Environmental soil properties and behaviour

From bridges and tunnels to nuclear waste repositories, structures require that soils maintain their design engineering properties if the structures are to reach their projected life spans. The same is true for earth dams, levees, buffers, barriers for landfills, and other structures that use soils as engineered materials. Yet soil, a natural resource, continues to change as a result of natural and anthropogenic stresses. As the discipline of soil properties and behaviours matures, new tools and techniques are making it possible to study these properties and behaviours in more depth.

What Happens to Soil Under Weathering, Aging, and Chemical Stress?

Environmental Soil Properties and Behaviour examines changes in soil properties and behaviour caused by short- and long-term stresses from anthropogenic activities and environmental forces. Introducing new concepts of soil behaviour, soil maturation, and soil functionality, it integrates soil physics, soil chemistry, and soil mechanics as vital factors in soil engineering. The book focuses on environmental soil behaviour, with particular attention to two main inter-related groups of soil---environment issues. The first is the use of soil as an environmental tool for management and containment of toxic and hazardous waste materials. The second is the impact of ageing and weathering processes and soil contamination on the properties and behaviour of soils, especially those used in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering projects.

A Transdisciplinary Look at Soil-Changing Processes

To determine short- and long-term soil quality and soil functionality, the authors emphasize the need to be aware of the nature of the stressors involved as well as the kinds of soil-changing processes that are evoked. This book takes a first step toward a much-needed transdisciplinary effort to develop a broader and deeper understanding of what happens to soil and how we can determine and quantify the effect of biogeochemical processes. It offers a timely resource for the study of soil properties and behaviours, effects of environmental changes, and remediation of contaminated soil.

Origin and Function of Soils
Introduction
Soil Origin and Formation
Soil Classification
Basic Soil Functions
Concluding Remarks
References

Nature of Soils
Introduction
Clay Minerals
Nonclay Minerals
Soil Organic Matter
Soil Particles
Soil Structure
Interparticle Bonds
Microorganisms in Soils
Laboratory Determinations
Concluding Remarks
References

Soil---Water Systems
Introduction
Water Retention
Clay---Water Interactions
Soil-Water Energy Characteristics
Water Uptake and Transfer
Chemical Reactions in Porewater
Physical Reactions and Hydration
Concluding Remarks
References

Swelling Clays
Introduction
Swelling Phenomena
Water Uptake and Swelling
Water Movement
Concluding Remarks
References

Stressors, Impacts, and Soil Functionality
Introduction
Stressor Sources and Stressors
Stressor Impacts
Soil Functionality Index (SFI)
Time-Related Change of Functionality
Concluding Remarks
References

Mechanical Properties

Introduction
Mechanical Attributes
Concept of Effective Stress
Shear Strength of Soils
Mechanisms in Granular Soil Strength
Cohesive Soil Strength
Porewater Pressure
Shear Resistance Mechanisms
Compressibility and Consolidation
Creep Behaviour
Concluding Remarks
References

Thermal and Hydraulic Properties
Introduction
Thermal Properties
Water Movement under Thermal Gradient
Hydraulic Properties
Swelling Clay Hydraulic Conductivity
Vapour and Gas Conductivities
Concluding Remarks
References

Sorption Properties and Mechanisms
Introduction
Solutes, Contaminants, and Pollutants
Contaminant Interactions with Soil Particles
Contaminant Sorption Mechanisms
Laboratory Determination of Partitioning
Partitioning and Soil Composition
Concluding Remarks
References

Mobility and Attenuation of Contaminants
Introduction
Interactions and Mobility
Mobility and Attenuation
Microstructure and Diffusive Transport
Attenuation of Organic Chemicals
Concluding Remarks
References

Environmental Soil Behaviour
Introduction
Soil Evolution and Ageing Processes
Time-Related Changes and Soil Evolution
Biodegradation and Biotransformation of Contaminants
Freeze---Thaw Seasonal Impact
Concluding Remarks
References