Annual ReportResearch, Development, and Innovation 2017

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Project Summary BGC Lead(s)

Cambio / RNT Our flagship research and development project continued through 2017. The data capture, analysis tools, and reporting tools are being modernized to take advantage of powerful database and mobile software tools.

Sarah Newton, Eldon Wong

Project Ada (Hololens)

We created a software application capable of converting GIS data into Hololens compatible files allowing the rapid creation of augmented reality visualizations.

Matt Lato, Bill Burton, Lucy Lee, Ivy Li, Gerald Magnusson

Rock Joint Direct Shear Test Machine

An innovative frame and hydraulic system was designed and fabricated to increase the efficiency and quality of direct shear testing of rock joints.

Ian Stilwell, Simon Dickinson, Mike Billings

Unearthed 2017 HackathonToronto

BGC and Koan partnered to win this hackathon with a set of data capture and processing tools that assist in the identification of mineral exploration targets.

Sarah Newton, Gerald Magnusson

RiverFlow 2D Evaluation

We tested and evaluated RiverFlow2D for use as a regional flood modelling tool.

Patrick Grover, Kris Holm

Machine Learning for Flood Forecasting

We completed a pilot study to test using machine learning techniques and stream monitoring data to predict flood conditions in rivers.

Patrick Grover

Pit Slope Failure Database

A web-based database allowing BGC’ers and our clients to contribute case studies of pit slope instabilities to a centralized database was brought online.

Warren Newcomen, John Whittall

Annual Research, Development, and Innovation ReportBGC’s strategic plan and big goal help us focus our efforts to advance the science and tools used we use to solve our client’s problems. We’ve been investing in internal projects, partnering with our clients and universities, and providing opportunities for our staff to publish and present the amazing work they do. Here’s what we worked on in 2017.

Internal ProjectsOur 2017 internal projects focused on the creation of new and innovative hardware and software tools and methods. Projects involving machine learning were initiated this year. The development of tools for Hololens resulted in “Project Ada”. We completed the construction of a new and innovative testing frame for direct shear testing of rock joints. Here are the internal project highlights from 2017:

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Railway Ground Hazard Program

BGC continued our support of the Railway Ground Hazard Program with our railway clients, Queen’s University and the University of Alberta.

Chris Bunce, Matt Lato, Dave Gauthier

Scour Hole Predictions

This project is focused on developing improved methods to predict the growth of scour holes during floods and the ultimate scour hole dimensions.

Pascal Szeftel

Channel Avulsion Assessment

Methods to develop “detrended” DEMs were expanded and optimized. These detrended DEMs were used in the identification of channel migration zones and possible avulsion locations.

Sarah Davidson, Hamish Weatherly

3D Runout Modelling for Snow Avalanches

Initial testing of applying DAN3D to snow avalanches was undertaken. Additional testing and validation will continue in 2018.

Mike Conlan, Katherine Johnston

Climate-Adjusted Peak Flow Analysis

Time series analyses of data from the Squamish, Elaho, and Lillooet river watersheds were completed to identify climate trends and correlations to regional climate data.

Melissa Hairabedian

Borehole Televiewer Surveys for Water Well Rehabilitation

Trial surveys of large diameter municipal water wells were completed with acoustic and optical televiewer probes to image the interiors of wells. The collected data is being analyzed to characterize the condition of the wells.

Marc Hodder

Climate Change and Debris Flows

A project was initiated to update 2009 work on debris-flows and climates change to reflect the latest climate models and predictions.

Matthias Jakob

Landform Design Tools

We continued our development of GIS and CAD tools to aid the rapid design of closure landforms for mining projects.

Julian McGreevy, Brent Mooder

Automated UAV Drone Ortho Processing

We developed a tool to automate compiling UAV drone photos into orthophotos with minimal operator intervention.

Megan van Veen, Dave Gauthier, Alex Baumgard

Unearth Hackathon 2017 Vancouver

We created and presented mobile mapping and information tools aimed at improving Teck’s haul truck performance.

