April 2015 Dinner with AEG

Speaker: Eldon Gath with Earth Consultants International in Santa Ana, California.  He's the 2014-2015 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer in Engineering Geology

Date: Thursday, April 16, 2015

Topic:  Tectonic Geomorphic and Paleoseismic Investigations for the Panama Canal

Presentation: Not available

Summary:  The talk started with an overview of the Panama Canal and the Canal Expansion Project.  This talk then summarized five years of geological exploration in Panama to quantify the fault hazards to the Panama Canal and the Canal Expansion Project, using tectonic geomorphic mapping and analysis, paleoseismic trenching, and seismic hazard analysis. Faults that were investigated include the Gatún, Limón, Azota, Pedro Miguel, Miraflores, and Agua Blanca. The talk illustrated techniques of field reconnaissance, trench-site selection, 3-D trenching of strike slip faults, and how to assemble data into a seismic hazard model.