Dissolved oxygen 



PH 



Hydrogen sulfide 



Biological Oceanographic Parameters 



Presence of fouling organisms 

 Presence of plankton 



Presence of marine bacteria (both aerobic and anaerobic) 

 Surface Phenomena 

 Climate 

 Sea states 



Foundation Engineering Data 



Data on shear strength, consolidation characteristics, index properties, 

 sediment thickness, and compaction characteristics are required for the design 

 of the foundation for the proposed bottom installation. With these measured 

 data the foundation and the structure can be designed. 



For structural foundations, interpretation of these measured parame- 

 ters must answer the question: Will the sediment support the structural loads 

 without producing failure of the sediment mass and without objectionable 

 total and differential settlement? Information on several important founda- 

 tion engineering considerations is required to answer this question: (1) the 

 type and physical properties of the sediment, (2) the type of structural 

 foundation, and (3) location in the sediment column of this foundation. The 

 above question is certainly not the only question that requires answering in 

 any foundation engineering problem. The data collected for answering the 

 above question, however, is the same type required to answer other particular 

 foundation engineering problems, for example, slope stability. (The design and 

 analysis of foundation systems, for example, spread footings, mats, rafts, and 

 piles, are a subject of another research area and will not be covered here.) 



Although ultimate bearing capacity of seafloor sediment is of prime 

 interest to researchers, its meaning is often misunderstood. The ultimate 

 bearing capacity of sediments is not a singular value analogous, for example, 

 to the yield strength of a particular type of structural steel (for example, 

 30,000 psi.) The ultimate bearing capacity of any given sediment is a function 

 of cohesion, angle of internal friction, density, footing size and shape, depth 

 in the sediment, and other sediment properties. As indicated above, in the 

 design of footings, settlement considerations are integrated with considerations 

 for ultimate supporting capability of the sediment. 