Patrick Grover,Eric Zhou, Marco Diazgranados,Aron Zahradka,Steven He,Kai He,Jamie Sorensen

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University CollaborationIn 2017, we continued our focus on collaboration with university re-search groups. We provided funding for professors and our own staff returning to graduate school to undertake projects. New and ongoing collaborations are listed below:

Project University University Researcher(s)

BGC Lead(s)

InSAR for Landslide Displacement Maps

Simon Fraser University

Bernard Rabus, Farnoush Hosseini

Marc-Andre Brideau, Matt Lato

Rock Fall Hazard Assessments

University of British Columbia

Siobhan Whatcoat, Scott McDougall

Mike Porter, Dave Gauthier, Sarah Kimball

Remote Sensing for Evaluating Hazard Following Wildfires

University of Arkansas

Richard Coffman Scott Anderson

Bio-Cementation of Tailings

University of Alberta

Nick Beier, Yang Liu

Vanessa Mann

Debris-flow Risk Reduction Design Tool

Simon Fraser University

Doug Stead Emily Moase, Alex Strouth

Permafrost Partnership Network

Carleton University

Stephan Gruber Lukas Arenson

Trigger Mechanisms of Landslides Affecting Pipelines

University of Cambridge

Geoff Eichhorn Alex Baumgard

Automated Analysis of LiDAR and Aerial Images

Queen’s University

Richard Carter, Jean Hutchinson

Dave Gauthier

Rockfall Precursor Mapping

Colorado School of Mines

Ryan Kromer, Gabe Walton

Dave Gauthier, Scott Anderson, Matt Lato

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2018 Outlook2018 is shaping up to be another exciting year for research, development, and innovation. BGC’s R&D review committee is already receiving interesting proposals related to machine learning, avalanche analysis, and climate change. Many projects from 2016 and 2017 will continue.

Have a research, development, or innovation idea that you’d like to propose for funding/support? Get in touch with a Business Sector or Technical Discipline Lead, your office manager, or any management team member to learn more about the proposal process.

2017 Publication ListWe continued our tradition of prolific publications in 2017. Two notable papers by BGC’ers, one by John Whittall and one by Lisa Wheeler, were recognized as “Editors’ Choices” by the Canadian Geotechnical Journal in 2017.

JournalsAaron, J., Hungr, O., Stark, T.D., and Baghdady, A.K. 2017. Oso, Washington, landslide of March 22, 2014: dynamic analysis. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 143(9): 1-10. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001748.

Aaron, J., McDougall, S., Moore, J.R., Coe, J.A., and Hungr, O. 2017. The role of initial coherence and path materials in the dynamics of three rock avalanche case histories. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 4(5): 1-15. doi:10.1186/s40677-017-0070-4.

Bozorgzadeh, N., Yanagimura, Y., and Harrison, J.P. 2017. Effect of small numbers of test results on accuracy of Hoek-Brown strength parameter estimations: a statistical simulation study. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 50(12): 3293-3305. doi:10.1007/s00603-017-1352-6.

Clayton, M.A., Stead, D., Kinakin, D., and Wolter, A. 2017. Engineering geomorphological interpretation of the Mitchell Creek Landslide, British Columbia, Canada. Landslides, 14(5):1655–1675. doi:10.1007/s10346-017-0811-1.

Conlan, M., and Jamieson, B. 2017. A decision support tool for dry persistent deep slab avalanches for the transitional snow climate of western Canada. Cold Regions Science and Technology. In press. doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2017.06.013.

Devito, K.J., Hokanson, K.J., Moore, P.A., Kettridge, N., Anderson, A.E., Chasmer, L., Hopkinson, C., Lukenbach, M.C., Mendoza, C.A. et al. 2017. Landscape controls on long-term runoff in sub-humid heterogeneous Boreal Plains catchments. Hydrological Processes, 31(15): 2737-2751. doi:10.1002/hyp.11213

Dixon, S.J., Kettridge, N., Moore, P.A., Devito, K.J., Tilak, A.S., Petrone, R.M, Mendoza, C.A. et al. 2017. Peat depth as a control on moss water availability under evaporative stress. Hydrological Processes, 31(23): 4107–4121. doi:10.1002/hyp.11307.

