Sediment Samples

Once removed from the pressure core testing tool, this specimen shows that it is not a homogeneous sediment.  The mostly fine-grained sample (dark sediment in all three images) easily breaks apart at a thin layer of coarse-grained sediment (light sediment on the inner core surfaces of images (i) and (ii). The light-colored coarse-grained layer can be seen running through the dark, fine-grained, clay-rich specimen in image (iii). Images like this assist interpretations of the measured data because gas hydrates in specimens like this are generally localized in the coarse-grained sediment, not evenly distributed through all sediment types.