含水合物沉积物声学特性的实验研究

天然气水合物沉积层声学特性的研究对于水合物的勘探及资源评价均有重要意义.目前,对纯水合物已有较多的岩石物性数据,但对含水合物沉积物的声学参数则研究较少.关于沉积物中水合物饱和度对声学性质的影响已有一些研究,但还不足以验证前人提出的理论模型,从而修正原有模型或建立新的模型.青岛海洋地质研究所取得了人工岩心中水合物饱和度与声速关系的初步研究成果,建议对系列人工岩心进行深入实验研究,建立一套水合物饱和度与声学特性关系的实验模型.     

天然气水合物超声和时域反射联合探测技术

首次将超声探测技术和时域反射技术集成于一个系统中,可实时探测沉积物中水合物饱和度和声学参数。进行了58个轮次的水合物生成与分解实验,超声、时域反射和温压异常3种方法所探测到的生成点、分解点吻合,这说明利用超声技术和时域反射技术联合探测沉积物中水合物的饱和度与声速是十分有效的,将有助于更好地了解含水合物沉积层的物理性质,为海洋天然气水合物的地球物理勘探和资源评价提供基础性参数。     

天然气水合物相平衡研究的实验技术与方法

介绍了水溶液中天然气水合物相平衡研究的各种实验技术及测定方法 ;对于沉积物中水合物相平衡条件的研究 ,着重探讨了电阻法、超声法及 TDR法等探测技术。实验装置的发展完善和探测技术的提高 ,将极大地推动沉积物中天然气水合物的相平衡条件的研究。     

ERT在水合物在线监测中的应用:以结融冰过程为例

电阻率层析成像技术(ERT)作为一种岩心尺度的可视化测试手段,在天然气水合物成藏-开采过程模拟方面具有广阔的应用前景。目前国内专门针对天然气水合物合成-分解过程进行电阻率层析成像观测的报道较少。本文采用自主研发的天然气水合物电阻率层析成像测试系统,以冰的形成和融解过程为例,探讨了电阻率层析成像技术在天然气水合物可视化观测中的可用性。实验结果表明,电阻率层析成像技术能够实时在线监测沉积物体系中冰的形成和溶解过程,以及该过程中冰在沉积物孔隙中的分布规律。结冰-融冰过程中沉积物体系的电导率分布受温度、孔隙连通性、盐度因素影响,排盐效应对电导率不均匀性分布影响明显。研究结果对进一步开展电阻率层析成像技术在天然气水合物探测方面的应用有一定的参考意义。     

沉积物中天然气水合物合成及开采模拟实验研究

基于自行研发的天然气水合物模拟开采实验装置,进行了电加热法和减压法2种开采技术的实验研究.实验材料采用粒径为0.18～0.25 mm的自然砂,0.03%的十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)水溶液和高纯甲烷,每次实验都分为水合物合成和开采两个阶段.实验结果表明:水合物首先在沉积物体系上层与外侧生成,然后在体系内部逐渐生成.在电加热法开采过程中,可分为初始分解、沉积物体系升温、大量分解3个阶段,加热点的位置、热量传递方向和速率决定着沉积物中水合物的分解位置和速率,该方法能量利用率较低.在减压法开采过程中,水合物分解速度先快后慢,设置的分解压力越低,分解速度越快.     

ODP研究天然气水合物的科学目标

研究天然气水合物的成功计划需要研究沉积岩中影响水合物形成和分解的相关过程。这样 ,ＯＤＰ项目建议书应选定下述内容 :（１）确定沉积物的气被溶解、形成水合物和进入游离气等相态。（２）识别和定量分析从天然气水合物稳定的温压状态中天然气进入和逸出之散射与对流过程。（３）确定在沉积物中什么地方可发育天然气水合物。（４）确定水合物的存在对沉积物成岩作用的影响。（５）查清为什么由于水合物的存在而改变了沉积物的物理性质。（６）提高和调整估算天然气水合物储量的间接检测技术。（７）确定是否甲烷气能有效地从地质储层中转…     

