ALBERTA, CANADA....Taking the Mystery Out of the Canadian Subsurface. :-)

The thoughtful team from SUMMIT LIABILITY SOLUTIONS, INC. in Calgary are some of the most professional geoscientists anywhere.   The classroom training for TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF THE SUBSURFACE was well received, and the excellent questions and discussions about different soil classification systems was among the most important ever.  

Canada has regulations about land reclamation that demand the Canadian Soil Texturing Classification is used which is appropriate since it's applied only to the top 1.0 meter and to the A-Horizon and the B-Horizon.  The Canadian system is similar to the USDA Texture Triangle, but it's not exactly the same.

For the classroom training, we normally teach the Unified Soil Classification System since it the most widely used soil classification system in the world, and is the standard for hydrogeologic and environmental projects that have an engineering component.  

But in Canada, the Modified USCS is often used.  The Canadian Modified USCS included nuances with both the fine-grained classifications (addition of the 'INTERMEDIATE CLAY (CI)" and the coarse-grained classification with a subtle difference in percentages of fine-grained fractions for Group Names.  It's still super simple to learn soil classifications because the symmetry is maintained with the Canadian system.

I tip my hat in Thanks and Respect to the great people from SUMMIT LIABILITY SOLUTIONS, INC.

midwestgeo.com

 

"Contaminant Fate and Transport in Bedrock" Training Experience

The Midwest GeoSciences Group course, Contaminant Fate and Transport in Bedrock, introduces a unique mindset to think about how contaminants move in fractured settings.   The principles of solute transport are very complex, but add dependent variables like rock type (lithology, mineralogy, geochemistry, and landscape position) and contaminant speciation and variation, calculations can seem daunting.  

To the credit of the participants, this year's course was a fascinating journey of scientific thinking.  It's rewarding to witness the pride that people have in their work....and this course exemplified that care and pride.   The instructors and I tip our hat to the participants.

This course is a series of classroom lectures and exercises intended to improve hydrogeologic analysis of contaminant fate and transport calculations in fractured rock. We added a new workshop dedicated to PFAs to this 2-day CE event because both instructors are considered to be on the forefront of research and remediation on these unique contaminants. The course is designed for the consulting scientists and engineers who work on environmental projects of various geologic conditions. We offer these courses for the sole purpose of helping colleagues unravel confusing hydrogeologic and contamination complexities.

Matt Reeves and Martin Helmke have thoughtfully designed this important course. They are uniquely qualified to teach the principles of contaminant fate and transport because of their success in addressing various hydrogeologic scale issues that are pose an appreciable challenge to our industry; but also they both appreciate connecting with and helping people. 

MidwestGeo would like to especially thank our friends at Matrix Solutions, Inc. for sharing their training room and for being the title sponsor for this course. You Rock!

Here's a collection of photos from the course experience.

Luggage Identity.

 Luggage Tags, that's all.

Slug Testing during the Aquifer Testing Course 2024

 Fort Collins is a special place for lots of reasons.   But one reason is because it's the home of one of the most fun and effective aquifer testing courses anywhere.

This year's course was no exception.  It's rewarding to witness the progression of participant's skill development and knowledge transfer during any teaching event.   This year's course participants were inspiring with their thoughtful questions, along with leading to practicing their field skills during the outdoor exercises on Day Three.   On behalf of the instructors, thank you to the participants for your positive energy.

Here's some random photos from the 2024 aquifer testing course.

Mile High Mysteries of the Subsurface

The professionals at HDR, Inc. who participated in the 6.5-hour training, TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF THE SUBSURFACE are technical masters of engineering projects. 

The training was in Denver, which is already about a mile above sea level, but their office is on the 35th Floor which seemed like another mile above the ground when I looked downward from the ceiling to floor window.

Their success is inevitable and it's my honor to contribute to it with the training experience.   The HDR team commands respect with their business success driven by technical excellence.  But there is another element about their success that's not hidden, it's their natural gift of personal connection.  The way they interact with each other is inspiring but also draws out their best abilities.  Way to go!

Thank you to the gracious hosts at HDR, Inc and learning from the work locations where the participants travelled from about the US is humbling.   Again, it's my honor to contribute to your inevitable success.

Keep going, don't stop!