Overconsolidated clays from the Israeli Mediterranean coast and inner shore

The consolidated properties of clay samples from sites on the inner shelf and Mediterranean coast of Israel (Acre, Haifa, Hadera, Ashdod and Ashkelon) are examined. The majority of the samples are overconsolidated. The variation of preconsolidation pressure with depth indicates overconsolidation by desiccation as a result of a climate consistent with periodic drying. jority of the samples are from the upper part of the Quaternary profile, which consists of alternating sandy and clayey sediments. The profile, geological setting and consolidation characteristics of each site are described. The sediments investigated are 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 unit, whereas the samples from the upper clayey unit are mostly overconsolidated only above and around the present water level. Preconsolidation is associated with desiccation at various stages during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene.