Sediment grain size and carbon/carbonate at DSDO Leg 55 Holes

In this simple procedure, a sample is powdered and treated with HCl in a closed cylinder. Any resulting CO2 pressure is proportional to the CaCO3 content of the sample.

Application of the calibration factor to the manometer reading (x 100) yields per cent CaCO3. The error can be as low as 1 per cent for sediments high in CaCO3, and in general an accuracy of ±2 to 5 per cent can be obtained.