Acoustic Properties of Marine Sediments

Seismoacoustic waves propagating through a sediment represent a possible extreme position of mechanical loading on fhe sediment. It is expected, therefore, that they can be 

Compressional wave velocity (i.e., sound velocity) is usually determined by pulse-time delay systems measuring time difference over a fixed path length of the sediment in the laboratory (e.g., Schreiber, 1968 Kermabon et al., 1969 Silver and Moore, 1972 Boyce, 1976 Baldwin et al., 1981 Theilin and Pecher, 1991), in situ (e.g., Hamilton, 1963 Bachman and Hamilton, 1982 Barbagelata et al., 1991), and remotely from boats and deep-tow devices (e.g., Stoll et al., 1991). 

Mean grain size diameter versus compressional wave (sound) velocity in samples from the continental terrace (shelf and slope). (Reproduced with permission from Hamilton, E.L., and Bachman, R.T., /. Acoust. Soc. Am., 72, 1939-1957 1982. Copyright 1982 Acoustic Society of America.) 

Since relatively few common minerals make up the structure of most surficial marine sediments, the bulk elastic properties of particles of a specific sediment type in a given environment are similar the world over, and the inaccuracy of regression equations is less than 1% (Hamilton and Bachman, 1982). Deviations, displayed by the scatter in the 

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