Environmental Factors Affecting Ground Mobility in Thailand

Home , Chiang Mai

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING GROUND MOBILITY IN THAILAND

Preliminary Survey

APPENDIX A: RESULTS OF SURVEY OF EXISTING DATA AND LITERATURE

TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 5-625

May 1963

Sponsored by

Advanced Research Projects Agency Combat Development and Test Center, Thailand ARPA Order No. 351-62

U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station CORPS OF ENGINEERS Vicksburg, Mississippi

ARMY-MRC VICKSBURG. MISS. Contents Page Agencies Visited and Findings ...... A1 Results of Literature Review ...... A5 Conclusions and Recommendations A7 A1

APPENDIX A: RESULTS OF SURVEY OF EXISTING DATA AND LITERATURE

1. This appendix enumerates the various agencies visited in Thailand in search of published and unpublished data on various aspects of the envi ronment pertinent to the study of ground mobility, and summarizes the findings. The data and literature examined were restricted to that which would assist in describing, in quantitative terms, such aspects as geometric con figuration of landscapes, vegetation structure and types, hydrologic char acteristics of streams and rivers, soil characteristics, and soil distribu tion by types.

Agencies Visited and Findings

2. The agencies visited, findings, and an assessment of the usable information available are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Royal Irrigation Depart- ment, Hydrology Division 3* The files of this department contain data on channel and stream configurations, gaging, and flooding for several areas in Thailand. Al though these data were not of immediate interest to the preliminary survey team, they would be useful in longer term studies.

Royal Irrigation De partment, Canal Division k. Three soil survey reports were reviewed. These reports contain information on pedological and engineering soil characteristics for two small areas in the Korat* region and one in the vicinity of Chiang Mai. The information is of general interest from a pedological soil classifica tion standpoint only, and is of little value for classifying soils from an engineering or trafficability standpoint.

Royal Thai Navy, Department of Meteorology, Climatology Division 5. Long-period (19H-I962) rainfall records are available for

* Referred to as Nakhon Ratchasima on Army Map Service 1:250,000 map, but popularly called Korat. A2

I4-5 stations in Thailand. Since World War II complete weather data have been collected at 52 stations (which include the b$ older stations). These records include measurements of rainfall, atmospheric pressure, air temper ature, dew point, relative humidity, cloud cover, and wind. A few meteoro logical stations also collect pan evaporation data. Weather summaries which include normals and departures-from-normal are available. Maps show ing isqpleths of average monthly rainfall are also available. Copies of pertinent weather data summaries were obtained, and were used in preparing the discussions of weather and climate that appear in this report. Royal Thai Highway Department 6. The files of this organization contain little or no data of di rect value to the project mission because they include only analyses of data records for deep foundations at bridge sites or sources of construc tion material, particularly road-surfacing materials. Little or no usable soil data are available for depths above l/2 m. 7. A copy of a general report was obtained that contains regional maps which show the primary highway system of Thailand, existing road sur face conditions, average daily traffic flow, annual rainfall, population density, and mineral resources. Copies of several foundation and road ma terial reports were also obtained. The foundation reports include terrain profiles, locations of borings, and field identification of soil type. In some instances, results of soil laboratory tests are presented. The re ports on laboratory tests of road materials include information on the location, quality, and quantity of available road-building materials in the northeast part of Thailand.

Royal State Railway of Thailand, Engineering Construction Division 8. This organization does not retain information on existing works after completion of construction, and little or no data of value to the project were available on proposed new construction. -

U. S. Navy Department, Officer-in-Charge of Construc tion, Southeast Asia (OICC/SEA)

9. The files of this organization contain data derived from engi neering studies on a large number of construction projects to which the A3

U. S. Government has contributed funds and engineering guidance. With the exception of a certain amount of soil data, these records were of only nom inal value to the project mission because they deal with deep foundation problems or sources of construction materials; the data on surface soils are inadequately documented from the standpoint of trafficability requirements.

United States Opera- tions Mission (USOM) 10. This agency had no information that would be of assistance to the project mission. It was learned that groundwater investigations were currently under way, but no results were available at that time. The final report on these investigations may contain some usable information on groundwater conditions in several areas in Thailand. U. S. Army Attache, Bangkok 11. Several documents on file in the office of the U. S. Army Attache in Bangkok were examined. None contained information considered to be of direct value to the project activities at that time.

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) 12. The ECAFE files and library contain general information of a qualitative nature on various aspects of the Thailand environment. Several specific reports are concerned primarily with hydrology, but some sections of the reports are devoted to the soils, minerals, and forests of an area of the Khorat Plateau. This information was of general use to the project mission.

