Pockmarks: Submarine vents of natural gas or freshwater seeps?

Shallow depressions (pockmarks) in recent sediments of the western Baltic Sea were investigated as the possible surface expression of a deeper-seated hydrocarbon reservoir or a submarine freshwater discharge. Hydrocarbon gases extracted from the recent sediments associated with pockmarks had molecular and isotopic compositions different from those in the deeper Schwedeneck field. Salinities in the vicinity of the pockmarks decreased from brackish Baltic seawater to freshwater conditions with depth. Freshwater outflow from underlying glacial sediment aquifers is the likely cause of these pockmarks.     

Bacterioplankton growth and production at the Louisiana hydrocarbon seeps

The growth rate and potential production of bacterioplankton in cold hydrocarbon seeps located along the Louisiana coast were determined using a pulse-labeling technique. Surprisingly, community doubling times are on the order of 1.1 h, which compares to laboratory-grown cultures. We also found that there are differences in growth rates on relatively small geographic scales, suggesting the influence of site-specific geological features (e.g., gas hydrate mounds). Proceeding downslope to deeper waters, methane-oxidizing bacteria appeared to play a more significant role in community productivity. These preliminary experiments indicated, quite unexpectedly, that water column microbes are growing at a more rapid rate than in any other marine system so far studied and that methane may serve as a primary nutrient (carbon) source in these seep-associated microbial assemblages.     

Compositional changes in natural gas bubble plumes: observations from the Coal Oil Point marine hydrocarbon seep field

Detailed measurements of bubble composition, dissolved gas concentrations, and plume dynamics were conducted during a 9-month period at a very intense, shallow (22-m water depth) marine hydrocarbon seep in the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Methane, carbon dioxide, and heavier hydrocarbons were lost from rising seep bubbles, while nitrogen and oxygen were gained. Within the rising seawater bubble plume, dissolved methane concentrations were more than 4 orders of magnitude greater than atmospheric equilibrium concentrations. Strong upwelling flows were observed and bubble-rise times were ~40 s, demonstrating the rapid exchange of gases within the bubble plume.     

Time series video analysis of bubble release processes at natural hydrocarbon seeps in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

This research quantifies the rate and volume of oil and gas released from two natural seep sites in the Gulf of Mexico: lease blocks GC600 (1200 m depth) and MC118 (850 m depth). Our objectives were to determine variability in release rates and bubble size at five individual vents and to investigate the effects of tidal fluctuations on bubble release. Observations with autonomous video cameras captured the formation of individual bubbles as they were released through partially exposed deposits of gas hydrate. Image processing techniques determined bubble type (oily, gaseous, and mixed: oily and gaseous), size distribution, release rate, and temporal variations (observation intervals ranged from 3 h to 26 d). A semi-automatic bubble counting algorithm was developed to analyze bubble count and release rates from video data. This method is suitable for discrete vents with small bubble streams commonly seen at seeps and is adaptable to multiple in situ set-ups. Two vents at GC600 (Birthday Candles 1 and Birthday Candles 2) were analyzed. They released oily bubbles with an average diameter of 5.0 mm at a rate of 4.7 bubbles s⁻¹, and 1.3 bubbles s⁻¹, respectively. Approximately 1 km away, within the GC600 seep site, two more vents (Mega Plume 1 and Mega Plume 2) were analyzed. These vents released a mixture of oily and gaseous bubbles with an average diameter of 3.9 mm at a rate of 49 bubbles s⁻¹, and 81 bubbles s⁻¹, respectively. The fifth vent at MC118 (Rudyville) released gaseous bubbles with an average diameter of 3.0 mm at a rate of 127 bubbles s⁻¹. Pressure records at Mega Plume and Rudyville showed a diurnal tidal cycle (24.5 h). Rudyville was the only vent that demonstrated any positive correlation (ρ = 0.60) to the 24.5 h diurnal tidal cycle. However, these observations were not conclusive regarding tidal effects on bubble release.     

Establishing hydrocarbon charge to the Ashmore Platform,Bonaparte Basin,Australia: A natural seeps study

To date there is one proven hydrocarbon accumulation on the Ashmore Platform, Bonaparte Basin, Australia, with hydrocarbon charge remaining a key exploration risk. To the south, the neighbouring Browse Basin has proven lateral migration of generated hydrocarbons to the basin bounding highs, as evidenced by seeps located on the Yampi Shelf. This paper describes the findings of a natural seeps study carried out to establish if migrating subsurface hydrocarbons reach the southern flanks of the Ashmore Platform basement high. The integrated study combined remote sensing, geophysical, acoustic, photographic and geochemical techniques and has identified three areas of seepage; one area characteristic of persistent seepage and two areas of interpreted episodic leakage. Geochemical data collected from samples at one of these sites demonstrates the presence of thermogenic liquid hydrocarbons, with isotopic compositions falling within the range of values exhibited by oils sourced by the Lower Cretaceous Echuca Shoals Formation. The identification of active natural seepage along the southern flank of the Ashmore Platform provides evidence that hydrocarbons generated within the Caswell Sub-basin are able to laterally migrate onto the flanks of the Ashmore Platform structural high. As such, these findings reduce charge risk for the Ashmore Platform and regional exploration risks in the northern Browse Basin.     

