Water content and grain density analyses of sediment cores from the New England Mud Patch collected on USGS Field Activity 2016-001-FA

Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.