Characteristics of Engineering Geological Environment at Lingdingyang Estuary of Pearl River Mouth, South China Sea

The Lingdingyang Estuary is one of the most important estuaries in the Southern China. With the regional rapid industrialization and urbanization, the engineering geological environment at Lingdingyang Estuary has attracted growing attention. Total of 250 samples and about 1,420 km of high resolution seismic profiles were collected by the Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey (GMGS) in 2004 and 2005. First, the characteristics of engineering geological environment at Lingdingyang Estuary were studied regarding three aspects, including topography and morphology, shallow geology, the submarine soil types and its physical-mechanical properties. The characteristics of the topography and morphology, and the shallow geology in the Lingdingyang Estuary were studied based on the high resolution seismic profiles, whereas the sediments were used to derive the physical-mechanical properties of soil. Second, the soil stability and engineering geological areas are discussed. Finally, it is suggested that the study area can be divided into 2 regions: area I and area II. Area I can be further divided into 3 subdivisions: subarea I-1, subarea I-2 and subarea I-3.