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Lithological Characteristics of the Lambeth Group

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Lithological Characteristics of the Lambeth Group PAPER geotechnical properties. This is set in the context of the environment of deposition and also the post-depositional changes that altered these sediments, both of which are necessary to explain the observed .iI:~o oclica diversity. The measured geotechnical properties of the Lambeth Group are highly diverse, often too diverse to draw other than very conservative assumptions on engineering behaviour. This paper sets out to explain c >aracI:eris',ics why and how the sediments were formed and some of the complex processes that affected them. With this in mind, the measured values often obtained from a ground investigation can be appreciated and 'I, understood in a broader sense. Some brief recommendations are made o~ >e .agni )e', i for the treatment of sites where the Lambeth Group is encountered. The group has been increasingly encountered in major civil engineering schemes, for example, in the expansion of the east Thames corridor, the Jubilee Line Extension, the Docklands Light Railway I)roll ) Extension to Lewisham, the planned East London Line, CrossRail and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. However, there have been few geological or integrated engineering geological studies of the By Darren Page, High-Point Rendel, London and Lambeth Group. Jackie Skipper, Natural History Museum, London. The paper forms a reference work for the forthcoming CIRIA report on Engineering Properties of UK Soils and Rocks: RP576 for the Lambeth Group co-authored by Darren Page with contributions by Jackie Skipper. nderlying the London Clay throughout south and south east Britain are a group of highly variable sediments belonging to the Stratlgraphlcal framework a Lambeth Group (formerly called the Woolwich and Reading Beds). Ellison et al (1994) have devised a new stratigraphical scheme for the The Lambeth Group comprises a mixture of stiff and hard clays, Palaeogene of the UK. In it, the term Woolwich and Reading Beds has silts, sands and gravel which vary tremendously both laterally and been discarded in favour of a term that can encompass the three main vertically. Locally, these sediments are cemented with calcium formations (Table 1). carbonate, iron oxides and silica to form materials with relatively high The diversity within the Lambeth Group has been recognised strength. It is the variable lithology and strength, combined with the for a long time and accurate descriptions were made as long ago general poor understanding of the group within the industry, that as the early 19th century during the expansion of the railway network has made these sediments probably the most difficult to engineer (Prestwich, 1854 and Whitaker, 1872). The group was brought together in the UK. for mapping by Hester (1965) and a "lithofacies" approach has only The lithologies within the Lambeth Group are highly diverse —there more recently been adopted for London (Ellison, 1983 and 1991).This is probably no other group of sediments within the UK that displays approach has allowed these sediments to be more readily recognised such a range of textures and fabrics within such a small stratigraphical across the whole of southern Britain (Skipper and Page, in thickness (generally between 15m and 40m). The origin and preparation). characteristics of these lithologies are the key to understanding the The Upnor Formation, which comprises the stratigraphically lowest engineering behaviour and properties of the Lambeth Group. and geographically most widespread formation, unconformably This paper describes the main divisions of the Lambeth Group in overlies and oversteps the Thanet Sand Formation in the London area. terms of the component formations and informally recognised Elsewhere the Upnor Formation lies directly on the Chalk. The Thames members. For each, the lithologies are described, together with the Group, which comprises the Harwich or London Clay Formations sedimentary structures that typify them and influence the measured (Ellison et al 1994),overlies the Lambeth Group. (MaaelalIeeg ::Ikkfaagan Igal eel taark ~hraheg aaaaIalphda :k~rev,=.