At the beginning of 2017, Geo and NCT Offshore launched the drill ship Freja. Freja is a S-Class ROV Support DP2 vessel, and is the only drill ship of its kind in the Nordic countries after the rebuild. Freja’s active heave compensated working platform, GeoExperior, is designed by Geo based on many years of experience within offshore drilling. The platform principle is to have a stationary work deck compared to the seabed, using heave compensation relatively to the vessel movements. The platform’s large stationary work deck makes it possible to apply drilling techniques otherwise limited to drilling on land. This enables higher quality of the sampled cores. High quality borings in soil and rock are performed using Geobor-S, but also surveys using CPT- and Vibrocore seabed rigs are performed from the vessel. Furthermore, the vessel can be equipped with geophysical spread including side scan sonar, sub bottom profiler, magnetometer and hull mounted multi-beam echo sounder.
Aarhus celebrates opening as European Capital of Culture 2017.
Did you know that Geo has been involved in more than 50 offshore windfarms in the European waters?
Hamdi Ashur, M. Sc. Environmental Engineering, features in Engineer the future's newly launched media campaign. Please see the film below, which is a co-branding edition for Engineer the future and Geo.
The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Did you know that the purpose of 'Engineer the future' is to motivate and inspire the Danish youth to pursue a scientific career path in Engineering? Engineer the future consists of 50 partners: Companies, organisations and educational institutions.
For the preliminary investigations for the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, Geo designed a 3D model to provide an overview of the complex conditions and problems in the underground. The 3D model is constructed by a combination of all available data: Constructions, geotechnics and geology.
A heavy cloudburst struck Copen-hagen and North Zealand, with more than 100 mm of rain, within few hours. Numerous roads were flooded, among others Lyngby-vejen, which was closed by the watermasses.
On 27. June 2014 GEO became Geo. The alteration was part of Geo's Corporate Visual Identity project.
Geo entered the chinese market within environmental consultancy and remediation of contaminated soil and water in 2011. In 2014 Geo joined a pilot project in Wuxi, China concerning the remediation of a previous industrial site of a coke factory.
Archaeological excavations are initiated at the mounds of Borrering near Køge. In early September it is announced that Borrering is a Danish wiking fortification of the Trelleborg-type fortification.
Did you know that experts estimate that up to 700 million chinese only have access to contaminated drinking water?
Geo has performed several geotechnical investigations for the old Little Belt Bridge from 1935, with the purpose to investigate and determine the settlement for the bridge, as well as settlement monitoring. The Little Belt Bridge is founded directly on plastic clay – a clay characterised with unfavourable deformation properties. Ever since the bridge was built, the bridge pillars have settled small amounts each year. Geo have performed geotechnical investigations to assess the remaining settlement. Among other investigations, Geo have performed geotechnical investigations inside the old pylons in order to assess geotechnical soil properties beneath the pylons. This is a result from the longstanding load of the bridge. The investigations identified that the clay beneath one of the pillars is breached and that the pillar will continue to settle. The reason for the pillar’s settlement is due to the fact that the bridge is founded directly on plastic clay. In a usual settlement process, the soil will compress until it is no longer compressible. For example when a house settles over time, there is a critical point when the soil is unable to compress any further and therefore the settlement process has ended. However, this ‘normal’ settlement process does not apply to the Little Belt Bridge, due to the fact that the bridge is founded on plastic clay, a material able to rise and swell over time and as such, is unable to compress. In 2012, Banedanmark appointed a geotechnical panel consisting of experts carefully chosen from Danish engineering companies and technical universities – including Geo. The main focus was the foundation conditions of the four bridge pillars in the Little Belt, which, since the millennium, have been the subject of much debate amongst geotechnical engineers. The panel of experts recommended that advanced laboratory tests were conducted on the Little Belt clay, upon which the bridge pillars are founded. Geo and NGI performed these tests.
Denmark hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in the B&W Halls in Copenhagen. This was Denmark’s third time to host the Eurovision Song Contest! Previously, Denmark hosted the event in 1964 and 2001.
Did you know that the Danish bills from 2009 all have the theme ‘Danish bridges and prehistoric finds’ in common? The Little Belt Bridge from 1935 is the bridge motif for the 100 kr. note and the Great Belt high level bridge is the motif for the 1000 kr. note.
Together with the shipping company Blue Star Line Geo posesses over the Blue Beta, which is a vessel for offshore seabed investigations. Blue Beta is equipped with different special equipment for offshore geotechnical investigations. Most important is the specially constructed heave compensated drilling rig, which keeps the drilling rig steady from the motions of the sea. The Vessel's fully equipped laboratory enables swift analysis of samples and cores.
The storm 'Bodil', struck Denmark on 5. December with storm, gusts of hurricane force and surge near the coasts. Roskilde Fjord was one of the hardest struck areas, with elevated watermasses up to 2 metres.
Blue Beta is Geo's offshore investigations vessel. The vessel is equipped with a heave compensated drilling rig, which compensates for the motions of the sea.
