Simulation of advective methane flux and AOM in Shenhu area, the northern South China Sea

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) occurring in the marine sediment is an important process for methane cycle and methane sequestration. In this work, a one-dimensional numerical model was developed to study the distribution of advective methane flux with the AOM process. The model has been applied to investigate the gas hydrates bearing sediments of Shenhu areas located in the northern South China Sea, where advective methane transport was detected. The modeling results suggest that methane flux will be consumed in the sediment column via dissolution, sorption, and AOM reaction. Only when the methane flux was one order of magnitude higher than current level, then a portion of methane will enter water column and possibly escape to the atmosphere. The numerical simulation also revealed that, due to the lower permeability of the silt–clay sediments, a much thicker sulfate-methane transition zone exists in the Shenhu area, where AOM is able to consume more.