A method for the collection of soil monoliths from stony and gravelly soils

Monolith collection of soils with large amounts of coarse fragments, or of wet soils, pose specific problems which are directly related to their lack of physical stability. The purpose of this paper is to outline a procedure for soil monolith collection which is highly appropriate for these cases. A permanent backing is prepared on site with gypsum plaster before detaching the profile from the soil face. The soil is initially stabilized with an a queous suspension of vinyl latex. A permanent backing is prepared on site b y casting a gypsum plaster slurry between the soil section and a backing bo ard. This will fill all voids and anchor the coarse fragments protruding fr om the soil exposure. Once the plaster has set, the soil monolith can be sa fely dug out and transported. Little finishing is needed afterwards in the laboratory. The procedure has been successfully demonstrated in a variety o f soils in Spain. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.