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Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability in Geographic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2023) | Viewed by 10888

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Interests: marine geology and marine engineering; geotechnical engineering; hydraulic engineering

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Guest Editor
Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Interests: marine geotechnical engineering

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Interests: Marine engineering geology; Hydrogeology, engineering geology and environmental geology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ocean is rich in oil resources, biological resources, space resources and renewable energy resources, and is an important strategic space for human survival and economic development. In the process of the human development and utilization of marine resources, the complexity of marine geological conditions and marine dynamic conditions has caused a series of marine engineering, geological and environmental problems.

There are many types of marine engineering; the corresponding engineering geological conditions vary from place to place, and the problems involved in marine engineering geology are extensive and complex. On the one hand, marine dynamic conditions such as waves, ocean currents, and meteorology mean that the marine engineering is carried out in a very turbulent environment from installation to operation, and engineering construction sites must meet the requirements of structural stability and environmental safety. On the other hand, the high sensitivity, high thixotropy, high compressibility and low intensity of seabed sediments, combined with the influence of ocean dynamics, mean that marine engineering foundations bear a larger load than similar buildings on land. The environmental impact of marine engineering needs to be assessed.

The abundant space resources of the seabed to accommodate the storage of carbon dioxide have become a current focus of attention, but it is necessary to carry out research on topics such as the effect and safety of carbon dioxide storage, the potential of marine carbon sequestration, assessment techniques as well as the environmental and ecological after-effects of marine carbon sequestration.

Therefore, we have organized this Special Issue to discuss the latest research progress in marine engineering geology, including but not limited to various geological problems faced in the progress of various marine engineering projects, environmental problems, and how to evaluate the sustainable development of marine living resources and space resources.

The main topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Coastal engineering geology;
  • Engineering geological problems in the construction of marine ranching;
  • Carbon dioxide storage under the sea;
  • Subsea tunnels;
  • Marine geological survey;
  • Offshore wind power construction and related geological problems;
  • Marine environmental geological problems.

Prof. Dr. Chao Jia
Prof. Dr. Kai Yao
Dr. Shuai Shao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine engineering geology
  • marine geological survey
  • subsea tunnel
  • marine environmental geology
  • carbon dioxide storage
  • marine ranching
  • coastal zone geology
  • offshore wind power

