Abstract Napoleon Bonaparte was, in 1798, the first general to include geologists as such on a military operation. Within the UK, the following century saw geology taught, and national geological mapping initiated, as a military science. Nevertheless, military geologists were not deployed on a battlefield until World War I, first by the German and Austro-Hungarian armies and later and less intensively those of the UK and USA. Geologists were used primarily to guide abstraction of groundwater, construction of ‘mine’ tunnels and dug-outs, development of fortifications and quarrying of natural resources to enhance or repair supply routes. Only the USSR and Germany entered World War II with organized military geological expertise, but the UK and later the USA made significant use of military geologists, albeit far fewer than the c . 400 in total used by German forces. Military geologist roles in World War II included most of those of World War I, but were extended to other aspects of terrain evaluation, notably the rapid construction of temporary airfields and factors affecting cross-country vehicular movement (‘going’). After 1945, more military geologists were used in the USA than Germany or the UK, in these and wider roles, but mostly as civilians or reservists.

Abstract Homo sapiens is the only known species to consciously effect change to the Earth’s geologic environment. We reshape the Earth; intensify erosion; modify rivers; change local climates; pollute water resources, soils, and geologic media; and alter soils and the biosphere. We dig holes in it, remove parts of it, and bury highly toxic materials in it. In this volume, the authors explore human impact on the Earth and attempt to answer the following questions. What have we done to Terra? How fast have we effected change? Are the changes permanent? Are they good, or have we inadvertently caused more damage? Can we, should we, repair some or all of these changes? These are important questions for the geoscience community because, as those most knowledgeable about the Earth and its resources, geologists play a major role in sustaining and preserving the Earth.

Abstract George A. Kiersch (1918–2001) witnessed and participated in the birth of modern engineering geology at the conclusion of World War II and the founding of the Engineering Geology Division as the first operating division of the Geological Society of America in 1947. He was, during his senior years, America's dean of practicing and academic engineering geologists. The Kiersch legacy is huge and complete and defines the practice of engineering geology as a modern applied scientific discipline. In honor of his contributions to the profession, the Engineering Geology Division of the Geological Society of America held a symposium at the 2002 annual meeting. This volume is based on papers presented at that symposium and deals with defining problems in engineering geology that are created by human activities. This introduction makes the tie between the Kiersch heritage and the means by which engineering geologists can meet the challenges of anthropomorphic problems in applied geology.

Abstract The delineation of lineations, natural linear features on imagery that represent fractures, is a particularly difficult task in areas that have long human histories. Man-made linear features may also be visible and can either lead to erroneous interpretations or assist the interpreter to correctly identify the lineations. It is thus often useful to obtain information about the history and culture of an area, particularly if human occupancy has occurred over millennia. Dartmoor in southwest England has a human history dating from at least 4000 B.C., and examples from this region are used to illustrate the impact of past human activity on the interpretation of lineations on aerial photography. Bronze Age field boundaries (reaves) extend for great distances across the landscape, and unless one knew such features existed, they would surely be interpreted as natural linear features. Reaves are long, linear, and often parallel, and tend to cross the landscape in the same manner as lineations, regardless of the terrain. Features associated with the long mining history on Dartmoor also affect the interpretation of linear features. Surface mining of stream gravels inhibits the use of stream courses as indicators of lineations and also affects the use of valley boundaries. Linear surface excavations and rows of shafts, on the other hand, can often be used as indicators of lineations. Skill and experience are thus required to accurately interpret lineations; the greater the skill, experience, and knowledge of the human history of the area, the more complete and accurate the delineation will be.

Abstract Human activities impact an estimated 98% of rivers in the United States. This chapter summarizes impacts associated with pioneer societies, commercial activities, and public works. In pioneer societies, individuals or small groups undertake activities such as timber harvest, agriculture, or navigation improvements. Nineteenth-century placer mining of gold along rivers of California's Sierra Nevada is used as a case study. Commercial activities are conducted by groups of people seeking profit through industry, commerce, or agriculture. Commercial activities impacted rivers much more extensively than most activities of pioneer societies. Impacts to water quality, and particularly the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program, provide a case study. Results from the 1991–1995 NAWQA program indicate that approximately half the sites sampled in urban areas have surface-water contamination exceeding levels at which adverse biological effects can occur in aquatic biota. Public works such as dam and levee construction undertaken by local and federal governmental agencies caused massive alteration of river systems. Channelization is used as a case study of the impacts of public works on rivers; more than 56,000 km of waterways were channelized by the Corps of Engineers and the Soil Conservation Service after 1940. The net effect of human activities in the United States has been to disconnect rivers from adjacent hillslopes, floodplains, and valley bottoms, underlying hyporheic and groundwater zones, and from headwaters and downstream processes. Because a connected river is a functioning ecosystem, rather than simply a canal for moving water and sediment, disconnection simplifies and impoverishes the ecosystem. This has resulted in widespread loss of biological diversity in rivers of the United States.

