Ground invetigation in South Florida and Hong Kong - Dissertation Example

This research is the best example of comparison between the two processes of ground investigations in the two countries Hong Kong and the South Florida state in USA. It shows that majority of ground investigation procedures in Hong Kong are involved with minerals and rocks contained on the subsurface. In Florida the process involves looking at the density and structures of soil types; this is to establish permeability to erosion. Geotechnical problems are similar with large parts having the same type of deposit.

For example, the droughts occurring in the South Florida during the summers of 1947 and 1976 led to frequent observations of structural distress in houses founded on fatty clays such as the Clearly, when small structures are to be placed on such soils, their foundations will almost certainly need to go to greater depths this is dictated solely by the strength of the soil. This kind of problem is not the solitary example of its kind; Hong Kong clay regularly contains excessive amounts of soluble sulphates, this necessitates the use of sulphate battling cement.

Additional instance chalk and limestone outcrops frequently contain filled dissolution features which may become unbalanced and collapse if erected upon. Another collection of problems that may be perceived from the geological map relays to the mixture of geological and topographical features. Cambering, valley protruding, gulls and dip/fault schedules are often connected to the margins of valleys wherever hard rock overlie clay. Gulls take the method of splits, often successively parallel to the deepest valley. . There are three geographical areas: Atlantic coastal plain, Florida uplands and the East Gulf coastal plain, these make the geographical land areas of the Floridian landscape.

They are structured as follows: The Atlantic coastal plain contains a landscape which is low; it also contains strips of sand bars, barrier islands and a number of coral reefs. Majority of lands are saturated with water during the rainy seasons. The east gulf coastal plan is land containing a barrier island and swamplands covering nearly the entire land. In the Florida uplands, the land is characterized by low rolling hills with red clay types of soils. Forests are majorly located in the upper South Floridian areas where water bodies are dominant.

Geographical Features of Hong Kong Hong Kong is a country located in East Asia; with land approximately 1054 km3 and 500 m2 islands. The geographical areas of Hong Kong contain 3 main features which include: Hong Kong Island, New territories and the Kowloon peninsula. The land scape of the country is graded as fairly hilly, with other places having mountainous hilly steep slopes. With a territory of about 1092 square kilometers, only 25% of this is developed the others are localities for parks and other reserves.

The soil in Hong Kong has a number of mineral deposits, with igneous activities primary responsible for this. Faulting has also been discovered as the other cause of mineral concentrations, this is as a result of hydro-thermal activity. The land use consists of 5% arable land, 1.01% permanent crops like forests and 93.94% being land for other uses. The countries lowest point is the South China Sea, while the highest point is the Tai Mo Shan (Rahman & Mushtoque, 2006, pp. 50). Another factor that influences soil