Eaton, B., MacKenzie, L., Jakob, M., and Weatherly, H. 2017. Assessing erosion hazards due to floods on fans: physical modeling and application to engineering challenges. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 143(8). doi:10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0001318.

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Gauthier, D., Anderson, S.A., Fritz, H.M., and Giachetti, T. 2017. Karrat Fjord (Greenland) tsunamigenic landslide of 17 June 2017: initial 3D observations. Landslides. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s10346-017-0926-4.

Harrington, J.S., Hayashi, M., and Kuryluk, B.L. 2017. Influence of a rock glacier spring on the stream energy budget and cold-water refuge in an alpine stream. Hydrological Processes. Advance online publication. doi:10.1002/hyp.11391.

Jakob, M., Weatherly, H., Bale, S., Perkins, A., and MacDonald, B. 2017. A multi-faceted debris-flood hazard assessment for Cougar Creek, Alberta, Canada. Hydrology, 4(1): 1-33. doi: 10.3390/hydrology4010007.

Journault, J., Macciotta, R., Hendry, M.T., Charbonneau, F., Huntley, D., and Bobrowsky, P.T. 2017. Measuring displacements of the Thompson River valley landslides, south of Ashcroft, BC, Canada, using satellite InSAR. Landslides. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10346-017-0900-1

Kettridge, N., Lukenbach, M.C., Hokanson, K.J., Hopkinson, C., Devito, K.J., Petrone, R.M., Mendoza, C.A., and Waddington, J.M. 2017. Low evapotranspiration enhances the resilience of peatland carbon stocks to fire. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(18): 9341–9349. doi:10.1002/2017GL074186.

Kromer, R., Abellan, A., Hutchinson, D.J., Lato, M., Chanut, M., Dubois, L., and Jaboyedoff, M. 2017. Automated terrestrial laser scanning with near-real-time change detection – monitoring of the Séchilienne Landslide. Earth Surface Dynamics, 5: 293–310. doi:10.5194/esurf-5-293-2017.

Kromer, R., Lato, M., Hutchinson, D.J., Gauthier, D., and Edwards, T. 2017. Managing rockfall risk through baseline monitoring of precursors with a terrestrial laser scanner. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 54(7): 953–967. doi: 10.1139/cgj-2016-0178.

Kromer, R., Rowe, E., Hutchinson, J., Lato, M., Abellan, A. 2017. Rockfall risk management using a pre-failure deformation database. Landslides. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10346-017-0921-9.

Lukenbach, M.C., Hokanson, K.J., Devito, K.J., Kettridge, N., Petrone, R.M., Mendoza, C.A. et al. 2017. Post-fire ecohydrological conditions at peatland margins in different hydrogeological settings of the Boreal Plain. Journal of Hydrology, 548: 741-753. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.03.034.

McKenna, G., Mann, V., Fisseha, B., Beier, N. and Olmedo, N. 2017. This tailings has the consistency of chocolate pudding: a formal comparison of the geotechnical vane shear strength of food and soft tailings. Geotechnical News, 35(1): 28-33.

Miller, G.S., Take, W.A., Mulligan, R.P., and McDougall, S. 2017. Tsunamis generated by long and thin granular landslides in a large flume. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 122(1): 653-668. doi:10.1002/2016JC012177.

Mitchell, A., and Hungr, O. 2017. Theory and calibration of the Pierre 2 stochastic rock fall dynamics simulation program. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 54(1): 18-30. doi:10.1139/cgj-2016-0039

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Moore, J.R., Pankow, K.L., Ford, S.R., Koper, K.D., Hale, J.M., Aaron, J., and Larsen, C.F. 2017. Dynamics of the Bingham Canyon rock avalanches (Utah, USA) resolved from topographic, seismic, and infrasound data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 122(3): 615-640. doi:10.1002/2016JF004036.