Abstract The use of instream structures, devices designed to improve fish habitat, began as early as 1880 in the United States and continues today. The practice of stream improvement was partially motivated by the desire to compensate for overfishing problems. Many of the practices that involve the use of instream structures emerged during a time period when scientific-management principles offered the hope that humans could eliminate perceived inefficiencies and increase biological productivity in natural systems. Decades later, modern criteria of instream structures trace many of their details of design to experimental devices employed in the 1920s and 1930s. However, problems with the use of many styles were noted soon after they were first deployed, and many of these troubles persist today. Dams can be undermined and outflanked by flows. Deflectors disrupt the bed and hamper the development of food organisms. Finally, cover structures suffer from siltation problems and long-term decay, which renders the devices useless. The best possible long-term solution to improved health of riverine fisheries may be to avoid the use of static engineering structures when possible and focus on reforestation and erosion control in the watersheds. Even this recommendation dates back over 65 years to the period when the use of instream structures first began to flourish in the United States.

Abstract Throughout history, if generally more conspicuously in the Old World than the New, military activities have locally and sometimes regionally shaped the face of the Earth by construction of defense works in earth or stone. Military enhancement of terrain features by fortification, scarping, or flooding to form obstacles that counter or deflect attack may thus complement the effects of natural geomorphologic agents. Military operations and exercises have polluted parts of the Earth's surface through use of explosive ordnance and by fuel leakage, and disfigured it by redundant construction works. German military geologists in particular have necessarily developed peacetime roles to protect the environment rather than the state. Yet because agricultural use and urban sprawl are restricted within the large tracts of countryside designated as military training areas, these may preserve a heritage of habitats in a fairly natural state—as valuable in terms of conservation as the many sites worldwide now preserved for their military historical record.

Abstract The Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean near latitude 46° N. Much of the detrital load of the river is distributed over a 165 km long littoral cell between Tillamook Head, Oregon, and Point Grenville, Washington. The cell is characterized by north-directed littoral drift in response to dominant southwest winter storms, yet it experiences a summer drift reversal in response to more modest northwest winds and seas. The result has been development of extensive barrier beaches during the late Holocene, which define the major embayments of Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor. The mouth of the Columbia River was modified by jetties beginning late in the nineteenth century. The entrance to Grays Harbor has been jettied since early in the twentieth century. This article discusses changes resulting from these modifications. Dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries built during the twentieth century appear to have significantly reduced the detrital load available to the littoral cell, resulting in the onset of changes in the deposition-erosion regimen.

Abstract Coal mining probably results in a greater disturbance to the geologic conditions of an area than any other form of mining. This is due primarily to the nature of the coal deposits, which are commonly extensive, covering large areas and consisting of multiple seams extending over significant vertical intervals. Surface mining results in the disturbance of the ground surface and shallow subsurface materials over large areas. Reclamation of these mines generally results in subdued versions of the original landforms, rerouted drainage systems, and disrupted subsurface materials. Underground mines may be far more extensive, creating nearly continuous subsurface workings, which may result in postmining effects such as subsidence, mine pools, mine fires, and the accumulation of gases. Both mining types also affect surface and underground water, generally resulting in the deterioration of water quality and often capturing surface flow and changing, at least temporarily, groundwater levels. The following description concerns coal mining in the conterminous United States, although the changes in geologic conditions could be applicable in any coal mining region in the world.

