Micropaleontology applied to soil mechanics in Norway. Mikropaleontologi anvendt på geotekniske problemer i Norge.
Abstract
A breif review of the geological history of the Late Pleistocene marine clay deposits of the Oslofjord area, southeastern part of Norway, has been given, and a stratigraphical division of these sediments, established upon basis of their included Foraminifera, has been presented. This foraminiferal stratigraphy has been correlated with other divisions of the deposits based on megafossils. The striking observation has been made that a close correlation exists between the stratigraphy of a clay deposit and its geotechnical properties. This is most beautifully demonstrated by one of the properties, viz. the shear strength. It has been attempted to explain this by the relation between original and present salt concentration in the pore water of the clay. Finally, micropaleontology has been applied to the problems of tracing old land slides and recent slip planes, such applications having been illustrated by examples from Trondheim and Oslo.