An Innovative System for Testing of Contaminated Soft Sediments

Abstract

This paper reports the results of the preliminary mechanical laboratory experiments carried out on the shallowest layer of the polluted submarine clayey sediments of the Mar Piccolo basin (literally "Little Sea"), an inner sea located in Taranto (South of Italy). By the strict cooperation between Geotechnical Engineering and Measurement Science researchers, a test platform has been designed and realised to test samples with fluid-plastic consistency taken within the first meter below the seafloor. The designed measurement system and the suggested procedure of acquisition and data processing allow for a reliable marine behaviour assessment and they ensure both the human safety and the sample quality.