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My PhD Research Overview

Teton Dam Failure

Soil mechanics pioneers Karl Terzaghi and Arthur Casagrande spent much of their careers espousing the potential pitfalls of hydraulic piping through dam foundations.  Terzaghi maintained that grout curtains should never be assumed to be 100% effective.  Casagrande asserted that no less than three rows of grout curtains should be employed beneath dams, with proper testing of the grout take. Fontenelle Dam was constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on the Green River in Wyoming.  During its initial filling in 1965 it suffered a near catastrophic failure via hydraulic piping through the right abutment, the same failure mechanism that doomed Teton Dam 11 years later.

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park lies along the Waterpocket Fold, a great monoclinal flexure shown here dipping to the right.  The massive Jurassic age Navajo Sandstone forms the most resistant structures and slot canyons.

Canyonlands National Park

Arches National Park

One of the attractions we sought to explore in 1973 was Castle Rock shown here, located northeast of Moab, Utah.  Its summit was commonly used as a site for television commercials showing new cars with pretty models, all transported to the summit via helicopter.

The natural arches at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah were a source of curiosity that entranced me.  I wondered how were they formed?  The ranger’s explanation of "wind erosion" seemed hopelessly naive.

Zion National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

I also focused on unraveling the genesis of secondary jointing in the massive Navajo Sandstone, which reaches a thickness of 2300 feet around Zion National Park in southwestern Utah.  This view shows one set of the near-vertical regional systematic joints which pervade the entire unit, exposed in the Short Creek drainage of northern Arizona.

This is an idealized geologic cross section I prepared for my Grand Canyon field courses at Berkeley.  It illustrates the various units and structures exposed throughout the Canyon’s 280 mile length.

My third thesis study area was in Glen Canyon, just downstream of the Glen Canyon Dam, pictured here.  Like Zion Park, this canyon was carved into the massive Navajo Sandstone.

Sierra National Forest

Berkeley geomorphology Professor Clyde Wahrhaftig and his long-time colleague King Huber patiently listened to my hypotheses on exfoliation and suggested a number of sites where I could measure joint spacings and easily collect samples for laboratory testing.  The most poignant exposure I've ever encountered is this glacial cirque at Little Shuteye Pass, just south of Yosemite National Park.

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