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。     

基于X射线衍射法对天然气水合物测试分析研究概述

天然气水合物（下称“水合物”）是由烃类气体和水分子组成,主要赋存于具有低温高压环境的海底沉积物和陆地永久冻土区,形成固态类冰的笼型结晶化合物（Sloan,1998）,又称“可燃冰”或者笼形包合物。水合物储载气体的能力极强,是一种超高密度的能源贮藏体,理论上1 m3水合物,储载了164 m3的甲烷气体（施伟光,2015）,据估计水合物全球储量是全球化石燃料的2倍,可以说是潜力巨大的高效清洁能源。     

孔隙介质中天然气水合物相变过程的影响因素研究进展

天然气水合物储量巨大且富含甲烷,被视为21世纪最重要的潜在新型清洁能源之一.天然气水合物大多赋存在海底沉积物的孔隙介质中(少部分赋存于永久冻土层中),对其相变过程受孔隙介质影响规律的系统梳理和总结对未来的勘探开发具有重要意义.本文综合分析前人研究成果,将孔隙介质中天然气水合物的相变过程概化为水合物形成分解时的温压平衡条...     

南海北部陆坡西沙海槽XS-01站位沉积物孔隙水的 地球化学特征及其对天然气水合物的指示意义*

天然气水合物是近年来国际上发现的一种新型能源,大量赋存在海底沉积物中。西沙海槽位于南海北部陆坡区,周边有多个大型深水油气田区。对该区地形地貌、地质构造和沉积条件分析以及地球物理BSR分布表明,西沙海槽是我国海洋天然气水合物资源勘查的一个有利远景区。文章主要研究了位于西沙海槽最大BSR区内的XS-01站位沉积物孔隙水的地球化学特征,发现该站位孔隙水阴阳离子浓度和微量元素组成特征变化显示出可能与天然气水合物有关的明显地球化学异常,与国际上己发现有天然气水合物地区的异常相类似。因此,认为该站位是西沙海槽区最有利的天然气水合物赋存区,值得进一步的勘查工作。     

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。     

海上气态烃快速测试与西沙海槽天然气水合物资源勘查

西沙海槽具有适合天然气水合物形成和赋存的地形地貌及地质条件 ,是中国海洋天然气水合物资源勘查的远景区。为配合中国首次天然气水合物资源的调查研究 ,在该区进行了海底表层沉积物甲烷、乙烷等气态烃快速现场测试。研究发现 ,海底沉积物随着埋深的增加气态烃含量具有增高的趋势 ;最佳取样深度应在埋深 1～ 4m处 ;海底沉积物甲烷高含量异常区域主要分布在B33周围、A0 9—A11周围、B17—A0 2周围和B0 1—B0 3周围等区域。西沙海槽北部陆坡比槽底及南部斜坡具有更好的甲烷异常显示。该研究成果为以后该区天然气水合物资源的重点勘查提供了科学依据     

南海北部陆坡坳隆断裂带中水合物赋存的温压场环境

天然气水合物的发育和赋存明显受构造条件控制,一些活动和非活动大陆边缘的特殊构造单元,如增生楔、泥火山、泥底辟、海底滑塌体均有利于水合物的发育和赋存。南海北部陆坡天然气水合物调查研究表明:南海北部陆坡的坳隆断裂带是有利于天然气水合物发育和赋存的重要构造之一。选择穿过坳隆断裂带的地震剖面A,根据南海北部陆坡海水深度和海底温度的关系曲线,计算了沉积物的温度;并在拟合沉积物深度与体密度关系曲线的基础上,计算了沉积物中的净岩压力,进一步探讨了测线A的温压场环境。结果表明:坳隆断裂带中存在连续变化的温压场环境,当气体在其中运移时,总能遇到有利的温压场环境,从而形成天然气水合物;另一方面,坳隆断裂带中也不是处处均有利于水合物的发育和赋存,需要进行具体的温压条件分析,从而对水合物稳定域进行准确定位。     

