Unconsolidated rocks

A general term for the entire layer or mantle of fragmental and loose, incoherent, or unconsolidated rock material, of whatever origin (residual or transported) and of a much varied character, that nearly everywhere forms the surface of the land and overlies or covers the more coherent bedrock. It includes rock debris (weathered in place) of all kinds, volcanic ash, glacial drift, alluvium, loess and aeolian deposits, vegetal accumulations, and soils. 

More descriptively, tar sand is an unconsolidated-to-consolidated sandstone or a porous carbonate rock, impregnated with bitumen. In simple terms, an unconsolidated rock approximates the consistency of dry or moist sand, and a consolidated rock may approximate the consistency of set concrete. Alternative names, such as bituminous sand or (in Canada) oil sand, are gradually finding usage, with the former name more technically correct. The term oil sand is also used in the same way as the term tar sand, and the terms are used interchangeably. The term oil sand is analogous to the term oil shale. Neither material contains oil, but oil is produced therefrom by application of thermal decomposition methods. It is important to understand that tar sand and the bitumen contained therein are different components of the deposit. The recovery of the bitumen, a hydrocarbonaceous material that can be converted into synthetic crude oil (Speight, 1990,... 

There are three types of wind erosion, namely, deflation, attrition and abrasion. Deflation results in the lowering of land surfaces by loose unconsolidated rock waste being blown away by the wind. The effects of deflation are seen most acutely in arid and semi-arid regions. For example, basin-like depressions are formed by deflation in the Sahara and Kalahari deserts. 

The concept of a packing of spheres is a fascinating model particularly for unconsolidated rocks (sand and gravel). In most theories, it is assumed that ... 

Table 7.6 gives an overview of the mean ranges of the two Young s moduli. Mean values for the ratio Edyn/Estat for unconsolidated rocks are as great as 5 for cohesionless and 20 for cohesive rocks. McCann and Entwisle (1992) reported values of 100-200 for soft mudrocks and alluvial materials. 

TABLE 7.6 Static and Dynamic Young s Modulus for Unconsolidated Rocks... 

Permeability is defined as a measure of a rock s ability to transmit fluids. In addition to a rock s being porous, sedimentary rock can also be permeable. Permeability refers to the property of a rock that allows fluids to flow through its pore network at practical rates under reasonable pressure differentials. The quantitative definition of permeability was first given in an empirical relationship developed by the French hydrologist Henry D Arcy who studied the flow of water through unconsolidated sands [31]. 

The sediment reservoir (1) represents all phosphorus in particulate form on the Earth s crust that is (1) not in the upper 60 cm of the soil and (2) not mineable. This includes unconsolidated marine and fresh water sediments and all sedimentary, metamorphic and volcanic rocks. The reason for this choice of compartmentalization has already been discussed. In particulate form, P is not readily available for utilization by plants. The upper 60 cm of the soil system represents the portion of the particulate P that can be transported relatively quickly to other reservoirs or solubilized by biological uptake. The sediment reservoir, on the other hand, represents the particulate P that is transported primarily on geologic time scales. 

Grouted barriers use a variety of fluids injected into a rock or soil mass, which is set in place to reduce water flow and strengthen the formation. Grouted barriers are seldom used for containing groundwater flow in unconsolidated materials around hazardous waste sites because they cost more and have lower permeability than bentonite slurry walls. Nevertheless, they are suited to sealing voids in rock for waste sites remediation. 

Subsurface formations can be divided into the overburden (unconsolidated) and bedrock according to its solidarity. The upper subsurface can be further divided into the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone depending on pore structure and moisture saturation. The saturated zone is the zone in which the voids in the rock or soil are filled with water at a pressure greater than atmospheric. The water table is at the top of a saturated zone in an unconfined aquifer. The unsaturated zone is the zone between the land surface and the water table, and is also called the zone of aeration or the vadose zone. The pore spaces contain water at less than atmospheric pressure, air, and other gases. This zone is unsaturated except during periods of heavy infiltration. 