Abstract Lowering of the land surface of large areas has been a major unintended consequence of groundwater and petroleum withdrawal by humans. Approximately 26,000 km 2 of land in the United States has been permanently lowered. The decrease of land-surface elevation, known as land subsidence, typically occurs at rates measured in centimeters per year. However, the irreversible accumulation of its effects clearly qualifies humans as major geologic agents. Subsidence causes permanent inundation of land, aggravates flooding, changes topographic gradients, ruptures the land surface, and reduces the capacity of aquifers to store water. This paper reviews the mechanism, occurrence and history, impacts, and efforts by society to control land subsidence caused by underground fluid withdrawal in the United States.

Abstract Salt (halite, NaCl) is the most soluble of common rocks; it is dissolved readily and forms a range of subsidence or collapse features as a result of human activities. Bedded or domal salt deposits are present in 25 of the 48 contiguous United States and underlie nearly 20% of the land area. These salts occur in 17 separate structural basins or geographic districts in the United States, and either local or extensive examples of natural or man-made salt karst are known in almost all of these basins or districts. Human activities have contributed to the development of salt karst. Boreholes or underground mines may enable (either intentionally or inadvertently) unsaturated water to flow through or against the salt deposits, thus allowing development of small to large dissolution cavities. If the dissolution cavity is large enough and shallow enough, successive roof failures can cause land subsidence or catastrophic collapse. Because salt dissolution proceeds rapidly, human-induced karst features often develop quickly and with dramatically adverse impacts. Industries associated with local salt-dissolution and collapse features include solution mining (e.g., Cargill sink, Kansas; and Grand Saline sink, Texas), petroleum activities (e.g., the Wink sinks, Texas; Panning sink, Kansas; and Gorham oil field, Kansas), and underground, dry mining of salt (e.g., Jefferson Island mine, Louisiana; and Retsof mine, New York).

Abstract The 1999 Glen Creek Landslide provides an example of a negative result of human interaction with a complex geologic environment. Excavation during mass grading exposed the basal rupture surface of an old, static landslide and weak shear zones within the weak claystone, leading to translational failure. During remediation of the active landslide, the excavation for the buttress keyway exposed a downslope-dipping, deep-seated shear zone and reactivated it. The shear zone projected under an adjacent structure, and movement of the shear zone produced deflections in slope inclinometers located between the structure and the excavation. The events leading to the failure of the Glen Creek Landslide represent a failure in application of the four Jahnsian steps to geologic safety: (1) hazard recognition, (2) site characterization, (3) risk assessment, and (4) hazard mitigation. First, the developer's geotechnical consultant failed to recognize the old landslides. Second, the extent of shearing within the claystone was not characterized. Third, the risk of translational failure along weak shear zones was not realistically evaluated. Lastly, mitigative measures were not implemented to address the risk of slope failure. The postfailure mitigation of the Glen Creek Landslide was not planned with the Jahnsian steps in mind either. The potential for block failure along deep-seated shear zones was not recognized. Subsurface characterization for design of the keyway and a realistic translational failure analysis were not performed. If the first three steps were followed, the excavation plan should have been modified to be compatible with the adverse geologic conditions.

Abstract Urbanization is increasing worldwide, and it has drastic effects on groundwater systems with ramifications for water management. Effects can include overexploitation, subsidence, water quality deterioration, destruction of environmental resources, increased runoff, alteration of the permeability and porosity fields, and changes in recharge. Commonly, it is assumed that recharge decreases, but data indicate the opposite: Groundwater recharge increases because of leaky utility (water and sewage) systems and urban irrigation. Urban areas are hydrologically similar to karst settings because they possess internal drainage (storm sewers), surface streams (paved drainage ways) that flow after heavy rains, and a shallow permeability structure dominated by fractures, conduits, and caves (buried utility trenches, abandoned pipes, etc.) that evolves very quickly. Secondary porosity from underground construction is similar in magnitude to karst secondary porosity. These structures and utility trenches increase permeability and make prediction of groundwater flow and transport difficult. Recharge is grouped into the following categories: direct (from precipitation), indirect (from surface water bodies and leaky utility systems), localized (through preferential pathways such as sinkholes), and artificial. Indirect recharge is commonly ignored in urban water budgets, but water main losses range from 5% to over 60%. Additional recharge comes from leaky sewers, leakage from beneath homes and industries, and irrigation return flow (e.g., lawn overwatering). A case study of Austin, Texas, demonstrates significant indirect recharge and the difficulties in its estimation. Nearly 8% of Austin water main flow is lost to become recharge. However, lawn irrigation may be a larger source.