天然气水合物样品保压转移及处理技术系统设计

天然气水合物样品保压取样技术已经成熟,但保压样品只能进行压降处理成为常压样品,这种方法很大程度上影响了水合物在沉积物中的存在初始状况,压力的急骤变化以及温度的变化都会引起沉积物中水合物成分析出,影响后处理的判别。样品保压转移及处理技术不仅是未来天然气水合物资源勘探技术的发展趋势,也是重要技术手段之一。天然气水合物保压样品的获取、检测、处理是天然气水合物取样技术从初级走向成熟阶段的重要标志。介绍了天然气水合物沉积物样品保压转移及处理技术的设计思路及系统各组成单元。该系统主要由天然气水合物样品保压转移系统、天然气水合物保压样品在线探测及岩心分析系统等2部分组成。该系统的设计为今后天然气水合物资源的勘探和开发提供了很好的技术支撑。     

南海北部神狐海域沉积物中烃类气体的地球化学特征

烃类气体是形成天然气水合物的物质基础,浅表层沉积物顶空气中烃类气体的异常特征可用来探测深部是否存在天然气水合物藏.对南海北部神狐海域浅表层沉积物以及钻探采获的含或不含天然气水合物的沉积物的顶空气样品中烃类气体组分和同位素组成进行了测试分析,结果表明:291个1 mbsf(bsf,below sea floor)沉积物顶...     

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。     

含水合物沉积物声学特性——实验模拟与数值模拟的对比分析

含水合物沉积物声学特性在水合物勘探中非常重要。针对含水合物沉积物声学特性,前人通过实验模拟及岩石物理建模已取得一定的进展,但基于实验条件开展的数值模拟及其结果的对比研究仍鲜有涉及。笔者拟采用实验室物理模拟与实验储层数值模拟相结合的方法,通过物理实验模拟获得水合物储层声学特征。在此基础上,以实验物理模型以及声波采集系统为基本构建对应条件下的近似地质模型和声波观测系统,分别在50 kHz和80 Hz频率条件下获得具有不同水合物饱和度储层的波形记录和波场快照,并获得不同时间点和饱和度条件下的储层速度,对比分析实验模拟与数值模拟获得结果的异同。研究表明在3种模拟条件下获得的不同时刻的含水合物储层声速对应关系良好,数值模拟结果很好地印证了实验室模拟实验的结果,表明在实验室内进行相应物理模型的岩石物理模拟实验具有可行性。将实验模拟与数值模拟结果同野外探测数据对比分析,具有一致的变化趋势,表明物理模拟实验和数值模拟结果对野外勘探数据分析具有重要的指导意义。     

Gas hydrate accumulation at the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano

Gas hydrate (GH) accumulation is characterized and modeled for the Håkon Mosby mud volcano, ca. 1.5?km across, located on the Norway–Barents–Svalbard margin. Pore water chemical and isotopic results based on shallow sediment cores as well as geothermal and geomorphological data suggest that the GH accumulation is of a concentric pattern controlled by and formed essentially from the ascending mud volcano fluid. The gas hydrate content of sediment peaks at 25% by volume, averaging about 1.2% throughout the accumulation. The amount of hydrate methane is estimated at ca. 10⁸?m³ STP, which could account for about 1–10% of the gas that has escaped from the volcano since its origin.     

The characteristics of gas hydrates recovered from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

Systematic analyses have been carried out on two gas hydrate-bearing sediment core samples, HYPV4, which was preserved by CH₄ gas pressurization, and HYLN7, which was preserved in liquid-nitrogen, recovered from the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Stratigraphic Test Well. Gas hydrate in the studied core samples was found by observation to have developed in sediment pores, and the distribution of hydrate saturation in the cores imply that gas hydrate had experienced stepwise dissociation before it was stabilized by either liquid nitrogen or pressurizing gas. The gas hydrates were determined to be structure Type I hydrate with hydration numbers of approximately 6.1 by instrumentation methods such as powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and solid state ¹³C NMR. The hydrate gas composition was predominantly methane, and isotopic analysis showed that the methane was of thermogenic origin (mean δ¹³C = −48.6‰ and δ_D = −248‰ for sample HYLN7). Isotopic analysis of methane from sample HYPV4 revealed secondary hydrate formation from the pressurizing methane gas during storage.     

