To study the formation of overpressured marine sediments to predict their occurrence during drilling operations.
Complete. A consolidation theory was developed which applied to the progressive burial of ocean bottom sediment, describing porosity as a function of depth and time of various rates of deposition. Laboratory experiments conducted by the principal investigator confirm the theoretical formulations which challenge Terzaghi's time honored effective stress principle. Thompson contends that pore water pressures in marine sediments can substantially exceed geo static pressures. A review panel of Thompson's peers (see below report of Schiffman and 11 others) have stated that the evidence is not convincing but that the implications of his theory, if correct, have far reaching practical importance. The project was concluded and referred to the National Science Foundation.