Density and elastic modulus change ratios are introduced to describe the sound velocity of submarine sediment. The density change ratio is a composite parameter describing the sound velocity. It is expressed by three physical parameters： porosity, solid phase density and seawater density. The elastic modulus change ratio is also a composite parameter of sound velocity. It is expressed by three physical parameters, including porosity, solid phase modulus and seawater bulk modulus. The sound velocity formula can be developed into a Taylor polyno- mial formula of these two composite parameters. The change in the two composite parameters constitutes the sound velocity surface, which contains the complete information regarding ve- locity properties and sediment characteristics. The one-parameter velocity formula is a curve on the velocity surface. Each porosity-velocity empirical formula, which represents various sea locations and conditions, is transformed to a standard form. This result is the product of a reference velocity and a modulation function. Comparisons of the numerical calculation and measurements show that the derived modulation functions yield similar results. The difference between the velocity formula derived in this paper and the Wood velocity formula is due to the elastic modulus models.
