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David Boon

David Boon

Engineering geologist
BGS Keyworth
Contact

David Boon’s Biography

  • 2013 –2016 : Deputy Head of Station, BGS Wales
  • 2009 –2010 : Natural Hazards Group, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
  • 2005 – ongoing : Engineering Geologist: British Geological Survey, Nottingham
  • 2004 –2005 : MSc, Engineering Geology, Leeds University, UK
  • 2002 –2003 : Scientific Officer: Royal Air Force Land Quality Assessment Team, UK
  • 2000 –2004 : BSc Environmental Geology (1st class Hons), Leeds University, UK

ORCID:

0000000349218249

Research interests

  • Engineering Geology
  • Geology for urban planning
  • Landslide hazard and risk
  • Shallow Geothermal Energy (GSHP & Underground Heat Storage)
  • Engineering Seismology (particularly ground motion amplification and microzonation studies)
  • Science Communication

Current projects and collaborations

  • 2018 : DFID Great 4 Partnerships: Collaboration with Kyrgyz Republic geological survey
  • 2018 –2021 : IEA Heat Pump Technologies collaboration programme. Annex 52 – Long-term measurment of GSHP systems in commecial, institutional and multi-family buildings. (Jan 2018 – Dec 2021)
  • 2018 –2021 : MUSE shallow geothermal energy project – EU Horizon 2020 GeoERA. Project Manager and WP4 Task 4.1 lead.
  • 2017 –2017 : Multi Hazard Risk; Sierra Leone. World Bank funded, led by ARUP.
  • 2015 –2016 : Principal Investigator: Cardiff Geothermal project. InnovateUK funded-project ‘Ground Heat Strategy at a City Scale’
  • 2011 – ongoing : Investigations into geological controls on Ground Motion Amplification potential in the London Basin and Folkestone
  • 2010 – ongoing : Team Member: Shallow Geohazards and Risk Team. Landslide Hazard Assessment of the Cleveland Baisn, UK and landslide response team.
  • 2008 – ongoing : Project Leader: Geophysical Properties and Processes – Tills Collaborators: Lancaster University
  • 2018 : Sub-Saharan Africa; Landslide Hazard and Risk. World Bank funded. Technical advice for Regent landslide, Freetown (UNOPS-ARUP)
  • 2013 – ongoing : Task Leader: City Region Geoscience (Urban geology in Wales)collaboration with Cardiff City Councils, Newport Council, Torfaen County Borough Council in geological data management.
  • 2015 – ongoing : KIGAM-BGS Urban Geology Collaboration (Republic of Korea Geological Survey)
  • 2013 – ongoing : Natural Hazards Partnership (NHP): Daily Landslide Hazard Assessment (DLHA) on-call rota staff member. Collaboration with UK Met Office to improve national landslide forecasting capability.
  • 2015 – ongoing : ASK Network Wales (co-founder)

