Some geohazards caused by soil mineralogy, chemistry and microfabric: a review

The paper reviews three geohazards: swelling/shrinkage, dispersivity and collapsibility, that are not dramatic and do not usually cause disasters because they rarely result in loss of life, nor cause sudden huge financial losses. However, these unspectacular' geohazards result, over time, in the loss of millions of pounds and in disruption to people's lives due to damage to foundations or loss of land. The geological controls on the hazards are described; all result from the inherent microfabric, mineralogy and/or chemistry of the particular soils affected. From this understanding it is possible to design mitigation and remedial measures that will prevent, or reduce, the effects of these hazards; these measures are presented.