A study of soil particle characteristics and post-depositional processes in a Deagon (Queensland, Australia) clay profile
✍ Scribed by John Walter Sibley
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1994
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 810 KB
- Volume
- 38
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0013-7952
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✦ Synopsis
An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the distributions of particle sizes and types in samples taken from a highly overconsolidated coastal clay profile at Deagon, Queensland, Australia. The experimentation involved the use of the sedimentation method of particle sizing, and included the development of indices of the levels of microaggregation in the profile. Systematic depth-related trends in particle sizes and micro-aggregation levels were observed. Superimposed on these trends were sinusoid-like patterns of variability in micro-aggregation levels, which were indicative of stratification. It is postulated that the stratification was associated with seasonal cycles of drying shrinkage and flooding that took place during deposition of the clay profile. This hypothesis is based on separate laboratory studies in which levels of micro-aggregation were observed to increase as specimens of Deagon clays underwent drying shrinkage. The study therefore suggests the significance of drying shrinkage as a cause of microaggregation during the formation of alluvial clay deposits in semi-arid climates. The study also provides simple techniques for extending existing characterizations of the size and nature of soil particles. Such data may be indicative of the volumetric stability, erodibility and consolidation characteristics of soils.