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Microfabric and Physical Properties Characteristics of a Consolidated Clay Section: ODP Site 697, Weddell Sea

  • Chapter
Microstructure of Fine-Grained Sediments

Part of the book series: Frontiers in Sedimentary Geology ((SEDIMENTARY))

Abstract

The consolidation of sediment is the main cause of porosity reduction with depth in the upper 1000 m of the marine sediment column and the process is mostly mechanical: the weight of the overlying sediment drives the rearrangement of the individual particles and groups of sedimentary particles and domains. The mechanics of particle reorientation may be understood best through an examination and study of the sediment microfabric. A clay-rich sediment section 318 m thick, recovered during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 113 from the South Orkney Continental Margin, Site 697 in the Weddell Sea (Fig. 7.1) was examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy of sediment stubs and ultrathin sections. Reorientation of randomly arranged particles of this fine-grained, high porosity (70–75%) sediment occurs very gradually: porosity decreases to only about 50% at a depth of 318 m, because of the very fine-grained nature of the sediment and the presence of extremely fine-grained smectite, which imparts a very low permeability even at porosities of 50%.

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Authors
  1. William R. Bryant
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  2. Richard H. Bennett
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  3. Patti J. Burkett
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  4. F. R. Rack
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Seafloor Geosciences Division, Naval Ocean Research and Development Activity, 39529-5004, Stennis Space Center, MS, USA

    Richard H. Bennett

  2. Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, 77843, College Station, TX, USA

    William R. Bryant

  3. IMC/Pitman-Moore, Inc., 47808, Terre Haute, IN, USA

    Matthew H. Hulbert

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© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Bryant, W.R., Bennett, R.H., Burkett, P.J., Rack, F.R. (1991). Microfabric and Physical Properties Characteristics of a Consolidated Clay Section: ODP Site 697, Weddell Sea. In: Bennett, R.H., et al. Microstructure of Fine-Grained Sediments. Frontiers in Sedimentary Geology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4428-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4428-8_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8766-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-4428-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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