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doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.337.203.2017

Data report: grain size distribution of unconsolidated sands offshore Shimokita Peninsula, Japan (IODP Site C0020)1

Stephen C. Phillips2, 3 and Joel E. Johnson3

Abstract

We report particle size analyses measured from 28 unconsolidated sand samples recovered during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 337 from Hole C0020A. These samples span from 1277 to 2002 meters below seafloor (mbsf) across two lithostratigraphic units that record a transition from a nearshore estuarine/intertidal to an offshore hemipelagic paleoenvironment. Most recovered lithologies, including coarse-grained lithologies, are semiconsolidated to consolidated; however, some intervals of sand are unconsolidated and suitable for particle size analysis. Bulk sand samples were measured using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer. All samples fall within the range of sand to silty sand, with silty sand more abundant deeper than 1925 mbsf. Samples contain 49%–97% sand, 3%–42% silt, and 0%–13% clay. Median grain diameter ranges from 55 to 405 µm. Clay and silt content in these sands reach a minimum at ~1500 mbsf and then increase below 1925 mbsf in a coal-bearing unit containing shale, siltstone, sandstone, and unconsolidated sand.

1 Phillips, S.C., and Johnson, J.E., 2017. Data report: grain size distribution of unconsolidated sands offshore Shimokita Peninsula, Japan (IODP Site C0020). In Inagaki, F., Hinrichs, K.-U., Kubo, Y., and the Expedition 337 Scientists, Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, 337: Tokyo (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.).
doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.337.203.2017

2 Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham NH 03824, USA. Correspondence author: phillips.stephen.c@gmail.com

3 Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712, USA.

Initial receipt: 9 December 2016
Acceptance: 3 October 2017
Publication: 11 December 2017
MS 337-203