温度对甲烷渗漏背景下自生矿物形成影响的实验

<正>海底冷泉是指来自海底沉积地层的气体以喷涌或渗漏的方式注入海洋中的一种海洋地质现象[1]。冷泉沉积物一般由碳酸盐和硫化物组成,这些自生矿物一方面将渗漏甲烷和海水中的硫转化并固定在海底沉积物中,显著地调控着全球甲烷收支平衡;另一方面,几乎所有的天然气水合物产地均发现有自生碳酸盐和硫化物的存在。因此,自生碳酸盐和硫化物对下伏天然气水合物具有指示作用,是天然气水合物赋存的地球化学找矿标志和含甲烷冷泉流体渗漏的地球化学标志[2]。自生碳酸盐和硫化物的形成与甲烷     

祁连山冻土区天然气水合物现场识别方法

天然气水合物是一种赋存在低温、高压条件下,陆上永久冻土区和海底沉积物中的规模巨大的新型能源。在冻土区的天然气水合物研究过程中,钻探取样和天然气水合物岩芯研究仍是识别和推断天然气水合物最直接有效的方法。因此,如何在钻探现场快速有效地识别出天然气水合物及相关异常特征就显得极其重要。近几年在祁连山天然气水合物勘探过程中,探索性地总结出适用于冻土区的天然气水合物现场识别方法,主要包括肉眼观测、孔口气涌观测、岩芯红外测温、岩芯裂隙孔隙水盐度测定、岩芯气体解析与组分测定和岩芯次生构造与伴生矿物鉴别等方法。利用该套现场识别方法和随钻岩芯编录,有效地查明了祁连山冻土区天然气水合物在岩芯中的产状和分布特征,为该区天然气水合物资源评价和试开采试验提供了重要依据。     

东沙海域SMI与甲烷通量的关系及对水合物的指示

硫酸根甲烷界面(SMI)是识别海洋沉积物中天然气水合物赋存(甲烷通量)的一个重要生物地球化学标志.通过对南海北部陆坡东沙海域37个站位浅表层沉积物中孔隙水的SO42-和H2S含量变化和沉积物顶空气甲烷含量的变化等地球化学特性进行分析,研究南海北部东沙海域硫酸根甲烷界面(SMI)的分布情况,通过硫酸根变化梯度估算甲烷通量.研究结果显示,东沙海域存在南部深水区"海洋四号"沉积体和北部浅水区九龙甲烷礁两个水合物有利区域,SMI埋深普遍较浅,指示较高的甲烷通量(3.8×10-3~5.9×10-3 mmol/(cm2·a)),与国际上已发现天然气水合物区的地球化学特征相类似.这种高甲烷通量很可能是由下伏的天然气水合物所引起的,暗示着该区海底之下可能有天然气水合物层赋存.     

Indirect Indicators of Gas HydrateOccurrence within Submarine Sediments

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天然气水合物成因探讨

天然气水合物是未来的能源资源。其分布于极地地区、深海地区及深水湖泊中。在海洋里,天然气水合物主要分布于外大陆边缘和洋岛的周围,其分布与近代火山的分布范围具有一致性。同位素组成表明天然气水合物甲烷主要是由自养产甲烷菌还原CO₂形成的。典型的大陆边缘沉积物有机碳含量低（＜0．5％～1．0％）,不足以产生天然气水合物带高含量的甲烷。赋存天然气水合物的沉积物时代主要为晚中新世-晚上新世,具有一定的时限性,并且天然气水合物与火山灰或火山砂共存,表明其形成与火山-热液体系有一定联系。火山与天然气水合物空间上的一致性表明,天然气水合物甲烷的底物可能主要是由洋底火山喷发带来的CO2。由前人研究结果推断 HCO^－₃在脱去两个O原子的同时,可能发生了亲核重排,羟基 H原子迁移到 C原子上,形成了甲酰基（HCO^－）,使甲烷的第一个 H原子来源于水。探讨了甲烷及其水合物的形成机制,提出了天然气水合物成因模型。     

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。     

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。     

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。     

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.     