A highly concentrated region of cold hydrocarbon seeps in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea

In July 1999, we conducted a side-scan sonar survey in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea, between 300- and 800-m water depths approximately 30 nautical miles from the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip. Examination of the sonar imagery revealed numerous acoustic targets, each on the order of a few meters and surrounded by small depressions. Subsequent visual inspection of two of these targets by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) revealed they were cold hydrocarbon seeps through which small bubbles of gas and shimmering fluids were emitted. Surrounding each cold seep were benthic communities of organisms. The ROV was used to gather video and still-camera imagery, map the surrounding microbathymetry, and collect samples of the seep structure and associated organisms. A sub-bottom profiler, which was attached to the ROV, was used to image the submerged structure of the second seep site. Further examination and analysis revealed that the seeps comprise hard deposits of calcium carbonate, and that the organisms are clams and polychaetes which are probably chemosymbiotic. The origin of the seep gas is hypothesized to be the natural decay of organic matter in the sapropel sediment, leading to the production of methane. Circulating fluids, which carry the dissolved gas through preferential pathways along small faults or bedding planes, percolate through the seafloor, precipitate calcium carbonate, release gas, and support the benthic organisms.     

Gas flux and carbonate occurrence at a shallow seep of thermogenic natural gas

The Coal Oil Point seep field located offshore Santa Barbara, CA, consists of dozens of named seeps, including a peripheral ～200 m² area known as Brian Seep, located in 10 m water depth. A single comprehensive survey of gas flux at Brian Seep yielded a methane release rate of ～450 moles of CH₄ per day, originating from 68 persistent gas vents and 23 intermittent vents, with gas flux among persistent vents displaying a log normal frequency distribution. A subsequent series of 33 repeat surveys conducted over a period of 6 months tracked eight persistent vents, and revealed substantial temporal variability in gas venting, with flux from each individual vent varying by more than a factor of 4. During wintertime surveys sediment was largely absent from the site, and carbonate concretions were exposed at the seafloor. The presence of the carbonates was unexpected, as the thermogenic seep gas contains 6.7% CO₂, which should act to dissolve carbonates. The average δ¹³C of the carbonates was ?29.2?±?2.8‰ VPDB, compared to a range of ?1.0 to +7.8‰ for CO₂ in the seep gas, indicating that CO₂ from the seep gas is quantitatively not as important as ¹³C-depleted bicarbonate derived from methane oxidation. Methane, with a δ¹³C of approximately ?43‰, is oxidized and the resulting inorganic carbon precipitates as high-magnesium calcite and other carbonate minerals. This finding is supported by ¹³C-depleted biomarkers typically associated with anaerobic methanotrophic archaea and their bacterial syntrophic partners in the carbonates (lipid biomarker δ¹³C ranged from ?84 to ?25‰). The inconsistency in δ¹³C between the carbonates and the seeping CO₂ was resolved by discovering pockets of gas trapped near the base of the sediment column with δ¹³C-CO₂ values ranging from ?26.9 to ?11.6‰. A mechanism of carbonate formation is proposed in which carbonates form near the sediment–bedrock interface during times of sufficient sediment coverage, in which anaerobic oxidation of methane is favored. Precipitation occurs at a sufficient distance from active venting for the molecular and isotopic composition of seep gas to be masked by the generation of carbonate alkalinity from anaerobic methane oxidation.

Natural oil and gas seeps on the Black Sea floor

Migration of hydrocarbons to the seafloor in the Black Sea occurs via direct seepages, mud volcanoes, and development of fluidized sediment flows (e.g., diapers). Gas migration occurs on the shelf, continental slope, and abyssal plain. Gas hydrates are spatially related to gas accumulations and are present in shallow subsurface sediment layers. Their distribution is controlled by the activity of mud volcanoes. In regions of methane seepages, specific biogeochemical processes related to the activity of methane-oxidizing bacteria are evident. This activity results in the formation of diagenetic minerals (carbonates, sulfides, sulfates, phosphates and other minerals).     

海洋沉积物的磁化率——天然气水合物的新指标

天然气水合物是21世纪最具开发潜力的新型能源。它在低温、高压条件下稳定存在,主要分布于大陆边缘、深水盆地及冻土带,在环境和灾害等方面都具有重要影响。目前,人们已发展了地质、地球物理、地球化学等多种天然气水合物的识别方法和指标,但不同的方法或指标具有各自的局限性和适用范围,同时天然气水合物是否存在也需要多种识别技术的集成...     

