IAEG MALTA NATIONAL GROUP
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Establishment of the Malta National Group within IAEG
In October 2026, the Malta National Group was set up within the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG). The National Group has five members and is governed as follows:
President of the Group: Dr Peter Gatt
Secretary: Mr Christopher Gauci.
The Malta National Group of the IAEG links Malta’s geological professionals with the global engineering geology community. Its primary roles include:
Bridging Local & Global Knowledge: Applying international best practices to Malta’s unique limestone and clay geology, while sharing local research globally. The National Group will be instrumental in setting up national guidelines for ground investigation.
Tackling National Challenges: Fostering technical collaboration on coastal slope stability, underground excavation, foundation design, and stone heritage conservation. The Malta National Group provides a platform for specialists to collaborate on critical regional issues:
-Coastal & Slope Stability: Assessing coastal erosion, cliff collapse hazards, and landslide mechanisms in weak clay/limestone formations.
-Underground Infrastructure & Excavation: Advising on excavation techniques, tunnelling, rock mass characterization, and foundation design in soft carbonate rocks.
-Heritage Conservation: Engineering geological assessments for the preservation of Malta’s historical stone structures and underground catacombs/hypogea (e.g., stone durability and weathering mechanisms).
Professional & International Representation: Representing Maltese geoscientists in the IAEG Council, voting on governance, and participating in joint technical committees.
The IAEG defines Engineering Geology in Article II :
Engineering Geology is the science devoted to the investigation, study and solution of the engineering and environmental problems which may arise as the result of the interaction between geology and the works and activities of humankind as well as to the prediction of and the development of measures for prevention or remediation of geological hazards.
Engineering Geology embraces:
the definition of the geomorphology, structure, stratigraphy, lithology and groundwater conditions of geological formations;
the characterization of the mineralogical, physico-geomechanical, chemical and hydraulic properties of all earth materials involved in construction, resource recovery and environmental change;
the assessment of the mechanical and hydrologic behaviour of soil and rock masses;
the prediction of changes to the above properties with time;
the determination of the parameters to be considered in the stability analysis of engineering works and of earth masses; and
the improvement and maintenance of the environmental condition and of the properties and stability of the terrain.
The Malta Chamber of Geologists is a registered professional organisation (VO/2329)
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email: chamberofgeologists@gmail.com | mob. 79603783
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