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Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 24, 169 171.
Discussion on 'Mackintosh-vs-vane estimation of undrained shear
strength correlation for a sabkha clay of Saudi Arabia'
by D. Hossain & K. M. Ali
(Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 23, 269-272)
A. N. JAMES and A. L. LITTLE write: Hossain and Ali
have presented an interesting set of results obtained
for an Obhor sabkha clay near Jedda, suggesting a
tentative correlation between undrained shear strength
(measured by a field vane test) and the M-value
(number of blows for 0.3m penetration) obtained
using a Mackintosh probe. Figures 2-4 of the paper
show clearly that one of the difficulties in dealing with
'sabkha' is the considerable scatter of results and the
variation in the nature of the basic material comprising
the sabkha.
In a previous paper, Hossain & Ali (1988) divided
the upper 5 metres of the Obhor Sabkha into two main
zones:
Zone I: a landward zone, predominantly clayey
beneath a thin (c. 0.5 m) layer of loose sand;
Zone II: a seaward zone, predominantly sandy with a
thin (c. 0.5 m) cemented sandy crust.
A small subzone, IIA, is described as 'clay over sandy
sabkha'. For the upper soft clay (at Zone I) they give
liquid limits between 20% and 50% for the top crust
and 36% to 60% for the main claybody with plasticity
indices ranging from 5 to 20 for the crust and 20 to 35
for the main body; 'clay' is an acceptable description
for this type of soil. The medium sensitivity referred
to by the authors may reflect conditioning by ion
exchange processes, brought about by gypsiferous pore
water or by changes in salinity (Mitchell 1976).
James & Little (1986) gave some results from an
extensive investigation into another coastal deposit also
known locally as 'sabkha' which, although containing
silt and sometimes clay, is seen from the particle size
chart in Fig. 1 to be predominantly sand.
It is clear therefore that the term 'sabkha' used on
its own does not convey a meaningful geotechnical
description. A reference to the soil type is also required
(e.g. 'sandy' or clayey' sabkha) and it is unfortunate
the distinction is omitted in other reference works
describing sabkhas (cf Watson 1979; Sonnenfeld 1984).
In their paper, Hossain & Ali say " . . . t h e r e are
indications that the strength of the sabkha clay
improves to some extent from winter to summer and
vice versa." This seasonal variation in bearing capacity
is a notable characteristic which seems to be common
to all sabkha and was noted by the present authors for
© 1992 The Geological Society
the sandy sabkha. In the hot summer months, the
sandy sabkha could sustain light vehicular traffic
(except at occasional soft spots) but in the winter even
walking across the sabkha area was difficult. An
important feature of the sandy sabkha described was
the presence of artesian water, proved in about 38
boreholes at all parts of the site. It is believed this has
an important influence on the performance, mainten-
ance and possibly the formation of the sabkha.
The improvement of strength of the Obhor Sabkha
in summer is explicable at least in part by desiccation
of the (sensitive) clay or by changing salinities and ion
exchange (Mitchell 1976) during seasonal cycles; high
salt contents in summer giving way to lower values in
winter. However, this cannot be the explanation of
increase in bearing capacity of the loose sand forming
the sabkha described by James & Little which must be
due to a cementing agent. Stipho (1985) has previously
noted the high salt contents of sabkhas, the cementing
action of the contained salts and strength reduction
consequent on leaching. A1-Sanad et al. (1990) have
commented on similar effects created by rising ground-
water caused by over-irrigation and leaking services in
Kuwait. In the investigation by the present authors, the
presence of salts (mostly NaC1 but also gypsum) was
proved to exist in considerable quantity in upper
sabkha layers. Unless there were some mechanism of
renewal, leaching action with time would gradually
remove the salt cement completely. Some authorities
(e.g. Fookes et al. 1985; Stipho 1985) postulate several
different agents of salt intrusion, including flooding by
seawater, aeolian agency or groundwater.
The authors believe that artesian groundwater was
the principal agent in the case they studied. A
considerable natural barrier of sand existed between
the sabkha and the sea which, together with ground-
water flow towards the sea, makes seawater an unlikely
source of salts. The most likely origin of the cementing
agent is from the artesian flow, possibly with the
addition of some windborne material. The upward-
seeping water, driven by artesian pressure, was ana-
lysed chemically and shown to have low concentrations
of salts at depth rising to as much as 23% near
groundwater surface (Table 1). Hot weather evapor-
ation leaves the salts dispersed through the upper
layers of sabkha as other chemical analyses proved.
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170 DISCUSSION

• lili '1 °
!Ill !i-- I li]~ 1 i 1ifi i~
li I /(I i I i I
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z ii
_ 1/ r ~
, i
,

~:~11i ti /I 2 iiii " -i

=IN il ~1 i fi 'i~ i
of!i 0.002 C-~06
It 0,02 ~
i!i I 0.2
i ii
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irl ~0
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sS
ICLAY I Fine I Medium [ ~r~ I Fine [ U~liurni Cc.=t~e i 'Fine i ~(~ium i C~,,rseICIZ)BBLESI BCWLjCERS]
' " SILT 5ANO ; ' GRAVEL I

FiG. 1. Particle size distribution of sand.

