Geochemical characteristics of sediment pore water from Site XS-01 in the Xisha trough of South China Sea and their significance for gas hydrate occurrence |
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Authors: | Yang Tao Jiang Shaoyong Ge Lu Yang Jinghong Ling Hongfei Wu Nengyou Zhang Guangxue Liu Jian and Chen Daohua |
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Institution: | (1) State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China;(2) Center for Marine Geochemistry Research, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China;(3) The Key Laboratory of Coastal and Island Development, Ministry of Education, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China;(4) Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Guangzhou, 510760, China |
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Abstract: | Gas hydrate is a recently-found new source of energy that mostly exists in marine sediments. In recent years, we have conducted
gas hydrate exploration in the South China Sea. The Xisha trough, one of the promising target areas for gas hydrate, is located
in the northern margin of the South China Sea, adjacent to several large oil and gas fields. The Xisha trough extends 420
km long with the water depth of 1 500 m in the west part and 3 400 m in the east part and deposits thick sediments with organic
matter content of 0.41%–1.02%. Previous studies on topographical features, geological P-T conditions, structural geology,
sedimentary geology and geophysical bottom simulating reflectors (BSR) in the Xisha trough suggest that this area is favorable
for the formation and accumulation of gas hydrate. In this paper, we present geochemical analyses for the sediment and pore
water from a piston core at Site XS-01 in the Xisha trough. Seven pore water samples were analyzed for their anion (Cl−, SO4
2−, Br−, I−) contents, cation (Na, K, Ca, Mg) contents and trace element (Li, B, Sr, Ba, Rb, Mn) contents. Eight sediment samples were
analyzed for stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions. A number of geochemical anomalies such as anions (e.g. Cl−, SO4
2−), cations (e.g. Ca, Mg) and trace elements (e.g. Sr, Ba, B) were found in this study. For example, the concentrations of
Cl− and SO4
2− in pore water show a decreasing trend with depth. The estimated sulfate/methane interface (SMI) is only 18 m, which is quite
similar to the SMI value of 23 m in the ODP164 Leg 997 at Blake Ridge. The Ca, Mg and Sr concentrations of pore water also
decrease with depth, but concentrations of Ba, and Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios increase with depth. These geochemical anomalies
are quite similar to those found in gas hydrate locations in the world such as the Blake Ridge and may be related to the formation
and dissociation of gas hydrates. The salt exclusion effect during the gas hydrate formation will cause an increase in major
ion concentrations in the pore waters that diffused upward such as Cl. The anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) may lead to the
change of SO4
2− and other cations such as Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba in pore water. Low δ
13C value of authigenic carbonates is a good indicator for gas hydrate occurrence. However, the bulk sediment samples we analyzed
all show normal δ
13C values similar to biogenic marine carbonates, and this may also suggest that no gas hydrate-related authigenic carbonates
exist or their amount is so small that they are not detectable by using this bulk analytical method. In conclusion, we suggest
that the Site XS-01 in the Xisha trough of the northern margin of the South China Sea is a potential target for further gas
hydrate exploration.
Translated from Quaternary Sciences, 2006, 26(3): 442–448 译自: 第四纪研究] |
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Keywords: | gas hydrate ion contents C-O isotopes pore water Xisha trough |
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