Variations in the mass physical properties of selected submarine sediments

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the mass physical properties of submarine sediments. This interest has been developed by the sedimentologist who, borrowing techniques from the field of soil mechanics, has adapted a new approach to some of his problems. Although only about one thousand sediment cores have been collected from the ocean basins and examined for their mass physical properties (water content, cohesion, density, porosity, Atterberg limits and sensitivity) they afford some insight into the range of variations that can be expected in the upper few meters of sea-floor deposits. Since extreme values are frequently more significant than the averages, the maximum and minimum values of selected mass properties, as well as average values, have been compiled for the North Atlantic and North Pacific basins. When these values were compared with similar data from Chesapeake Bay, Tokyo Bay, and Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho, it was found that although the ocean basin deposits exhibit greater extremes, these particular bay and lake sediments possess higher overall values. Comparison of the ocean basin data with their associated sedimentary deposits revealed some characteristic parameters for each of the three types of deposits considered (carbonates, terrigenous, and “red clay”). Some correlations are possible between the various mass properties and the sediment type or depositional area. However, it is not yet possible to classify with confidence, either an area or a submarine deposit by any of these parameters.