Acoustic backscatter and sediment textural properties of inner shelf sands,northeastern Gulf of Mexico

The relationship between spatial variations of the properties of sea-floor sediments and acoustic backscatter from the surface of the sea floor on the continental shelf off of Panama City, Florida, USA, is investigated using surficial sediment grab samples and digital side-scan sonar data. Acoustic backscatter strength has a high, direct correlation with the mean grain size of the sediments. Acoustic backscatter strength also correlates directly with the carbonate content of the sediments, particularly in medium-and coarse-sand facies, because large, irregularly shaped, carbonate particles affect both the mean grain size of the sediments and the roughness of the surface of the sea floor.     

Stratigraphy of washover deposits in Florida: implications for recognition in the stratigraphic record

Twelve washover deposits were cored on the west-central Gulf Coast of Florida to provide data to permit development of a model to help identify washover facies in the stratigraphic record. Typical modern washover stratigraphy displays landward-dipping plane beds comprised of well-sorted sand with distinct laminae of shells and heavy minerals. Five subfacies are delineated which show variations in composition, texture, and bioturbation throughout the washover facies. These subfacies represent differences in flow conditions during overwash, position relative to sea level, and variable degrees of reworking after deposition. Three shell assemblages aid in identification of washover deposits. Backbarrier sediments composed of shoreface/open water species or mixed shoreface/backbarrier species may potentially be washover in origin. Sediments with purely backbarrier/quiet water shell species are likely to have been deposited independently of washover activity. Examination of washover deposits of differing ages reveals that preservation of washover stratigraphy is not exclusively a function of time. Reworking of small-scale stratification can occur in as short as a decade; however, this same stratification was found to be preserved in deposits several hundred years old. Destruction of original washover signatures is related to the position of the deposits relative to sea level, and the rate and depth of burial. Even after the destruction of small-scale stratigraphic features, washover deposits may still be identified as such due to their texture, composition, and shell assemblages. Key features in recognizing the facies after bioturbation and reworking are: (1) the presence of clean sand in otherwise muddy backbarrier sediments, (2) the landward thinning of the facies, and (3) the presence of shoreface shells or mixed shoreface/backbarrier shells on landward portions of the barrier island system. If reworking is severe and/or there are limited subsurface data, distinguishing washovers from genetically similar deposits (e.g. flood tidal deltas and spillover deposits) in the stratigraphic record is difficult and when considered out of stratigraphic context may not be recognizable.     

The influence of hull form on the motions of high speed vessels in head seas

Prediction of ship motions at high Froude number is carried out using a time domain strip theory in which the unsteady hydrodynamic problem is treated in terms of the motion of fixed strips of the water as hull sections pass through it. The Green function solution is described and the integration of the ship motion carried out by an averaging method to ensure stability of the solution. The method is validated by comparison with tank data for conventional slender hulls suitable for catamarans, small water area twin hull (SWATH) forms and hulls suitable for high-speed monohulls. Motion computations are then carried out for 14 designs with an operating speed of 40 kts and a displacement of 1000 tonnes. The vessels are assumed not to be fitted with motion control systems for the purposes of this comparative study. Motion sickness incidence is predicted to rise to between 42 and 72% depending upon the hull design in 3 m head seas of average period 7.5 s. MSI values reduce in smaller seas with a shorter average period to be less than 15% in all cases in 1m seas with an average period of 5.5 s.     

Mississippi-Alabama outer continental shelf topographic features formed during the late Pleistocene-Holocene transgression

A geophysical survey of the outer Missisippi-Alabama continental shelf revealed three types of topographic features: 1) reef-like mounds (RLM), 2) isobath-parallel ridges, and 3) shallow depressions. RLM appear to be bioherms. Their bases cluster in two isobath bands, 105 to 120 m and 74 to 82 m, implying the late Pleistocene-Holocene transgression was nonuniform. The deeper RLM probably formed during a slow sea level rise at the beginning of the deglaciation. An 11 ka BP C¹⁴ age was obtained from the summit of one, at a depth of 90 m. Depth relationships suggest the shallower RLM and most ridges formed about the time of the mid-deglacial Younger Dryas cooling episode.     

A Robust Rapid-Response Probe for Measuring Bottom-Hole Temperatures in Deep-Ocean Boreholes

A new probe has been constructed for making temperature measurements 1.1 m ahead of the bit in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) boreholes. Temperatures are recorded at positions 1 and 11 cm above the tip of the probe. The combination of the dual temperature records and accelerometer data provides valuable information about disturbances that may affect the quality of measurements. Long battery life, and memory access via an external communications port, allow service-free operation for the full duration of typical drilling legs. Temperature resolution varies over the 110 K measurement range, from nominally 1 mK from -5 to 20 °C, to about 10 mK at 105 °C. The small (8 mm) diameter of the probe tip allows rapid thermal equilibration after penetration. The shallow (2.5°), continuous taper of the lower part of the probe serves to reduce the tendency of the formation to be cracked when the tool is pushed into the formation. It is sufficiently robust, however, to survive penetration into highly consolidated sediment and occasional contact with igneous rock. The tool was used for a total of 44 bottom-hole temperature measurements between 38 and 573 meters below seafloor (mbsf) during Leg 168, as well as for several logging runs in open holes. We anticipate adding a port in the tip to permit measurement of formation fluid pressure, and to enhance the utility of the tool for logging temperature profiles in open holes.