Spatial Informatics Group, LLC - Civil Engineering & Utilites

Our Company

Ecology

Natural Assest (tm)

Land Conservation Prioritization

Landuse Change Detection

Geology

Seismic Slope Stability

Geomorphologic Terrain Analysis

Civil Engineering & Utilites

Geographic Infromation Systems have become a prevalent method of analysis in civil engineering. Flexible GIS models that manipulate, compile and process spatial data above or below the earth’s surface have provided a powerful tool in civil engineering applications. Spatial Informatics Group provides GIS solutions and critical analysis in the following areas of civil engineering:

Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering

Geographic Information Systems have demonstrated to be a valuable tool in geotechnical earthquake engineering. They provide the means for storing, manipulating, analyzing and graphically representing soil data and analysis results. Team members at Spatial Informatics Group have applied GIS to seismic slope stability and through a research grant funded by PEER and PG&E, they have developed a model to evaluate ground deformations in native ground. At Spatial Informatics Group, we address the three main problems of concern in geotechnical earthquake engineering:

Estimation of Potential Ground Shaking
Ground Deformation and landslide hazard modeling
Liquefaction susceptibility Analysis

These analyses are either performed for scenario earthquakes (deterministic analysis) or by using probabilisitc hazard analysis which considers the effect from all possible future events. Depending on our client's needs and providing local soil parameter information is available, we can apply advanced analytical GIS models to perform an indepth study on a relatively small scale. Our ground motion analysis for this type of a study can include effects of local topography, such as basins and ridges. On a more regional scale, however, detailed soil data are not available and we employ empirical relationships and a soil classification scheme to develop our models.

Our GIS-based analysis for geotechnical earthquake engineering is directed towards both the private and public sector. Macrozonation maps developed by our analysis can be used by insurance companies to appraise property value. Utility companies can benefit from a probabilistic ground deformation GIS to plan the layout of future transmission line grids and allocate funding to more critical areas. Private engineering firms can use site-specific GIS and integrate it with sophisticated Finite Element Models to perform an indepth geotechnical study of an area.

Geological and Construction Engineering Geographic Information Systems are frequently used for regional and feasibility studies or as an aid to site analysis before and/or during project development. Integration of GIS with remotely sensed satelite data has proved especially valuable in remote locations where only a sketchy map base, or no map base at all is available. Our GIS consulting services in Geological and Construction Engineering applications are focused in the following areas: Site feasibility modeling: Spatial Informatics Groups' GIS analysis will facilitate the work of both engineers and geologists by identifying and processing geologic, environmental and cultural factors that could affect a project. These include: landslides, flood-prone areas, suitability of terrain, shallow-water bathymetry, or identifying lithologic and structural features that may have an impact on seimic design criteria. Furthermore the optimal distribution of irrigation canals and reservoirs, identification of alternate dam sites, transmission-line grids, highway and pipeline routes, and potential construction aggregate sources are GIS applications offered by SIG which are important to preliminary site evaluation and the engineering-construction industry.


Soil erosion and coastal protection: We offer GIS consulting in modeling the degree of soil loss by combining and processing such geo-spatial information as slope length, soil erodability, nature of precipitation, vegetation cover, and extent of development of an area. The result of the integration of such data may be a map showing the degree of soil loss in the area upon which recommendations can be made on how to most productively decrease soil loss. Mining and Mineral Exploration: Our GIS analyis can help engineers in locating feasible mining prospects and in more efficient extraction of minerals by mapping profiles of the subsurface through integrating remote senesed imagery with such spatial information as borehole data, soil samples and seismic surveys.