Management and Application of Geotechnical Data:

The Geotechnical Data Information System of the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government
MOTOMU ISHII
KENJI ISHIMURA
TOSHIO NAKAYAMA
Institute of Civil Engineering
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
1-9-15, Shinsuna, Koto-Ku
Tokyo 136 Japan
ABSTRACT/In the Tokyo metropolis many geological
surveys are carried out in conjunction with building
construction work and urban base improvement
undertakings. Furthermore, the Institute of Civil
Engineering (ICE) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
(TMG) has been conducting surveys on urban geology,
land subsidence, and geodetics. Thus, ICE of TMG keeps
a lot of geological data. In order to plan for a more
effective use of these data, the Geotechnical Data
Information System of Tokyo Metropolitan Government was
organized in 1985, and since 1986, it has become fully
implemented.
This Geotechnical Data Information System has
incorporated a relational data base into a mainframe
computer, the NEC ACOS System 430, and as of March
1989 it can retrieve and graphically present borehole,
deep-well, and groundwater data.
The authors wish to introduce in this article the
organizational structure of the Geotechnica] Data
Information System of TMG, a summary of the data base
system, standards of input data, and applicable examples
of the data base.
Introduction
It is a common fact that many large cities of the
world have been built on plains. However, the urban
area of Tokyo is a typical city that has been developed
on soft and unstable ground. In addition, Japan has
been subjected to frequent and severe earthquakes.
For these reasons, when construction projects are
promot ed and initiated or when operational plans for
eart hquake disaster prevent i on are implemented,
geological i nformat i on will become one of the most
i mport ant parts of the data.
According to a recent survey by the Japanese Soci-
ety of Soil Mechanics and Foundat i on Engineering
(Kazama and others 1989), t here are approximately
20 geological data bases in Japan. Most of these data
bases are personal computer-based, and about five
use mai nframe computers. Of these five data bases,
however, t hree are currently under development, and
one is for the preparat i on of regional geotechnical
subsurface maps. Only the Geotechnical Data Infor-
mation System of TMG offers integrated data collec-
tion, management , and application capabilities.
ICE of TMG has been conducting surveys and re-
search on land subsidence since 1941 and on urban
geology since 1959. We current l y possess a large
amount of borehol e logs, soil test data, groundwat er
level data, geodetic surveying data, etc.
Background of Geotechnical Data Information
System Construction
When a construction project is initiated in a soft
and unstable ground region, such as in Tokyo, geo-
logical i nformat i on is very i mport ant and an indis-
pensable part of the construction. For that reason,
t here are many instances where a borehol e survey is
conduct ed for even the design of small-scale buildings
of only t hree to four stories in height. However, the
boring materials oft en become dead stock in a ware-
house or are lost, once the i nt ended project is com-
pleted.
We have t herefore collected and sorted existing
borehol e data and have compiled and published data
on urban geology to facilitate application in construc-
tion work and disaster prevention, titled "Geotechni-
cal Subground Map of TMG" in 1969 and "Synthetic
Geotechnical Subground Map of TMG" in 1977. Dur-
ing the course of the above work, the initial data man-
agement started with copies by using a duplicating
machine and a file system. At the time of prepari ng
the synthetic geotechnical subsurface map, only t he
numerical data such as soil test data were handl ed by
comput er. The met hod of data management had
been devel oped from the file system to the data base
in 1988--t he Geotechnical Data Informat i on System
of TMG (Fig. 1).
Environ Geol Water Sci Vol. 19, No. 3, 169-178 1992 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
170 M. Ishii et al,
nformation Sys t e m of TMG Ge ot e e hni e a l Da t a
I
Soil Test Data
Sub-system
I
Analysis System
for Geological
Study
I
Inf. system Inf. system SYstel System Data Inf. Sys.
I I I I l
B0ri.,L0, Sub- Uno0nf ndGr0u,d-II t. R0odS10p0 IIPr0oi0sL0,0ii., IC0,find r0a.d,at0r
system water Sub-syste~ Sub-system Sub-system Sub-system
[ l l I I
Deep ~oll Logll ] Rainfall Data IlhnalysisSyste~ ferl I Triangulation
Sub-syste= Sub-syste= ~lope Stability .,.J
I
I Analysis System for
Groundwater Study
[ Analysis Syste= for
Sub-syste= Land Subsidence
I
I Analysis System for I
Earthqueek Prediction
Figure 1. Construction of Geotechnical Data Information System of TMG.