To investigate the geotechnical conditions in the Fehmarn Belt, Geo excavated a survey area of 40 x 70 metres, 10 metres into the seabed. The total area of the survey area was 200 x 200 metres. 10 metres below the seabed, and at a total of 20 metres below the waterline, Geo performed Large Scale Testing to investigate the quality of the seabed and the carrying capacity of the future Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link.
Denmark wins the European Championship in men's handball.
The size of Geo's survey area at the seabed is equivalent to about 5 football fields. The excavated area in the middle of the area of nearly half a football field, was excavated to 10 metres below the surface of the seabed.
In 2011 Geo was selected as consultant and designer by the construction consultancy EKJ and by the Italian general contractor: Copenhagen Metro Team (CMT), for the construction of the Copenhagen Metro Cityring. Geo has continually done analysis and models based on all new and historical data along the ca. 17 kilometres of tunnel. The purpose was to minimise the use of materials and to optimise the design. The animation shows the underground tour along the Metro Cityring and its stations. The vertical blue markings placed along the tunnels mark the geotechnical borings drilled by Geo.
The Crown Prins Frederik and the Crown Princess Mary's twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine are born at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen on 8. January.
Up until 2013 Geo performed geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations for the Copenhagen Metro Cityring. The preliminary investigations included over 600 borings equivalent to about 15 kilometres worth of vertical borings.
Since 2003 Geo has had an ongoing collaboration with DONG Energy concerning remediation of DONG's transformer stations. Previously it had been common practise to use chlorated solvents to degrease the transformeres. Geo investigated a total of 54 transformer stations - of which 14 required further investigations and subsequent remediation.
Den danske cykelrytter Jakob Piil vinder den 219 km lange etape fra Gap til Marseille i Tour de France. The Danish cyclist Jacob Piil wins the 219 km long stage from Gap to Marseille in the Tour de France.
Did you know that in Geo's database we have data from more than 75.000 geotechnical and environmental investigations?
Middelgrunden offshore windfarm, with its 20 wind turbines, is located in Øresund outside Copenhagen with 2-3 km from land. The turbines are arranged in a slightly curved North-Southward line with 180 metres between the turbines. In total, the wind farm is 3,4 km long.
The new European currency of the eurozone, the Euro, was introduced on 1. January 1999.
Did you know that Middelgrunden was established by a collaboration between Københavns Energi and Middelgrunden's wind turbine cooperatives? The wind turbine cooperatives consisted of 8.552 electricity consumers, who invested in the wind turbines and own the 10 southern wind turbines in the farm.
From 1994, Geo was involved in the Swedish Malmö City tunnel project with core drilling campaigns of several phases. Geo performed, among others, a very large campaign in 1998, followed a year after by geological modelling of the bryozoan limestone, in which the tunnel and subsurface station ‘Triangeln’ would be constructed in. Many of the borings were performed with a (at the time) new Geobor-S technique, which provided considerably higher core quality than traditional core drilling. The tunnel opened in 2010.
The Eurotunnel between the UK and France opened. The 50,3 km long Eurotunnel running below the English Channel is the world’s second longest underwater tunnel, only exceeded by the 53,8 km long Japanese Seikan tunnel.
The City Tunnel is a 17 km long railway tunnel between Malmö C and the Øresund Fixed Link. Six kilometres of tunnel is located beneath the centre of Malmö, lying in bryozoan limestone. The bryozoan limestone got its name because it consists of millions of tiny reef animals, called Bryozoans, which are similar to corals. The bryozoan limestone was deposited immediately after a major meteor impact 65 million years ago, which was believed to be the cause of the dinosaur extinction and other species.
Prior to the opening of the Øresund Fixed Link in 2000, Geo performed a series of investigations, including borings at the artificial island: Peberholm, and for the new motorway across Amager island. Furthermore, Geo carried out hydrogeological borings for the dewatering of the ramp by Kastrup, as well as a number of special tests concerning, among others, surveys for the compensation excavations of the seabed. In connection to the construction of the Øresund Fixed Link, it was demanded that the Link would not influence the water flow in Øresund. In order for the bridge pillars not to influence the water flow, compensation excavations of the seabed were performed. Geo was requested to perform bathymetrical echo sounder surveys to assess how much seabed should be excavated. Multi Beam echo sounder surveys had just entered the market and Geo performed numerous tests on both land and sea in order to achieve highly accurate surveys. The tests led to an innovative and new method for applying echo sounder on ships, as well as new algorithms in the software to achieve measurements within 2 cm accuracy. Together with EIVA, Geo became a pioneer within Multi Beam echo sounder surveys. The results set a precedent for the standard method – a method still used today. The surveys of the seabed showed that only 8-10 cm had to be excavated as opposed to the expected 20 cm, which in a very large area, made a considerable difference to the project, both in relation to water flow, time and cost.
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia separate in the Velvet Divorce.