~m &%wan~ ARSWW% LarnhaIadahaarahrg, ~akaadaaeaaal Walnii%aaa~ ~adalaaaawr Laaaaa~ allaar aklga (~~ phfai —:aandal Ig aaae e=~0$$y aheya and anaconda ~~efagarsMO and aanda: Weyeeaahrr Note: This ienotaehatigrapfdcal cokimn; itmerelyiabukdee theformats and thek conagtugve informal members. The Upnor Formagon can be contemporaneous wghthe~ Formagon andfhe WbotwfohFormatkm conlempraneouswNhlhelteding Formatkm. The Wboladch Fonnagon Neo efraggraphicagyafxwethe Upnor Formagonandienetcontempomneoue(aee Rgure T).Quueel sand bodieeoccurteoughout the gmup GROUND ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 2000 PAPER which were then later overlain by the base of the Woolwich Formation. Laminated silt, sand, clays, This palaeo-landsurface has been termed the "mid Lambeth Group shell beds +/- cement hiatus" (Page, 1994)and is often easily recognisable in borehole logs by a sharp change in lithology, downwards from the reduced grey or black sediments of the Woolwich Formation (Lower Shelly Beds) to the reddish, oxidised or colour mottled sediments of the Reading Formation (Lower Mottled Beds). Another occurs above the Reading Formation ("Upper Mottled Beds") Mottled clays, silts, at the base of Woolwich Formation ("Upper Shelly Beds") in central and sands and tluvial Laminated clays, south eastern London (Figure 1). These two surfaces represent +/- sands shells, silts/sands, sequence boundaries (a point at which there has been the most rapid rate lignites in fall of sea level which results in downcutting/planation of the landsurface (Van Wagoner et al, 1990).They are important in correlating Silcretes, calcretes, ferricretes the Lambeth Group. The climatic conditions during the deposition of the Lambeth Group were sub-tropical with a distinct seasonality, similar to climates Upnor FM associated with parts of South East Asia today. Mottled sands, clays, Contemporaneous volcanic activity was occurring in western pebble beds Clayey sand, Scotland and northern Ireland (as a consequence of the opening of the laminated sand/clay, north Atlantic Ocean) and periodic ash falls were widespread (Knox, pebble beds 1996).Clays, chiefly illite, kaolinite and smectite, (derived from volcanic ash), form a significant component of the fine grained sediments within Sequence boundary ~ Diachronous boundary the Lambeth Group (eg Ellison and Lake, 1986). Rgmo1:Sidnmmeo smpnmooslralgraphhmlndaeonshlphN the Lamhelh creep. The llpnor Formation dhgraminInosenha west toeastseoeonaorossew Hampshhe and London eashL The Upnor Formation is characterised by predominantly sand lithologies with a variable clay and/or silt content. It varies from fine to Palaeoenvironmental model medium grained clean sands to sandy clays and can be well graded. Well During the deposition of the Lambeth Group, the London/Hampshire rounded flint gravel is present, as beds from one clast thick to beds up to — Basin lay to the south east of uplands within a broad, topographically about Sm thick and as large channel fill structures ribbon shaped low lying, alluvial and coastal plain area. To the east lay the North Sea bodies of impersistent lateral extent (Skipper, 1999). The green clay occupying a major fault bound, rapidly subsiding, depositional basin. In mineral glauconite is present throughout the formation although where this type of situation relative changes in sea level are more pronounced exposed it weathers to iron oxides. Two subdivisions of this unit have and a slight change in sea level can dramatically alter the environment been recognised on palaeomagnetic evidence (Ali and Jolley 1996 and and therefore the sediment type produced. Sea level fall caused a shift in Ellison et al 1996). In central London these subdivisions each coarsen the alluvial sediments seawards and a rise led to the landward shift in upward from a sand to a coarse gravel representing a fall in sea level. marine sediments (Figure 1).Exposure of the sediments as a result of The surface at the base of the formation is usually burrowed either sea level fall created "palaeo-landsurfaces", subsequently colonised by into the underlying Thanet Sand Formation (Page, in preparation) or vegetation and within which soils (in the non-engineering sense) Chalk (Bromley & Goldring, 1992), with material from the overlying developed. The events that resulted in their formation were widespread sediment penetrating into that underneath. The Upnor Formation can across the basin so that these periods of relative sea level fall are well be cross-bedded, laminated, cross-laminated and bioturbated at various recorded. A number of these events occurred during the deposition of scales. Some typical sedimentary structures are shown in Figure 2. Ash the Lambeth Group, the most notable of which is represented by the fall layers of volcanic origin have been recognised in boreholes in weathered top of the Upnor Formation and the "Lower Mottled Beds", Suffolk and Essex. p= . I~» ~. "" I'>4m ~: ~ ~ - PTpnn31VNhnd---- ---—; -- --areeepner- =--"—aaeÃLapeLaoNeeahmnee: -lgm1dlh)+ernea ——-----ender ~eandandelapaTCanadaSahr~~~ aaem~~~Tea awe,a ~~~L ~m h =-— GROUND ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 2000 31 PAPER I!! /Flainfatt k volcanic ash !, ' Pondln9 and ! LB ~~ ~<~:::—::=i~etotI== = ~setwwltIOIR~QNNp OKIIPC&IOINItatf ~tan%::::iwe%4twer%naltoIae'la %ROWS Nake,~- =:::aaaelaIh Evaporation "LeeerlhelIIIalaa Nttttttt.~~karl Evaporation eaNg~:::—":nNL%0~~ ~otttttoaaoto" '3¹l7", tdati. town G I a ~lit+ extremely anisotropic as a consequence of the alignment of wood fibres. High
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