{"id":34330,"date":"2021-01-13T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/?p=34330"},"modified":"2021-02-25T11:45:49","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T11:45:49","slug":"bgs-prime-an-early-warning-system-for-slope-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/news\/bgs-prime-an-early-warning-system-for-slope-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"BGS PRIME: an early warning system for slope failure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dam and slope failures can lead to the wide-scale destruction of property and, in some cases, catastrophic loss of life. For example, an estimated 170 000 people were killed in the Banqiao dam failure in China in 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t

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\"PRIME<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

The BGS-developed PRoactive Infrastructure Monitoring and Evaluation<\/a> (PRIME) system is a ground imaging system that can remotely monitor the integrity of infrastructure assets such as dams, cuttings and embankments. PRIME uses technology similar to medical imaging, which can give an early warning that a dam wall may be developing faults that cannot be seen by inspection of its surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already deployed in research projects around the world, PRIME is a low-cost, low-power system controlled using wireless technology. PRIME can be rapidly deployed to provide subsurface information and can save time and money when compared to \u2018walk-over\u2019 surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the size and scale of the event, failed embankments have the potential to cause millions of pounds’ worth of damage to railway, road or canal networks. To illustrate the scale of this issue, in the UK: <\/p>\n\n\n\n