The (compositionally) simplest mineral class comprises the native elements, that is, those elements, either metals or nonmetals that occur naturally in the native state, uncombined with others. Native gold, silver, and copper, for example, are metals that naturally occur in a ductile and malleable condition, while carbon - in the form of either graphite or diamond -and sulfur are examples of nonmetallic native elements. Next in compositional complexity are the binary minerals composed of two elements a metal or nonmetallic element combined with oxygen in the oxides, with a halogen - either fluorine, chlorine bromine, or iodine - in the halides, or sulfur, in the sulfides. The oxide minerals, for example, are solids that occur either in a somewhat hard, dense, and compact form in mineral ores and in rocks, or as relatively soft, unconsolidated sediments that melt at moderate to... 

Most of the rocks that make up the upper crust of the earth lie hidden beneath layers of sediments, unconsolidated accumulations of particles derived from the weathering of minerals and rocks (see Fig. 44 and Textbox 45) (Keller 1957). Once formed, the particles are either carried away or moved by the wind, rain, and gravitational forces into the seas and oceans or, before they get there, into depressions in the land. There they accumulate in a wide range of shapes and sizes (see Table 49) (Rocchi 1985 Shackley 1975). 

Soil is a relatively thin layer of unconsolidated matter on the surface of the earth, in which there is biological activity. The bulk of most soil consists of a mixture of extremely small, loose particles of minerals and organic matter the mineral particles are derived from the weathering of rocks the organic matter from the dead remains of living organisms (Rowell 1994 Limbrey 1975). The composition and texture of the soil are altered by human habitation humans change the natural flora and fauna of entire areas, their activ-... 

The present study investigates the adsorption and trapping of polymer molecules in flow experiments through unconsolidated oil field sands. Static tests on both oil sand and Ottawa sand indicates that mineralogy plays a major role in the observed behavior. Effect of a surfactant slug on polymer-rock interaction is also reported. Corroborative studies have also been conducted to study the anomalous pressure behavior and high tertiary oil recovery in surfactant dilute-polymer systems(ll,12). 

Aquifers exist in a wide variety of forms and can be classified based on lithic characteristics or hydrogeologic behavior (Figure 3.16). Aquifers classified on the basis of lithic character are referred to as either unconsolidated or rock (or consolidated) aquifers. 

In weakly consolidated, stratified sediments, the injection pressure must be controlled so that the surrounding formation is not fractured. If fracturing occurs, there is usually a severe loss in hydraulic conductivity because the bedding planes are disturbed. Pressures that will cause fracturing range from a low of 0.5 psi/ft of depth for poorly consolidated coastal plain sediments, to 1.2 psi/ft depth for crystalline rock. For most recharge wells in unconsolidated sediments, the injection pressure should be carefully controlled so that the positive head (in psi at the surface) does not exceed 0.2 x h, where h is the depth (in ft) from the ground surface to the top of the screen or filter pack. 

Unconsolidated cover at Pebble consists of 0-50 m of a variety of glacial deposits over Pebble West, where the deposit is partially exposed. At Pebble East, the deposit was partially eroded and is unconformably overlain by an eastward thickening wedge of post-mineralization Late Cretaceous to Eocene volcanosedimentary rocks, up to 600 m in thickness, which in turn are overlain by the glacial deposits. 

Goethite Rocks Ubiquitous in small concentrations in consolidated and unconsolidated... 

Bands in unconsolidated Quaternary rocks, ferriferous springs, acid mine water deposits, bog ores, lake waters... 

Sulfur constitutes about 0.052 wt % of the earth s crust. The forms in which it is ordinarily found include elemental or native sulfur in unconsolidated volcanic rocks, in anhydrite over salt-dome structures, and in bedded anhydrite or gypsum evaporate basin formations combined sulfur in metal sulfide ores and mineral sulfates hydrogen sulfide in natural gas organic sulfur compounds in petroleum and tar sands and a combination of both pyritic and organic sulfur compounds in coal (qv). 

CLAYS. The terms chy or cloys commonly refer to cither rocks that are consolidated or unconsolidated sediments, nr a group of minerals having unique properties. Traditionally, clays (rocks) are distinctive in al least two properties that render them technologically useful plasticity and composition. Clays are predominantly composed of hydrous phyllosilicates. referred to as clay minerals. These are hydrous silicates of Al. Mg. K, anti He. and other less ahundanl elements. Clay minerals arc extremely fine crystals or particles, often colloidal in size and usually plate-like in shape. The nonclay mineral portion of clays (rocks) may consist of other minerals, portions of rocks, and organic compounds. 

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