Characterization of geotechnical spatial variability in river embankments from spatially adjacent SCPT

Characterization of the spatial variability of geotechnical properties of river embankment soils is important for the enhanced modelling and assessment of embankment stability. In practice, available data is usually limited. This study presents the results of a quantitative statistical analysis of the spatial variability of cone tip re-sistance from the results of 16 closely spaced SCPT carried out near a recent breach in a levee on the Panaro river in northern Italy. Two geotechnical homogeneous soil units are preliminary identified in the levee to en-sure the meaningfulness of the analysis in terms of soil type. For each unit, the horizontal and vertical spatial variability and spatial correlation structures of cone tip resistance are investigated by a two-step procedure in-volving the calculation of empirical semivariograms and the subsequent fitting of semivariogram models. Hor-izontal and vertical scales of fluctuation are estimated based on fitted semivariogram model parameters.