Some engineering geological effects of drought: examples from the UK.

Most countries experience periodic dry spells/droughts and climatologists predict these may become more severe and of longer duration in the future. Whilst ground movement associated with shrink/swell is well known, other implications of changes in the general climatic conditions are less often considered by the construction industry. Having discussed the effect of shrink/swell in open field and wooded areas, the pressures involved in re-hydration, the significance of desiccation cracks for slope stability and the influence of dry and moist periods on road construction, the paper highlights how a change in ground water level and/or temperature can induce the development of ground sulphates and cause irreversible heave in lime-stabilised ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]