Abstract
The results of a detailed study are presented which investigates the effects of grain size and mineralogical variations due to depositional differences and weathering effects on the soil index properties and chemistry of an Eocene marine clay deposit, namely the London Clay Basin of England.
The laboratory determined results indicate that the already well established soil index property trends which are known to occur across the London Clay Basin can be accounted for by variations in the depositional mineralogy of the clay. Study of the influence of grain size variation and weathering on the marine clay indicates that minor mineralogical and chemical changes do occur and that these give rise to consequent small changes in the geotechnical properties of the clay. The effects of this weathering are, however, essentially insignificant in comparison to the natural compositional variation within the basin.
Several important quantitative relationships between the mineralogy, weathering, grain size variations, and the soil properties of London Clay are established. The relative magnitude and importance of each variable is discussed in relation to the sedimentation in the basin.
