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Validation of impact penetrometer data by cone penetration testing and shallow seismic data within the regional geology of the Southern North Sea

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Abstract

This study presents the assessment of total cone resistance from in situ deceleration measurements using the Lance Insertion Retardation meter (LIRmeter) in the Southern North Sea. The penetrometer is equipped with a measurement lance that is up to 6 m in length. The aim was to validate LIRmeter data interpretation within the regional geological context by comparison with static velocity cone penetration testing (CPT) and sub-bottom profiles. In total, 13 datasets were taken, in addition to preexisting hydroacoustical and static velocity CPT datasets. The dynamically acquired data were processed and compared to the reference static velocity data. The validation encourages the use of acceleration-based dynamic penetration tests, since a high degree of agreement was demonstrated between independently acquired dynamic and static cone resistance data. Moreover, the results reveal evidence of two successive formations with different geotechnical properties, consistent with existing knowledge on the regional setting. Additionally, there is novel indication of an incised glacial valley with muddy low-permeability sediments extending much further than reported to date, which would necessitate updating of older maps. The main advantage of penetrometer-based deceleration measurements lies in the robustness of the method, and the reliability of the sensors. However, penetration depth is, for dimensioning reasons, limited to the order of a few meters. Additionally, data processing includes the dependency of knowledge about the soil type to correct the dynamic data. These limitations can be satisfactorily outweighed by combination with reference data from static velocity tests, as demonstrated by integrating these data into a soil classification scheme.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by funding from RWE Dea AG and RWE Innogy GmbH. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. We greatly appreciate cooperation with Fugro that enabled the field trials and comparative measurements, as well as generous access to sub-bottom profiler and static velocity CPT data granted by Gaz de France Suez E&P Nederland B.V. and provided by Fugro. We would like to thank the captain and crew of Fugro’s vessel Markab for their tireless support during the measurement campaign in February 2013, as well as D. Ruijtenbeek of Fugro and our engineer B. Heesemann for their help. The paper benefited from external assessments by J. Terwindt and E. Tervoort (both Fugro), journal reviews by N. Stark and V. Moon, and feedback from the editors.

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  1. Department 5 Geosciences, Marine Technology/Sensors, University of Bremen, Klagenfurter Straße, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Sebastian Stephan, Norbert Kaul & Heinrich Villinger

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Stephan, S., Kaul, N. & Villinger, H. Validation of impact penetrometer data by cone penetration testing and shallow seismic data within the regional geology of the Southern North Sea. Geo-Mar Lett 35, 203–219 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-015-0401-y

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