ForHosting KIT · Developer Utilities

Sediment compaction porosity calculator

As sediments are buried under younger deposits, pore space shrinks under effective stress and diagenesis.

● BetaFree · in your browser
Use it from WebAPIEmailTelegramApp soon

Basin models, reservoir volumetrics, and well-log QC all need a simple, reproducible way to estimate porosity at depth from a surface starting value and a compaction trend. The classic Athy exponential porosity–depth law writes porosity as surface porosity times e to the power of minus compaction coefficient times burial depth. This sediment compaction porosity at depth calculator applies that law deterministically: you supply φ0 as a fraction, burial depth z in a consistent length unit, and compaction coefficient c in inverse length; the response returns porosity at depth, percent porosity, and the residual compaction ratio φ/φ0. A negative compaction coefficient is physically inconsistent with progressive compaction and is rejected as invalid input. The same pure arithmetic powers the free browser widget and the prepaid API path so classroom checks and production pipelines never disagree.

How to use it

Enter your values in the form above. The tool checks them before calculating and shows the result on the same page.

Check your inputs

Use the labels and units shown next to each field. If something is missing or outside the allowed range, the page points to the field to fix.

Use it again or automate it

Use the browser tool for individual checks and the API when you need the same capability in an automated workflow.

Get an answer now

Enter one set of values and see the result without building a spreadsheet or script.

Compare scenarios

Change one value at a time and rerun the calculation to understand what affects the result.

Automate repeated work

Use the API when the same calculation needs to run inside your product or workflow.

How do I use this capability?

Complete the fields above and run it on this page. The form highlights anything that needs attention.

Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.

POSThttps://api.kit.forhosting.com/earth/sediment-compaction

Prefer to automate it? One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. The same capability also runs here on the web, by email and from Telegram — and soon from our app too.

curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/earth/sediment-compaction \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"surface_porosity":0.5,"burial_depth":2,"compaction_coefficient":0.5}'
{
  "surface_porosity": 0.5,
  "burial_depth": 2,
  "compaction_coefficient": 0.5
}
{
  "task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
  "type": "earth.sediment_compaction",
  "status": "queued",
  "_links": {
    "result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
  }
}

The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.

Per request$0.002

Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.

HTTPCodeMeaning
401unauthorizedMissing or invalid API key.
402insufficient_balanceYour balance doesn't cover the task price.
404unknown_typeThat task type doesn't exist.
429rate_limitedToo many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling.

Read the full KIT documentation →