Advanced Time-Lapse Seismic Characterization of a Methane Hydrate-Bearing System

Concentrations of methane, a potent climate-active atmospheric greenhouse gas, are increasing rapidly, with substantial implications for Earth's radiative heat balance. A vast amount of methane is trapped offshore in ice-like crystals called hydrates. Hydrates are often associated with the escape of free methane at cold seeps. Cold seep-hydrate systems are dynamic offshore settings highly susceptible to external perturbations such as temperature increase. Understanding how they operate through time and space is essential in evaluating their implications for seafloor hazards, the surrounding environment, the global climate, and as a potential energy source.

Davide Oppo of our School of Geosciences has received an ACS Petroleum Research Fund to investigate dynamics of gas hydrate formation and dissociation in a hydrate mound offshore the Gulf of Mexico. This will be the first quantitative time-lapse analysis of a cold seep-hydrate system over 20 years to investigate the dynamics of gas hydrate formation and dissociation in a hydrate mound offshore the Gulf of Mexico. This study will provide a better understanding of the natural process promoting methane hydrate destabilization and hydrocarbon escape from the seafloor. Furthermore, the results of this project will generate preliminary information fundamental to characterize the development and evolution of systems bearing gas hydrates and their response to perturbations over a time window comparable to human-scale processes.