Fine-Scale Volume Heterogeneity in a Mixed Sand/Mud Sediment off Fort Walton Beach, FL

As part of the effort to characterize the acoustic and physical properties of the seafloor during the high-frequency 2004 Sediment Acoustics Experiment (SAX04), fine-scale variability of sediment sound speed and density was measured in a medium quartz sand using diver cores and an in situ conductivity probe. This study has a goal of providing environmental input to high-frequency backscatter modeling efforts. Because the experiment was conducted immediately following exposure of the site to Hurricane Ivan, measurements revealed storm-generated sedimentary structure that included mud deposits and trapped sand pockets suspended in the mud. Fluctuations of sediment sound speed and density were measured downcore at 1- and 2-cm increments, respectively, with standard laboratory techniques. Sediment density was also measured on a very fine scale with an in situ conductivity probe [in situ measurement of porosity (IMP2)] and by means of computed tomography (CT) imaging of a diver core. Overlap between the locations of the diver cores and the conductivity probe measurements allowed an examination of multiple scales of sediment heterogeneity and a comparison of techniques. Sediment heterogeneity was characterized using estimates of covariance corresponding to an algebraic form for the power spectrum of fluctuations obtained from core, conductivity, and CT measurements. Correcting for sampling brings the power spectra for density fluctuations determined from the various measurements into agreement, and supports description of heterogeneity at the site over a wide range of scales by a power spectrum having a simple algebraic form.