Key papers

Arnhardt, R, Boon, D, Zaginaev, V, Erokhin, S, Lawrie, K, Smith, N, and Krabbendam, M. 2019. Consideration of a centralized national landslide geo-database for the Kyrgyz Republic. [Abstract] in 17th International Symposium on Geo-disaster Reduction, 19-23 August, 2019, Issyk Kul, Kyrgyz Republic.
Boon, D, Farr, G, Abesser, A, Patton, A M, James, D R, Schofield, D I, and Tucker, D G. 2019. Groundwater heat pump feasibility in shallow urban aquifers: experience from Cardiff, UK. Science of the Total Environment, 697. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133847
Redshaw, P, Boon, D, Campbell, G, Willis, M, Mattai, J, Free, M, Jordan, C, Kemp, S J, Morley, A, and Thomas, M. 2019. The 2017 Regent Landslide, Freetown Peninsula, Sierra Leone. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, (Accepted Manuscript). DOI: 10.1144/qjegh2018-187
Redshaw, P, Boon, D. et al. The 1946 Charlotte and 2017 Regent Landslides, Freetown Peninsular, Sierra Leone. [Abstract and presentation]. In Keep Lessons Alive conference Geological Society of London General Meeting of Engineering Group. Cambridge April 2018. (Unpublished)
Boon, D, Farr, G, Patton, A, Kendall, R, James, L, Abesser, C, Busby, J, Schofield, D, White, D, Gooddy, D, James, D, Williams, B, Tucker , D, Knowles, S, and Harcombe, G. 2016. The contribution of geology and groundwater studies to city-scale ground heat network strategies: A case study from Cardiff, UK. (Conference Abstract)EGU 2016, Vienna, April 2016.
Boon, D P, Chambers, J E, Hobbs, P R N, Kirkham, M, Merritt, A J, Dashwood, C, Pennington, C, and Wilby, P R. 2015. A combined geomorphological and geophysical approach to characterising relict landslide hazard on the Jurassic Escarpments of Great Britain. Geomorphology, 248, p296-310.
Boon, D P, Chambers, Wilby, J E, Philip R, and Grebby, S. 2015. Characterising landslide processes using a combined remote sensing and geophysical surveying approach: examples from north east England, UK. Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol 17, EGU2015-1763, 2015 EGU General Assembly 2015.
Boon, D, Sargeant, S, Raines, M, Dashwood, Morgan, B, and Gunn, D. 2015. Assessing the impact of local geology on ground motion amplification in south east England. SECED2015 conference: Earthquake Risk and Engineering towards a Resilient World 9-10 July 2015, Cambridge, UK (peer reviewed).
Boon, D, Kirkham, M, and Scheib, A. 2014. Physical properties of till deposits from Anglesey, north west Wales. Nottingham, UK, British Geological Survey, 68pp. (OR/14/052) (Unpublished) http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/510871/
Boon, D, and Patton, A. 2014. The stakeholder-led approach to setting future urban geoscience research priorities: Experience from Wales, UK. Conference Abstract & Oral, Geological Society Of America 2014, Vancouver.
Boon, D, Dellow, G, Perrin, N, Rattenbury, M, and Van Dissen, R. 2013. Advancement of 3D modelling methodologies for seismic hazard: a study of potential site effects in the Lower Hutt Basin, New Zealand. EGU2013 Conference Abstract and Oral. Europian Geosciences Union 2013, Vienna, Austria.
Boon, D. et al. 2011. NZS1170.5:2004 Site Subsoil Classification of Lower Hutt. Proceedings of the Ninth Pacific Conference on Earthquake Engineering: Building an Earthquake-Resilient Society, Auckland, New Zealand.
Boon, D P, Perrin, N, Dellow, G, and Lukovic, B. 2010. It’s Our Fault – geological and geotechnical characterisation and site class revision of the Lower Hutt Valley. GNS Science Consultancy Report 2010/163 . http://www.nzsee.org.nz/db/2011/013.pdfSite Subsoil Classification of Lower Hutt.
Boon, D. 2005. Rock slope stability assessment for a low cost mountain road rehabilitation project: Adwa-Adigrat Road, Northern Ethiopia. MSc Engineering Geology dissertation. University of Leeds.

Commissioned reports

2018 : Boon, D . 2018. Residual hazards at the Regent landslide, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Landslide inspection report prepared for UNOPS/ARUP. British Geological Survey Commissioned Report, CR/18/023. 8pp.
2013 : Met Office & BGS: Elan Aqueduct Landslip and Scour Analysis: final report. Prepared for Severn Trent Water, October 2013.
2017 : Boon, D, and Jordan, H. 2017. Literature review of landslide hazard in Freetown, Sierra Leone. British Geological Survey Internal Report IR/17/030.

