天然气水合物潜在的灾害和环境效应

天然气水合物是未来极具前途的能源,然而由于其赋存状态的特殊性,在温度或压力变化的情况下将会分解释放出巨量的甲烷气体,不仅导致海底沉积物力学性能的改变而诱发海底滑坡等地质灾害,同时也会引起全球气候的变化。因而在关注其资源前景的同时,也应该重视其潜在的灾害和环境效应。     

海底天然气水合物赋存的间接识别标志

天然气水合物是近十多年来发现的一种新型超级洁净能源, 因其在能源勘探、海底灾害环境和全球气候变化研究中的重要性而日益引起世界各国的高度重视.尽管此种化合物通常分布于大陆边缘沉积物和极地永冻层内, 但前者的水合物赋存量占据全球天然气水合物总量的90 %以上.鉴于此, 拟就该种化合物在海底沉积物中赋存的简接标志进行详细讨论, 以使人们在不进行沉积物取样或没有采集到水合物样品的情况下, 也能快速准确地确定此种化合物的分布.      

北极斯瓦尔巴特群岛及邻区天然气水合物分解对气候、海洋环境和生物的影响

天然气水合物是一种潜在的巨量能源,但其分解释放的甲烷可能对全球气候与海洋环境产生巨大影响。然而,人们目前对天然气水合物分解产生的环境和生物效应的了解还不够全面。北极地区的斯瓦尔巴特群岛及邻区的海底和冻土层中蕴含大量甲烷,对气候变化十分敏感,是人们研究天然气水合物对气候变化的响应机制和其分解对生态环境影响的绝佳场所。系统总结了斯瓦尔巴特群岛及邻区水合物分解的气候与环境效应,发现目前研究区水合物分解产生的甲烷进入大气的年际通量不大,对全球气候的影响可能有限;水合物分解对海底滑坡起到催化剂的作用,但不是首要因素;海底水合物分解释放的甲烷能打破原有的化学平衡、生产力分布规律与输送机制、生物耦合关系甚至不同栖息地间的连通性,进而影响底栖生物群落。这些认识对研究天然气水合物开采对生态环境可能造成的影响和采取相应防治措施具有一定的借鉴意义。     

美国天然气水合物研究计划介绍

以美国近年来提出的天然气水合物研究计划和项目申请书为基础,介绍美国科学家在天然气水合物研究领域中所关心的关键科学与技术问题和研究焦点,供我国天然气水合物研究者在项目设计和开展研究工作时参考。美国天然气水合物研究关注的重点科学问题主要集中在 4个方面：天然气水合物的物理与化学特性研究;天然气水合物开采技术研究;天然气水合物灾害-安全性与海底稳定性研究;天然气水合物在全球碳循环中的作用研究。在研究方法上主要采取天然气水合物区的现场地质地球化学观测、实验室合成和测定及计算模拟,特别关注与水合物和油气冷泉相关的生命过程及与水合物的相互作用研究。     

海洋天然气水合物的地震识别方法研究(摘要)

天然气水合物作为21世纪新的自然能源将为人类的生存发展服务。20世纪60年代证实,俄罗斯西伯利亚的麦素亚哈气田为典型的天然气水合物形成的气田,70年代又在海底发现了固体天然气水合物岩样。1971年,R Stoll首先将地震剖面中的似海底反射层解释为海洋天然气水合物存在的标志,后来被深海钻探证     

天然气水合物地质前景

天然气水合物广泛存在于极地地区,通常与冻土带的近海和深海以及陆架和岛屿边缘密切相关。天然气水合物具有三个方面的研究意义;作为化石燃料具有很大的资源力;作为临界状态物质,具有水下地质灾害的潜在灾害;作为有机碳库,对全球气候变化产生重要影响。气体水合物赋存于地表浅层２０００米深度。由于气体水合物的不稳定性特征,温度和压力微小变化都将会造成水合物分解,发生地质灾害,如海底滑塌、滑坡,此类灾害在民办各地曾     

