Geotechnical News • December 2017
21
GEOHAZARDS
Introduction by Richard Guthrie, Editor
Summer 2017
Summer’s verdant greens stumbled
over themselves in a race to try on the
reds and golds of autumn this year. In
Alberta, we even tried on the mantle
of snow, but decided we weren’t quite
ready. The bulk of the field work
wrapped up safely in gorgeous sun
dappled vistas as shorter days drew
closer.
I know that many drilling programs
will continue through the winter, and
for our snow avalanche colleagues, the
season is only just beginning, but fall
always seems to me to be a resetting
of the clock and a time to reflect, if
momentarily, on the year.
I was asked to give a talk to the EGBC
AGM this year and what started in
my head as a technical talk, ended up
being a philosophical piece about the
challenges of risk assessments, liabil-
ity, and geotechnical work in general.
The paper that follows is reproduced
(with permission) from an article
published this fall in Innovation. GN
has been good enough to provide the
full set of references in case you want
to dig further into some of the ideas.
Hopefully, you find something in the
article that resonates with you.
By the time you read this, your winter
program will have begun. Report writ-
ing, field work, analysis. I wish you
success in your endeavors, and hope
you have time this winter to enjoy the
season.
7th Canadian Geohazards
Conference – Geohazards 7:
Engineering Resiliency in a
Changing Climate
The Canadian Geotechnical Society
(CGS) is pleased to announce the 7th
Canadian Geohazards Conference –
Geohazards 7 – to be held June 3-6,
2018 at the Coast Canmore Hotel
& Conference Centre in Canmore,
Alberta. The CGS’s Geohazards
conferences are the premiere forums
in Canada for the sharing and dis-
semination of scientific and engineer-
ing knowledge related to geohazard
assessment and risk management.
Canmore is ideally situated for host-
ing Geohazards 7. It is located within
easy travel distance from the Calgary
International Airport, and is less than
a 30-minute drive from Banff National
Park. Heavy rainfall in June 2013
resulted in the worst floods in Alber-
ta’s history. Landslides, debris floods
and debris flows cut off highway and
rail access to Banff and Canmore, and
many homes constructed on allu-
vial fans were destroyed. Municipal
governments, the Province and the
engineering and geoscience commu-
nity have since carried out aggressive
programs to quantify geohazard risk,
increase public awareness of hazards,
and are constructing mitigation mea-
sures to reduce future risk. Canmore is
a terrific venue to showcase the results
of some of these initiatives, which will
feature in the conference program and
fieldtrip.
This conference will be of interest to
engineering and geoscience students
and consultants, industry, and gov-
ernment agency representatives who
are involved in planning, approval,
construction and operation of infra-
structure and residential develop-
ment in areas prone to geohazards.
The conference will touch on the full
gamut of hazards and risks associated
with floods, debris flows, landslides,
snow avalanche, earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, degrading permafrost and
more. Arming participants with greater
awareness of methods for quantifying
geohazard magnitude and frequency
for risk assessment and mitigation
design, quantifying uncertainty in a
changing climate, and communicat-
ing with the public about geohazard
issues, are key objectives of the
conference.
Closing Notes
Thank you for your letters! If you
have a paper or project related to
Geohazards that you think would be
interesting to GN readers, please send
me note at
Until the spring,
Rick
