Instrumented pressure testing chamber for characterizing sediment cores recovered at in situ hydrostatic pressure

Abstract

Marine sediments retrieved with pressure coring systems such as those used by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program maintain samples at in situ hydrostatic pressure throughout recovery. Such pressure cores are particularly important for the study of gas hydrate-bearing sediments, which must be maintained within the gas hydrate stability field during shipboard core characterization. Until now, there has been no device capable of directly measuring a suite of physical properties on sediments contained in pressure cores without first depressurizing them. This study describes the design, construction, and deployment of the Instrumented Pressure Testing Chamber (IPTC), which was first used to mea..