天然气水合物的特征及环境意义

天然气水合物是由甲烷等气体和水分子组成的类冰状的固态物质,主要分布在极地永冻层和外大陆架边缘的海洋沉积物中,赋存在天然气水合物中的碳约为１０＾１３吨,相当于全球其他化石燃料中碳含量的两倍,由于天然气水合物处于亚稳定状态。因此天然气水合物既可作为２１世纪潜在能源资源,又可以非稳定状态导致海底滑塌和滑坡等地质灾害,并可通过释放甲烷影响全球气候。     

天然气水合物的资源环境效应

天然气水合物是一种具有巨大潜能的绿色能源 ,全世界储量接近 0 .84× 10 1 8m3。由于天然气水合物具有特殊亚稳定状态的成矿系统 ,,增温或减压会使捕获的气体释放 ,导致海底滑塌和滑坡等地质灾害 ,以及作为“温室气体”对人类生存环境的严峻挑战 ,因而其又具有环境效应。结合挪威的实例论述了天然气水合物的资源和环境双重效应     

南海天然气水合物稳定带厚度分布特征

天然气水合物在未来能源、自然环境和灾害等方面具有重要的研究意义,其形成除需要充足的气源外,还与温度、压力密切相关。天然气水合物稳定带表明该地区水合物发育与分布的可能范围。以Dickens和Quinby Hunt的甲烷水合物相平衡公式为基础,从地热学角度分析南海甲烷水合物稳定带厚度及其分布特征。研究表明,南海大部分海域均具备形成天然气水合物的条件。由于受海底深度、海底温度、热流等参数的影响,在不同位置发育的水合物稳定带厚度变化较大,最大厚度可达1 100 m,位于吕宋海槽内。水合物稳定带厚度较大的区域主要呈条带状分布在南海中部和东部,大陆边缘水深500 m左右即可形成水合物,说明南海地区具有广泛的天然气水合物形成环境。天然气水合物稳定带厚度仅是水合物厚度的理论值,地层中实际的水合物发育厚度和分布特征还受到气源、构造、沉积等因素的影响。此外,岩石热导率、海底温度、热流和水深等对南海水合物稳定带厚度及其分布有影响。     

本期文章导读

正111盐类对甲烷水合物稳定性影响研究进展作者:刘唯一,陈勇*,王淼,张韩静海底天然气水合物资源量巨大,成为解决全球能源危机的重要清洁能源。2017年5月我国首次实现海域天然气水合物试采成功,在开采过程中,水合物的稳定性影响着海底地质环境的稳定和全球气候的变化。     

天然气水合物研究现状与未来挑战

人类在21世纪后期面临着油气资源枯渴,寻求洁净高效的新能源成为科学界追求的目标。为此,近三十年来,世界各国相继投入了大量的资金和人力开展新能源研究。目前,人们在一种重要的新能源---气水合物的基础研究、地质调查、勘探开发等领域取得了较大的进展;但尚存在许多急待解决的重大理论问题,如天然气水合物形成与分解的动力学过程和地质条件,气水合物资源量计算办法,经济型天然气水合物开采、开发模式,气水合物对全球气候的影响等。天然气水合物作为化石燃料,具有巨大潜力;作为甲烷碳库,是海底地质灾害的诱因;作为温室气体,对全球气候变化有着重要的影响作用。天然气水合物研究未来面临挑战。     

Indirect Indicators of Gas HydrateOccurrence within Submarine Sediments

Ｍａｄｅｕｐｏｆｗａｔｅｒａｎｄｍｅｔｈａｎｅ,ｇａｓｈｙｄｒａｔｅｓａｒｅｉｃｅ ｌｉｋｅｃｌａｔｈｒａｔｅｃｏｍｐｏｕｎｄｓｔｈａｔｆｏｒｍｅｄｉｎｔｈｅｃｏｎｄｉｔｉｏｎｓｏｆｌｏｗｔｅｍｐｅｒａ ｔｕｒｅ (0 - 10℃ )ａｎｄｈｉｇｈｐｒｅｓｓｕｒｅ (>10ＭＰａ) (ＭａｘａｎｄＤｉｌｌｏｎ ,1998) .Ｇｅｎｅｒａｌｌｙｓｐｅａｋｉｎｇ,ｔｈｅｙａｒｅａｌｓｏｃａｌｌｅｄｍｅｔｈａｎｅｈｙｄｒａｔｅｓｂｅｃａｕｓｅｍｅｔｈａｎｅｉｓａｄｏｍｉｎａｎｔｃｏｍｐｏｓｉｔｉｏｎ .Ｂｅｓｉｄｅｓｍｅｔｈａｎｅ,…     