Did you know that a fixed link with a railway, road and bicycle lane across Øresund was designed as early as 1936? The fixed link had a total cost of 152 million kr. When the Øresund fixed link opened in 2000, the amount would have been equivalent to 4 billion kr., due to inflation. The final costs of the bridge was 30,1 billion kr. – 26 billion more than anticipated in 1936.
In 1987, Geo performed a long series of geotechnical investigations for the new Great Belt link: a combined road- and railway connection. Due to the inclination of the High Bridge, it would be both costly and difficult for trains to pass the High Bridge. As an alternative, it was decided to build a railway tunnel, providing a much better technical solution. However, the bored tunnel below the Østerrenden in the Great Belt also proved to be the largest technical challenge for the Great Belt link, because it was, among other reasons, the first of its kind in Denmark and required groundwater to be lowered beneath the seabed, in order to ease and facilitate tunnelling operations. The dewatering project was named, quite aptly: Project Moses. Geo was responsible for Project Moses and managed both consultancy and dewatering. Furthermore, Geo was the initiator of the project, executed all borings along the train route and managed both design and installation. The tunnel, however, was not the only challenge. Also founding the large pylons and anchor blocks on moraine clay created challenges for Geo’s geotechnical engineers. Therefore, Geo performed newly designed large-scale dynamic plate load tests and sliding tests on the moraine clay at Halsskov Ferry Harbour and near Sprogø. Just west of Sprogø, the moraine clay was discovered to be exceptionally weak, which had to be taken into consideration in the design of the pillars for the western bridge, between Sprogø and Funen. Furthermore, Geo performed preliminary investigations for the so-called compensation excavations, because the Construction Act determined that the link must not influence or indeed change the water flow in the Great Belt. In order to ensure water flow, some of the seabed was excavated.
The Supernova 1987A is the first supernova to be observed to the naked eye. Not since 1604 has a supernova been visible to the naked eye.
Did you know that the island Sprogø, located halfway between Zealand and Funen, was expanded due to the construction of the Great Belt Link? Today Sprogø comprises an old and new island. Originally the island was 0,38 km2 – today the island is 1,52 km2.
In 1978, Geo performed geotechnical investigations for the Farø Bridges in Storstrømmen between Falster and Zealand. The investigations comprised geotechnical borings and core drilling, explorations, pressure meter tests and load testing. Borings were performed for each bridge pier. The Farø Bridges opened on 4th June 1985.
The national museum of Denmark finds and excavates the remains of Ole Rømer’s small astronomical observatory: Observatorium Tusculanum, nearby Vridsløsemagle in the western suburbs of Copenhagen.
Did you know that the Farø Bridges consist of a high southern bridge and a lower northern bridge, connecting the islands Falster and Zealand? The total length of the bridges is 1596 metres or 5236 ft.
In 1967 the Danish Geotechnical Institute acquired the well borer companies Albinus Christiansen and Fyns Brøndboring. The acquisition strengthened the company's power as an entrepreneur and was the foundation for the advanced and deep borings, which are a trademark of Geo to this day.
The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released.
In 1967 the project planning of Geo's headquarter in Kgs. Lyngby at Maglebjergvej 1 was initiated.
From 1962 to 1963 the Danish Geotechnical Institute performed geotechnical investigations in connection to the preliminary investigations for a Great Belt Fixed Link. However, political agreement regarding the Fixed Link was not reached until 1986. The Fixed Link opened on 14. June 1998.
The Cuban Missile Crisis occured in 1962, when the USA and the Soviet Union were in a 13-day confrontation over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. This was the closest the Cold War came to a nuclear war.
Did you know that the debat concerning a fixed link across The Great Belt initiated as early as in 1936? However, 62 years came to pass before the Fixed Link connecting Funen and Zealand was a reality.
In 1961, Geo initiated work prior to the new bridge over the Little Belt. The bridge opened in 1970. Geo performed additional duties, such as advanced laboratory tests and geotechnical consultancy.
If this year is written with a font where the number 1 is a vertical line, the year can be read upside down and still give the same result. The last time this occurred was in 1881 and the next time will be in 6009.
Did you know that the largest Danish 1-day festival ‘Rock under Broen’ (Rock under the Bridge) is held each year under the Little Belt Bridge near Middelfart on Funen? The festival was established in 1989.
In Geo’s early days, geotechnical engineering was still a young science. The video shows how the geotechnical drilling and laboratory tests were performed in the years close after the foundation of the Danish Geotechnical Institute. Among others, you can see one of the founders of the Danish Geotechnical Institute, Ellen Louise Mertz, in the video. She was the first Engineering Geologist in Denmark.
The Pentagon, the world's largest office building, located in Washington D.C. in the USA, was completed.
Did you know that some of the first Bulletins published by The Danish Geotechnical Institute are still very much relevant and are still used at the schools of Engineering and at the universities? Bulletin no. 5, "Bidrag til Danmarks ingeniørgeologi" ("A Contribution to the Engineering Geology of Denmark"), is written by one of the founders of the Danish Geotechnical Institute: Ellen Louise Mertz.
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