High-resolution permeability determination and two-dimensional porewater flow in sandy sediment

Abstract

A new, inexpensive method is proposed to measure permeability in natural sandy sediment with high spatial resolution. This methodology allows for a reconstruction of the vertical permeability anisotropy in natural sediments, with a depth resolution of a few millimeters. Thus, the possible intrusion depth of advective flow over the water-sediment interface of sandy sediments can be deduced. Shipboard measurements on five natural sandy sediment cores taken from North Sea sediments are used to demonstrate that both the direction and magnitude of the second-order permeability tensor can be calculated from direct measurements using this method. This presents a major improvement over previous methods particularly in the context of quantifying flow and reaction in permeable sediments. © 2005, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc.