Sabkha Soil in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Characteristics and treatment

Sabkha soil is found along the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea coasts of Saudi Arabia and in small areas inside the Kingdom. It exists at many locations of the coastal plains of the Eastern Province and along the western shores at Jizan, Jeddah, Obhor and AI-Lith. Sabkha soil is also reported to exist in Wadi As Sirhan in the north and in small areas in AI-Qassim region and the Empty Quarter. The distinguishing features of sabkha soil are the presence of shallow and highly concentrated brines and the variability of its geotechnical characteristics in both the horizontal and vertical directions. These features cause several engineering problems in roads and buildings constructed on the sabkha. There are primarily two types of sabkha soils: coastal and continental. Coastal sabkhas exist in Eastern Province along the Arabian Gulf and. in the western shores along the Red Sea. Continental sabkhas are formed inside the land away from the sea and found in Wadi As Sirhan in the north and in small areas in AI-Qassim region and the Empty Quarter. This paper presents a brief description of sabkha soil, its occurrence around the world, its types as well as the main factors affecting it. It also presents the distribution of sabkha soil in Saudi Arabia and the geotechnical and chemical characteristics of sabkha soil in the Eastern Province and in Jizan, Jeddah, Obhor as well as AI-Lith in the western regions. The paper is concluded by mentioning several techniques for treating sabkha soil and presents the results of some of these techniques which were used to treat sabkha soil in some regions.