Abstract Humans are an integral component of barrier island systems throughout the world. The diversity of cultures (e.g., economics, politics) present has as much influence on barrier island evolution as the diversity of environments (e.g., climate) in which they are found. The actions of humans affect three inherent properties of barrier islands: Each island is individually unique in its physical and ecological setting (affected by direct “local” human activity), each island is linked to a chain of adjacent islands through longshore transport (affected by “regional” activity elsewhere), and each island responds dynamically to environmental change through cross-shore transport (affected by regional activity and shoreline stabilization). Geomorphic carrying capacity is the resilience of barrier islands to human impacts. Geomorphic risk factors serve as a basis for predicting resiliency, providing both a measure of dynamic change (erosion rate and storm frequency) and available buffer space (island width and elevation). As risk factors increase, the dynamic and spatial character of an island comes into greater conflict with human landscape elements and is more likely to be altered. The relative influence of humans on barrier island evolution can be estimated by comparing the anthropogenic impacts on the three major island properties to the island's carrying capacity. When the three properties have been completely altered, an island becomes entirely human-dominated, or “terminated.” Carrying capacity can indicate whether stabilization, retreat, or abandonment is the best long-term management option.

Abstract Gullies are steep-sided ravines cut into susceptible, frequently shallow slope materials by the surface water from heavy rainfalls. Once initiated, they offer avenues for easy downslope movement of water from later storms. The flowing water erodes soil from the sides and floor of each gully, making it wider and deeper. Landslides, slumps, and related processes on the gully sides also contribute to the removal of slope materials. The head of the gully advances upslope, enlarging the gully system. Unchecked progress of the gullies results in badlands topography and destroys the ecology and economy of the affected areas. Several large gully systems are currently active in Abia, Anambra, Enugu, and Imo States of southeastern Nigeria. Poor design and construction of roadside drainage is a major cause of gully erosion. Improper termination of drains and blockage of drains by silt and debris cause the water to overflow. This erodes the sides and ends of drains, undercuts them, and causes their collapse. The resulting, unregulated water flow causes the rapid development and advance of gullies. Footpaths and trails with foot and wheeled traffic disrupt the vegetation cover and are sites of increased compaction of surface soils. The compacted paths are less permeable and serve as channels for surface water, giving rise to localized erosion and initiation of gullies. Annual advances of gully heads by up to 60 m were documented.

Abstract Military geology comprises research and practical efforts directed toward providing geological input for military construction, civil works projects (e.g., dams, navigable waterway maintenance), remediation of polluted military facilities, terrain analysis, sustainability of training lands, mobility prediction, and site characterization activities. Land use sustainability issues, base closures, and heightened levels of environmental awareness by the general public have introduced new challenges for using, maintaining, cleaning, and restoring lands that have served as military installations for decades. In this volume, the legacy of military operations and their impact on the terrain and geology, particularly from an environmental viewpoint, are considered by geologists of diverse lands and backgrounds. This book, a companion volume to Military Geology in War and Peace (Reviews in Engineering Geology, v. 13, 1998), emphasizes current research and applications of engineering geology principles and practice to modern day military problems, many of which are environmental in nature.

Abstract It is with sadness, yet without reservation on the part of this retired soldier, that the findings of the twelve associated chapters in this volume portray a distressing military fact. Again, the traditional peacekeeping nations are flagging in their resolve to support democracy and peace among nations. The new millennium opens to a generational gap in which the young cannot sense that real dictators are far worse than cinema villains. Today’s youth breathes the fresh air purchased by the toil of their oppressed predecessors. Citizens suffer a declining interest in maintenance of armed forces worldwide, yet we must be conscious of the force-multiplication factors that weigh heavily on providing the means for fewer soldiers, sailors, and airmen to keep the peace most effectively through constant and fervent attention to military geology. Professional soldiers and civilian members of the military forces must train more diligently to keep the peace, and must do so with constant regard for preservation of the training environment. First-world military forces now bear serious financial constraints and stringent requirements from their civilian leaders to care for the natural environment during training. I thank the authors for presenting their evidence of the new and expanded roles in conservation, maintenance of training, and preservation of peace at favorable cost-benefit ratios for and by those nations that are dedicated to peace through judicious military strength.