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Introduction
Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of
human existence. The earliest practice of civil engineering may
have commenced between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia (Ancient Iraq) when humans started to abandon a
nomadic existence, creating a need for the construction of shelter.
Civil engineering is the application of physical and scientific
principles for solving the problems of society, and its history is
intricately linked to advances in understanding of physics and
mathematics throughout history. Because civil engineering is a wide
ranging profession, including several separate specialized subdisciplines, its history is linked to knowledge of structures, materials
science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environment,
mechanics and other fields.
Urban drainage, as one of the branch of civil engineering field, have
an important role in the world of construction. Designing the canal,
is one of works that been dealt by the water engineer.
Understanding the material related to the work of water engineer is
a must thing to do in order to improve the quality of the engineer
itself. World demand and construction technology surely increase
over time, by this understanding hopefully as a civil engineer could
able to provide a good service to the community.
II.
Methodology
This paper done by observing the article in the internet about Cat
Clay and Peat. General information about Cat Clay and Peat, and its
impact to civil engineering field are noted and presented in this
paper.
III.
Formation of Peat
Peat forms when plant material, usually in wet areas, is inhibited
from decaying fully by acidic and anaerobic conditions. It is
composed mainly of wetland vegetation: principally bog plants
including mosses, sedges and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat
can hold water, thereby slowly creating wetter conditions, and
allowing the area of wetland to expand. Peatland features can
include ponds, ridges, and raised bogs. For more information on this
process, refer to wetland in general and bog in particular.
Most modern peat bogs formed in high latitudes after the retreat of
the glaciers at the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago.
Peat usually accumulates slowly, at the rate of about a millimeter
per year. It is currently believed that the peat in the world's
peatlands has been forming for 360 million years and contains 550
Gt of carbon. Under the appropriate circumstances, peat could be
considered an early component in the formation of coal.
Peat Characteristic
Peat is soft and easily compressed. Under pressure, water in the
peat is forced out. Upon drying, peat can be used as fuel. It has
industrial importance as a fuel in some countries, such as Ireland
and Finland, where it is harvested on an industrial scale. In many
countries, including Ireland and Scotland, where trees are often
scarce, peat is traditionally used for cooking and domestic heating.
Stacks of drying peat dug from the bogs can still be seen in some
rural areas. Peat's insulating properties make it of use to industry.
Peat Drainage
Large areas of organic wetland (peat) soils are currently drained for
agriculture, forestry, and peat extraction. This process is taking
place all over the world. This not only destroys the habitat of many
species, but also heavily fuels climate change. As a result of peat
drainage, the organic carbonwhich was built up over thousands of
years and is normally under wateris suddenly exposed to the air. It
decomposes and turns into carbon dioxide (CO2), which is released
IV.
Refference
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/peat.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_sulfate_soil