Summary of Geotechnical Data Information
Geological Data Information System
This is the most basic part of the Geotechnical Data
Informat i on System, and it has the function of re-
trieving borehol e log data and prepari ng geologic
profiles.
Borehol e logs, which had been i nput into the sys-
tem, were for a foundat i on survey in civil engi neeri ng
and construction work carried out by each bureau of
the TMG, 23 wards and cities in Tokyo. Ther ef or e,
the survey borehol e dept hs are mostly 20-30 m in
upl and areas and 30-60 m in lowland areas. As of the
end of March 1989, the number of borehol e logs that
had already been i nput was 25,000. Borehol e logs are
arranged according to the section code system of Jap-
anese city planning. The sections are 1 km x I km
(mesh) on 1:25,000 scale maps. Ther e are sections
where t here are no borehol e logs in the suburbs and
parks. Ther e are approxi mat el y 300 borehol e logs
i nput in one section in the central met ropol i t an area.
From now on, it is pl anned to collect borehol e logs in
areas where presently available data are sparse,
t hereby aiming at ultimately inputting a total of
100,000 logs.
In the deep-well log system, t here are approxi-
mately 1,800 deep-well logs and electrical logging
data, for which retrieval of well logs and preparat i on
of a geological profile are possible in the same manner
as in the system of borehol e logs.
The Soil Test Data System is a retrieval system of
soil test data that were obtained duri ng bori ng for
civil engi neeri ng and building construction work,
and it is linked with the retrieval of borehol e logs.
In ot her words, on the borehol e logs retrieved, the
location of the samples, where the soil test was con-
ducted, is shown. Ther ef or e, it is designed to pro-
vide a general table of soil test results at a dept h desig-
nat ed at a location on the log. Additionally, it is possi-
ble to obtain slip sheets, correlation diagrams, and
statistical tables of the entire soil data within the
1-km x 1-km section. As of March 1989, the number
of soil test samples input data is approxi mat el y
12,000.
Groundwater Data Information System
The unconfi ned groundwat er levels of upl and
areas and the amount s of precipitation in Tokyo have
been input. Unconfi ned groundwat er in observation
wells number 17, and observations have been contin-
ued and recorded for over 20 years. Observation wells
for unconfi ned groundwat er are roughl y 10 m in
depth. Because of a good responses to the amount of
precipitation, it is designed so that the rainfall-
groundwat er relation can be provi ded by inputting
precipitation data near the observation point. Daily
maxi mum and mi ni mum values of groundwat er lev-
els and daily amounts of precipitation are already in-
put into the system.
Management and Application of Geotechnical Data 171
Mountain Road Information Syst em
Thi s system handl es all t he r oad slope dat a in t he
west ern mount ai n ar ea of Tokyo under l ai n by depos-
its of Mesozoic to Paleozoic strata, as well as in volcanic
islands scat t ered in t he Pacific Ocean.
Th e total l engt h of mount ai n r oads is 120 km and
t her e are 1,069 slopes. I n consi derat i on of geomor -
phi c el ement s, t he r oad slope was di vi ded i nt o a uni t
slope of 200- 300 m in width. A slope i nvent or y was
pr epar ed, cont ai ni ng st ereoobl i que phot ogr aphs
t aken by hel i copt er, slope pr oper t y, risk pot ent i al f or
slope fai l ure and rockfall, past disaster records, and
const ruct i on records. Th e dat a bases i ncl uded slope
di rect i on, rock condi t i ons, relative hei ght , veget at i on,
etc., in t he slope i nvent or y f or analysis of causes of
slope fai l ure and rockfall.
Geodet i c Data Information Syst em
Thi s system consists of dat a of two types. One is t he
precise leveling data, whi ch handl es gr ound hei ght ,
and t he ot her is t he survey dat a of t ri angul at i on
points of ICE of TMG. Th e t ri angul at i on points have
been installed since 1985 unde r a 10-year plan. I n
Tokyo, especially in ur ban areas, t he past cont rol
points (t ri angul at i on points) were al most lost due to
t he Kwant o Ear t hquake in 1923, aerial bomba r dme nt
dur i ng t he Second Wor l d War, as well as t he r ecent
ext ensi ve urbani zat i on. The r e f or e , in cooper at i on
with t he Geogr aphi cal Survey of Japan, ICE of TMG
is car r yi ng out t he cont r ol poi nt survey in Tokyo. Th e
installation densi t y of cont r ol poi nt s is at intervals of
about 1.5 km, cover i ng 540 points. Th e above two
types of dat a have not yet been i nput .
