Abstract:
Thermal environment of the mud is one
of the major parts of the acid-contaminated
geo-environment of the Ariake Sea. The activities
of marine ecosystem both in tidal flats and inside
the deep sea mud depend strongly on the thermal
environment. In order to investigate the thermal
properties of the Ariake sea mud, a portable
thermal properties sensor and probe (KD2,
Decagon Devices, Inc.) was used. Thermal
conductivity, thermal resistivity, thermal diffusivity
and volumetric heat capacity of the mud samples
collected from both the tidal flat and inside the
deep sea were measured. The thermal properties
of mud collected from tidal flat showed a
different trend from the mud collected from
inside the sea due to the enough exposure to the
sunlight and vigorous exchange of sea water in
the tidal flat in different depths. Thermal
conductivity of the Ariake mud was reduced
85-90% after it was oven dried and was increased
up to 30% after the ignition loss test. Thermal
resistivity of the Ariake mud increased
dramatically after oven dried and it was less
affected by the organic matter content. Thermal
diffusivity was decreased 10-30% after oven dry
however it was increased up to 40% after the
ignition loss test. The volumetric heat capacity
of the Ariake mud was reduced up to 90% and
40% after the oven dry and ignition loss,
respectively.
