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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=916242317-18102007>Hello
All,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=916242317-18102007>I'm a Research
Analyst I (GIS) in the California Geological Surveys(CGS) Seismic Hazards
Zonation Project. There are not many Open Source advocates here, but I am
hoping to change that. I am mainly involved in writing various programs
that implements our Liquefaction(see 1) and Earthquake Induced Landslide(see 2)
Zones. These programs range from simple data translators written in Perl
to a program that calculates liquefaction potential using borehole, ground
water, and peak ground acceleration using the Intergraph Modular GIS Environment
(MGE) programming language called MDL (a derivative of the C
Programming Language).</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=916242317-18102007>Since MGE is
obsolete, we have been migrating to Intergraph's Geomedia Professional
and Geomedia Grid. These programs have their strength (spatial
queries, functional attributes, etc) and weaknesses (problem
importing/exporting shapefiles as well as Geotiffs, coordinate system and
projection are often messed up, inadequate grid classifier, etc.) I know
that FOSS GIS can do what we need to do and I'm hoping that a California Chapter
of OSGEO could be a great help.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007>Bob</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=916242317-18102007>(1) Liquefaction
occurs when loose, water-saturated sediments lose strength and fail during
strong ground<BR>shaking. Liquefaction is defined as the transformation of
granular material from a solid state into a<BR>liquefied state as a consequence
of increased pore-water pressure. The process of zonation for
liquefaction<BR>combines Quaternary geologic mapping, historical ground-water
information and subsurface geotechnical<BR>data. The liquefaction hazard Zone of
Required Investigation boundaries are based on the presence of<BR>shallow (<
40 feet depth) historic groundwater in uncompacted sands and silts deposited
during the last<BR>15,000 years and sufficiently strong levels of earthquake
shaking expected during the next 50 years.<BR></DIV>
<DIV></SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=916242317-18102007>(2)Landslides tend
to occur in weak soil and rock on sloping terrain. The Zone of Required
Investigation for<BR>earthquake-induced landslides generally indicate areas
characterized by steep slopes composed of weak<BR>materials that may fail when
shaken by an earthquake. The process for zonation of
earthquake-induced<BR>landslides incorporates expected levels of future
earthquake shaking, evidence of existing landslides, slope<BR>gradient and
strength of hillslope materials.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=916242317-18102007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=916242317-18102007>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Bob
Moskovitz</SPAN></B> <BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Seismic Hazard Zonation
Project</SPAN></B><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">California Geological
Survey</SPAN></B> <BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/shzp</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: gray; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">CONFIDENTIALITY
NOTICE: This communication is intended only for the use of the individual or
entity to which it is addressed. This message contains information from the
State of California, California Geological Survey, which may be privileged,
confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law, including the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If the reader of this communication is
not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination,
distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly
prohibited.</SPAN></P></DIV></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>