As part of an ongoing laboratory study, preliminary acoustic, triaxial strength, and electrical resistivity results are presented from a test performed on a clayey silt sediment sample recovered from Site 1249 at the summit of southern Hydrate Ridge during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204. The test specimen was stored and transported in two different methane-charged pressure vessels until it was tested using the Gas Hydrate and Sediment Test Laboratory Instrument (GHASTLI). Although gas hydrate may have existed in the core section immediately after recovery, little (if any) hydrate was present in the specimen during testing. We therefore present background physical property results for sediment that may have hosted gas hydrate in situ. Because we consolidated the test specimen in increments beyond its in situ stress state, we are able to present properties representative of similar but deeper subbottom sediment. The increased consolidation stress also helped to mitigate some, but not all, types of disturbance caused by the recovery process. P-wave velocities from 1.54 to 1.74 km/s varied linearly with consolidation stress, 
´c, up to 970 kPa (equivalent to ~160 meters below seafloor). Electrical resistivity was periodically measured by a Wenner array and varied between 1.0 and 2.8 
m. These values reflect both the pore water salinity and soft, fine-grained texture of the sediment. Shear behavior is consistent with the induced normally consolidated behavior of clayey silt.
1Winters, W.J., Waite, W.F., Mason, D.H., and Gilbert, L.Y., 2006. Physical properties of repressurized sediment from Hydrate Ridge. In Tréhu, A.M., Bohrmann, G., Torres, M.E., and Colwell, F.S. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 204: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), 1–19. doi:10.2973/odp.proc.sr.204.119.2006
2U.S. Geological Survey, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole MA 02543, USA. Correspondence author: bwinters@usgs.gov
Initial receipt: 17 April 2005
Acceptance: 17 April 2006
Web publication:
3 October 2006
Ms 204SR-119
