Annett Kottek (X) Dec 13, 2009:

@ Michelsuz More apologies! I just realized that I posted the same reference as Andrew did, the 'Multilingual dictionary...' which you've already rejected. This was very inattentive of me. I should say that the book seems a pretty reliable source, but let's wait for an expert in the field for confirmation.

Annett Kottek (X) Dec 13, 2009:

@ Michelsuz Sorry, I'm not a geologist, but I did find a glossar online that might help here. The Multilingual dictionary of the gas industry ed. by International Gas Union translates the term 'fließender Boden' or 'nicht standfester Boden' as 'unstable ground' [p.424]. It was published in 1997 and the blurb reads 'Reliable terminology prepared for the IGU by gas engineers and linguists' [Book Overview].
http://books.google.com/books?id=XJ-iM0QH-pgC&pg=PT154&lpg=P...

Michalsuz (asker) Dec 13, 2009:

Fliessender Boden This term is after all a technical geological term. Previous suggestions for translation into English were based on the assumption that this was not the case. Can a geologist help. please?