ABSTRACT
Knowledge of marine geology is important for offshore engineering. Soil type and soil properties are the main parameters for geotechnical engineering, and these are determined by geological processes. Understanding these processes, and the variations of the processes, aids prediction of soil type and behaviour, or what to expect. Both shallow and intermediate foundations are extremely sensitive to the soil conditions found in the top few metres below seafloor, and soil conditions can vary laterally quite rapidly – depending upon the depositional environment. If such conditions are anticipated, then shallow seismic surveys can provide lots of additional information at reasonable cost. Needless to say, at least one seismic line has to intersect a ground truth borehole in order to facilitate correlation/extrapolation.
