Getting a Grip on the Underground: The Geotechnical Dilemna of a Solid Waste Landfill

Author: Scott A. Todd
Organization: Pennoni Associates, Inc.

One Drexel Plaza
3001 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
USA

Phone: (215) 222-3000
Fax: (215) 222-3588
stodd@pennoni.com

Management of a solid waste landfill, located at the confluence of two shipping channels, requires constant testing and monitoring of instrumentation that record the geotechnical dynamics of the site. A wide range of instrument types allow site managers and consultants to understand these dynamics and plan future solid waste operations economically and safely.

To provide site managers and consultants with this information, customization of ArcView Spatial Analyst and ArcView 3D Analyst interfaces occurred, and MapObjects applications were developed and linked to an Access database containing tens of thousands of measurements taken from more than 300 different instruments over nearly 20 years. Users of the system can now query, view, analyze, and report on variables related to stability and movement of the landfill in four dimensions, the fourth dimension being time.