Fabric genesis, strength and physical properties of young Sediments, Ursa and Brazos-Trinity basins, Gulf of Mexico. A follow-up laboratory study of IODP Expedition 308

灾难性的海底块体运动是如何发生的？沉积物固结、组构成因和结构发育是重要的控制因素吗？这是这里提出的FastSed项目的主要问题。在一个可以说是现代地球上最快的细粒沉积环境中，IODP Expedition 308，墨西哥湾水文地质学，创建了一个独特而全面的沉积物岩相学，物理特性和超压井下测量数据集。这些数据作为基础的岩土工程性质，微观组构和粘土的晶体学优选取向的研究，以确定和量化沉积的沉降物和海底大规模运输泥浆中的织物建设机制。所采用的分析技术是三轴试验和环剪试验。将通过扫描电子显微镜和X射线织构测角法研究参考材料。希望FastSed的结果将为沉积大陆斜坡稳定性问题的评估做出基本贡献。这对于目前和未来的碳氢化合物勘探需要在海底安装主要技术设施的地区，如墨西哥湾或挪威中部边缘，尤其重要。

How do catastrophic submarine mass movements come about, and are sediment consolidation, fabric genesis, and texture development important controlling factors? This is the principal question of the FastSed project proposed here for funding. In an environment which has arguably the fastest finegrained sedimentation on modern Earth, IODP Expedition 308, Gulf of Mexico Hydrogeology, has created a unique and comprehensive data set of sediment petrography, physical properties, and downhole measurements of overpressure. These data serve as foundation for a study of geotechnical properties, microfabric and crystallographic preferred orientation of clays to identify and quantify fabric building mechanisms in muds sedimented by fallout and by submarine mass transport. The analytical techniques employed are triaxial testing and ring shear testing. Reference materials will be studied by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray texture goniometry. It is hoped that FastSed results will make a basic contribution to the assessment of stability problems of sedimented continental slopes. This is especially relevant for areas where current and future exploration for hydrocarbons require major technical installations at the seafloor, such as the Gulf of Mexico or the mid-Norwegian margin.