Consolidation and strength assessment of ODP Leg 123 sediments

Twenty-one samples, ranging in depth from 0 to 150 meters below seafloor (mbsf), were obtained from Leg 123 Sites 765 and 766. All samples were tested for Atterberg limits: 14 for laboratory vane shear strength and seven for uniaxial consolidation. Based on the determined Atterberg limits, along with shipboard measurements of water content, the sediment appears to be underconsolidated from 0 to 40 mbsf at Site 765 and from 0 to 80 mbsf at Site 766. Normal consolidation trends were observed for the sediments below these depths. Vane shear strengths, when compared with calculated values for a normally consolidated clay, indicate underconsolidated sediment at both sites. However, the use of Atterberg limit and vane shear strength data to assess consolidation state is complicated by the presence of silt-sized calcium carbonate in the form of nannofossil ooze. Thus, uniaxial-consolidation test data were analyzed to determine the overconsolidation ratios (OCR) and sediment compressibilities. OCR values were found to be less than one (underconsolidated) at both sites, using two separate methods of analysis.