X-ray computerized tomography analysis and density estimation using a sediment core from the Challenger Mound area in the Porcupine Seabight, off Western Ireland

X-ray computerized tomography (CT) analysis was used to image a half-round core sample of 50 cm long recovered from near Challenger Mound in the Porcupine Seabight, off western Ireland during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 307. This allowed three-dimensional examination of complex shapes of pebbles and ice-rafted debris in sedimentary sequences. X-ray CT analysis was also used for the determination of physical properties; a comparison between bulk density by the mass-volume method and estimated density based on linear attenuation coefficients of X-ray CT images provides insight into a spatially detailed and precise map of density variation in samples through the distribution of CT numbers.