天然气水合物--石油天然气的未来替代能源

天然气水合物是甲烷等天然气在高压、低温条件下形成的冰状固体物质。据估算,全球天然气水合物中碳的含量等于石油、煤等化石能源中碳含量的两倍,这是一个非常诱人的数字。在人类面临化石能源即将枯竭的时候,科学家和各国政府都把眼光投向这一未来能替代化石能源的新能源。南海在新生代构造演化历史、沉积条件、沉积环境等方面都显示这里具有生成和蕴藏巨大天然气水合物资源的条件,因此,这里可能成为中国在不远的将来之新能源基地。     

天然气水合物地球化学勘查方法

天然气水合物是一种潜在的新能源,广泛分布在大陆架边缘的深海沉积物和陆域多年冻土区。地球化学勘查技术作为天然气水合物勘探的重要手段之一,愈来愈受到极大的关注。笔者综合国内外研究现状,分别介绍海域和永久冻土带天然气水合物勘查中应用的主要地球化学方法,并详述各种方法的机理和研究进展。     

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.     

Progress in Global Gas Hydrate Development and Production as a New Energy Resource

Natural gas hydrates have been hailed as a new and promising unconventional alternative energy, especially as fossil fuels approach depletion, energy consumption soars, and fossil fuel prices rise, owing to their extensive distribution, abundance, and high fuel efficiency. Gas hydrate reservoirs are similar to a storage cupboard in the global carbon cycle, containing most of the world’s methane and accounting for a third of Earth’s mobile organic carbon. We investigated gas hydrate stability zone burial depths from the viewpoint of conditions associated with stable existence of gas hydrates, such as temperature, pressure, and heat flow, based on related data collected by the global drilling programs. Hydrate-related areas are estimated using various biological, geochemical and geophysical tools. Based on a series of previous investigations, we cover the history and status of gas hydrate exploration in the USA, Japan, South Korea, India, Germany, the polar areas, and China. Then, we review the current techniques for hydrate exploration in a global scale. Additionally, we briefly review existing techniques for recovering methane from gas hydrates, including thermal stimulation, depressurization, chemical injection, and CH4–CO2 exchange, as well as corresponding global field trials in Russia, Japan, United States, Canada and China. In particular, unlike diagenetic gas hydrates in coarse sandy sediments in Japan and gravel sediments in the United States and Canada, most gas hydrates in the northern South China Sea are non-diagenetic and exist in fine-grained sediments with a vein-like morphology. Therefore, especially in terms of the offshore production test in gas hydrate reservoirs in the Shenhu area in the north slope of the South China Sea, Chinese scientists have proposed two unprecedented techniques that have been verified during the field trials: solid fluidization and formation fluid extraction. Herein, we introduce the two production techniques, as well as the so-called “four-in-one” environmental monitoring system employed during the Shenhu production test. Methane is not currently commercially produced from gas hydrates anywhere in the world; therefore, the objective of field trials is to prove whether existing techniques could be applied as feasible and economic production methods for gas hydrates in deep-water sediments and permafrost zones. Before achieving commercial methane recovery from gas hydrates, it should be necessary to measure the geologic properties of gas hydrate reservoirs to optimize and improve existing production techniques. Herein, we propose horizontal wells, multilateral wells, and cluster wells improved by the vertical and individual wells applied during existing field trials. It is noteworthy that relatively pure gas hydrates occur in seafloor mounds, within near-surface sediments, and in gas migration conduits. Their extensive distribution, high saturation, and easy access mean that these types of gas hydrate may attract considerable attention from academia and industry in the future. Herein, we also review the occurrence and development of concentrated shallow hydrate accumulations and briefly introduce exploration and production techniques. In the closing section, we discuss future research needs, key issues, and major challenges related to gas hydrate exploration and production. We believe this review article provides insight on past, present, and future gas hydrate exploration and production to provide guidelines and stimulate new work into the field of gas hydrates.