Land Subsidence Data Information System
Thi s system handl es conf i ned gr oundwat er level
dat a with observat i on wells f or l and subsi dence as well
as gr ound compact i on ( r ebound) data. Th e ol dest
r ecor ds of conf i ned gr oundwat er levels have been
mai nt ai ned since 1953. As of March 1989, t her e wer e
79 observat i on wells installed at 34 locations, and t he
final goal is to have 90 wells at 40 locations. Among
t he r ecor ds obt ai ned at t hese observat i on wells,
gr oundwat er level dat a are t aken hour l y and gr ound-
compact i on ( r ebound) dat a daily.
Records of conf i ned gr oundwat er levels ar e said to
be effect i ve f or t he pr edi ct i on of an ear t hquake, and
t he analysis of gr oundwat er level variations is unde r
way at ICE of TMG. Par t of t he conf i ned gr oundwa-
t er level dat a is bei ng conver t ed i nt o el ect roni c data,
but is not in t he dat a base at t he pr esent time. How-
ever, utilization of u n d e r g r o u n d data, appr oxi mat el y
50- 100 m below t he surface in t he ur ban cent er of t he
Tokyo met ropol i s, is unde r investigation. Thi s dat a
base is supposed to be an i mpor t ant par t of t he system
in t he near f ut ur e.
Summary of Geotechnical Data
Information System
Basic Concept
Geot echni cal dat a i nf or mat i on consists of many
kinds of i nf or mat i on, such as t opogr aphy, geology,
soil mechanics, gr oundwat er , and geodet i c data. Fur-
t her mor e, pr epar at i on of such dat a is of t en made f or
i ndependent pur poses, but this i nf or mat i on is mut u-
ally r el at ed f or users. Retrieval f r om t he dat a base and
gr aphi c pr esent at i on ar e r equi r ed. For this pur pose,
t he rel at i onal dat a base management system is bet t er
t han t he convent i onal processi ng of mul t i fi l i ng with
numer ous pr ogr ams.
Data Flow of Geotechnical Data
Information System
Data in t he Geot echni cal Data I nf or mat i on System
ar e basically vari ous survey data, f r om surveys con-
duct ed by t he TMG. Th e soil survey data, however,
includes t he dat a submi t t ed by pri vat e ent er pr i ses to
t he admi ni st rat i ve agency al ong with t he appl i cat i on
f or bui l di ng permi t s. A flow char t of t he dat a manage-
ment is shown in Fi gur e 2.
The i r characteristics are as follows:
1. The y can be used f or surveys and r esear ch on t he
geol ogy of a site by collecting existing materials,
such as bor ehol e dat a, and by car r yi ng out a dia-
gr ammat i c analysis.
2. Th e dat a in (1) above can be used not onl y f or
surveys and researches but also can be f ed back to
t he admi ni st rat ors in t he const r uct i on sectors, t he
disaster pr event i on sectors (eart hquake, fl ood,
etc.), and t he envi r onment al sectors.
3. The y can be utilized as st andar d values such as
geodet i c dat a in admi ni st rat i ve sectors, f or ot her
use t han t he survey and r esear ch pur poses of ICE
of TMG.
4. A l arge a mount of dat a can be r et r i eved in a short
t i me as needed. Fur t her mor e, t he out put dia-
grams are of hi gh pi ct ur e quality cor r es pondi ng
to pr i nt ed mat t er.