Possible variation in methane flux caused by gas hydrate formation on the northeastern continental slope off Sakhalin Island, Russia

The Sakhalin Slope Gas Hydrate Project (SSGH) is an international collaborative effort by scientists from Japan, Korea, and Russia to investigate natural gas hydrates (GHs) that have accumulated on the continental slope off Sakhalin Island, Okhotsk Sea. From 2009 to 2011, field operations of the SSGH-09, -10, and -11 projects were conducted. GH-bearing and -free sediment cores were retrieved using steel hydro- and gravity corers. The concentrations of sulfate ions in sediment pore waters were measured to investigate sulfate concentration–depth profiles. Seventeen cores showed linear depth profiles of sulfate concentrations. In contrast, eight cores and two cores showed concave-up and -down profiles plausibly explained by sudden increase and decrease in methane flux from below, respectively, presumably caused by the formation of gas hydrate adjacent to the core sampling sites.     

In situ hydrocarbon concentrations from pressurized cores in surface sediments, Northern Gulf of Mexico

Two newly developed coring devices, the Multi-Autoclave-Corer and the Dynamic Autoclave Piston Corer were deployed in shallow gas hydrate-bearing sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico during research cruise SO174 (Oct–Nov 2003). For the first time, they enable the retrieval of near-surface sediment cores under ambient pressure. This enables the determination of in situ methane concentrations and amounts of gas hydrate in sediment depths where bottom water temperature and pressure changes most strongly influence gas/hydrate relationships. At seep sites of GC185 (Bush Hill) and the newly discovered sites at GC415, we determined the volume of low-weight hydrocarbons (C₁ through C₅) from nine pressurized cores via controlled degassing. The resulting in situ methane concentrations vary by two orders of magnitudes between 0.031 and 0.985 mol kg^− 1 pore water below the zone of sulfate depletion. This includes dissolved, free, and hydrate-bound CH₄. Combined with results from conventional cores, this establishes a variability of methane concentrations in close proximity to seep sites of five orders of magnitude. In total four out of nine pressure cores had CH₄ concentrations above equilibrium with gas hydrates. Two of them contain gas hydrate volumes of 15% (GC185) and 18% (GC415) of pore space. The measurements prove that the highest methane concentrations are not necessarily related to the highest advection rates. Brine advection inhibits gas hydrate stability a few centimeters below the sediment surface at the depth of anaerobic oxidation of methane and thus inhibits the storage of enhanced methane volumes. Here, computerized tomography (CT) of the pressure cores detected small amounts of free gas. This finding has major implications for methane distribution, possible consumption, and escape into the bottom water in fluid flow systems related to halokinesis.     

The thermal structure of the Dvurechenskii mud volcano and its implications for gas hydrate stability and eruption dynamics

The sediment temperature distribution at mud volcanoes provides insights into their activity and into the occurrence of gas hydrates. If ambient pressure and temperature conditions are close to the limits of the gas hydrate stability field, the sediment temperature distribution not only limits the occurrence of gas hydrates, but is itself influenced by heat production and consumption related to the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates. Located in the Sorokin Trough in the northern Black Sea, the Dvurechenskii mud volcano (DMV) was in the focus of detailed investigations during the M72/2 and M73/3a cruises of the German R/V Meteor and the ROV Quest 4000 m in February and March 2007. A large number of in-situ sediment temperature measurements were conducted from the ROV and with a sensor-equipped gravity corer. Gas hydrates were sampled in pressurized cores using a dynamic autoclave piston corer (DAPC). The thermal structure of the DMV suggests a regime of fluid flow at rates decreasing from the summit towards the edges of the mud volcano, accompanied by intermittent mud expulsion at the summit. Modeled gas hydrate dissociation temperatures reveal that the gas hydrates at the DMV are very close to the stability limits. Changes in heat flow due to variable seepage rates probably do not result in changes in sediment temperature but are compensated by gas hydrate dissociation and formation.     