Food and Agricultural Organiza- tion of the United Nations (FAQ) 13. Copies of a soil survey report on the soils of the Republic of Vietnam, by Dr. F. R. Moormann, and an unpublished manuscript describing the major soils of Southeast Asia, by Dr. F. R. Moormann and Dr. R. Dudal, were-obtained from the FAO for review purposes. These reports identify soils according to pedological classification. It was also learned that Dr. Moormann in cooperation with the Thai Ministry of Agriculture plans to prepare a 1:1,000,000-scale soils map of Thailand which will be very useful in describing soil types and their distribution. Ah

Tippetts-Abbett- McCarthy-Stratton, Engi- neers and Architects (TAMS)

14. The files of TAMS contain considerable engineering data on soils. These data are of nominal value since most were for depths greater than those normally of interest in soil-trafficability investigations. Informa tion on other aspects of the environment was documented in general rather than specific terms, and was therefore of little value. Consequently it is probable that future engineering investigations by this concern will not yield any information of value to this project. Charles M. Upham Associates, Inc. 15• This firm has been doing contract work for the Royal Thai High way Department. Its activities have dealt primarily with material surveys of several regions in Thailand. Project reports have been prepared which include maps of construction materials and engineering soil properties. A review of several of these reports indicated that they do not contain spe cific data of direct value to the mission of the preliminary survey team; they do, however, contain valuable information pertinent to highway and airfield site selection.

Southeast Asia Treaty " Organization (SEATO) Grad- uate School of Engineering

16. Various members of the university staff were interviewed, and while considerable general information was obtained, very little of it was quantitative data suitable for project use. The university library con tains primarily standard technical books and no publications of specific interest to the project. Bes Engineering Co. (Korat) 17. This firm is constructing a 15-km highway section near Korat, and because of the many soil engineering problems encountered with the sub- base and the scarcity of base-type materials, the conventional engineering soils laboratory tests were conducted on samples obtained at closely spaced intervals along the center line of the road. Soil samples were obtained from the l/2-m depth. Although soil trafficability cannot be estimated from these test data, the soil classification data reveal that A5

considerable variation in soil type occurs in the bottomlands.

Results of Literature Review

18. As in the agency survey, the amount of usable information ob tained from published and unpublished literature was small, and only gen eral information was found on the environmental factors of interest to the preliminary survey team mission. However, more data and information were found on pedological soil types and distribution in the literature review. This information was of little use in the present study; however, much of it will be useful once a relation has been established between soil types, other pertinent soil characteristics common to tropical soils, and soil trafficability. Because of the potential value of this information, the title, author, and a summary of the literature reviewed on soils are presented as follows: a. Ministry of Agriculture, Report on the Preliminary Soil Survey of the Mae Klong Irrigation Project Area. Mis cellaneous Soil Reports, Report 1, Bangkok, Thailand, May 1962. This survey covers roughly 1800 square miles in the south western part of the Bangkok Plain. Because the survey was preliminary and the resulting map is drawn to a scale of 1:250,000, the report lacks the necessary detail for soil- trafficability usage; however, it is a good source of sound and useful information essential to an understanding of the soils of this area. b. Ministry of Agriculture, Report on the Soil Survey of the Huai Si Thon Irrigation Project. Miscellaneous Soil Re ports, Report 5, Bangkok, Thailand, June 1962. This report covers a small area immediately northwest of Kalasin in the middle of the Khorat Plateau. The scale of the soils map included is 1:19,350+150, but the mapping is considered to be semidetailed rather than detailed. Soils are classified according to the revised system of soil clas sification for Thailand. Also included are a land-use map and a land-class map, both at the same scale as the soils map. This report provides a good description of a limited number of the soils that occur on the Khorat Plateau. c. Montrakun, Sarot, "Soil survey of the Lam Pra Plerng Project - Nakorn Rajasima Province." Soils of Thailand, Department of Rice in cooperation with Department of Agri culture, Royal Irrigation Department, and United States Operations Mission, Report 1, Bangkok, Thailand, 1961. This report describes three tracts along the Mae Nam Mun River south of Korat, totaling about U8 square miles, and the soils therein. Soils maps on a scale of about 1:50,000 are included, but the base maps for the soil delineations are poor, and the soil mapping is rather general for the scale. This report is of limited value to mobility research. Montrakun, Sarot, "Soil survey of the Lam Pao Area - Kalasin Province." Soils of Thailand, Department of Rice in coop eration with Department of Agriculture, Royal Irrigation Department, and United States Operations Mission, Report'2, Bangkok, Thailand, 1961. This report covers a small area along the west side of the Lam Pao River immediately north of Kalasin in the middle of the Khorat Plateau. The soils map, even though on a large scale, is printed on a poor base map. The report includes some detailed soil profile descriptions and some laboratory data, but these do not include grain-size data. Montrakun, Sarot, "Soil survey of the Mae Taeng Project - Chiengmai Province." Soils of Thailand, Department of Rice in cooperation with Department of Agriculture, Royal Irriga tion Department, and United States Operations Mission, Report 3, Bangkok, Thailand, 1961. This report covers approximately the western half of the Chiang Mai plain. The soils map, on a scale of about 1:200,000, is printed on a poor base map. Only four map units are shown, and the range of soil characteristics in cluded in a mapping category is greater than the legend and supporting text indicate. Small differences in soil texture and drainage which are important to trafficability studies are not shown. Although the report is quite useful as a source of general information, it lacks the precision necessary for delineating soil-trafficability classes. Moormann, F. R., The Soils of The Republic of Viet-Nam. Ministry of Agriculture, Saigon, 1961. This report discusses soils in rather broad general groups. The map included, on a scale of 1:1,000,000, shows only the major types of soils. The publication is up to date and sets forth current knowledge of the soil geography of South Vietnam except for some larger scale soil survey data on small areas that may be available locally. All, or nearly all, of the soil groups described in this publication also occur in Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia. Moormann, F. R., and Dudal, R., Major Soils of South-East Asia. Unpublished manuscript, Food and Agriculture Organi zation of the United Nations, 1962. ' This publication, which does not include a map, is the most up-to-date and authoritative reference on the classification of soils of Southeast Asia. In addition to describing the AT

