Evaluation of grain size distribution of Wadi As Suqah, Northeast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Wadi As Suqah, Makkah Governate, Western Saudi Arabia, has surficial sediments covering 300-422 square kilometers. The deposits may be used for any suitable construction material. Therefore, thirty-one samples of the Quaternary sands were collected from different locations along the study area to achieve this goal. The natural surficial grain sizes of Wadi As Suqah deposits in the Makkah region were assessed geotechnically, spatially, and mathematically. Rarely comprehensive exploration methodology, such as sieve analysis, 3D modeling, triangulation, and GIS, have been used to categorize the content percentage of grain sizes. Statistics and mathematics were also used to evaluate the correlations and assess the relationship between the fractions. This sophisticated approach is adapted for the first time on Wadi As Suqah, which concludes different results compared to previous studies. According to the unified soil classification system, gravel, sand, and fine had an average content of 85.1%, 11.7%, and 3.2%, respectively. Therefore, Wadi As Suqah, based on the fractions percentage, is categorized into four spatially sandy zones. At a coefficient of determination, R²=0.98, sand, and fine have a linear relationship. The major mathematical model is y=-1.02 x+100.5, in which y is the fine % content, and x is the sand % content. It can be merged with mineralogy for future studies to evaluate sediment from a geological engineering point of view.