berm
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(bûrm) 
n.
To provide with a berm or berms.
n.
- A narrow ledge or shelf, as along the top or bottom of a slope.
- Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, & West Virginia. The shoulder of a road.
- A raised bank or path, especially the bank of a canal opposite the towpath.
- A nearly horizontal or landward-sloping portion of a beach, formed by the deposition of sediment by storm waves.
- A mound or bank of earth, used especially as a barrier or to provide insulation.
- The flat space between the edge of a ditch and the base of a fortification.
To provide with a berm or berms.
[French berme, from Dutch berm, from Middle Dutch bærm, berme.]
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A raised earthen shoulder constructed as a barrier to water runoff or to screen from view an unsightly area.
Example: The berm shields the building from water runoff from the street during heavy rains. Figure 22.
FIG. 22. BERM
Example: The berm shields the building from water runoff from the street during heavy rains. Figure 22.
FIG. 22. BERM
| Bequest, Bequeath | |
| Betterment, Bi-Level |
[bǝrm]
n. 1. an artificial ridge or embankment, e.g., as a defense against tanks.
2. a narrow space, especially one between a ditch and the base of a parapet.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
1. A continuous bank of earth alongside a road; a shoulder.
2. A continuous bank of earth piled against a masonry wall.
3. A strip of ground, formed into a ledge to support beams or pipes.
4. The horizontal surface between a moat and the exterior slope of a fortified rampart. 5. In earth excavation work, that portion of the excavation, usually sloped, left at the perimeter and removed as the sheeting and bracing are installed.
6. A narrow terrace or shelf built into an embankment, or the like, which breaks the continuity of an otherwise long slope.
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[Co]
A ledge or level space between a bank, and its accompanying ditch or scarp. Also a narrow space separating an inner bank and ditch from an outer bank.
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A mound, small hill, or ridge of earth intended to provide screening or to direct water runoff. On small properties and especially in front gardens, a planted berm helps to create privacy.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'berm'
- Materials, Formations, and Substances - berm: low ridge built up by storm waves
- Hills, Hollows, and Valleys - berm: narrow shelf at bottom, top, or along side of slope
- Building and Machine Parts - berm: narrow dirt ledge that supports beams
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A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. The word berm originates in the Middle Dutch and German berme and came into usage in English via French.[1]
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Contents
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Military use
History
In medieval military engineering, a berm (or berme) was a level space between a parapet or defensive wall and an adjacent steep-walled ditch or moat.[1] It was intended to reduce soil pressure on the walls of the excavated part to prevent its collapse. It also meant that debris dislodged from fortifications would not fall into (and fill) a ditch or moat.
In the trench warfare of World War I, the name was applied to a similar feature at the lip of a trench, which served mainly as an elbow-rest for riflemen.
Modern usage
In modern military engineering, berm has come to mean the earthen or sod wall or parapet itself. The term especially refers to a low earthen wall adjacent to a ditch. The digging of the ditch (often by a bulldozer or military engineering vehicle) can provide the soil from which the berm is constructed. Walls constructed in this manner are an effective obstacle to vehicles, including most armoured fighting vehicles, but are easily crossed by infantry. Because of the ease of construction, such walls can be made hundreds or thousands of kilometres long.
Erosion control
Berms are also used to control erosion and sedimentation by reducing the rate of surface runoff. The berms either reduce the velocity of the water, or direct water to areas that are not susceptible to erosion, thereby reducing the adverse effects of running water on exposed topsoil. Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the construction of berms designed to prevent oil from reaching the fragile Louisiana wetlands (which would result in massive erosion) was proposed early on, and was officially approved by the federal government in mid-June, 2010, after numerous failures to stop and contain the oil leak with more advanced technologies.[2]
Uses in other applications
Berm has been adopted as a wider term usually used to describe a physical, stationary barrier of some kind. For example in modern highway construction, a berm is a noise barrier constructed of earth, often landscaped, running along a highway to protect adjacent land users from noise pollution. In Snowboard Cross, a berm is a wall of snow built up in a corner.[3] In Mountain biking, a berm is a banked turn formed by soil, commonly dug from the track, being deposited on the outer rim of the turn. In coastal systems, a berm is a raised ridge of pebbles or sand found at high tide or storm tide marks on a beach. In snow removal, a berm or windrow refers to the linear accumulation of snow cast aside by a plow.[4] In open-pit mining, a berm refers to dirt and rock piled alongside a haulage road or along the edge of a dump point. Intended as a safety measure, they are commonly required by government organizations to be at least half as tall as the wheels of the largest mining machine on-site.[5][6]
Physical security systems employ berms to exclude hostile vehicles and slow attackers on foot (similar to the military application without the trench). Security berms are common around military and nuclear facilities. An example is the berm proposed for Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vermont.[7]
See also
References
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Look up berm in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1989.
- ^ By the CNN Wire Staff (2010-06-03). "'Top Kill' fails, BP moves on 'to next option.'". Cnn.com. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/29/us.gulf.oil.spill/index.html. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
- ^ Pro Snowboarder. "EXPN.com BMX Glossary". Expn.go.com. http://expn.go.com/glossary/bmx/index.html. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
- ^ Glossary of Snow and Ice Control Terms
- ^ "Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) - Interactive Training - Surface Powered Haulage Safety". Msha.gov. http://www.msha.gov/training/surfhaul/slide36.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
- ^ "Microsoft PowerPoint - DumpPointSafety.ppt [Read-Only]" (PDF). http://www.msha.gov/techsupp/techexchange/dumppoint/dumppointsafety.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
- ^ http://www.state.vt.us/psb/orders/2006/files/7082orderrerecon.pdf
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