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1.1 This practice presents a procedure for the description of frozen soils based on visual examination and simple manual tests.

1.2 It is intended to be used in conjunction with Test Method D2487 and Practice D2488, which describe and classify soils, but do not cover their frozen state.

1.3 This procedure is based on “Guide to Field Description of Permafrost for Engineering Purposes,” National Research Council of Canada, 1963, and MIL-STD-619.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.5 This practice offers a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this practice may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.

4.1 This practice is intended primarily for use by geotechnical engineers and technicians and geologists in the field, where the soil profile or samples from it may be observed in a relatively undisturbed (frozen) state.

4.2 It may also be used in the laboratory to describe the condition of relatively undisturbed soil samples that have been maintained in a frozen condition following their acquisition in the field.

4.3 The practice is not intended to be used in describing unfrozen soils or disturbed samples of frozen soil.