major soil groups under names chosen by the authors, it in dicates other names for these groups that have been used in recent literature. The publication also indicates the prob able classification of the major soil groups in the new sys tem (Tth Approximation) of soil classification being de veloped by soil scientists of the United States in coop eration with soil scientists of several other countries. h. Pendleton, Robert L., Report to Accompany the Provisional Map of the Soils and Surface Rocks of the Kingdom of Siam. Mutual Security Agency, United States Special Technical and Economic Mission to Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand, January 1953. This comprehensive report is a principal source of general information about the soils and land use in Thailand. The provisional map, scale of 1:2,500,000, is highly generalized and contains some errors. The author1s soil names, such as Korat sandy loams, are not series and type names as used in the United States, but instead represent soil groups; some of these groups are similar to "great soil groups" in the United States. Both the report and map, unfortunately, are poorly organized; nevertheless, they do provide the only in formation on soils and land use for substantial parts of Thailand. jL. Societe/ / Grenobloise d'Etudes/ et d'Applications Hydrauliques, Agro-Pedological Study of the Upper Nam-Chee Basin. Unpublished English translation, Grenoble. This study, a contribution of the Government of France, cov ers a substantial part of the northwestern Khorat Plateau. The report includes three 1:250,000-scale maps: a soils map, a land-classification map, and a soil-boring map. Useful laboratory test results are provided for many of the borings. While the study appears to have been fairly complete, the mapping is of necessity rather general. The soil classifi cation nomenclature is unlike that of other modern soil sur veys in Thailand; therefore, it is difficult, but not impos sible, to use the data in the referenced report for mobility research.

Conclusions and Recommendations

19« The results of the survey of existing data and literature were rather negligible in regard to satisfying the purposes of the preliminary study. It is doubtful that data from such sources will ever be suitable for use in determining the effects of most of the environmental factors on ground mobility, unless special programs are undertaken to provide these data. Usually data collected for one purpose are not applicable to another A8 because of different requirements. In some instances, however, suitable methods can be developed for interpolating or extrapolating other types of data, provided an interrelation can be developed for the two groups of data. From the data examined, it appears possible that once sufficient soil- trafficability data have been obtained for Southeast Asia, an interrelation can be developed between the data collected for trafficability purposes and the existing data collected for pedological purposes. Such relations have been developed for temperate climate soils. 20. As stated in paragraph 13, it was learned that Dr. F. R. Moormann of the FAO in cooperation with the Thai Ministry of Agriculture plans to prepare a l:l,000,000-scale soils map of Thailand. Also, recon naissance soil surveys at a scale of 1:250,000 are to be made by the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the FAO. It is suggested that the ground-mobility research activities planned for Southeast Asia include plans for supporting the Thai-FAO soil mapping activity if, in return, ap- propiate soil-trafficability measurements can be included in the data col lection phases of the Thai-FAO program.