GIS for Geotechs Short Course

Colin Mazengarb, Senior Geologist, Mineral Resources Tasmania (MRT)

Empowering geotechnical practitioners with geographic information systems

The Australian Geomechanics Society is offering a new short course that is an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with a focus on geotechnical applications.

All geotechnical investigations have significant spatial components and GIS software is an appropriate and powerful tool for bringing diverse data sources together to improve the understanding of ground conditions at all scales. In recent times the various Government bodies have undertaken major investments in spatial technology as part of a strategy to provide better access to information for the community, business and public sectors. There is now a large and growing range of spatial information available that is relevant to geotechnical investigations amongst other applications.

In this one day course, attendees bring their own laptops with nominated freeware software preloaded and tested. You will be introduced to the software functionality, cover basic theory and work through a series of exercises with real geotechnical data to develop a geotechnical model of an area. By the end of the day, each applicant will be able to open, create and recycle GIS projects, discover and import data, analyse relationships between data sets, produce maps and cross-sections. You will even work with LiDAR, an exciting dataset that is revolutionising the understanding of landscapes and sites. Finally, you will be able to export your work in a form that can be included into reports and presentations. For the brave, you will create your first 3D model or at least see how it is done. In addition, the use of peripheral devices to capture data such as GPS units, cameras, smart phones and tablets will be demonstrated.

The workshop will be interspersed with examples of projects created by the instructors with opportunities for group discussion. Digital datasets and course notes will be provided.

The course will be led by Colin Mazengarb, an engineering-geologist residing in Hobart with over 20 years GIS experience. Colin will be assisted by local invited practitioners.

For further information, please see the registration form and flyer or the dedicated GIS for Geotechs course page.

Engineers Australia members participating in AGS technical sessions can record attendance on their personal CPD logs. Members should refer to Engineers Australia CPD policy for details on CPD types, requirements and auditing guidelines.