Formation of pockmarks and submarine canyons associated with dissociation of gas hydrates on the Joetsu Knoll,eastern margin of the Sea of Japan

This study, based on 3.5 kHz SBP, 3D seismic data and long piston cores obtained during MD179 cruise, elucidated the timing and causes of pockmark and submarine canyon formation on the Joetsu Knoll in the eastern margin of the Sea of Japan. Gas hydrate mounds and pockmarks aligned parallel to the axis on the top of the Joetsu Knoll are associated with gas chimneys, pull-up structures, faults, and multiple bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs), suggesting that thermogenic gas migrated upward through gas chimneys and faults from deep hydrocarbon sources and reservoirs. Seismic and core data suggest that submarine canyons on the western slope of the Joetsu Knoll were formed by turbidity currents generated by sand and mud ejection from pockmarks on the knoll. The pockmark and canyon formation probably commenced during the sea-level fall, lasting until transgression stages. Subsequently, hydropressure release during the sea level lowering might have instigated dissociation of the gas hydrate around the base of the gas hydrate, leading to generation and migration of large volumes of methane gas to the seafloor. Accumulation of hydrate caps below mounds eventually caused the collapse of the mounds and the formation of large depressions (pockmarks) along with ejection of sand and mud out of the pockmarks, thereby generating turbidity currents. Prolonged pockmark and submarine canyon activities might have persisted until the transgression stage because of time lags from gas hydrate dissociation around the base of the gas hydrate until upward migration to the seafloor. This study revealed the possibility that submarine canyons were formed by pockmark activities. If that process occurred, it would present important implications for reconstructing the long-term history of shallow gas hydrate activity based on submarine canyon development.     

天然气水合物研究中的几个重要问题

综述了当前关于天然气水合物研究中的几个重要问题，提出了今后的主要研究方向，全球大约有10^19g碳以天然气水合物的形式储存在沉积物中，大约是其它所有化石燃料沉积物形式储存量的2倍多，因此，天然气水合物被认为是21世纪具有商业开发无景的潜在的战略资源，天然气水合物是一种亚稳态物质，极易受到温度和压力条件的影响，海底天然气水合物的分解将会影响沉积物的物理化学性质（如剪切强度和流变性等），地球物理性质（如地震波速和电导性），以及地球化学性质（如孔隙流体成分）的明显变化，导致诸如海底滑塌等地质灾害的发生，天然气水合物的分解会产生导致“温室效应”的甲烷气体，该气体进入大气圈中会引起全球气候和环境的变化。     

Multi-factor sensitivity analysis on the stability of submarine hydrate-bearing slope

There are many factors affecting the instability of the submarine hydrate-bearing slope (SHBS), and the interaction with hydrate is very complicated. In this paper, the mechanical mechanism of the static liquefaction and instability of submarine slope caused by the dissociation of natural gas hydrate (NGH) resulting in the rapid increase of pore pressure of gas hydrate-bearing sediments (GHBS) and the decrease of effective stress are analyzed based on the time series and type of SHBS. Then, taking the typical submarine slope in the northern South China Sea as an example, four important factors affecting the stability of SHBS are selected, such as the degree of hydrate dissociation, the depth of hydrate burial, the thickness of hydrate, and the depth of seawater. According to the principle of orthogonal method, 25 orthogonal test schemes with 4 factors and 5 levels are designed and the safety factors of submarine slope stability of each scheme are calculated by using the strength reduction finite element method. By means of the orthogonal design range analysis and the variance analysis, sensitivity of influential factors on stability of SHBS are obtained. The results show that the degree of hydrate dissociation is the most sensitive, followed by hydrate burial depth, the thickness of hydrate and the depth of seawater. Finally, the concept of gas hydrate critical burial depth is put forward according to the influence law of gas hydrate burial depth, and the numerical simulation for specific submarine slope is carried out, which indicates the existence of critical burial depth.     

