Soils swelling as a regional feature of Western Siberia

Abstract

The research was to study the causes of soil swelling in Western Siberia. Studies were carried out on four stationary platforms in different climatic zones: from the sub-taiga to the southern forest-steppe. As a result of the research it was found that the level of the perched water is usually at a depth of 1-3 meters, which varies greatly depending on the season. The maximum elevation occurs at the beginning of summer, the beginning of winter – the depth of the perched water up to 3.0 meters or more. It was determined that in the sub-taiga zone of Western Siberia, perched water having a joint influence on the swelling soil; capillary fringe of perched water reaches a depth of 90 cm and the heterogeneity of the addition of the upper meter of the soil layer, which is formed by illuvial horizon with low filtration capacity. On soils with a uniform granulometric composition, despite the deeper occurrence of perched water, capillary fringe reaches a depth of 40 cm, where it has the maximum effect on the soil swelling. During construction, it is necessary under the base of roads to create protective shields of fine gravel or substandard sand, preventing the rise of water and the manifestation of bulk soils swelling.