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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. Environmental Soil Properties and Behaviour 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. Environmental Soil Properties and Behaviour 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
Dr. Raymond N. Yong is the William Scott Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at McGill University, Canada, and emeritus professor at the University of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom. He is a fellow of the Royal Society (Canada), and a Chevalier de l'Orde National du Quebec. He is currently engaged in research on issues in geoenvironmental sustainability.
Dr. Masashi Nakano is the emeritus professor of soil physics and soil hydrogeology at the University of Tokyo, and director of the RISST (Research Institute of Soil Science and Technology), Japan. He was recently a member of the Science Council of Japan, and is now working on such issues in soil/clay science as adsorption/transport of chemicals on soils and mineral corrosion by microorganisms.
Dr. Roland Pusch is emeritus professor at Lund University, Sweden, and is presently guest professor at Lulea Technical University, Sweden, and honorary professor at East China Technological Institute. He is currently the scientific head and managing director of Drawrite AB, Sweden, and is working on issues of long-term stability of clay buffers in HLW repositories and on design and performance of hazardous landfills.
