Microstructure Of Fine-grained Sediments: From Mud To Shale (frontiers In Sedimentary Geology)

Knowledge of basic clay microstructure is fundamental to an understanding of the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of fine-grained sediments and rocks. This compilation of fifty-nine peer-reviewed papers examines clay microstructure in detail with comprehensive sections focusing on microstructure signatures, environmental processes, modeling, measurement techniques, and future research recommendations. Many of these topics are discussed in light of geological and engineering applications, such as hazardous waste disposal, construction techniques, and drilling programs. The field of clay microstructure is developing rapidly. The concepts, observations, and principles presented in this book will help stimulate new thought and be a "spring board" for exciting new research Front Matter....Pages i-xxii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Signatures of Clay Microstructure—Overview....Pages 3-4 Determinants of Clay and Shale Microfabric Signatures: Processes and Mechanisms....Pages 5-32 Millimeter-Scale Sedimentary Structure of Fine-Grained Sediments: Examples from Continental Margin Environments....Pages 33-45 Problems of Particle Delamination and of Stepwise Aggregation in Clay Swelling....Pages 47-54 The Nature and Significance of Gas-Generated Microvoids as “Secondary” Microfabric Features in Modern and Pleistocene Marine and Estuarine Sediments....Pages 55-59 Clay Fabric of Fine-Grained Turbidite Sequences from the Southern Nares Abyssal Plain....Pages 61-72 Microfabric and Physical Properties Characteristics of a Consolidated Clay Section: ODP Site 697, Weddell Sea....Pages 73-92 Physical Property Changes Accompanying Deep Burial of Clay-Rich Sediments, Barbados Convergent Margin....Pages 93-99 Sedimentary Structures: Textures and Depositional Settings of Shales from the Lower Belt Supergroup, Mid-Proterozoic, Montana, U.S.A.....Pages 101-108 Porosities, Permeabilities, and Microfabrics of Devonian Shales....Pages 109-119 Environmental Processes: A Continuum—Overview....Pages 123-124 Interparticle Grain Size Relationships Resulting from Flocculation....Pages 125-130 The Changing Microfabric of Suspended Particulate Matter—The Fluvial to Marine Transition: Flocculation, Agglomeration, and Pelletization....Pages 131-137 Microstructure of Suspensates: From Stream to Shelf....Pages 139-145 The Influence of Organic Carbon Flux on the Deposition of Clays in the Marine Environment: Implications with Respect to Microstructure....Pages 147-159 Mass Arrival Mechanisms and Clay Deposition at the Seafloor....Pages 161-165 Distinguishing Features of Layered Muds Deposited from Shallow Water, High Concentration Suspensions....Pages 167-173 Effect of Bed Shear Stresses on the Deposition and Strength of Deposited Cohesive Muds....Pages 175-183 Fluidization of Soft Estuarine Mud by Waves....Pages 185-191 The Significance of Sediment-Flow Dynamics on Clay Microstructure Development: Riverine and Continental Shelf Environments....Pages 193-202 Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Silt Microfabric of Detrital, Deep Sea Mud(stone)s (California Continental Borderland) as Shown by Backscattered Electron Microscopy....Pages 203-211 Physical Properties and Microstructural Response of Sediments to Accretion-Subduction: Barbados Forearc....Pages 213-228 Anomalous Stress History of Sediments of the Northwest Pacific: The Role of Microstructure....Pages 229-236 Front Matter....Pages 237-237 Modeling — Past and Present: New Directions — Overview....Pages 239-240 Influence of Some Physicochemical Activities on Mechanical Behavior of Clays....Pages 241-253 Organization of Clay Particles in Aqueous Suspension as Inferred from Spectroscopy of Organic Dyes....Pages 255-258 Some Effects of Vicinal Water on the Sedimentation Process, Compaction, and Ultimate Properties of Sediments....Pages 259-266 Rheology and Microstructure of Concentrated Illite Suspensions....Pages 267-271 A Coupled Fluid Expulsion/Deformation Model of Dewatering Sediments....Pages 273-280 The Floc Camera: A Three-Dimensional Imaging System of Suspended Particulate Matter....Pages 281-289 Characterization of Clay Fabric....Pages 291-295 Microtexture and Microchemistry of Clay-Rich Sediments....Pages 297-301 Quantitative Rock Mineral Analysis....Pages 303-304 Applied Clay Microstructure: Measurements, Techniques, and Sampling Strategies for Clay Fabric Research—Overview....Pages 307-308 Techniques for the Preparation of Submarine Sediments for Electron Microscopy....Pages 309-320 Observation Technique for Wet Clay Minerals Using Film-Sealed Environmental Cell Equipment Attached to High-Resolution Electron Microscope....Pages 321-331 Clay Fabric of Gassy Submarine Sediments....Pages 333-352 Objective Measurement and Classification of Microfabrics and Their Relationship to Physical Properties....Pages 353-358 Automatic Analysis of Microstructure of Cohesive Sediments....Pages 359-366 The Application of Image Analysis Techniques to Microstructure Studies in Geotechnical Engineering....Pages 367-378 Front Matter....Pages 237-237 Quantification of Clay Fabric: A Simple Technique....Pages 379-387 Measurements of Bond Energy of Clays and Ocean Wave Attenuation....Pages 389-393 Geoacoustic Properties of a Marine Silt....Pages 395-402 Sediment Shear Waves: A Comparison of In Situ and Laboratory Measurements....Pages 403-415 Geoacoustic Properties in the Near-Surface Sediment in Response to Periodic Deposition....Pages 417-429 Elasticity of Fine-Grained Abyssal Sediments, Brazil Basin, South Atlantic Ocean....Pages 431-445 Applications: Present Requirements, Waste Disposal, Containment, and Packing Material....Pages 449-450 Disposal of Radioactive and Hazardous Wastes into Clay-Rich Rocks....Pages 451-463 Preliminary Geotechnical Considerations of Borehole Facilities as Waste Repositories in Clay Deposits....Pages 465-468 Hydrocarbon Liquids and Clay Microstructure....Pages 469-474 Effects of Hydrothermal Treatment on the Engineering Properties, Microstructure, and Composition of Oilwell Cements....Pages 475-487 The Role of the Microstructure of Pacific Red Clays in Radioactive Waste Disposal....Pages 489-507 Influences on the Rheology of Marine Sediments Composed of Low-Activity Minerals....Pages 509-514 The Geotechnical Importance of Clay Flexibility....Pages 515-518 The Microfabric of Some Hong Kong Marine Soils....Pages 519-530 Application of Microstructure Classification of Marine Sediment to Engineering Geological Evaluation....Pages 531-537 Preliminary Geotechnical Evaluation of Deep Borehole Facilities for Nuclear Waste Disposal in Shales....Pages 539-543 Microstructural and Mineralogical Characterization of Selected Shales in Support of Nuclear Waste Respository Studies....Pages 545-560 Front Matter....Pages 561-561 Research Recommendations of the Clay Microstructure Workshop....Pages 563-566 Back Matter....Pages 567-582