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 8250 KiB  
Article
Cenozoic Sedimentary Characteristics of the East China Sea Shelf Basin and an Evaluation of the Suitability of Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide in the Saline Water Layer
by Jing Sun, Jianwen Chen, Changqing Yang, Jianqiang Wang, Yong Yuan, Ke Cao and Yuting Zhao
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8085; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108085 - 16 May 2023
Viewed by 1055
Abstract
Carbon sequestration in the sea area, with the advantages of high storage potential, high safety, low environmental impact, and a long storage period, serves as an important way to achieve the goals of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”. The East China Sea Shelf [...] Read more.
Carbon sequestration in the sea area, with the advantages of high storage potential, high safety, low environmental impact, and a long storage period, serves as an important way to achieve the goals of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”. The East China Sea Shelf Basin has a large area, and the target layer of carbon storage has a large thickness and wide distribution. Due to the high tectonic stability of the basin and the absence of earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher, the basin is a subcooled–subthermal basin in terms of geothermal field characteristics. In addition, the basin has a high degree of oil and gas exploration and development, some of the reservoirs are in production depletion, the oil and gas transmission pipeline network is well developed, and the development engineering data are informative. Therefore, it enjoys the characteristics of shallow seawater depth; being close to the surrounding industrial areas; and having a short transmission distance, large effective space, and mature engineering conditions. Among the oil-and-gas-bearing basins in China’s waters, the suitability of carbon dioxide (CO2) geological storage in the saline water layer of the East China Sea Shelf Basin is highly suitable. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to comprehensively evaluate the suitability of CO2 geological storage in the saline water layer of each tectonic unit in the basin, and it is concluded that Taipei Depression and Zhedong Depression are highly suitable zones, Changjiang Depression and Haijiao Uplift are moderately suitable zones, and Yushan East Uplift, Hupijiao Uplift, and Pengjiayu Depression are generally suitable zones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology)
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21 pages, 18471 KiB  
Article
Research on Geological Safety Evaluation Index Systems and Methods for Assessing Underground Space in Coastal Bedrock Cities Based on a Back-Propagation Neural Network Comprehensive Evaluation–Analytic Hierarchy Process (BPCE-AHP)
by Yuting Zhao, Honghua Liu, Wanlong Qu, Pengyu Luan and Jing Sun
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8055; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108055 - 15 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 944
Abstract
With the rapid development of the economy in China, the scale and quantity of urban underground space development continue to grow rapidly; as such, geological safety problems in urban underground space development and utilization are a research hotspot at present. Therefore, it is [...] Read more.
With the rapid development of the economy in China, the scale and quantity of urban underground space development continue to grow rapidly; as such, geological safety problems in urban underground space development and utilization are a research hotspot at present. Therefore, it is important to establish a high-quality evaluation index system and method for assessing the geological safety of urban underground spaces in coastal bedrock. Taking the typical area of Qingdao as an example, this study establishes an effective system for evaluating the geological safety of urban underground space according to the geological background, hydrogeology, engineering geology, and unfavorable geological phenomena in the Hongdao Economic Zone of Qingdao. Then, the method of evaluating the geological safety of urban underground space was studied. Through a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation–analytic hierarchy process (FCE-AHP), the grey relation comprehensive evaluation–analytic hierarchy process (GRCE-AHP), the matter-element comprehensive evaluation–analytic hierarchy process (MECE-AHP), and the back-propagation neural network comprehensive evaluation–analytic hierarchy process (BPCE-AHP), it was determined that the back-propagation neural network comprehensive evaluation–analytic hierarchy process (BPCE-AHP) was an ideal method for evaluating the geological safety of underground space in Qingdao’s coastal bedrock area. This method was used to evaluate the geological safety of the study area, and the evaluation results were verified; this further proved the practicability and rationality of the back-propagation neural network comprehensive evaluation–analytic hierarchy process (BPCE-AHP). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology)
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15 pages, 21476 KiB  
Article
Undrained Shear Properties of Shallow Clayey-Silty Sediments in the Shenhu Area of South China Sea
by Ruchun Wei, Lele Liu, Chao Jia, Hualin Zhao, Xiao Dong, Qingtao Bu, Changling Liu and Nengyou Wu
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1175; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021175 - 8 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1442
Abstract
Suction piles are used to ensure wellhead stability during natural gas hydrate production in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea (SCS). Undrained shear properties of clayey-silty sediments play a critical role in the stability analysis of suction piles. However, it has [...] Read more.
Suction piles are used to ensure wellhead stability during natural gas hydrate production in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea (SCS). Undrained shear properties of clayey-silty sediments play a critical role in the stability analysis of suction piles. However, it has not been fully studied. This study conducts a series of undrained triaxial shear tests on shallow clayey-silty sediments in the Shenhu area of SCS, and stress–strain curves under different overconsolidation ratio (OCR) conditions are obtained. OCR effects on undrained shear properties of clayey-silty sediments are discussed, and a model to predict the pore pressure coefficient at failure is proposed. Results show that the isotropic compression index is 0.175, and the isotropic swelling index is 0.029. The undrained shear strength is proportional to the effective confining pressure, and the proportionality coefficient is 0.42 for normally consolidated specimens, while the undrained shear strength of OC specimens nonlinearly increases with OCRs increasing. The proposed model aptly predicts the pore pressure coefficient at the failure of clayey-silty sediments of SCS with different OCRs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology)
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16 pages, 1795 KiB  
Article
Equations for Calculating the Foundation Settlement of Zhanjiang Formation Gray Clay Considering the Influence of Multiple Factors
by Bin Tang, Yuhao Song and Xia Yin
Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13323; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013323 - 17 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 971
Abstract
The Zhanjiang Formation gray clay has physical properties similar to the muddy clay of other areas, such as a large void ratio and high-water content. At the same time, it also has mechanical properties that differ from muddy clay in other areas, such [...] Read more.
The Zhanjiang Formation gray clay has physical properties similar to the muddy clay of other areas, such as a large void ratio and high-water content. At the same time, it also has mechanical properties that differ from muddy clay in other areas, such as high strength and low compressibility. When calculating the foundation settlement, the equation that calculates the foundation settlement as suggested by the code tends to produce values of compression modulus that are too small, which leads to larger calculated values. This study investigated the relationship between the pressure and deformation of Zhanjiang Formation gray clay foundations with different densities, water content, and stress histories by means of a plate loading model test. It revealed the influence of these factors on the deformation modulus, and the quantitative relationship between this modulus and the density of soils, water content, and the over consolidation ratio was established. In doing so, the aforementioned quantitative relationship was applied to the equation which calculated the foundation settlement as suggested by the current code, thereby proposing a pertinent formula relevant to Zhanjiang Formation gray clay foundations. The formula was subsequently applied to two engineering examples, and the settlement amounts output were in agreement with actual measured values, indicating it is reasonable and feasible for practical application. Therefore, it can provide a reference for the calculation of foundation settlements across the coastal area of Beibu Gulf. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology)
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17 pages, 2188 KiB  
Article
Duncan–Chang E-υ Model Considering the Thixotropy of Clay in the Zhanjiang Formation
by Bin Tang, Tianli Liu and Biaohe Zhou
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12258; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912258 - 27 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1215
Abstract
The clays of the Zhanjiang Formation in the coastal area of Beibu Gulf of China are thixotropic, and the existing constitutive relationship models relevant for clay are incapable of accurately simulating their stress–strain relationships. It is vital to study the changes of mechanical [...] Read more.
The clays of the Zhanjiang Formation in the coastal area of Beibu Gulf of China are thixotropic, and the existing constitutive relationship models relevant for clay are incapable of accurately simulating their stress–strain relationships. It is vital to study the changes of mechanical properties of Zhanjiang Formation clay that occur during thixotropy, and to establish a constitutive model considering thixotropy. The varying measures of its shear strength, cohesion, internal friction angle, and initial tangential modulus during thixotropy were investigated by means of triaxial consolidation and drainage tests. Furthermore, the quantitative relationships between the clay’s cohesion, internal friction angle, and initial tangential modulus of the clay and time were examined. This relationship was introduced into the Duncan–Chang model, and a Duncan–Chang model considering the thixotropy of clay was developed. The established model was used to make predictions to assume the validation of the experimental data, and numerical simulations were then carried out. All of the results from the model’s prediction, numerical simulation and experimental measurements were compared against each other in order to verify the reasonableness of the model we had utilized. The results positively demonstrated that: (1) the shear strength, cohesion, angle of internal friction, and initial tangent modulus of the clay gradually increases with longer curing times, and eventually it will stabilize; and (2) compared with the Duncan–Chang model not considering thixotropy, the established thixotropic model is better able to reflect the influence of clay thixotropy on the clay stress–strain relationship, as its mean relative error is smaller. The results of this study provide references for calculating strength and deformation of the clay thixotropy. Further, it also provides references for bearing load calculations of pile foundations in thixotropic clay strata when subjected to long-term loading conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology)
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9 pages, 3178 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Shear Strength Characteristics of Lightweight Sand-EPS Soil
by Liping Zhu, Kejun Wen, Ruiming Tong and Mingdong Li
Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7397; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127397 - 16 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1477
Abstract
Lightweight sand–EPS soil (LSES) is regarded as a kind of sustainable geomaterial for providing a way to reutilize fast-growing waste expanded polystyrene (EPS) packages. It is usually applied in marine geotechnical engineering to solve the excessive settling of soft ground or bumps at [...] Read more.
Lightweight sand–EPS soil (LSES) is regarded as a kind of sustainable geomaterial for providing a way to reutilize fast-growing waste expanded polystyrene (EPS) packages. It is usually applied in marine geotechnical engineering to solve the excessive settling of soft ground or bumps at bridge heads due to its merits such as low density, high strength, and adjustability. Aiming to investigate the dynamic shear strength of LSES made from marine sand, a series of laboratory dynamic triaxial experiments was conducted on LSES with different proportions and control sand (CS). The influences of cement content, EPS bead content, and confining pressure on dynamic shear strength were analyzed, as were comparisons with the material sand. It was found that the dynamic strength of LSES increased with the increase in cement content and confining pressure. The bonding function of cement hydration products contributed to the dynamic strength of LSES; however, the work required a certain content of cement. The dynamic strength of LSES decreased with the increase in EPS bead content due to the low particle strength and smooth surface of EPS beads. The cyclic number of failure (Nf) of both LSES and CS decreased linearly with the increase in dynamic shear stress in semilogarithmic coordinates. Both the slopes and the intercepts increased with the increase in cement content and confining pressure. However, they decreased with the increase in EPS bead content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology)
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Review