TABLE 1. Sodium chloride concentrations in ground- to have any data on groundwater movements in the
water Obhor Sabkha with special reference to artesian
conditions there or elsewhere.
Depth (m) NaCI (%)
D. HOSSAIN and K. M. ALI reply: we would like to
0.5 (open hole) 11.4 thank Drs James and Little for their interest in the
0.5 (open hole) 13.1 Technical Note and contribution to the discussion.
0.5 (open hole) 6.2 The correlation proposed by Hossain and Ali was
0.5 (open hole) 2.4 for the 'soft clay' occurring in the landward zone and
0.5 (open hole) 13.4
0.5 (open hole) 23.0 a small sub-zone (within the seaward zone) of Obhor
0.8 (borehole) 17.6 Sabkha. The thickness of the surfacial layer of loose
1.3 (borehole) 13.4 sand in these areas is generally around 10 to 20cm,
8.1 (borehole) 0.6 although Fig. 2(A) of Hossain & All (1988) suggests it
10.2 (borehole) 1.3 to be a little thicker.
11.0 (borehole) 0.2 Figure 7 of Hossain & Ali (1988) showed that most
24.5 (borehole) 0.25
of the sensitivity values of the soft clay in Obhor were
in the range 2 to 16 and this clay was described by the
authors as medium sensitive to extra-sensitive accord-
The mechanism of renewal outlined above accounts ing to Skempton & Northeys (1952) classification. The
for the continued existence of the sabkha studied which contributors noted its sensitivity as medium (i.e.
would otherwise have reverted to loose sand similar to between 2 and 4), probably through oversight or by
the near-by dunes from which it probably originated. reference to some other classification system. Some of
A more speculative and possibly controversial idea is the possible causes of the sensitivity of this clay were
that the sabkha studied by the present authors (and discussed by Hossain & Ali (1988) while others are
perhaps other sabkhas as well) originated as a result of suggested by the contributors. It is likely that all of
this mechanism. Sand blown seawards encountered them are operating together. An assessment of the
waterlogged areas, was unable to make further pro- degree of influence of each of the factors such as
gress and was cemented by the process described. As salinity, ion-exchange, percentage of monovalent
the smooth, almost level, area so created afforded no cations and cementation, needs further study. It is
opportunity for further dunes to develop, surplus sand worth mentioning that Fig. 11.16 of Mitchell (1976)
was blown into the sea. The waterlogged areas thus may suggest that mere increase of salinity of the pore
developed into sabkha. water of a soil beyond that of sea water, as in the case
It would be interesting to have Messrs Hossain and of sabkhas, would hardly affect its sensitivity. Further,
Ali's opinions on the views expressed and in particular, it remains to be seen if the sabkhas follow the same
 Downloaded from http://qjegh.lyellcollection.org/ by Richard John Evans on April 30, 2019
DISCUSSION
trend of sensitivity increase with the percentage of
monovalent cations in the pore water as observed in
the clays of low salinity (ref. Fig. 11.17 of Mitchell
1976).
The authors agree with the contributors with regard
to the need for mentioning the soil type (e.g. sandy,
silty or clayey) in the geotechnical description of
sabkhas because sabkhas with different grain size
characteristics are now being identified. It is under-
standable that the omission of soil type in the earlier
works on sabkhas was because the sabkha deposits
studied earlier were predominantly sandy in nature.
The contributors' explanation of the cause of the
seasonal variation of sabkha strength is in order except
for the fact that they tend to restrict unnecessarily the
concept of cementation to the sandy sabkhas.
The possibility of having an artesian water in Obhor
Sabkha has not been investigated specifically. How-
ever, a large number of boreholes extending 0.5 to
1.0m into the gravelly sand of stiff clay layer
underlying the soft clay and four other boreholes 9 to
15m deep were made in this sabkha. Two of these
deeper holes were shown in Figure 2 of Hossain & Ali
(1988). Water table observations in these holes did not
provide any indication of artesian pressure. Hence it
appears that the hydrogeological situation in Obhor is
somewhat different from that in Jubail, where the
contributors observed artesian conditions. The authors
consider that a more detailed presentation of the
geology, geomorphology and hydrogeological setting
of the Jubail sabkha and its surroundings could help to
improve understanding of the relative contributions of
artesian inland water and sea water to the salt
intrusion in that sabkha. The sandy area between the
sabkha and the Gulf may not be as efficient a barrier
171
as the contributors assume it to be and the absence of
a lagoon at present in the area may not preclude the
possibility of an old one (now buried), particularly
because the distance to the sea is not so large. Further,
it does not appear reasonable to extend the artesian
water hypothesis of sabkha formation, inferred by the
contributors for Jubail, to other sabkhas without
supporting data.
References
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LUMSDEN, A. C. 1990. The influence of groundwater
levels on the geotechnical behaviour of desert sands.
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influence of ground and groundwater geochemistry on
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HOSSAIN, D. & ALl, K. M. 1988. Shear strength and
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JAMES, A. N. & LITTLE, A. L. 1986. Discussion of Fookes et
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MITCHELL, J. K. 1976. Fundamentals Qf Soil Behaviour. Wiley,
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