Hardware Construction
Th e har dwar e adopt ed in t he Geot echni cal Data
I nf or mat i on System of TMG is as follows:
172 M. Ishii et al.
Data mai ntenance
Data analysis
Retrieval
~J (Work station)
I m~/ / / / / / / / / ~r i ~ n t i n g
[ ~ Geological survey
report
( I nqui r y)
Geologlical
survey Dy
Bureau of
Construction
I
[ Geoloqical
[ survey-by other
bureau
I '
Groundwater
survey by ICE
I
Geodetic
surveying by iCE
: - - : - - - ~' : - - - \ I t uctio
(' '~ ~" , (Electrostatic . [ Geot echni cal ~ ] Planninn
(Work station) (Graphic display) plotter) ! { Data, ~ I Hc~n~rfm~nf
I \ i nf or mat i on ,/ [)e~i~[n ....... g
_Gener al . . . . ~. _~ I I H~ r Co'nstruction
y,ou,,om //q , I I r~ ~ depart ment
( ........... ~ I - -
Geology and , VI / //
', ground- I I I I / / / i /W.I F}~
I ] ICE's annual I
wat erst udy II "/~ liCE, ort I ~ I/
, ,, ~ rep
I . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ / ~ ~>/ 1 Other bureaus
"--- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J ~ ~1 v I and related
~_~/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Ff l >~, D~ I o rg a n i z ati o ns
V / / / / / ~
I
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of data flow
1. The central processing unit (CPU) is the NEC
ACOS System 430, equi pped with a high-speed
scientific operational processor at main storage
with a capacity of 8 MB, and as auxiliary memor y
t here are magnetic disk units of 3 GB capacity and
a magnetic tape unit.
2. The graphic pri nt er unit is an electrostatic plotter
having a resolution of 400 dots/in., and as a
graphic display unit, t here is a three-dimensional
color graphic display unit having a resolution of
1,280 x 1,024 dots, capable of displaying 1,024
colors, and a color hard copy unit.
3. The work station is a seven-color display having a
display resolution of 1,536 x 1,152 dots and is
equi pped with a mouse for a pointing device.
4. An optical disk unit having a storage capacity of
3.6 GB/unit is primarily used for the storage of an
image pictorial pattern, such as a t opographi c
map showing the location of borehol e data, and
this is connect ed to the intelligent copy pri nt er
unit for i nput and out put of image pictorial pat-
terns.
Software Construction
As the basic operat i ng system for the ACOS System
430, the central processing unit (CPU) and the ACOS-
4/AVP provi ded by NEC is used. Furt hermore, a
RIQS is used as the relational data base control sys-
tem, and application software was devel oped by ICE
of TMG independently.
Application Examples of Geotechnical
Data Information
The Geotechnical Data Information System is menu-
driven to permit easy handling by those who are not
familiar with computers This section describes the re-
trieval and graphic presentation of borehole logs for
which there are many application examples.
Management and Application of Geotechnical Data 173
AREA CODE OF WARD, CITY, TOWNANDVILLEGE
1 Chiyoda Ward 17 Kita Ward 33 Koganei City 49 Akikawa City
2 Cyuo Ward 18 hraka~ Ward 34 Kodaira City 50 }tamra Town
3 Minato Ward 19 Itabashi W. 35 ltino City 51 Mizuho Town
4 Shinjuku W. 20 Nerim Ward 36 B. MurayamCity 52 flinode Villege
5 Bunkyo Ward 21 Adachi Ward 37 Kokubunji City 53 Itukaichi To~
6 Tai t o Ward 22 Katusika W. 38 Kunitachi City 54 Hinohara Villege
7 Sumida Ward 23 Edoga~Ward 39 Tanashi City 55 Okutam Yillege
8 Koto Ward 24 ltachioji City 40 Hoya City 56 Oshim Tom
9 Shinaga~W. 25 Tachikawa6. 41 Fussa City 57 Toshim Villege
10 Meguro Ward 26 Musashino C. 42 Kome City 58 Niijim Villege
11 Ota Ward 27 Mitaka City 43 lt. Yamto City 59 ](ouzushim Vill.
12 Setagaya W. 28 ~e City 44 Kiyose City 60 Miyake Villege
13 ShibuyaWard 29 Fucyu City 45 H. Kurume City 61 Mikurajim Vill.
14 Nakano Ward 30 ARisim City 46 M.M.rayamCity 62 Hachijyon Villege
15 Suginaai w. 31 Tyoufu City 47 Tam City 63 hogashim Villege
16 Toshim ward 32 Machida City 48 Inagi City 64 Ogasawara Villege
PUSH THE NO. OF AREA CODE YOU WILL RETRIE~ 1111 PF 5 KEY:FOP~ER SCENE
PF 4 KEY:ENI)
Figure 3. Area code.
