Fine Sand and Clay Sediment Acoustic Properties of the Novel Sediment Sample from the Arabian Sea:Experimental Investigations and Biot−Stoll Model Validation

The present study explores the physical and acoustic characteristics of fine sand and clay in novel seabed marine sediments from of Pakistan coastline of the Arabian Sea.The measured physical parameters included mean grain size,mass density,bulk density,salinity,porosity,permeability,pore size and mineralogical composition.Acoustic properties,including sound speed and attenuation,in the high frequency range of 90-170 kHz were analyzed.A controlled laboratory setup with the acoustic transmission method and Fourier transform techniques was utilized to examine the sound propagation and absorption of novel seabed sediments.The standard deviation of mean sound speed in fresh water was 0.75 m/s,and attenuation was observed in the range of 0.43 to 0.61 dB/m.The mean sound velocity in sand and clay varied from 1706 to 1709 m/s and 1602 to 1608 m/s,respectively.Corresponding average attenuation was observed at 80 to 93 dB/m in sandy sediments and from 31.8 to 38.6 dB/m in clayey sediments.Sound velocity variation within sandy sediment is low,consistent with expected results,and smaller than the predicted uncertainty.However,clay sediment exhibited a positive linear correlation and low sound speed variation.Attenuation increased linearly with frequency for both sediments.Finally,the laboratory results were validated by using the Biot−Stoll model.The dispersion of sound speed in sandy and clayey sediments was consistent with the predictions of the Biot−Stoll model.Measured attenuation aligned more with Biot−Stoll model predictions due to improved permeability,tortuosity and pore size parameter fitting.