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USE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATIONAL SYSTEMS TO OPTIMIZE QUALITY CONTROL IN GEOTECHNICAL
ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING

November 1, 2020
2943

By Adewumi Andrew

In the world of environmental testing, numerous systems can complement
traditional due diligence to produce the most accurate data for clients. One
method that deserves more attention is Geographic Informational Systems (GIS)
technology, which offers a relatively cost-effective way to optimize testing
quality control by comparing geospatial analysis to sampling data in the lab.
While GIS is a widely accepted tool in environmental sciences, oil and gas,
municipal agencies, and other industries, the system has yet to be regularly
deployed in the environmental testing sector.

Figure 1: April 8, 2002, Sugar Land, TX, Figure 2: March 10, 2011, Sugar Land,
TX

A GIS is a computer framework that gathers, stores, and analyzes geographical
data relating to positions on the Earth’s surface. These stored data points can
help users better understand spatial patterns and relationships that can be
useful in specifics areas of interest, such as topological modeling, slope and
aspect, hydrological representation, and multi-criteria decision analysis. For
reporting and presentation purposes, the data can be visually organized in
layers using maps and other display formats.

Real estate developers, engineers, energy companies, state and local
governments, the military, and others who must confirm a tract’s suitability for
specified project requirements often rely on environmental geotechnical testing
to identify previous site activity that is not visible to the naked eye, or to
document the tract’s geological and development history. Using even a basic GIS
technology like Google Earth, we can provide historical imagery dating back two
decades, making it easy to visualize how a site has evolved over time, as well
as the impact of natural or man-made occurrences, as seen in these four
progressive satellite images showing how development transformed the terrain in
Sugar Land, Texas, between 2002 and 2019. An analysis of these images could
indicate the need for specific types of testing in certain areas or
modifications to a proposed project, providing the client with valuable
information at low additional cost.

Figure 3: March 27, 2015, Sugar Land, TX

For more complex needs like determining terrain stability, sophisticated GIS
systems such as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), which measures
satellite radar signals to detect land displacements, can yield critical
information about events that may have compromised a site’s terrain stability.
InSar can also mitigate ongoing risk by monitoring for potentially damaging
geohazards throughout the life of the project.

GIS imagery offers a reliable way for environmental testing labs to validate
findings in soils, hydrology, and vegetation made in field samplings.
Additionally, data results in the lab should be consistent across the spectrum
of testing and conform with the historical activity or site characteristics
revealed in geospatial imagery. For example, in a Dry Sieve Analysis, if the
calculated values of samples obtained in the field indicate 20 percent graveI
but the soil description is fine sand, there is likely an error in the
procedure. When I detect a miscorrelation between the values in data
calculations and the normal range of a sample’s qualifying characteristics,
geospatial imagery may point to information that indicates a mistake in the
calculations or data recording. Undetected, that mistake will compromise an
analyst’s findings and produce erroneous results that could ultimately
jeopardize a project.

Figure 4: December 2, 2019, Sugar Land, TX

In my environmental consulting experience, when conducting tests for Free
Product Mobility, Hydraulic Conductivity, or Moisture Content, I add an extra
layer of quality security by using geospatial imagery to verify a site’s fluvial
activity over time. When GIS photos combined with FEMA data show no fluvial
factors that might contribute to the moisture content of the soil, in
correlation with appropriate soil lithology, I can speculate that the results of
a Moisture Content test will be low, so any test values that are inconsistent
will warrant further investigation. Among other applications, I have also used
historical imagery obtained through Google Earth Pro to document vegetation on a
specific site, visualizing the progression from clearance to regrowth and
subsequent clearance, grading, and preparation for construction over an 18-month
period.

Environmental testing as an industry is nearly 100 years old, and many of the
traditional internal and external Quality Assurance (QA) procedures in use by
labs today have been standardized over the past few decades. Perhaps because
these well-developed testing and QA processes are still used successfully, many
environmental testing laboratories have been slow to add GIS to their quality
control toolkits. However, my experience has shown that innovative, low-cost GIS
techniques add value for the client and benefits for the lab. Utilizing
geospatial analysis for applied capability testing can only result in enhanced
security measures of data analysis. Since GIS is cost-effective, precise, and
accessible, this technology should now be part of any environmental testing
quality control protocol.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adewumi Andrew is the Environmental Data Control Supervisor at Integrated
Geosciences Laboratories, LLC (IGL) in Houston, TX. Ms. Andrew is an
environmental scientist with special expertise in advanced environmental testing
and certification in geographic information systems (GIS), applying geospatial
analysis and sophisticated testing methodologies to interpret bioenvironmental
data for Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, real estate development
projects, and clients representing diverse industries including oil and gas,
government agencies, and consulting firms.

 * TAGS
 * Adewumi Andrew
 * computer framework
 * CS1120
 * Dry Sieve Analysis
 * FEMA
 * Geographic Information Systems
 * Geographic Informational System
 * Geographic Informational Systems
 * geographical data
 * geospatial
 * geospatial imagery
 * geotechnical
 * Geotechnical Environmental Testing
 * GIS
 * GIS imagery
 * Google Earth
 * IGL
 * InSar
 * Integrated Geosciences Laboratories LLC
 * Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar
 * QC
 * quality control
 * surveying
 * technology

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