Published outputs

NERC Open Research Archive — David Boon
Farr, G J, Patton, A M, Boon, D P, James, D R, Williams, B, and Schofield, D I. 2017. Mapping shallow urban groundwater temperatures, a case study from Cardiff, UK. QJEGH. DOI: 10.1144/qjegh2016-058
Boon, D, Patton, A, Kirkham, M, and Jones, L. 2016. Slope monitoring at the Glan Ebbw Landslide, Blaina, South Wales: January to April 2016. British Geological Survey, 35pp. (IR/16/015)
Bateson, L, Cigna, F, Boon, D, and Sowter, A. 2015. The application of the Intermittent SBAS (ISBAS) InSAR methodto the South Wales Coalfield, UK. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. 32, 249-257. Elsevier.
Jordan, H, Boon, D, Dashwood, C, Dijkstra, T, Freeborough, K, Hobbs, P, Jenkins, G, Lee, K, Pennington, C, and Reeves, H. 2015. Landslide mapping for susceptibility & hazard assessment: N. York Moors, UK. International Landslides Symposium 2015.
Patton et al. 2015. Shallow Groundwater Temperatures and the Urban Heat Island Effect: the First U.K City-wide Geothermal Map to Support Development of Ground Source Heating Systems Strategy. Abstract and Poster Session ERE3.5, EGU Confernece 2015. EGU2015-3488. Vienna, Austria.
Patton, A M, and Boon, D P. 2015. City Regions Geoscience in Wales: Scoping Study. British Geological Survey Internal Report, IR/15/003. 94pp.
Morgan, D J R, Hobbs, P R N, and Boon, D P. 2014. Falling head permeability tests on Till deposits from the Vale of Eden, England – supplementary report including new data. British Geological Survey Internal Report, IR/14/007. 24pp.
Bateson, L, Cigna, F, Sowter, A, and Boon, D. 2013. The application of the ISBAS InSAR method to the South Wales Coalfield. Joint Int. Symp. on Deformation Monitoring, Nottingham, UK, pp1-7.
Wilkinson, S, Grant, D, Williams, E, Paganoni, S, Fraser, D, Boon, D, Mason, A, and Free, M. 2013. Observations and implications of damage from the magnitude Mw6.3 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake of 22 Febuary 2011. Bull Earthquake Eng v11 p107-140.
Munnecke, A, Cramer, B D, Boon, D P, Kharwat, R, Aiken, C L, and Schofield, D I. 2012. The Digital Integrated Stratigraphy Project (DISP).Bulletin of Geosciences, 87 (4). 705-712. DOI: 10.3140/bull.geosci.1318
Van Dissen, R, Little, T, Barnes, P, Semmens, S, Boon, D, Johnston, D, Dellow, G, Fry, B, McVerry, G, and Rhoades, D. 2011. Better defining earthquake risk in Wellington, New Zealand: the first five years of the It’s Our Fault programme. Abstract presented at XXV General Assembly, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), Melbourne, Australia, 28 June – 7 July, 2011.
Price, S J, Burke, H F, Terrington, R L, Reeves, H, Boon, D, and Scheib, A J. The 3D characterisation of the zone of human interaction and the sustainable use of underground space in urban and peri-urban environments: case studies from the UK. Z. dt. Ges. Geowiss., 161/2, p. 219–235, 10 figs., 3 tabs. Stuttgart, June 2010.
Venus, J, Aspden, J A, Boon, D, Davies, J, Foster, C, Schofield, D I, Foster, A, and Waters, R A. 2009. Applied thematic mapping in the Lampeter area. In: Basset M G, Boulton H and Nichol D (eds). Urban Geology in Wales: 3. National Museum of Wales Geological Series No.26, Cardiff.
Scheib, A, Arkley, S, Auton, C, Boon, D, Everest, J, Kuras, O, Pearson, S G, Raines, M, and Williams, J. 2008. Multidisciplinary characterisation and modelling of a small upland catchment in Scotland.Questiones Geographicae, 27A (2). 45-62.
Woods, M, Barron, M, Hobbs, P, and Boon, D. 2007. Rock, Rail and Roade – uncovering a geological treasure.Geology Today, 23 (6). 227- 230. 10.1111/j.1365-2451.2007.00640.x