Progress in stability analysis of submarine slopes considering dissociation of gas hydrates

Gas hydrates have the potential to be a new energy source and a submarine geohazard. Though researchers generally agree about the association between gas hydrate dissociation and submarine slope failures, the processes and mechanism of submarine slope failure caused by gas hydrate dissociation are not clearly understood. In the last few years, some authors have tried to analyse submarine slope stability by considering the existence and dissociation of gas hydrate, and a few researchers have presented quantitative models. This paper presents a review of the various causes of submarine slope failures associated with gas hydrate dissociation. Also, analysis models of submarine slope stability associated with gas hydrate dissociation that are documented from the literatures including the infinite slope model, wedge model, slump and retrogressive failure model are interpreted and illustrated, respectively.     

天然气水合物发育的构造背景分析

大量的钻孔资料和地震剖面显示主动大陆边缘的增生楔和被动大陆边缘的俯冲-增生楔、断裂-褶皱系、底辟构造或泥火山、滑塌构造、海底扇、"麻坑"构造和陆地多年冻土区等多种地质构造背景是形成天然气水合物的有利场所,可形成构造圈闭型天然气水合物矿藏。这些地质构造背景一方面大多是深部热成因气、生物成因气或混合成因气体或流体向上运移到海底的通道,形成天然气水合物矿藏;另一方面也可能造成天然气水合物的温压环境改变,致使天然气水合物分解。海底滑塌亦可能是天然气水合物分解所致,是潜在的地质灾害。     

淹没水射流关键参数对天然气水合物沉积物冲蚀体积的影响规律研究

高压水射流技术具有工作介质来源广泛与环保等优点,能够用于海底天然气水合物储层破碎。本文运用LS-DYNA有限元程序对淹没状态下高压水射流对海洋天然气水合物沉积物破碎过程进行数值模拟,研究了射流速度、喷嘴直径、靶距、入射角度四项关键参数对含水合物沉积物冲蚀体积的影响,得出以下主要结论：含水合物沉积物产生破碎需要满足射流速度大于临界流速;随着射流速度的增加冲蚀体积逐渐增大;喷嘴直径的增加会导致沉积物径向冲蚀体积的增大,从而使总体冲蚀体积增大;靶距的增加会使水射流在水域运动过程中能量损失增大,导致冲蚀体积的减小;在喷嘴入射角度增大过程中冲蚀体积将会先增大后减小最后趋于稳定,当入射角度为10°时冲蚀体积能够达到最大值。     

Dissociation of gas hydrates by hydrocarbon migration and accumulation-derived slope failures: An example from the South China Sea

The mechanism of slope failure associated with overpressure that is caused by hydrocarbon migration and accumulation remains unclear. High-resolution seismic data and gas hydrate drilling data collected from the Shenhu gas hydrate field (site SH5) offer a valuable opportunity to study the relations between submarine slope failure and hydrocarbon accumulation and flow that is associated with a ～2 km-diameter gas chimney developed beneath site SH5 where none gas hydrates had been recovered by drilling and sampling despite the presence of distinct bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) and favorable gas hydrate indication. The mechanism of submarine slope failure resulted from buoyancy extrusion and seepage-derived deformation which were caused by overpressure from a ～1100 m-high gas column in a gas chimney was studied via numerical simulation. The ～9.55 MPa overpressure caused by hydrocarbons that migrated through the gas chimney and then accumulated beneath subsurface gas hydrate-bearing impermeable sediments. This may have resulted in a submarine slope failure, which disequilibrated the gas hydrate-bearing zone and completely decomposed the gas hydrate once precipitated at site SH5. Before the gas hydrate decomposition, the largely impermeable sediments overlying the gas chimney may have undergone a major upward deformation due to the buoyancy extrusion of the overpressure in the gas chimney, and slope failure was initiated from plastic strain of the sediments and reduced internal strength. Slope failure subsequently resulted in partial gas hydrate decomposition and sediment permeability increase. The pressurized gas in the gas chimney may have diffused into the overlying sediments controlled by seepage-derived deformation, causing an effective stress reduction at the base of the sediments and significant plastic deformation. This may have formed a new cycle of submarine slope failure and finally the total gas hydrate dissociation. The modeling results of buoyancy extrusion and seepage-derived deformation of the overpressure in the gas chimney would provide new understanding in the development of submarine slope failure and the link between slope failure and gas hydrate accumulation and dissociation.