VOLUME 51 (2)/August 2022

The construction of a compacted and stabilized layer with local soil from the excavation, mixed with Portland cement, is a soil improvement technique widely applied in foundation works in collapsible loess ground in Bulgaria. Commonly, the role of that cement-modified layer is to replace a part of the collapsible ground, to increase the bearing capacity of the soil base, and/or to be an engineering barrier against migration of harmful substances in the geoenvironment.
   A multi-barrier near-surface short-lived low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste repository is under construction in Bulgaria. A cement-modified soil layer beneath the disposal cells is going to be built by in-situ compacted mixture of local loess and Portland cement. The cement-modified layer (indicated as loess-cement
cushion) is not a continuation of the foundation, but it is a part of the soil base and performs two main functions: to be an engineering barrier against eventual migration of radionuclides in the geoenvironment and to increase the bearing capacity to restrict deferential settlement of the soil base.
The present paper describes a field experiment aiming to verify the strength and deformation characteristics of a selected optimum loess–cement mixture by implementation of in-situ cement-modified loess ground. After 28-day curing at in-situ conditions, the loess-cement did not exhibit any fissuring or other disturbances.
   The allowable bearing capacity qa of the cement-modified loess ground exceeded 900 kN/m2, and it possessed the following strength and deformation characteristics: deformation (plate) modulus E_PLT = 500 MPa; coefficient of sub-grade reaction k_s = 2158 МPa/m, and unconfined compressive strength q_u = 2.00 MPa.

Forty-four selected organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst species have been used for biozonation of the Bathonian, Callovian, and the Upper Jurassic in North Bulgaria. The dinocysts were collected from 49 borehole sections and two exposures. The following dinocyst zones are herein introduced and described: Lithodinium valensii–Gongylodinium erymnoteichos Concurrent-range Zone (lower–middle Bathonian); Ellipsoidictyon reticulatum Assemblage Zone (upper Bathonian–lower Callovian); Dingodinium harsveldtii Taxon-range Zone (middle–upper Callovian); Lambodinium absidatum Assemblage Zone (lower Oxfordian); Scriniodinium dictyotum papillatum–Caddasphaera halosa Concurrent-range Zone (middle–upper Oxfordian); Rhyncodiniopsis gongylos Assemblage Zone (lower Kimmeridgian); Systematophora varispinosa–Gonyaulacysta? crassicornuta Concurrent-range Zone (middle–upper Kimmeridgian); Edmontodinium polyplacophorum Assemblage Zone (lower Tithonian); and Leptodinium? plagatum–Prolixosphaeridium perforospineum Concurrent-range Zone (middle–upper Tithonian). Some of the zones were partly or completely subdivided in subzones. The dinocyst zones and subzones were correlated with the Bulgarian ammonite and calpionellid zones and subzones.

Graphitization degrees and temperatures of the regional metamorphism in the Central and Eastern Rhododpes have been determined by the values of the structural parameter d₀₀₂ (Å) of graphite in graphite-bearing marbles and shists, from Vacha and Madan-Erma Reka areas (Madan lithotectonic unit), Ardino–Nedelino area (Startsevo lithotectonic unit), and Chernichevo–Boturche area (Byala Reka lithotectonic unit). Equations of different authors, formulated between 1951 and 2021, were used. They are integrated in one system, allowing a conversion of the results and deriving new quantitative correlations between the temperature of metamorphism, the structural parameter d₀₀₂ (Å) and the degree of crystallinity order of semi-graphite and graphite. The comparison of the data allows the creation of a new scheme, GD_(0–30), based on the values of the parameter d₀₀₂ (Å) of the natural carbon matter. The validity range of this geothermometer is large, from 84 °C to 804 °C (from zeolite to granulite facies of the regional metamorphism). The temperature peak of metamorphism in the studied areas is 660 °C (i.e., the upper limit of the amphibolite facies), and the lowest temperature is 468 °C, which is characteristic for the lower part of the greenschist facies P-T field. The temperature range and graphitization degrees of the regressive metamorphism in the Central and Eastern Rhodopes are: 660 °C (GD_(0–30) = 24, well-crystallized graphite); 588 °C (GD_(0–30) = 21, graphite); 564 °C (GD_(0–30) = 20, graphite); 516 °C (GD_(0–30) = 18, graphite); 492 °C (GD_(0–30) = 17, graphite); and 468 °C (GD_(0–30) = 16, graphite). The calculated temperatures of metamorphism in the Central and Eastern Rhodopes, by equations of all authors, correspond to the conditions of metamorphism established by other methods without using of the structural parameter d₀₀₂ (Å) of the graphite. The GD(0–30) system for determination of graphitization degree of the natural carbon is simple, informative and functional. It is more convenient than earlier schemes showing correlation: metamorphic temperature − d₀₀₂ (Å) − graphitization degree. In addition to the influence of the temperature, the values of the degrees of graphitization also include the effect of all secondary factors on the graphitization processes.