Abstract:

In recent years, the demand for marine sand and gravel increased sharply. Accordingly, its exploration and exploitation developed rapidly. To avoid naming confusion in the field of marine sand and gravel investigation and research, we analyzed the characteristics of the existing grading scales and sediment classification schemes based on years of marine sand and gravel investigation experience and previous research results, and put forward a set of grading scale and sediment naming method suitable for marine sand and gravel. Based on the Udden-Wentworth geometric series grading scale (phi scale), we proposed a particle size grading scale for marine sand- and gravel-related sediments, which divides the particle size grades into three categories of gravel (>2 mm), sand (2~0.063 mm) and mud (<0.063 mm), and nine subcategories. Based on preponderant grain-size composition, we proposed a “gravel-sand-mud triangular diagram + detailed naming of sandy and gravelly sediment” classification scheme, which embodies the idea of “detailed naming of sandy and gravelly sediments while simplifying naming of muddy sediments.” This can directly reflect the grain-size composition and content of marine sand and gravel.

Key words: marine sand and gravel, marine aggregates, clastic sediments, particle size grading, sediment nomenclature