Retrieval
As a me a ns o f r et r i evi ng bor e hol e l ogs, sel ect i on
can be ma d e f r o m t he f ol l owi ng t hr e e me n u s : (1) re-
t ri eval by a r e a c ode ( na me o f 23 war ds , city, t own,
village); (2) r et r i eval by sect i on n u mb e r ; a n d (3) re-
t ri eval by b o r e h o l e n u mb e r .
For r et r i eval by a r e a c ode a n d sect i on, a 1: 25, 000
scale t o p o g r a p h i c ma p s t or ed i n an opt i cal di sk will be
d r a wn gr aphi cal l y, a n d t he n t he l ocat i on poi nt o f t he
bor e hol e l og will be di spl ayed, o v e r l a p p i n g o n t he
map. Thi s is f o r cal l i ng u p t he l ocat i on o f b o r e h o l e
l ogs di s t r i but ed i n t he ar ea, whi ch is di s pl ayed i n t he
wor k st at i on o f t he da t a base, si nce l at i t ude a n d l ongi -
t ude o f t he s ur vey poi nt h a d b e e n gi ven at t he t i me o f
i nput t i ng t he bor e hol e log. Ret r i eval by bor e hol e
n u mb e r is t he me t h o d o f r et r i eval f r o m t he da t a base
by di r ect l y i nput t i ng t he b o r e h o l e l og n u mb e r cont i n-
uousl y, wi t hout goi ng t h r o u g h r et r i eval by di s pl ayi ng
a t o p o g r a p h i c ma p. Whi l e this t hi r d me t h o d has t he
mer i t o f a s h o r t e r r et r i eval t i me wh e n c o mp a r e d t o
t he o t h e r t wo me t hods , it is neces s ar y t o have a l oca-
t i on ma p o f t he bor e hol e l og on h a n d pr evi ousl y. T h e
f ol l owi ng descr i bes t he r et r i eval me t h o d by a r e a code,
t he mos t f r e que nt l y us ed me t h o d a mo n g t he t hr e e
r et r i eval me t hods .
Retrieval by area code. Wh e n r et r i eval by a r e a c ode is
sel ect ed f r o m t he t hr e e r et r i eval me nus , t he n a me o f
war d, city, t own, o r vi l l age f r o m a n y wh e r e i n To k y o
will be di s pl ayed (Fig. 3). Wh e n t he neces s ar y war d,
city, t own, o r bl ock n a me ( ar ea n a me i n city, t own, a n d
village) will be di spl ayed. Wh e n t he st r eet ( or bl ock)
n a me t o be r et r i eved is sel ect ed, a 1: 25, 000 scale t opo-
gr a phi c ma p, i nc l udi ng t he ma i n p a r t o f t ha t st r eet o r
bl ock will be gr aphi cal l y di spl ayed. I n t he t o p o g r a p h i c
ma p o n this pi ct ur e, sect i on lines o f 1 ki n, sect i on
n u mb e r , a n d l ocat i on o f t he bor e hol e l og will be dis-
pl ayed, all ove r l a ppe d. At t hi s t i me, an o p e n ci rcl e
shows t hat it is a bor e hol e l og wi t hout soil t est dat a,
a n d a sol i d ci rcl e shows t he r e is soil t est da t a (Fig. 4).
Fur t he r , o n this scr een, t hr e e addi t i onal sel ect i on
me n u s f o r r et r i eval me t h o d s ar e available.
Retrieval within a section. Al l l ogs i n t he r el evant
sect i on will be out put . I t is al so possi bl e t o des i gnat e
t he r e qui r e d b o r e h o l e l e ngt h t o mo r e t h a n 30 m o r t o
des i gnat e t he l og ha vi ng soil t est dat a. Suc h sel ect i on
by t hese da t a is c o mmo n wi t h o t h e r r et r i eval me t hods .
Retrieval within a region. Thi s r et r i eval me t h o d is
us ed wh e n g r o u n d i n f o r ma t i o n i n a small r e gi on is
r e qui r e d, a n d it is c onve ni e nt t o know g r o u n d condi -
t i ons a r o u n d t he obj ect poi nt . As a me a ns o f ret ri eval ,
it is possi bl e t o i n p u t t he r et r i eval r adi us f r o m t he
obj ect poi nt wi t h a nume r i c a l val ue f r o m t he k e y b o a r d
or t o i ndi cat e it wi t h an i mage by us i ng t he mous e.
