The thermal conductivities of ocean sediments

Abstract

As a part of the measurement of heat flow through the ocean floor, the thermal conductivities of samples of sediment from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean areas have been determined in the laboratory by a steady-state method. Average values over a wide range of water content are found to depend more on water content than on solid phase constituents, and conductivities can be read from a diagram if the amount of contained sea water or the wet density of the sediment is known. A graph is included, showing the conductivities of wet, granular materials other than ocean sediment.