Laboratory Testing Results: Material strength and hydraulic properties for specimens collected from coastal bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington

This data release includes the detailed results from laboratory testing of colluvium and landslide deposit specimens collected from coastal bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington. The specimens were collected as part of a larger effort to characterize the potential for shallow landslide initiation along the Puget Sound Railway corridor between the cities of Everett and Seattle. The details of the specimen collection and research objectives of the study are provided in: “Assessing Landslide Potential on Coastal Bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington—Geologic Site Characterization for Hydrologic Monitoring” (doi:10.3133/ofr20161082). Laboratory experiments includes test to estimate the following properties: specific gravity, porosity, bulk and grain densities, grain-size distributions, in situ volumetric water content, liquid and plastic limits, saturated hydraulic conductivity, water-retention and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity relations, and soil strength properties. The testing of the specimens was performed by Cooper Testing Labs Inc. in Palo Alto, California, and by York Lewis at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. The following citations relate to this data release. Mirus, B.B., Smith, J.B., Stark, Benjamin, Lewis, York, Michel, Abigail, and Baum, R.L., 2016, Assessing landslide potential on coastal bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington—Geologic site characterization for hydrologic monitoring: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016–1082, 28 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161082. van Genuchten, MTh., 1980. A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils: Soil Science Society America Journal, vol. 44, p. 892-898. Wayllace, A., and Lu, N., 2012, A transient water release and imbibitions method for rapidly measuring wetting and drying soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions: Geotechnical Testing Journal, vol. 35, doi: 10.1520/GTJ103596.

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