International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

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 Volume 10, Issue 7 (July 2023), Pages: 145-156

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 Original Research Paper

Mineralogy of the unified soil classes of Wadi As Suqah: A sustainable engineering geology approach

 Author(s): 

 Musaad A. Alotabi, Mohammed A. M. Alghamdi *

 Affiliation(s):

 Engineering Geology Department, Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

  Full Text - PDF          XML

 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7790-5698

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2023.07.016

 Abstract:

This research endeavors to enhance soil classification methodologies in alignment with sustainability goals for mining and construction activities. The study focuses on the evaluation, classification, and mapping of quaternary surface deposits in Wadi As Suqah. To achieve this objective, an integration of mineral analyses and unified soil classes was employed. Various research methods were utilized, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), sieve analysis, Atterberg limits, and X-ray diffraction. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) on variance was employed to identify the most influential minerals within the deposits. Consequently, a sophisticated engineering geological map of the deposited category was created, resulting in the categorization of Wadi As Suqah into 13 groups (A, B, C, …, L) based on similar lithofacies. These groups further represented 7 clusters of mineral-based classes, such as quartz-anorthite or quartz-albite, leading to the formation of 5 unified soil classes, namely SP, SP-SM, SM, SC-SM, and SC. Among the classified groups, group C, characterized by rich sandy quartz with some albite content, emerged as the largest group, occupying 20.3% of the total area. Conversely, group M, consisting of rich fine anorthite with a trace of quartz, constituted the minor group, representing only 0.5% of the entire area. The study acknowledges the limitations of being confined to surface investigations and, therefore, strongly recommends further subsurface investigations for a more comprehensive geotechnical understanding. The findings of this research hold significant implications for sustainable mining and construction practices by enabling a refined soil classification approach based on mineral composition and unified soil classes.

 © 2023 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: Soil classification, Minerals, Mining, Construction, Sustainability goals

 Article History: Received 2 July 2022, Received in revised form 16 May 2023, Accepted 28 May 2023

 Acknowledgment 

No Acknowledgment.

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Alotabi MA and Alghamdi MAM (2023). Mineralogy of the unified soil classes of Wadi As Suqah: A sustainable engineering geology approach. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 10(7): 145-156

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 Figures

 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 Fig. 11 Fig. 12 Fig. 13 Fig. 14 Fig. 15 Fig. 16

 Tables

 Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7

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