Method to Quantify Freeze-Thaw Effects on Temperate Climate Soils: Calvert Cliffs
Publication: Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 4
Abstract
The Calvert Cliffs form much of the western coastline of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland, and are actively eroding, resulting in a critical situation for many homes in close proximity to the slope’s crest. Past studies have qualitatively shown that where waves do not regularly interact with the slope toe, the main control mechanism for slope recession is freeze-thaw events. In this study, an attempt was made to quantitatively assess the validity of this claim by analyzing the recession rate and freeze-thaw behavior of six study sites along the Calvert Cliffs that are not directly affected by waves. The freeze-thaw susceptibility of soil can be quantified by assessing its material and thermal properties. The freezing can also commonly be quantified using a freezing index. For a temperate climate like that of the Calvert Cliffs, however, a freezing index is not an effective way to quantify freeze-thaw behavior due to a lack of a well-defined freezing season. Instead, the study investigated the following two parameters: (1) days of freezing, and (2) number of freeze-thaw cycles, in addition to freeze-thaw susceptibility, to quantify freeze thaw. Results indicate that using days of freezing and/or freeze-thaw cycles may be more appropriate metrics for quantifying the effects of freeze-thaw in temperate climates like that of the Calvert Cliffs.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Andersland, O. B., and Anderson, D. M. (1978). Geotechnical engnieering for cold regions, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Black, P. B. (1995). “RIGIDICE model of secondary frost heave.” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH.
Black, P. B., and Hardenberg, M. J. (1991). “Historical perspectives in frost heave research: The early works of S. Taber and G. Beskow.” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH.
Calvert County Government. (2012). Aerial imagery and shapefile data, Prince Frederick, MD.
Chamberlain, E. J. (1981). “Frost susceptibility of soil, review of index tests.”, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH.
Department of the Army Corps of Engineers Office of the Chief of Engineers. (1984). “Pavement criteria for seasonal frost conditions: Mobilization construction.”, Washington, DC.
Gatto, L. W. (1995). “Soil freeze-thaw effects on bank erodibility and stability.”, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH.
Harlan, R., and Nixon, J. (1978). “Ground thermal regime.” Geotechnical engineering for cold regions, O. B. Andersland and D. M. Anderson, eds., McGraw Hill, New York, 103–163.
Joint Departments of the Army and Air Force. (1987). “Arctic and subarctic construction: General provisions.”, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 88–19.
Joint Departments of the Army and Air Force. (1988). “Arctic and subarctic construction calculation methods for determination of depths of freeze and thaw in soils.”, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Konrad, J.-M. (1999). “Frost susceptibility related to soil index properties.” Can. Geotech. J., 36(3), 403–417.
Konrad, J.-M., and Morgenstern, N. R. (1980). “A mechanistic theory of ice lens formation in fine-grained soils.” Can. Geotech. J., 17(4), 473–486.
Michalowski, R. L., and Zhu, M. (2006). “Frost heave modelling using porosity rate function.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 30(8), 703–722.
Miller, D. S. (1995). “A field investigation of the controls of the dominant erosion processes on the actively undercut, non-lithified coastal slopes of Calvert County, Maryland.” Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore.
NCDC/NOAA (National Climatic Data Center/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). (2002a). “Air freezing index—USA method.” Asheville, NC.
NCDC/NOAA (National Climatic Data Center/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). (2002b). “Data documentation for data set 9712D (DSI-9712D): Air-freezing index statistics for the United States National Climatic Data Center/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” Asheville, NC.
NCDC/NOAA (National Climatic Data Center/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). (2012). “Integrated surface hourly climate data.”Asheville, NC.
Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., and McMahon, T. A. (2007). “Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 11(5), 1633–1644.
Selezneva, O. I., Jiang, Y. J., Larson, G., and Puzin, T. (2008). “Long term pavement performance computed parameter: Frost penetration.” U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, McLean, VA.
Shattuck, G. B. (1904). “Geological and paleontological relations, with a review of earlier investigations.” The Miocene deposits of Maryland, G. B. Shattuck, W. B. Clark, and W. H. Dall, eds., Maryland Geological Survey, Baltimore, 33–94.
Ward, L. W., and Andrews, G. W. (2008). “Stratigraphy of the Calvert, Choptank, and St. Marys formations (Miocene) in the Chesapeake Bay area, Maryland and Virginia.” Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, VA.
Wilcock, P. R., Miller, D. S., Shea, R. H., and Kerhin, R. T. (1993). “Calvert cliffs slope erosion project phase II final report—Processes and controls of coastal slope erosion.” Charleston, SC.
Wilcock, P. R., Miller, D. S., Shea, R. H., and Kerkin, R. T. (1998). “Frequency of effective wave activity and the recession of coastal bluffs: Calvert Cliffs, Maryland.” J. Coastal Res., 14(1), 256–268.
Zwissler, B., Oommen, T., and Vitton, S. (2014). “A study of the impacts of freeze-thaw on cliff recession at the Calvert Cliffs in Calvert County, Maryland.” Geotech. Geol. Eng., 32(4), 1133–1148.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 1, 2015
Accepted: Nov 12, 2015
Published online: Feb 29, 2016
Discussion open until: Jul 29, 2016
Published in print: Dec 1, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.