Retrieval f or a cross section. Thi s r et r i eval me t h o d is
of t e n us ed wh e n t he b o r e h o l e l ogs ar e r e qui r e d al ong
t he p l a n n i n g r out e. I t is possi bl e t o ma k e an a r bi t r a r y
pr of i l e o f a geol ogi cal sect i on by i ndi cat i ng t he l oca-
t i ons o f t he bor e hol e l ogs on t he pi ct ur e di r ect l y by
mous e.
Bor e hol e l ogs r et r i eved by t he above me t h o d s will
be pl aced i n a file once, wai t i ng f o r i ns t r uct i on as t o
t he o u t p u t uni t .
Graphic Display Output
I t is possi bl e t o p r e p a r e geol ogi c cor r el at i ons a n d
geol ogi c pr of i l es o n t he gr a phi c di spl ay by o u t p u t f i n g
bor e hol e l ogs o n t he gr a phi c di spl ay. Thi s is a n i m-
p r o v e me n t ove r ma n u a l geol ogi c pr of i l e p r e p a r a t i o n
a n d geol ogi c c or r e l a t i on wor k, whi ch us ed t o be d o n e
o n p a p e r by dr a wi ngs o f bor e hol e logs. Th e r e f o r e , it
is possi bl e i n t he gr a phi c di spl ay t o pl ace t he t op o f t he
bor e hol e l ogs a c c or di ng t o t he el evat i on o f geol ogi c
174 M. Ishii et al.
[:igure 4. Borehole log location
map. o, Boring log with soil test
data; o, boring log without soil
test data.
survey points. However, because of functional restric-
tions on the graphi c display, since it is impossible to
indicate the horizontal distance bet ween geologic sur-
vey points, the out put will be of correlative di agram
f or m only.
In or der to identify the gr ound condition clearly, it
is possible to have a "color designation" in the bore-
hole log on the picture. Thi s color indication can be
appl i ed in a number of cases. For exampl e, classifica-
tion by coloring of each N value can be made. More
functions of the graphi c display are as follows:
1. Scroll, zoom-up, zoom-down functions in x and y
directions.
2. Comment s describing function.
3. Functions for revision of strata correl at i on line.
4. Functions for modification of strata indication
color.
5. Save and load functions, which permi t storing
and calling up of the displayed pi ct ure as it is.
Output with El ectrostati c Plotter
A gr aph that has been out put by use of an electro-
static pl ot t er can draw borehol e logs, as close as possi-
ble to t he original data pri or to input, with unified
patterns. For out put with an electrostatic plotter,
t hree types of menus- - i nvent or y form, correlative
section form, and cross-section f or m- - ar e available.
Inventory form. Thi s is of the f or m shown in Figure
5, where ten bori ng logs are displayed on one
81/4 117/10 in. sheet of paper, with a scale of 1:200 in
dept h to a length of 50 m. In case t here is a borehol e
log with a length in excess of 50 m, the log beyond 50
m in length can be drawn automatically to ent er in the
adjacent column.
Correlative section form. On 81/4-in. wide rolled pa-
per, a borehol e log can be drawn with a scale of 1:200
in dept h to a dept h of 100 m. A correlative section has
logs drawn at an equal interval, di sregardi ng horizon-
tal distance bet ween geologic survey points, and this is
effective for the correlation of strata (Fig. 6).
Elevation settings for an out put di agram in correl-
ative section f or m can be det er mi ned automatically,
by readi ng the highest value of the elevation stated on
the borehol e log, which had been ret ri eved f r om the
data base unless otherwise designated.
Cross-section form. Thi s is an out put di agram close
to the cross-section form, which reads the horizontal
distance bet ween geologic survey points and their ele-
vation f r om the data base (Fig. 7). When a detailed
t opographi c profi l e is necessary, it has to be read f r om
a t opographi c map separately. However, when logs
can be ret ri eved at a suitable density, it is possible to
use the profi l e as it is. Hori zont al distance intervals
can be arbitrarily set by use of a "horizontal reduced-
scale paramet er. " Furt her, it is possible to obtain an
Management and Application of Geotechnical Data 175
M e s h N o ,
B o r i n g N o .