Skills

  • Development of geological models, engineering ground models and geotechnical models for construction risk reduction and infrastructure resilience.
  • Engineering geological mapping, including landslide
  • geomorphic, morphometric and geotechnical mapping
    GPS/GNSS surveying (Leica Smart Rover/Viva)
  • Geophysical surveying: HVSR microtremor surveying, processing, interpretation, Vs profile modelling (using Tromino) for microzonation studies and geological/stratigraphic investigations
  • Landslides: Mapping, investigation, recognition, hazard susceptibility mapping, monitoring, modelling, risk assessment, public communication.
  • Project development and management
  • Site Investigation: desk study, walkover, drilling and testing specification, site supervision, soil and rock description/logging for engineering and geological purposes (BS5930, EC7 & ASTM). Material property sampling and testing (basic geotechnical and ring shear/shear box, disturbed and undisturbed). In-situ strength testing (Panda penetrometer & Schmidt hammer). Interpretation of geotechnical data.
  • Terrestrial LiDAR scanner operation and post-processing (Riegl LPM 800HA & VZ1000, RiScanPro)for virtual outcrop models and geohazards
  • 1D Seismic Site Response Analysis (SHAKE).
  • 3D geological mapping (GSI3D & GoCAD).
  • Contaminated Land – Land Quality Assessment

Software

  • GSI3D, ESRI ARC GIS, RiProfile, RiScanPro, Dips, SlopeW, SplitFX, GeoVisionary, Galena, GeoMotions, SHAKE2000, MS Office, Grilla, Surfer, Oasis Montaj

Qualifications

  • 2019 : Filming for BBC ‘The One Show’: Landslides affecting Overstrand, Norfolk, 20 June 2019
  • 2019 : Invited speaker: IEA Heat Pump Technologies Annex 52. Long-term measurmenets of GSHP system performence in commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings. Conference held at BEIS, London 16-18 September 2019.
  • 2017 –2016 : BBC Radio Wales interview on Good Morning Wales (14 Aug 2017 7:25am)explaining the causes of landslides in Wales
  • 2017 : Ground Heat Network at a City Scale. Invited presentation at HubNet Colloquium on District Heating Networks -current practices and innovation gaps. 29 February 2017, Cardiff University.
  • 2016 : Constructing Excellence in Wales (Invited Speaker) – Potential for groundwater heating in Cardiff, 23 June 2016, Cardiff.
  • 2016 : Keynote speaker: Energy Innovation Cardiff Conference (19 October 2016) http://cardiffinnovation.wales/
  • 2015 : Invited Lecture: Midland Geotechnical Society. 3D Geological Models for Geotechnical Engineering. 5th October 2015, Birmingham University.
  • 2015 : Invited Lecture: Plymouth University Earth Science Research Seminar. 11 February 2015. ‘Does shallow geology affect earthquake hazard in the UK?’ Plymouth University, UK.
  • 2015 : Invited Lecture; South Wales Geological Association. 28 February 2015. ‘Landslides: A Climate Proxy?’. Swansea University.
  • 2012 : Invited Lecture: Open University Geological Society (OUGS) 2012 – The Christchurch Earthquake, Suffolk
  • 2012 : Invited lectures: NERC Spring School Cambridge University March 2011
  • 2010 –2010 : Finalist Geol Soc Engineering Group Glossop Award 2010
  • – ongoing STEM Ambassador

Professional associations

  • 2014 – ongoing: GSA: Professional Member of Geological Society of America
  • 2006 – ongoing: IAEG: Member of International Association of Engineering Geology
  • 2011: EEFIT: Team member on UK Earthquake Field Investigation Team’s mission to Christchurch Earthquake, New Zealand.
  • 2005 – ongoing: GeolSoc: Fellow (FGS) of the Geological Society of London

Boards and committees

  • 2019 –2022: Management Committee member for UK: COST Action CA18219, COST Association Research network for including geothermal technologies into decarbonized heating and cooling grids
  • 2007 –2012: Meetings Secretary: Geological Society of London – East Midlands Regional Group

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