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23 pages, 5453 KiB  
Review
Review on the Test Methods and Devices for Mechanical Properties of Hydrate-Bearing Sediments
by Mingtao Chen, Yanlong Li, Şükrü Merey, Nengyou Wu, Qiaobo Hu, Yajuan Zhang, Lin Dong, Guigang Yu and Haiyang Jiang
Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6239; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106239 - 20 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1919
Abstract
Commercial exploitation of marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) is crucial for energy decarbonization. However, hydrate production would weaken reservoir mechanical properties and trigger geohazards. Experimental instruments are the basis to obtain the mechanical responses of hydrate-bearing sediments (HBS). Considering the reservoir deformation processes [...] Read more.
Commercial exploitation of marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) is crucial for energy decarbonization. However, hydrate production would weaken reservoir mechanical properties and trigger geohazards. Experimental instruments are the basis to obtain the mechanical responses of hydrate-bearing sediments (HBS). Considering the reservoir deformation processes from elastic deformation to residual deformation during hydrate exploitation, this study comprehensively reviewed the feasibility and mechanical research progress of the bender element, resonance column, atomic force microscope, triaxial shear, direct shear, ring shear, and static penetration in mechanical testing. Each test method’s precision and sample size were comprehensively compared and analyzed. Finally, the limitations and challenges of the current mechanical testing methods for HBS were discussed, and their future development directions were proposed. The proposed development direction in mechanical testing methods is expected to provide insightful guidance for the development of instruments and improve the understanding of the mechanical behavior of HBS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Marine Engineering Geology)
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