1887
Volume 17 Number 3
  • E-ISSN: 1365-2478

Abstract

A

Laboratory measurements, and a few observations, show that saturated marine sediments have interdependent mechanical and acoustical properties, Acoustically, of particular importance are the acoustic impedance, velocity of sound and the sound attenuation coefficient of the sediment. The first two properties can be measured relatively easily from a surface ship; the measurement of attenuation however, is more problematical. It is suggested that this can be achieved by a quantitative treatment of the acoustic data collected during routine sub‐bottom profiling over a variable thickness of superficial sediments. In the assessment of four different sediment locations in the Irish Sea it was found that quantitative treatment of the acoustic signals yielded both a value of the attenuation coefficient as well as a measure of the frequency dependence of the attenuation. In addition a statistical analysis of the signal intensities seems to provide an indication of the relative roughness of the bottom and sub‐bottom interfaces. From the wide range of information provided the mechanical properties of the sea‐floor sediment may be estimated.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1111/j.1365-2478.1969.tb02084.x
2006-04-27
2024-04-26
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Becken, B. A.1964. Sonar. In Advances in Hydroscience ( Chow ) 1, pp. 1–93, London :Academic Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Blundell, D. J., King, R. F. and Wilson, C. D. V.1964: Seismic investigations of the rocks beneath the northern part of Cardigan Bay, Wales. Quart. J. Geol. Soc. London 120, pp. 35–50.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Breslau, L.1965. Classification of sea‐floor sediments with a ship‐borne acoustical system. Symp ‘Le Pétrole et la Mer’ Monaco132, p. 11.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Buchan, S., Dewes, F., McCann, D. M., and Taylor Smith, D.1967. Measurements of the acoustic and geotechnical properties of marine sediment cores. In Marine Geotechnique ( Richards ) pp. 65–92 Urbana : University of Illinois Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Caston, V. N. D.1966. Ph. D. Thesis: University of Wales (Unpublished).
  6. Caulfield, D.1962. Predicting sonic pulse shapes of underwater spark discharges. Deep-Sea Res. 9 pp. 339–348.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Chesterman, W. D., St. Quinton, J. M. P., Chan, Y., and Matthews, H. R.1967. Acoustic surveys of the sea floor near Hong Kong. Int. Hydro. Rev. 44, 1, pp. 35–54.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Cole, B. F.1965. Marine Sediment attenuation and ocean‐bottom reflected sound. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 37 pp. 291–297.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Hamilton, E. L., Shumway, G., Menard, H. W., and Shipek, C. L.1956. Acoustic and other physical properties of shallow water sediments off San Diego. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 28 pp. 1–15.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Horn, D. R., Horn, B. M. and Delach, M. N.1968. Correlation between acoustical and other physical properties of deep‐sea cores. Jour. Geophys. Res. 73 pp. 1939–1957.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Jones, A. G.1968. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Wales (Unpublished).
  12. Li, W. N. and Maranzana, F.1968. Some experiments on the electro‐mechanical properties of under‐sea spark discharges, (in preparation).
  13. Li, W. N. and Taylor Smith, D.1966. Identification of sea bottom sediments by a ship underway. Geophys. Prosp. 14 pp. 45–47.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Li, W. N. and Taylor Smith, D.1966. A simple synchronisation method for reproducing tape‐recorded profiles. Int. Hydro. Rev. 43 pp. 27–31.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. McCann, C.1966. Theory of propagation of compressional waves in marine sediments. Mar. Sci. Lab. Geol. Rep. No. 66–5 (Unpublished).
    [Google Scholar]
  16. McCann, C.1968. Ph. D. Thesis: University of Wales (Unpublished).
  17. Nolle, A. W., Hoyer, W. A., Mifsud, J. F., Runyan, W. R. and Ward, M. B.1963. Acoustical properties of water‐filled sand. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 35 pp. 1394–1408.
  18. Shumway, G.1960. Sound speed and absorption studies of marine sediments by a resonance method. (Parts I and II) Geophysics25 pp. 451–467; pp. 659–682.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Taylor Smith, D. and Li, W. N.1966. Echo‐sounding and sea‐floor sediments. Mar. Geol. 4 pp. 343–364.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Taylor Smith, D.1967. In Discussion of “Review of acoustic equipment for studying submarine sediments. Trans. I.M.M. (Sect. B: Appl. Earth Sci.)76, p. 78.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Taylor Smith, D.1968. Physics and sea‐floor minerals. Contemp. Phys. 9. pp. 565–585.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Wood, A. B. and Weston, D. E.1964. Propagation of sound in mud. Acustica14 pp. 156–162.
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1111/j.1365-2478.1969.tb02084.x
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error