Marine and Lacustrine Soil Types
Marine and Lacustrine Deposits
ORIGINS AND GEOTECHNICAL ISSUES
Robert Bartus s2721227 | 4 104ENG Geotechnical Engineering Practice | August 19, 2012
1
The origins of soil deposits on the earth’s crust can reveal significant findings in the chemical and mechanical characteristics of the soils themselves. It is important to uncover such origins to find how and where such deposits may have formed over tens of thousands of years ago. Marine and Lacustrine deposits are two soil types that are commonly encountered during soil exploration, both of which are primarily traced back to either glacial o r more broadly, alluvial origins (Hunt 2005 ). They are somewhat alike in there fine sedimentary composition and similarly can be prone to presenting engineers with problematic conditions such as h igh secondary consolidation characteristics and subsidence, potential acid sulfate soils and quick clay landslides (Das 2007).
The occurrences of marine soils are found in offshore and coastal plain deposits. It is important to note however the time scale of which marine deposition has occurred, such soils have become exposed from residing sea levels, glacial withdrawal (isostasy) and continental/tectonic plate shifts, meaning previous offshore deposits from past glaciation periods, h ave risen and are now exposed to human activity and land use.
The origin of marine soils can be traced back to glacial or alluvial transportation from land runoff through river outlets
(Hunt 2005). Marine deposition also occurs due to aeolian transportation through wind relocation of fine grained sediments. Though more commonly encountered are Glacial-Marine clays, formed from glacial runoff which settle in marine estuaries along the coastline in calm depositional environments. These conditions result in a non-stratified soil formation packed with fine grained
Figure 1 : Glacial runoff transporting fine sediments (Mattingly 2008 )
sediments (SoilWebUBC and Grand 2011 ).
Marine and Lacustrine
ORIGINS AND GEOTECHNICAL ISSUES
Robert Bartus s2721227 | 4 104ENG Geotechnical Engineering Practice | August 19, 2012
1
The origins of soil deposits on the earth’s crust can reveal significant findings in the chemical and mechanical characteristics of the soils themselves. It is important to uncover such origins to find how and where such deposits may have formed over tens of thousands of years ago. Marine and Lacustrine deposits are two soil types that are commonly encountered during soil exploration, both of which are primarily traced back to either glacial o r more broadly, alluvial origins (Hunt 2005 ). They are somewhat alike in there fine sedimentary composition and similarly can be prone to presenting engineers with problematic conditions such as h igh secondary consolidation characteristics and subsidence, potential acid sulfate soils and quick clay landslides (Das 2007).
The occurrences of marine soils are found in offshore and coastal plain deposits. It is important to note however the time scale of which marine deposition has occurred, such soils have become exposed from residing sea levels, glacial withdrawal (isostasy) and continental/tectonic plate shifts, meaning previous offshore deposits from past glaciation periods, h ave risen and are now exposed to human activity and land use.
The origin of marine soils can be traced back to glacial or alluvial transportation from land runoff through river outlets
(Hunt 2005). Marine deposition also occurs due to aeolian transportation through wind relocation of fine grained sediments. Though more commonly encountered are Glacial-Marine clays, formed from glacial runoff which settle in marine estuaries along the coastline in calm depositional environments. These conditions result in a non-stratified soil formation packed with fine grained
Figure 1 : Glacial runoff transporting fine sediments (Mattingly 2008 )
sediments (SoilWebUBC and Grand 2011 ).
Marine and Lacustrine