D a t e
G r o u n d h e i g h t
W a t e r l e v e l
0 ~
1 0 -
2 [ I - -
3 0 - -
4 0 - -
5 0 - -
36--78
No. 2 No. 14 No. 15
63. 08 60. 01 60. 01
15. 00 26. 00 26. 00
--% 50 . 4 . 20
4 5 " ~ 7
*1
7 ~ 8
3 7 8
9 11
3 I1 t l
12 12
13 1 8
I I ~
50< 34
. ~ 50<
50~ 5O<
. i i i ! i !
- ~ 34
No. 10 No. 9 No. 6 No. 7
60. 08 60. 08 60. 09 60. 09
1 4 , 70 18. 15 18. 28 18. 24
--4. 60 - - I 0 . 80 --12. 0 t :--6. 03
3 1
. 1 - - 4 * , ' ~ l
} , 2 i i i ! " ~ 7 ,,,,N 3
),q 4
~ ( ' !
q 3 14 O.C
~ 1 3 ~ ~,:p
N
ii,~,q 3 ~ t8 ~ 3
;;g4 6 :i:~:::
" ~:~:~:i
:!:i:1t18 ~ ~0<:,1
: ::i:i:ii27 :~:~:i:
N~
N
No. 1 2
60. 09
16. 00
--9. 42
t l
5
5
5
4
- - 3 7 - - 7 8 M e s h N o .
N o . 2 8 , N o . 3 0 B o r i n g N o .
7 0 , 0 3 7 0 . 0 3 D a t e
I . | l I . O0 G r o u n d h e i g h t
W a t t l e v e l
~ i o
!
~ 5
~ 7
i!iiiii~o
3 !iiiii!~4 ~
4 iiii!ii18 : :
i!ii!iiii ~
i?!i!iiii ~
N ~
~---0
- 1 0
- - 2 0
- - 3 0
- - 4 0
- - 5 0
Figure 5. Inventory form output
diagram.
out put di a gr a m of a l ong l engt h, since 81/4-in. wi de
rol l ed p a p e r is used f or t he out put paper .
Q u a n t i t y a n d Q u a l i t y o f I n p u t D a t a
I n t he Geot echni cal Dat a I nf or mat i on System of
TMG various gr ound dat a, in addi t i on to those f or re-
trieval of bor ehol e logs, ar e i nput , and such dat a are
used in vari ous sectors of t he admi ni st rat i on. I n or der to
i mpr ove reliability of such data, it is necessary to fully
exami ne bot h quant i t y and quality of t he i nput data.
I n p u t quant i t y of bor ehol e logs st ar t ed with ap-
pr oxi mat el y 12,000 logs in 1985 when this syst em be-
gan oper at i ons. The r e a f t e r , addi t i onal i nput has been
made ever y year, and it now st ands at a r ound 25,000
logs at t he end of Mar ch 1989. At this poi nt t he num-
ber of dat a in t he 1-km x 1-km section may exceed
300, wher e devel opment is advanced as is t he case in
t he ur ba n cent er. On t he ot her hand, t her e ar e sec-
tions in t he subur bs and pa r k ar eas wher e t her e ar e no
dat a. Since t he ul t i mat e, schedul ed n u mb e r in this
syst em is 100,000 in t er ms of bor ehol e logs, it is neces-
176 M. Ishi i et al.
I0
0
-10
- - 20
- - 30
m
2O
36- - 78
12
36--78 36--78 --9. 42
2
-"'04o60
3 , 2*
',!~4: ,'-o ....
=OC
;OC
11 ~ 3 4 37- - 79
17 ~,~ to ~ 3 27
4 37--79
I :i:!:i:i 20 *1 --~
.... ~" iiiii!i " 3~-78 - a ,o oo T
" ~13 iiii!ii '~ [ ] _ _ 6
..... ~1, i~is::~::~" N ~i " !iiiiiiila
~ ~
'ii!i!! ~ - 18
':;iiil;; ~ iiiiiiii ~ - ,, ~! o ~ 3
i::::ii::::i 48 ........ ~ ~ ~ o i::::iii::i 2~
~, 45 ~ "~"-~i I --:.'2--~i 41
: " r;0~
r~: 50<
~o~
- ' ~ i!iiiii ~
., 30
~:~ 37 ......- 42 g-z::
r.O:~ ::::::: ~ ~0<
,~': 50< ~ 48 ~=.
~.~ ~--~ 5C<
i::i::iiii~0< ~
i!i}iiii ~
~ <
- - t O
- 20
- 30
Fi gure 6. Correlative section form out-
put diagram.
sary f r om now on to collect bor ehol e dat a in areas
wher e such dat a have been scarce.
