The engineering geology of the Nottingham area, UK

Abstract

Nottingham was built near a crossing point on the River Trent in the East Midlands of England. Initially, the city developed on a low sandstone hill close to the north bank of the river, which provided a secure, well-drained location above the marshes that bordered the river. Geologically, Nottingham stands at the boundary between Palaeozoic rocks to the north and west, and Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata to the south and east. The area is underlain by coal-bearing Carboniferous Coal Measures, Permian dolomitic limestones, Permo-Triassic mudstones and weak sandstones, Jurassic clays and Quaternary glacial and alluvial deposits. Artificial deposits, resulting from the social, industrial and mineral extraction activities of the past, cover the natural deposits over much of the area. This geological environment has underpinned the economic development of the area through the mining of coal (now largely ceased), oil extraction that was important during World War II, brickmaking from clays, alluvial sand and gravel extraction from the Trent Valley, and gypsum extraction from the Permo-Triassic mudstones. The Permo-Triassic sandstone is a nationally important aquifer, and has also been exploited at the surface and from shallow mines for sand. However, this history of the use and exploitation of mineral deposits has created a number of environmental problems, including rising groundwater levels, abandoned mine shafts and mining subsidence, and, within the city itself, the occasional collapse of artificial cavities in the sandstone and contaminated land left by industrial activities. Natural constraints on development include gypsum dissolution, landslides, rockfalls, swell-shrink problems in Jurassic clays and flooding. Occasional minor earthquakes are attributed to movements related to coal mining or natural, deep geological structures. Thus, Nottingham's geological context remains an important consideration when planning its future regeneration and development.

Petrography and Physicomechanical Properties of Rocks from the Ambela Granitic Complex, NW Pakistan

“…The generally agreed upon geotechnically important features of rocks include (i) modal mineralogical composition, (ii) grain size and extent of its variation, (iii) grain shape, (iv) the overall abundance of flaky minerals (mica) and, more importantly, the degree of their preferred orientation, and (v) degree of weathering or alteration [8, 12, 14, 17–21]. Rocks containing large amounts of physically competent minerals are obviously strong.…”

“…Determination of water absorption is important as repeated hydration and dehydration result in mechanical disruption of small portions of rock close to an exposed surface and allow access of water into the rock and thus causing an increase in the degree and rate of weathering [14]. Employing the method and calculations described elsewhere [8], the values of water absorption for the studied samples of alkali granites, alkali quartz syenite, and nepheline syenite were determined (Table 2).…”

Specific Features Of Geological Risk Assessment In Moscow

“…The subsurface construction is endangered by karstification and fracturing of crystalline limestone, decompaction and swelling of clay, quicksand phenomena, and groundwater breakthrough to the tunnels. In western countries, urban geology has developed as a special field of geological science, and its role is becoming more important in the last decades (Bell et al 2009;Brennard 1998;Culshaw and Price 2011;Legget 1973;1987;Marker 2009;2016;Pereyra 2003;Tan 2009). Lately, urban geologists including engineering geologists have gained huge experience in assessing hazardous geological processes in cities, with one of the principal methods being engineering geological zoning and GISbased special mapping of urban areas (Burns, 2015;Cavaleiro et al 2009;Chatterjee 2006).…”

Implications on Characterizing the Extremely Weak Sherwood Sandstone: Case of Slope Stability Analysis Using SRF at Two Oak Quarry in the UK

“…In the East Midlands, the Sherwood Sandstone Group (SSG) is divided into the Lenton Formation (LF) which is overlain by the Nottingham Castle Sandstone Formation (NCSF) (Ambrose et al 2014). The thickness of the LF varies between 12 and 70 m according to the BGS (2017b) and the NCSF shows a maximum thickness of approximately 150 m around Nottingham (Bell et al 2009).…”

“…Yates (1992) recommends that very weak or cohesion-less layers are analysed as discontinuities. The strength of the SSG is strongly influenced by the particle size, the porosity and the moisture content (Bell et al 2009). For the NCSF the strength reduction due to a high degree of saturation is significant, because of the high porosity.…”