The Environmental Legacy of Military Operations

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.
Methodology for remote characterization of fracture systems in bedrock of enemy underground facilities
-
Published:January 01, 2001
Abstract
Weaponry can be conveniently and safely concealed in enemy underground bedrock facilities (UGF). The bedrock environment surrounding UGF offers a high degree of protection for the assets contained within. Physical characteristics of the surrounding bedrock constrain the effects of conventional and even nuclear weapons. Brittle structures in the bedrock such as fracture systems have anisotropic characteristics and present a formidable obstacle to the survival of penetrating weapons. Knowledge of the three-dimensional (3-D) characteristics of bedrock fracture systems in enemy UGF, which may be covered by soil or vegetation, is of paramount importance to the weapons development community in its quest to penetrate anisotropic environments.
We utilize rigorous methodologies to predict fracture characteristics in overburden-covered regions from outcrop, core, borehole, and remote sensing data. We have established digital scanline and scangrid methodologies to characterize fracture geometries. The digital data allow us to easily analyze the fractures in terms of fractal and more advanced geostatistical techniques. We have developed theoretical and practical guidelines for determining the two-dimentional (2-D) density of fractures from one-dimentional (1-D) (scanline) data. Additionally, we have developed theoretical relationships between 2-D and 3-D fracture densities. Integration of digital field data with density and spatial structure of the fracture networks allows us to predict the distribution of fractures in areas removed from the outcrop. These methodologies, once refined, fully tested, and verified, will allow us to characterize three-dimensional fracture systems in potential target areas worldwide by remote sensing means alone.
- Allegany County New York
- bedrock
- Cattaraugus County New York
- fractals
- fractures
- lineaments
- Livingston County New York
- mathematical methods
- methods
- military geology
- New York
- remote sensing
- site exploration
- statistical analysis
- Steuben County New York
- tectonics
- three-dimensional models
- tunnels
- underground space
- United States
- Wyoming County New York