Rowe, E., Hutchinson, D.J., and Kromer, R.A. 2017. An analysis of failure mechanism constraints on pre-failure rock block deformation using TLS and roto-translation methods. Landslides. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10346-017-0886-8.

Santi, P.M., Pyles, D.R., and Pederson, C.A. 2017. Debris flow avulsion. International Journal of Erosion Control Engineering, 10(1): 67-73. doi:10.13101/ijece.10.67.

Stark, T.D., Baghdady, A.K., Hungr, O., and Aaron, J. 2017. Case study: Oso, Washington, landslide of March 22, 2014—material properties and failure mechanism. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 143(5): 1-13. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001615.

Thompson, C., Mendoza, C., and Devito, J. 2017. Potential influence of climate change on ecosystems within the Boreal Plains of Alberta. Hydrological Processes, 31(11): 2110-2124. doi:10.1002/hyp.11183.

van Veen, M., Hutchinson, D. J., Kromer, R., Lato, M., and Edwards, T. 2017. Effects of sampling interval on the frequency-magnitude relationship of rockfalls detected from terrestrial laser scanning using semi-automated methods. Landslides, 14(5): 1579–1592. doi:10.1007/s10346-017-0801-3.

Whittall, J., Eberhardt, E., and McDougall, S. 2017. Runout analysis and mobility observations for large open pit slope failures. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 54(3): 373-391. doi:10.1139/cgj-2016-0255.

Whittall, J.R., McDougall, S., and Eberhardt, E. 2017. A risk-based methodology for establishing landslide exclusion zones in operating open pit mines. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 100(December 2017): 100-107. doi:10.1016/j.ijrmms.2017.10.012.

Conference Papers and Presentations Anderson, S.A., Vessely, M.J., Ortiz, T. 2017. Communication and management of geotechnical risks to transportation performance objectives. In Geo-Risk 2017: geotechnical risk assessment and management, Denver, Colo., 4-7 June 2017. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Va., pp. 279-290.

Carter, R., Hutchinson, D.J., and Gauthier, D. 2017. Use of single-scan remote sensing data in assessing natural rock slope conditions at the railway subdivision scale. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-7.

Danielson, J., Stead, D., Kinakin, D., Smith, S. 2017. The use of specific energy for fault mapping in an open pit mine. In 51st U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, San Francisco, California, 25-28 June 2017. pp. 1-7.

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Gauthier, D. 2017. Probablistic rock fall monitoring at the network scale: finding the next one. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, 8-12 January 2017. Presentation.

Gauthier, D., Strouth, A., Hutchinson, J., and Ortiz, T. 2017. Network-scale rockfall forecasting: pilot studies and framework development in Colorado and Canada. In Proceedings of the 3rd North American Symposium on Landslides, Roanoke, Virginia, 4-8 June 2017. pp. 901-911.

Grover, P., Trottier M., Arenson, L.U, and Wainstein, P. 2017. Trends in Snow Cover in the Dry Andes using MODIS Data 2000-2016. International Congress on Climate Change and its Impacts. Huaraz, Peru. 29 November - 1 December 2017.

Hensold, G., Mitchell, A., Porter, M.J., Lato, M., McDougall, S., and Gaib, S. 2017. Ten Mile Slide, British Columbia: development of a retrogressive translational earth slide in a post-glacial earthflow deposit. In 3rd North American Symposium on Landslides (NASL) 2017, June 4-8, 2017, Roanoke, Virginia, USA. pp. 316-328.

Holm, K., Jakob, M., Weatherly, H., Dercole, F., and Bridger, S. 2017. Quantitative steep creek risk assessment, District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. Leadership in Sustainable Infrastructure: Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2017, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 31 May - 3 June 2017.

Kirstein, A., Liu, J., and Salloum, T. 2017. Evaluation of different methods for identification of preconsolidation pressure for Champlain Sea clay using CRS tests. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-8.

Lato, M., Mitchell, A., Porter, M., and Gaib, S. 2017. Monitoring landslide velocity at Ten Mile Slide with ground based LiDAR. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-11.

