Engineering properties of Hazar Lake (Elazig) sediments

In this study, engineering properties of sediments of Hazar Lake were investigated. For this purpose, a plenty of sediment cores were collected that are located on the studied high-resolution seismic profiles. Geomechanical tests were carried out in Laboratory in Geology Engineering Department. Unit weight, water content, porosity, void ratio, specific gravity, liqiud limit, plastic limit, cohesion and internal friction angle of collected samples were determined. According to results of laboratory tests, soil categories of samples are High Plasticity Silt (MH) and Non-Plastic Silt. The average saturated unit weight of High Plasticity Silts is 1,4 gr/cm3, dry unit weight is 0,63 gr/cm3, water content is 129,84 %, void ratio is 324,90 %, porosity is 75,06 % and specific gravity is 2,56. The average saturated unit weight of Non-Plastic Silts is 1,84 gr/cm3, dry unit weight is 1,39 gr/cm3, water content is 33,72 %, void ratio is 100,28 %, porosity is 49,65 % and spesific gravity is 2,75. Cohesion values of Non-Plastic Silts vary 0,027 - 0,16 kg/cm2, while cohesion values of High Plasticity Silts vary between 0,015-0,26 kg/cm2. Value of the average internal friction angles of High Plasticity Silts is 3,63o, the average internal friction angles of Non-Plastic is 14,5o. Unit weigth values of both soil categories increase, while porosity and void ratio values decrease with depth. Reasons for these changes are hydrostatic pressure at sampling depth and thickness of the soil. Submarine landslides were determined by seismic profiles in north shelf of Hazar Lake. The landslides can be categorized as slump, that were re-occupied on the lake floor during Holocene. However, detailed studies and numerical modeling studies are required in order to determine the mechanism of these landslides. Key Words: Hazar lake, Property of engineering, submarine landslides