Physical Properties of Sandy Sediment in the Southeastern Coast of Korea

Physical properties and textural parameters of thirty-five piston tore samples recovered from the southeastern coast of Korea (Korea Strait), were investigated using the autopycnometer. The physical properties (porosity, water content, wet bulk density, dry bulk density, gram density, and void ratio) were measured at rather uniform intervals along each core. Sediment texture (grain size, sand, silt, and clay contents) was also measured at the same subbottom depth. The measured and calculated results are; mean grain size , porosity , water content , wet bulk density , dry bulk density , grain density , and void ratio (average: 0.94). The sediment texture generally coincides well with the bathymetry indicating the influence of Pleistocene-Holocene sea level changes. Also the contours of physical properties are closely related to the sediment texture. Fluctuation of physical properties are similar to the textural variation. It seems that sediment texture is a significant factor in determining physical property in this study area.