A Review of Geophysical, Geochemical and Geotechnical Study of the Marine Soil of Mahakalapada With Special Allusion to Its Stratigraphic Set-up

Abstract

The present study deals with the marine soil properties collected from Mahakalapada of Kendrapara district in Odisha. Five numbers of saturated soil samples were collected from 2ʹ to 3ʹ below the earth surface and were mixed thoroughly to get the best result. The soil was initially air dried in open atmosphere prior to the testing. The various properties of each sample was calculated either in-situ or in the laboratory. The average value for all the samples is considered for further analysis. The geology of the study area was studied carefully before determining grain size distribution; sieve analysis followed by hydrometer test of the samples. The stratigraphic set up of the area indicates that the sedimentation took place during Oligocene-recent period and was mostly clastic in nature and extends like a blanket. The marine sediments were deposited under the marine and progressive environmental conditions whose thickness increases from west to east. The soil samples were black colored, fine grained and highly plastic in nature with specific gravity ranging from 2.07 to 2.65. Moisture content is 128.94%. The liquid, plastic and shrinkage limits are 89%, 47% and 16%, respectively. The maximum dry density was recorded as 14.3 kN/m3 with optimum moisture content of 32%. As the water content increases from 40% to 62%, the unit cohesion sharply drops from 30kPa to as low as 10kPa. The soil consists of 14% sand, 27% silt and 59% clay, by weight whereas the specific gravity is found to be 2.62.