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Holocene Deposits in Saga Plain: Leaching Mechanism and Soil Sensitivity

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Abstract

The Saga Plain in Japan contains a 10–30 m thick Holocene clayey soil deposit with a natural water content generally more than 100% and a liquidity index (I L ) larger than 1.0. Most of this is a marine deposit known as the Ariake clay formation. Using salinity in the pore water of this deposit as an index, the mechanism of post-depositional salinity leaching from the Ariake clay formation has been investigated. This has been achieved using current measurements of the salinity distribution in the deposit and the groundwater flow velocity in an underlying Pleistocene gravelly sand layer, together with advection–diffusion analyses. It is suggested that diffusion together with possible rainfall percolation and/or upward seepage flow from the Pleistocene gravelly sand layer was the main mechanism causing salinity leaching. Detailed analysis of the test results from four boreholes indicates that for the locations where the activity of the clay minerals was less than 1.25, salinity leaching probably accounts for the observed low undrained shear strength (<0.5 kPa) of remoulded soil samples, high values of the sensitivity (S t ), and the formation of a quick clay.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) with Grant Numbers 2336204, 23656300, and 15K06212. This work was also partially funded by National Key Basic Research Program of China (973 Program: 2015CB057802). The site investigation data reported in this article were from the Ariake Sea Coastal Road Development Office, Saga Prefecture, Japan, whose generosity is greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Saga University, Saga, Japan

    Jin-Chun Chai

  2. Institute of Lowland and Marine Research, Saga University, Saga, Japan

    Takenori Hino

  3. Department of Civil Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Shui-long Shen

  4. Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia

    John P. Carter

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  1. Jin-Chun Chai
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  2. Takenori Hino
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  3. Shui-long Shen
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  4. John P. Carter
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Correspondence to Jin-Chun Chai.

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Chai, JC., Hino, T., Shen, Sl. et al. Holocene Deposits in Saga Plain: Leaching Mechanism and Soil Sensitivity. Geotech Geol Eng 35, 2107–2122 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-017-0231-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-017-0231-y

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