Geotechnical News • March 2017
35
GEOTECHNICAL INSTRUMENTATION NEWS
Introduction by John Dunnicliff, Editor
This is the 89
th
episode of GIN. Just one article this time.
Remote monitoring of
deformation
During the 2011 Symposium on Field
Measurements in Geomechanics
(FMGM) in Berlin there were a large
number of papers describing remote
methods of monitoring deformation. I
was so confused by the many acro-
nyms that I invited various colleagues
to contribute explanatory articles for
GIN. This resulted in seven articles in
March and June 2012 GIN (remember
that you can read these by clicking
on the appropriate month on www.
geotechnicalnews.com/instrumenta-
tion_news.php):
• Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), by
Matthew Lato, March.
• Terrestrial interferometric synthetic
aperture radar (TInSAR), by Paolo
Mazzanti, March.
• Robotic total station (RTS), by
Rob Nyren, Ryan Drefus and Sean
Johnson, March.
• Reflectorless robotic total station
(RRTS), by Damien Tamagnan and
Martin Beth, March.
• Satellite interferometric synthetic
aperture radar (SInSAR), by Fran-
cesca Bozzano and Alfredo Rocca,
June.
• Digital photogrammetry (DP), by
Raul Fuentes and Stuart Robson,
June.
• Differential global positioning sys-
tem (D-GPS), by Jason Bond and
Rob Nyren, June.
In December 2012 GIN, Paolo Maz-
zanti contributed an overview of those
seven methods. His article included
comparative evaluations of the seven
methods, a table of advantages and
limitations, and a table indicating
applicability of each method for vari-
ous project-type applications. In my
view this octet formed one of the most
reader-friendly groups of articles in
the history of GIN.
Here’s a ninth, with yet another
acronym – manual reflectorless total
station monitoring (MRTS), by
Colin Hope and Stephen Dawe of
Monir Precision Monitoring. This
article shows that, under typical site
conditions, accuracies can range from
+/-4mm to +/- 2mm.
Please be aware that my colleagues
who organize the annual monitoring
courses in Italy (see below) have great
expertise in the various remote meth-
ods for monitoring deformation, and
many will be covered during the June
course in Rome.
Fourth International Course on
Geotechnical and Structural
Monitoring,
June 13-15, 2017 in Rome, Italy.
The course schedule is now on www.
geotechnicalmonitoring.com. Regis-
tration for the course can be made on
en/registration.
Registration for the June 12 Master
Classes can be made on the same site.
Master Classes and leaders will be:
1. Piezometers: Tony Simmonds,
Geokon Inc., USA
2. Inclinometers: Erik Mikkelsen,
GeoMetron Inc., USA
3. Extensometers: Giorgio Pezzetti,
SMAK s.a.s., Italy
4. Total stations: Martin Beth, SIX-
ENSE Soldata, France
5. Global navigation satellite system
(GNSS): Stefano Gandolfi; Uni-
versity of Bologna, Italy
6. Terrestrial Radar: Paolo Mazzanti,
NHAZCA, Italy
Each class will cover the following
main topics: installation, data acquisi-
tion, data processing, tricks and tips
from everyday experience.
During the main course we will again
have sessions on “New Monitor-
ing Trends” and “Case Histories and
Lessons Learned”, with presentations
given by practitioners and exhibitors.
Come and join us in magnificent
Rome - a city of huge historical and
cultural interest!
Closure
Please send an abstract of an article
for GIN to
co.uk—see the guidelines on
www.
geotechnicalnews.com/instrumenta-
tion_news.php
L’chaim (‘To life’) – Hebrew
Differential Satellite SAR Interfer-
ometry. Graphic by Alfredo Rocca,
HHAZCA.