Lato, M., Porter, M.J., Mitchell, A., Hensold, G., Hutchinson, D.J., Kromer, R.A., McDougall, S., and Gaib, S. 2017. Mapping change with 3D data: advancing applications through research and development collaboration. In Landslides: putting experience, knowledge and emerging technologies into practice, proceedings of the 3rd North American Symposium on Landslides, Roanoke, Virginia, USA, 4-8 June 2017. Edited by J.V. De Graff and A. Shakoor. Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG). pp. 83-90.

McDougall, S., Jalil, N., Aaron, J., Mitchell, A., Whittall, J., McClarty, D., and Brideau, M.-A. 2017. Development of an online database and empirical hazard mapping tool for rock avalanche runout estimation. Canadian Geophysical Union Conference, Vancouver, BC, 28-31 May 2017. Poster presentation.

Meeks, C.T., Bonneau, D.A., Hutchinson, D.J., and Gauthier, D. 2017. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) for slope stability assessment. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-8.

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Moase, E., Strouth, A., Jakob, M., and Stead, D. 2017. Guidance for steep creek hazard mitigation design in Canada. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-8.

Porter, M.J., Jakob, M., Holm, K., and McDougall, S. 2017. Risk-based landslide safety assessments in Canada. In 3rd North American Symposium on Landslides (NASL), Roanoke, Virginia, 4-8 June 2017. pp. 574-584.

Sala, Z., Hutchinson, D.J., and Ondercin, M. 2017. Application of the unity rockfall model to variable surface material conditions. EGU General Assembly 2017, Vienna, Austria, 23-28 April 2017.

Sala, Z. Hutchinson, D.J., and Ondercin, M. 2017. Game engine based rockfall modelling techniques applied to natural slopes. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-8.

Schmidt, E., Eberhardt, E. 2017. Numerical investigation of the use of hydraulic stimulation to mitigate fault slip in deep mines. In Deep Mining 2017: Eighth International Conference on Deep and High Stress Mining. AGC, Perth.

Smith, W.E., Priest, J.A., and Grozic, J.L.H. 2017. The apparent underconsolidation of hydrate-bearing fine-grained sediments. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-7.

Stafford, D., De Guzman, E.M., Alfaro, M., Dore, G., and Arenson, L.U. 2017. Shear strength of soils under frozen and thawed conditions using a large direct shear box. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-7.

Strouth, A., Faber, E., and McDougall, S. 2017. Small-scale landslide risk management in Guatemala City. In Proceedings of the 3rd North American Symposium on Landslides, Roanoke, Virginia, USA, 4-8 June 2017. pp. 624-632.

Strouth, A. 2017. Toolbox for decision making. 96th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Engineering Geology Committee Meeting (AFP10), Washington, DC, 8-12 January 2017. Invited presentation.

van Veen, M., Hutchinson, D.J., Lato, M., Kromer, R. 2017. The role of survey design in developing rock fall frequency-magnitude relationships using terrestrial laser scanning: a case study from the CN Railway at White Canyon, BC. In Landslides: putting experience, knowledge and emerging technologies into practice, proceedings of the 3rd North American Symposium on Landslides, Roanoke, Virginia, USA, 4-8 June 2017. Edited by J.V. De Graff and A. Shakoor. Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG). pp. 958-967.

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van Veen, M., Lato, M., van Hove, J., and Hunchuk, G. 2017. The use of airborne LiDAR in understanding ground hazards for large pipeline networks. In Proceedings of the 70th Canadian Geotechnical Society conference: 70 years of Canadian geotechnics and geoscience, GeoOttawa 2017, Ottawa, ON, 1-4 October 2017. Canadian Geotechnical Society, Richmond, BC. pp. 1-9.

Other Publications Arenson, L., and Jakob, M. 2017. Permafrost-related geohazards and infrastructure construction in mountainous environments. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.013.292.

Bevington, A., Brideau, M.-A., and Geertsema, M. 2017. Mountain environment. In Encyclopedia of engineering geology. Edited by P. Bobrowsky and B. Marker. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7.

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