OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAYS FROM THE ISRAELI MEDITERRANEAN COAST AND INNERSHORE

The consolidation properties of clay samples from sites on the inner s helf and Mediterranean coast of Israel (Acre, Haifa, Hadera, Ashdod an d Ashkelon) are examined. The majority of the samples are overconsolid ated. The variation of preconsolidation pressure with depth indicates overconsolidation by desiccation as a result of a climate consistent w ith periodic drying. The majority of the samples are from the upper pa rt of the Quaternary profile, which consists of alternating sandy and clayey sediments. The profile, geological setting and consolidation ch aracteristics of each site are described. The sediments investigated a re of Late Pleistocene-Holocene age and belong to the penultimate and ultimate stage of the eustatically controlled Quaternary cycles. Most samples of heavily preconsolidated clays belong to the lower clayey un it, whereas the samples from the upper clayey unit are mostly overcons olidated only above and around the present water level. Preconsolidati on is associated with desiccation at various stages during the Late Pl eistocene-Holocene.