Climate change and global warming are causing significant changes in precipitation and temperature, resulting in extreme precipitation events, flooding, and very heavy snowfall. These changes influence soil moisture, which then affects transportation infrastructure performance. TRB hosted a webinar on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 that explored climate change effects on the performance of geotechnical transportation assets. Presenters covered ways local governments are constructing infrastructure with climate change in mind, remote sensing assessment of ground moisture using U.S. National Aeronautical and Space Administration satellite measurements, and field-scale evaluation of slopes using instrumentation and geophysical testing.

This webinar was sponsored by TRB’s Standing Technical Committees on Mechanics and Drainage of Saturated and Unsaturated Geomaterials, on Geotechnical Instrumentation and Modeling, and on Geo-Environmental and Climatic Impacts on Geomaterials.

The slides are linked in the meeting materials. View the recorded webinar below.

Webinar agenda and presenters

• Proactive approach to climate challenges adaption - Mike LeBeau, City of Duluth, Minnesota
• Evaluating infrastructure foundations’ performance with soil-moisture satellite data - Mehran Mazari, California State University, Los Angeles
• Climate change effect on moisture variation in highway slopes on expansive soil - Sadik Khan, Jackson State University
• Question and answer session moderated by John Siekmeier, Minnesota Department of Transportation

The first 60 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate the impact of climate change on infrastructure construction
• Use soil-moisture satellite data to evaluate infrastructure performance
• Consider moisture variation in highway slopes on expansive soil

Professional Development Hours

This webinar was delivered as a scheduled – e-learning live event and is categorized within RCEP as Technical, Health and Safety.

Professional Development Hours (PDHs) earned on completion of this program were reported to the Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Certificates of Completion are issued to all participants via the RCEP.net online system. Complaints about registered providers may be addressed to RCEP, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Fl., Washington, DC, 20005.