Oyster patch reefs as indicators of fossil hydrocarbon seeps induced by synsedimentary faults

The Late Jurassic deposits of the Boulonnais area (N-France) represent the proximal lateral-equivalent of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation; they accumulated on a clastic-dominated ramp subject to synsedimentary faulting as a result of the Atlantic Ocean rifting. In the Gris-Nez Cape area, i.e., close to the northern border fault zone of the Jurassic basin, the Late Jurassic sequence contains small-dimensioned oyster patch reefs (<1 m) that are specifically observed at the base of an abrupt deepening trend in the depositional sequence induced by well-defined pulses of normal fault activity. Petrographic analysis of these patch reefs shows that they are exclusively composed of Nanogyra nana embedded in a microsparitic calcite matrix. ™¹³C measurements, carried out within both the matrix and the shells, display significantly lower values in the matrix compared to the oyster shells which suggests that the carbonate matrix precipitation was involving a carbon source different from marine dissolved inorganic carbon, most probably related to sulfate reduction, which is evidenced by light ™³⁴S in pyrites. Similarities but also differences with lucinid-rich bioconstructions, namely, the Late Jurassic pseudo-bioherms of Beauvoisin (SE-France) suggest that the patch reefs developed at hydrocarbon seeps are related to synsedimentary faults. The extensional block-faulting segmentation of the northern margin of the Boulonnais Basin in Late Jurassic times is thus believed to have induced a sort of small-dimension hydrocarbon seepage field, recorded by the patch reef distribution.     

Using iron speciation in authigenic carbonates from hydrocarbon seeps to trace variable redox conditions

Seepage of hydrocarbon-rich fluids out of the marine sedimentary column is characterized by temporal changes of flow intensity and resultant spatially variable redox conditions. Authigenic carbonates at marine hydrocarbon seeps provide excellent geological and geochemical archives that serve to explore seepage dynamics over time. In this study, we investigated the potential of Mössbuaer spectroscopy and Fe contents of seep-related authigenic carbonates from the Congo Fan, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Black Sea for reconstructing past redox conditions and fluid seepage activity at cold seeps. The Fe speciation observed by Mössbauer spectroscopy and Fe contents suggest that (1) the Congo Fan carbonates precipitated in a sulfidic environment, (2) the formation conditions of seep carbonates were variable at the Gulf of Mexico seep site, ranging from oxic to suboxic and anoxic and even spanning into the methanogenic zone, and (3) the stratified water column of the Black Sea or suboxic condition resulted in low Fe contents of Black Sea carbonates. The study reveals that Fe speciation can provide constraints on the wide range of redox conditions that imprinted seep carbonates during the life span of seepage. Similarly, Mössbauer spectroscopy – particularly when used in combination with the analysis of redox-sensitive elements – is a promising tool to trace variable redox conditions in marine paleoenvironments other than seeps.     

海洋天然气水合物储层蠕变行为的主控因素与研究展望

蠕变是指沉积物在特定应力状态下变形与时间的关系,属于沉积物的固有力学属性。厘清海洋天然气水合物开采过程中储层蠕变的主控因素及其控制机理,对量化评价潜在工程地质风险的发生和演变规律具有重要意义。本文将在综述海洋天然气水合物储层破坏特征的基础上,梳理海洋天然气水合物储层蠕变特征及主控因素,厘清关键科学问题;结合最新研究成果,阐述天然气水合物储层蠕变特征多尺度表征与探测技术体系的基本内涵,简要探讨该领域的未来研究方向。初步分析认为,海洋天然气水合物开采过程中储层蠕变行为是水合物本身及其分解产出过程中的应力、温度、渗流等动态因素综合作用的结果,现有蠕变本构模型无法完全反映上述相变-传热-渗流-应力多场多相多组分耦合过程。为建立适合南海北部水合物储层的蠕变本构,进而为后续开采工程安全设计提供理论支撑,建议从天然气水合物储层的力学性能弱化特征及蠕变各阶段的时效参数两方面入手,从分子尺度、纳微尺度、岩心尺度、中试尺度、矿藏尺度5个层面,建立天然气水合物储层蠕变行为的跨尺度研究方法体系;以南海实际储层样品为研究对象,剖析天然气水合物开采过程中储层蠕变行为的主控因素。     

Geology and hydrocarbon accumulations in the deepwater of the northwestern South China Sea——with focus on natural gas

