"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Groundwater Flooding
06/01/26
“How can groundwater flood to the surface?”
Groundwater is water held underground in aquifers. During heavy rains, the water table in unconfined aquifers rises if drainage is not fast enough and can spill out onto the surface. Groundwater Flooding can wreck basements, destroy infrastructure, and devastate lives. Groundwater flooding is more likely to occur on land near bodies of water, such as streams and lakes, and in low-permeability, high-saturation soils.
The Passaic River
05/30/26
“What’s so special about the Passaic River?”
New Jersey is a lush state with a mountainous northern portion, granting favorable conditions for river formation. One of these rivers, the Passaic River, has many unique properties. Its headwaters begin in Northern New Jersey, and then it flows 80 miles through forests, wetlands, and suburbs until it empties into Newark Bay. The lower 17 miles of the Passaic River is considered a tidal water body, and industry used this portion for a variety of waste stream discharge since the 19th century. This pollution included byproduct production from Agent Orange production used to terrorize Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Consequently, the lower portion of the Passaic River is designated a Superfund site known as the Diamond Alkali Superfund site.
Image credit: https://media.istockphoto.com/
The Hackensack River
05/28/26
“What’s special about the Hackensack River in New Jersey?”
New Jersey has many rivers. One of them, The Hackensack River, is an anchor for North Jersey. With its headwaters in what’s now Southeastern New York, it strikes a meandering path almost parallel to the hudson before draining into the New Jersey Meadowlands. The lower portion of the Hackensack river is heavily polluted from industrial runoff and sewage. At one point, the Hackensack River was a hypoxic dead zone.
Image credit: cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com
Greenways
05/27/26
“How can we make lush, green multi-use corridors for people?”
Pathways in municipal areas are typically made of impervious, boring material. Local governments can invest in making Greenways, or specific corridors lush with vegetation, open for multiple uses, and focused on humans instead of vehicles. It’s common for greenways to follow a geographic linear feature such as rivers and railroads.
Lateral Earth Pressure
05/25/26
“How does soil exert pressure on underground infrastructure?”
Soil becomes heavier as you go deeper. Each layer below must support all of the layers on top of it. This pressure extends in all directions, including laterally. Any infrastructure in contact with soil underground will experience Lateral Earth Pressure. Engineers must consider lateral earth pressure in project calculations.
Soil Bearing Capacity
05/24/26
“How much load can a soil take before it fails?”
Soil is used to support infrastructure foundations. Built infrastructure can be very heavy, and if it’s too heavy, the soil can fail. The maximum pressure soil can take before it fails, or the Soil Bearing Capacity, is in terms of load force per unit area.
New York City Blue Highways
05/23/26
“How is New York City looking to use its waterways to move freight more sustainably?”
New York City has a problem. Its freight volume is expected to increase by two-thirds by 2045. All of the extra trucks on the road will lead to more congestion and carbon emissions. But what if they didn’t have to go on the roads? The New York City Blue Highways will use the city’s waterways to move microfreight and larger in a more modular, sustainable fashion. The blue highway program can lead to a more clean, sustainable, and equitable city for all.
Navigation Buoys
05/22/26
“How can we use buoys to help with ship navigation?”
Navigating from sea to port and vice versa can be very difficult. One wrong move and you can destroy your ship. To help with safe navigation, government authorities have installed Navigation Buoys. Navigation buoys come in red and green pairs. When you see red buoys on the right and green on the left, you are headed towards port, and vice versa for heading to open waters. Ships can stay safe by staying in between red and green navigation buoys.
Parapets
05/21/26
“What are those upward extensions of walls on buildings that turn into barriers?”
Buildings are built with walls. Sometimes, the walls will extend upward over the roofs to form barriers called Parapets. People use parapets for a variety of purposes, ranging from aesthetics to defenses to ledges.
Isaac's Science Blog 