Pore fluid geochemistry from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

The BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled and cored from 606.5 to 760.1 m on the North Slope of Alaska, to evaluate the occurrence, distribution and formation of gas hydrate in sediments below the base of the ice-bearing permafrost. Both the dissolved chloride and the isotopic composition of the water co-vary in the gas hydrate-bearing zones, consistent with gas hydrate dissociation during core recovery, and they provide independent indicators to constrain the zone of gas hydrate occurrence. Analyses of chloride and water isotope data indicate that an observed increase in salinity towards the top of the cored section reflects the presence of residual fluids from ion exclusion during ice formation at the base of the permafrost layer. These salinity changes are the main factor controlling major and minor ion distributions in the Mount Elbert Well. The resulting background chloride can be simulated with a one-dimensional diffusion model, and the results suggest that the ion exclusion at the top of the cored section reflects deepening of the permafrost layer following the last glaciation (∼100 kyr), consistent with published thermal models. Gas hydrate saturation values estimated from dissolved chloride agree with estimates based on logging data when the gas hydrate occupies more than 20% of the pore space; the correlation is less robust at lower saturation values. The highest gas hydrate concentrations at the Mount Elbert Well are clearly associated with coarse-grained sedimentary sections, as expected from theoretical calculations and field observations in marine and other arctic sediment cores.     

南海东北部硫酸盐还原-甲烷厌氧氧化界面——海底强烈甲烷渗溢的记录

南海东北部沉积物顶空气甲烷含量较高,海底存在明显的甲烷渗溢现象。该海域6个沉积物岩心的孔隙水硫酸盐浓度和顶空气甲烷含量随深度变化而变化,出现明显的硫酸盐-甲烷互相消耗区域,硫酸盐和甲烷浓度均急剧下降。HD109、HD170、HD196A、HD200、HD319和GC10等6个岩心的硫酸盐还原-甲烷厌氧氧化界面(SMI)分别位于704、911、728、636、888、792cm处,完全落入全球水合物区富甲烷环境的SMI深度范围之内。强烈的甲烷渗溢过程使得硫酸盐-甲烷互相消耗作用加剧,并形成浅的SMI。浅的SMI显示了东北部存在强烈的甲烷渗溢活动以及强烈的甲烷厌氧氧化作用,具有天然气水合物成藏的典型特征。     

Acoustic wave attenuation in the gas hydrate-bearing sediments of Well GC955H,Gulf of Mexico

A better understanding of wave attenuation in hydrate-bearing sediments is necessary for the improved geophysical quantification of marine gas hydrates. Here we compare the attenuation behavior of hydrate-saturated vs water-saturated sediments at site GC955H, in the Gulf of Mexico, which was surveyed during the JIP Leg II expedition. We compute the P-wave attenuation of the gas hydrate bearing sediments using the median frequency shift method on the monopole waveforms. The results show that P-wave attenuation due to low saturation (<?0.4) in hydrate-filled fractures of fine-grained sediment is comparable to that of the water-filled fracture case. On the contrary, P-wave attenuation due to high saturation (>?0.4) in the hydrate-filled pores of coarse-grained sediments can be up to as much as three times more than that of the water-saturated case. The correlation analysis shows that the P-wave attenuation increases with the increasing gas hydrate saturation for the highly saturated gas hydrate-bearing sand interval while the correlation of the P-wave attenuation and hydrate saturation is weak for low saturated gas hydrate-bearing shale interval. The results show that P-wave attenuation is more likely to be used as a geophysical proxy for gas hydrate quantification of highly concentrated coarse-grained sediment rather than for that of fine-grained sediment. To examine the P-wave behavior in sand, we use the improved LCAM model, which accounts for physical factors such as grain boundary roughness and squirt flow to explain the observed differences in P-wave attenuation between hydrate and water-saturated coarse-grained sediment. Our results provide further geophysical evidences for P-wave behavior in the gas hydrate-bearing sediments in the field.