Research Recommendations of the Clay Microstructure Workshop

A central objective of the Clay Microstructure Workshop was the development of recommendations for future research, both basic and applied. The Workshop, held during October 1988 at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi in conjunction with a conference titled “The Microstructure of Fine-Grained Terrigenous Marine Sediments—from Muds to Shale,” brought together an international group of experts in various disciplines in which clay microstructure is important. The participants were well representative of these disciplines (with the exceptions of agriculture and ceramics) and of the ranges of interest from applied to theoretical and from field to laboratory orientation. Experts from academia were somewhat overrepresented. The research recommendations this expert group developed and prioritized will, it is hoped, serve to highlight important problems to be addressed and optimize research efforts.