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The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa

Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2018.

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Other Authors: Van Rooy, J.L. (Jan Louis)
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2018
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Van Rooy, J.L. (Jan Louis)
author_browse Van Rooy, J.L. (Jan Louis)
author_facet Van Rooy, J.L. (Jan Louis)
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2018 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:55.772Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2018
publishDateRange 2018
publishDateSort 2018
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/67938 The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa Van Rooy, J.L. (Jan Louis) u29229252@tuks.co.za Van Rensburg, Hendrik Antonie Michael Unrestricted UCTD Engineering soil profile Basalt weathering Residual soils Engineering geology Rock–soil transition Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-09 Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-11 Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2018. The high relief or mountainous basalt in and around the regions of Lesotho has extensive information on the nature and properties of the basalts, as a result of several developments on these basalts such as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. This resulted in a wide variety of research conducted and published. In contrast, less published research is conducted on the lower relief or flat lying basalts leading to fewer available information on the nature and properties of low relief basalt deposits. Five flat lying basalt sites were investigated in order to gather data on low relief/flat lying basalts. The two main sites of this investigation were researched in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on the southern basalts (Nhlowa) a high rainfall area, and on the northern basalts (Mooiplaas) a low rainfall area. These are two of four research supersites created in the Kruger National Park in order to create cross-disciplinary data rich sites. A mineralogical and chemical analysis for comparison of the parent rock and soil profiles between these two sites were undertaken. The Sibasa Formation basalts at Siloam and the Springbok Flats basalts at Roedtan and Codrington are three additional low relief basalt sites, in different rainfall areas. These sites were investigated to compare to each other and to the KNP sites. XRF and XRD data were used together with profile development in their respective different climatic environments and basalt origins to determine the weathering progression and characteristic of low relief basalts. This was done by studying the depletion and enrichment of major and trace elements (Fe, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Ti, Y, Zr) through the profile from basaltic rock to residual soil. Furthermore, identifying the breakdown of primary minerals, such as Augite and Plagioclase, to secondary Smectite minerals further supports the identification of weathering progression in low relief basaltic rock. This can potentially aid in pre-planning of engineering geological investigations on residual basaltic soils. Additional information on the Atterberg Limits will also be presented in order to start to determine the effect low relief basalt weathering has on the engineering properties of the residual basalt soils. In setting out to determine the influence different climatic conditions contribute to the weathering process and soil profile development of low relief basalts, it became clear that research of a specific rock type in a single setting is not sufficient. In order to truly understand the behaviour of basalt weathering, a combination of low relief, mountainous other settings in variable climatic conditions are necessary. This study shows the significant effect a moderate shift in climatic conditions such as rainfall and evaporation intensity have on the development of residual soils on low relief basalts, such as pedocrete and secondary mineral formations. bs2026 Geology MSc Unrestricted SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities 2018-12-05T08:06:03Z 2018-12-05T08:06:03Z 2009/04/18 2018 Dissertation Van Rensburg, HAM 2018, The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile: a study of low relief basalts in South Africa, MSc Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/67938> S2018 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/67938 en © 2018 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Unrestricted
UCTD
Engineering soil profile
Basalt weathering
Residual soils
Engineering geology
Rock–soil transition
Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-09
Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-11
The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa
title The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa
title_full The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa
title_fullStr The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa
title_short The influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile : a study of low relief basalts in South Africa
title_sort influence of weathering on the engineering soil profile a study of low relief basalts in south africa
topic Unrestricted
UCTD
Engineering soil profile
Basalt weathering
Residual soils
Engineering geology
Rock–soil transition
Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-09
Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-11
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/67938