As a means of pr event i ng doubl e r egi st r at i on of
t he same dat a, t he fol l owi ng met hod is empl oyed: (1)
to di scover possibilities of doubl e r egi st r at i on when
pl ot t i ng t he bor ehol e poi nt on 1:25,000 scale t opo-
gr aphi c ma p f or i nput t i ng; and (2) since l at i t ude and
l ongi t ude of t he bor ehol e log l ocat i on ar e al r eady in-
put , doubl e regi st rat i on can be di scover ed on t he
comput er .
Next , t he fol l owi ng means have been adopt ed as
met hods of checki ng t he wr ong i nput of bor ehol e logs
Management and Application of Geotechnical Data 177

I I I I ] i i i i
o
" , liiiili~ii~
~ ' 0
~ I~',
m o - ~ m ~
',I~,:~:~,~:,~.~ I ~ ::'~.:.: I ~!~:~ ~,',:',,.~:~:~',,',,',~',::~:~:,:
o - ~ = ~ ' ~ - ~ i ~ ' ~ ' ~ ~
l
I L ~ I I I L L ~ I I I I L L L L
0
0
14.
178 M. Ishii et al.
or wrong ent ry of original data: (1) A check is made
on the comput er whet her or not the borehol e length
of i nput data and total of each stratum agree. (2) In
or der to prevent the wrong i nput of stratum name at
the time of input, the software can draw an out put
diagram upon completion of input, and compari son is
made with the original material. (3) To pri nt out on
the comput er numerical values, which cannot t heoret -
ically exi st --for example, elevation of the borehol e
point in excess of 10 m in alluvial lowland. (4) With
respect to soil test data, to pri nt out on the comput er
numerical values, which cannot theoretically exist, in
the same manner as in (3) above- - f or example, the
value of the grain-size analysis of a soil does not come
to a total 100%.
Future Problems
The Geotechnical Data Informat i on System of
TMG has been devel oped as an integrated system for
the collection, input, retrieval, and graphic presenta-
tion of any geological information. Presently, it is op-
erat ed ar ound the data base for borehol e data princi-
pally. Duri ng a period of about two and a hal f years
since the start of its operation, the system provi ded
approxi mat el y 5,000 borehol e data to each adminis-
trative sector of TMG, where they were used as basic
data for construction enterprises and urban disaster
prevent i on administrations.
The area covered by the Geotechnical Data Infor-
mation System is approxi mat el y 1,000 km 2, an area
equivalent to the urban district of Tokyo. As of March
1989, approxi mat el y 25,000 borehol e logs have been
i ncorporat ed into the data base. However, distribu-
tion of such borehol e logs, namely, the data density,
differs widely dependi ng on the region, and t here are
sections in which t here are no data at all. To i mprove
the data-base utilization, this is one of the problems
that should be addressed in collecting data from now
on,
On the ot her hand, in or der to improve data input,
the data i nput subsystem was developed in 1988 by
use of a personal comput er. Soil survey consultants
will requi re a floppy disk having data ent ered by gen-
eral specifications on the geological survey. That will
speed up data-base registration.
It can be seen that the unification of data i nput
form and standards is necessary, with the develop-
ment of data base related to gr ound data. However,
because of the fact that geological data are ext remel y
regional, and also because of restrictions on the com-
put er unit used, unification of standards can be diffi-
cult. The data base for geotechnical data i nformat i on
in Japan has barely started, and it is essential that at
this point in time each agency should compet e to pre-
pare better data bases. Unification of standards will be
pl anned as a mat t er of course.
In conclusion, from our experiences in the devel-
opment and operat i on of this Geotechnical Data In-
format i on System, those matters that should be con-
sidered in the devel opment of a similar data base in
the fut ure are as follows: (1) Are t here suitable quan-
tities of data on hand from the standpoint of data-
base users? (2) Can the collection, addition, revision,
and offeri ng of data be made continuously aft er de-
vel opment of the data base? (3) What is the degree of
quality assurance with respect to quality of i nput data?
It is i mport ant to clearly define any problems, such as
those stated above.
Reference Cited
Kazama, H., K. Iwasaki, and K. Horii, 1989, Recent applica-
tion of information system to geotechnical engineering, v.
37, no. 1, ser. 372, Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering (in Japanese).