Introduction to the JEEG-NSG geotechnical assessment and geo-environmental engineering geophysics special issue

The recent surge in the development of new technologies and analysis tools lends weight to that theory, and today we have numerous means to solve many of the complex engineering problems associated with the natural and built environments. Geotechnical properties of the subsurface material are needed for the expansion of the Panama Canal to be completed in 2015. Limited core, lithographic and stratigraphic data are available from the previous expansion phase that took place over 60 years ago. A trend to objectify the information about the condition of a structure is beginning to emerge: the development of tools to appraise and integrate data from sources of similar and dissimilar nature. The approach has been successful in segregating leached soils from soils with a high salt water content, thus providing an efficient screening tool when used in the early stages of the investigation process.