Physical property characterization of sand ridge sediments in the continental shelf of the South Sea, Korea

Sand ridges are more developed around the continental shelfs with the strong tide current. Various sand ridges are distributed in the continental shelf of the South Sea, Korea. The deep core samples from the sand ridges of South Sea were collected and analyzed to characterize physical property with sedimentary depth. Laboratory analysis (compressional velocity, physical properties, and grain size) was conducted on core samples. Wet bulk densities are mostly ranges from 1.75 to 2.15 g/cm³. Grain densities are dominant between 2.55 g/cm³ and 2.65 g/cm³. Velocities are distributed between 1650 m/s and 1850 m/s. Whereas, porosities are low less than 50% (mostly 40%) compared to muddy sediments. The sand ridge sediments are mostly composed of sandy materials (less than 4Ø in mean grain size). Shell fragments and are intermittently included in the sediments. Muddy sediments are also frequently observed. The lithology of deep core samples with sedimentary depth are various, reflecting changes of sedimentary environments during deposition. The physical property data were readily classified in good agreement with the lithological units alternating sand and muddy sand with sedimentary depth. The sand ridge sediments in study area were largely originated and redistributed from paleo-Seomjin River, caused by sea-level changes during the Quaternary. These results suggest that the physical properties of these sediments are mainly controlled by depositional processes in the vicinity of the paleo-Seomjin River, and that sea-level change specifically was a dominant sedimentary process in the study area during the Quaternary.