design suction changes. Engineers are urged to revisit site classification, footing depth, drainage and moisture barriers, and to integrate updated climate projections into geotechnical design for new and existing assets.

Ground conditions at Sizewell C have forced the Civil Works Alliance to depart from the Hinkley Point C reference design for the offshore intake and outfall tunnels, driving new solutions for lining, support and construction sequencing. Contractors have had to re-optimise tunnel geometry and TBM drive strategy for the North Sea sediments and local stratigraphy, rather than the harder rock and different stress regime at Hinkley. The changes affect segment design, joint detailing and groundwater control, with direct implications for durability, settlement behaviour and marine interface works.

Keller has completed a ground improvement scheme for Encinal High School Stadium in Alameda, California, collaborating with the project geotechnical engineer to satisfy California Geological Survey seismic requirements. The solution, delivered as part of a larger stadium renovation, used ground improvement to mitigate liquefaction and lateral spreading risks identified in the site’s young bay mud and loose granular fills. For practitioners, the project shows how early contractor–engineer integration can tailor seismic ground improvement to school facilities on soft, seismically active coastal deposits.

AGS’s July update launches an Early Careers Video, “Discovering a Rewarding Career in the Geo-Industry”, for use by industry representatives in schools and universities, and reports 2023 geotechnical and geoenvironmental accident statistics based on a 127% increase in contributing organisations. A new two-part SiLC PTP series critiques the standard of land contamination reports submitted through the planning system, echoing regulator concerns about report quality and consistency. Forthcoming events include a 25 September EDI-focused webinar and a November Manchester meeting on groundwater impacts across design and construction stages.

AGS’s September issue centres on Fugro’s move to cut single‑use plastic in site investigation by recycling core liners, alongside guidance on structuring Employee Networks to support both staff and business performance. A new EC7 Next Gen bitesize guide stresses that BS EN 1991:2023 must be used to correctly apply FprEN 1997:2024 when assigning geotechnical risk categories to structures. Practitioners are also alerted to potential environmental law changes under the Retained EU Law Act 2023 and to upcoming AGS events on EDI, groundwater in design and construction, and the 2025 London conference.

AGS launches new Piling and Sustainability Roadmaps and confirms renewed collaboration with the British Drilling Association to target health and safety performance across geotechnical operations. The group backs wider adoption of the National Quality Mark Scheme (NQMS) in response to regulatory concerns over investigation and reporting quality, and flags upcoming technical events on cone penetration testing (29 January 2025) and effective procurement of ground investigations (26 March 2025). An in‑person AGS Annual Conference on 1 May 2025 will focus on “The Future” of ground engineering practice.

AGS’s March issue centres on women’s safety and wellbeing in geotechnics, including profiles of SiLC’s female leads and reflections on basic PPE gaps such as safety boots not available in smaller sizes. Technical content covers EC7-compliant ground model construction, Net Zero-focused rolling dynamic compaction, and current constraints in professional indemnity insurance identified by the Loss Prevention Working Group. Forthcoming CPD includes an April webinar on effective procurement of ground investigations and a May in-person Annual Conference themed “The Future”, with an early-career workplace innovation poster competition and networking reception.

AGS Magazine’s November 2025 issue focuses on analytical challenges in interpreting historical soil data, material management plans, and a rise in environmental disputes affecting geotechnical and geoenvironmental projects. The edition publishes the 2024 Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Industry Accident Statistics, giving sector-wide safety performance data to benchmark site practices and risk controls. Early-career initiatives feature strongly, with an AGS Early Careers Poster Competition on “Top Five Industry Insights” and promotion of the Ground Forum Undergraduate Mentoring Programme for structured mentoring of future ground engineers.

Researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi report Curiosity rover evidence that liquid water once flowed beneath aeolian dunes in Gale Crater, forming cemented crusts and polygonal fracture networks in fine-grained sandstones. High-resolution Mastcam and ChemCam observations show cross-bedded units with indurated tops and moisture-related diagenetic features consistent with shallow subsurface flow rather than surface runoff. For planetary geotechnics, the work implies past groundwater-driven cementation, altered shear behaviour of dune-derived sediments, and more complex subsurface stratigraphy relevant to future drilling and in situ construction on Mars.

Central Alabama Water signalled it will stick with its existing Lake Purdy Dam stabilisation concept after its board heard conflicting expert recommendations on alternative designs. Vice Chair Phillip Wiedmeyer said the utility intends to proceed with the current plan, despite consultants presenting differing approaches to address the dam’s stability and safety margins. The decision keeps design assumptions and geotechnical investigation scope unchanged for now, affecting timelines for any foundation treatment, embankment works or spillway modifications.