The deepwater of the northwestern South China Sea is located in the central to southern parts of the Qiongdongnan Basin(QDN Basin),which is a key site for hydrocarbon exploration in recent years.In this study,the authors did a comprehensive analysis of gravity-magnetic data,extensive 3D seismic survey,cores and cuttings,paleontology and geochemical indexes,proposed the mechanism of natural gas origin,identified different oil and gas systems,and established the model of hydrocarbon accumulations in the deep-water region.Our basin tectonic simulation indicates that the evolution of QDN Basin was controlled by multiple-phased tectonic movements,such as Indochina-Eurasian Plate collision,Tibetan Uplift,Red River faulting and the expansion of the South China Sea which is characterized by Paleogene rifting,Neogene depression,and Eocene intensive faulting and lacustrine deposits.The drilling results show that this region is dominated by marineterrestrial transitional and neritic-bathyal facies from the early Oligocene.The Yacheng Formation of the early Oligocene is rich in organic matter and a main gas-source rock.According to the geological-geochemical data from the latest drilling wells,Lingshui,Baodao,Changchang Sags have good hydrocarbon-generating potentials,where two plays from the Paleogene and Neogene reservoirs were developed.Those reservoirs occur in central canyon structural-lithologic trap zone,Changchang marginal trap zone and southern fault terrace of Baodao Sag.Among them,the central canyon trap zone has a great potential for exploration because the various reservoirforming elements are well developed,i.e.,good coal-measure source rocks,sufficient reservoirs from the Neogene turbidity sandstone and submarine fan,faults connecting source rock and reservoirs,effective vertical migration,late stage aggregation and favorable structural–lithological composite trapping.These study results provide an important scientific basis for hydrocarbon exploration in this region,evidenced by the recent discovery of the significant commercial LS-A gas field in the central canyon of the Lingshui Sag.     

海域天然气水合物吸力筒式开采装置及方法

天然气水合物具有很高的资源价值,众多国家正在开展相关研究与勘探,试采设备和技术取得了一定的发展,但离商业化开采还有很多关键技术问题需要解决。提出一种新型海域天然气水合物开采装置——吸力筒式开采装置及方法,主要包括开采筒、沉贯水泵和气液举升系统等,其整体由钢结构组合而成,依靠吸力和重力作用进入储层,然后进行降压开采,待作业结束后可回收重复使用。参照我国南海神狐海域地质,从理论上分析了新装置两个不同形态的贯入原理,并通过CMG STARS模拟研究新型开采方法的产能提升情况,由于吸力筒式开采装置能实现更大降压幅度并且扩大水合物分解面积,故产气效率相对于传统方法提高约2.46~11.69倍。吸力筒式开采装置具有结构强度高、开采半径大和施工简便等特点,有望做到“提产降本”,为实现海域天然气水合物商业化开采提供一条新思路。     

Geologic control of natural marine hydrocarbon seep emissions, Coal Oil Point seep field, California

High-resolution sonar surveys, and a detailed subsurface model constructed from 3D seismic and well data allowed investigation of the relationship between the subsurface geology and gas-phase (methane) seepage for the Coal Oil Point (COP) seep field, one of the world’s largest and best-studied marine oil and gas seep fields, located over a producing hydrocarbon reservoir near Santa Barbara, California. In general, the relationship between terrestrial gas seepage, migration pathways, and hydrocarbon reservoirs has been difficult to assess, in part because the detection and mapping of gas seepage is problematic. For marine seepage, sonar surveys are an effective tool for mapping seep gas bubbles, and thus spatial distributions. Seepage in the COP seep field occurs in an east–west-trending zone about 3–4 km offshore, and in another zone about 1–2 km from shore. The farthest offshore seeps are mostly located near the crest of a major fold, and also along the trend of major faults. Significantly, because faults observed to cut the fold do not account for all the observed seepage, seepage must occur through fracture and joint systems that are difficult to detect, including intersecting faults and fault damage zones. Inshore seeps are concentrated within the hanging wall of a major reverse fault. The subsurface model lacks the resolution to identify specific structural sources in that area. Although to first order the spatial distribution of seeps generally is related to the major structures, other factors must also control their distribution. The region is known to be critically stressed, which would enhance hydraulic conductivity of favorably oriented faults, joints, and bedding planes. We propose that this process explains much of the remaining spatial distribution.     

Population structure of the mussel “Bathymodiolus” childressi from Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbon seeps

Hydrocarbon and brine seeps in the deep regions of the northern and western Gulf of Mexico often support populations of the bathymodiolin mussel, “Bathymodiolus” childressi. In this study, we use two mitochondrial and six nuclear DNA markers to investigate relationships within the metapopulation of “B.” childressi in the Gulf of Mexico from Mississippi Canyon to Alaminos Canyon over a range of 527–2222 m in depth and approximately 550 km in distance. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and size polymorphism analysis of the markers suggest that populations are not genetically differentiated. F_ST values were not significantly different from zero. The presence of a panmictic population of “B.” childressi over such a broad range of depth suggests that this species may be quite different from most members of the Gulf of Mexico seep chemosynthetic communities.