CAREER: Enhanced Approach to Geophysical Imaging of Geotechnical Sites

该职业奖支持研究和教育活动，这些活动将加强地球物理学在岩土工程场地特征描述中的应用。这将通过三个活动来完成：*告知、教学和培训未来和现在的工程师关于地球物理在工程中的效用、方法、优点和缺点；*开发一个工程地球物理试验场，适合于干旱的西部城市地区，用于教学和研究；加强涉及地震表面波的地球物理技术，以解决岩土系统的横向变异性。没有一个岩土工程场地是真正同质的，但目前用于解释结果的模型是基于这一假设。首席研究员将与学生、学术界和私营企业的合作者一起进行实验和分析研究，以确定这一假设的有效性。在此过程中，将开发通过解释表面波数据来表征站点可变性的方法，包括开发一种改进的表面波光谱分析（SASW）方法，该方法结合了区域覆盖。该技术在实践中的应用包括建立沙漠冲积层中钙质和胶结沉积物的硬包裹体的横向和纵向范围，以及探测和描绘人工隧道和自然腔等埋藏包裹体。这个项目的教育部分包括向中学女生介绍地球物理学的概念；为本科生和研究生开设工程地球物理课程；并为开发工程地球物理继续教育课程奠定基础。

This CAREER award supports research and educational activities that will enhance the application of geophysics in characterization of geotechnical sites. This will be accomplished through three activities: * informing, teaching, and training future and present engineers about the utility, methods, advantages, and drawbacks of geophysics in engineering; * developing an engineering geophysics test site appropriate for an urban area in the arid West, for purposes of both teaching and research; and, * enhancing a geophysical technique involving seismic surface waves to address lateral variability in geotechnical systems. No geotechnical site is truly homogeneous, yet current the models currently applied to interpret results are based on this assumption. The Principal Investigator will work alongside students and collaborators in academics and private industry to perform experimental and analytical research to determine the extent to which this assumption is valid. In the process, methods will be developed to characterize the variability of a site through interpretation of the surface wave data, including development of a modified Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Wave (SASW) method that incorporates areal coverage. Applications for this technique in practice include establishment of lateral and vertical extent of hard inclusions of calcrete and cemented deposits in desert alluvium, and detection and delineation of buried inclusions such as man-made tunnels and natural cavities. The educational component of this project includes introducing middle-school girls to the concept of geophysics; developing coursework in engineering geophysics for both undergraduate and graduate students; and laying the groundwork to develop a continuing education course in engineering geophysics for practicing engineers.