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Direct measurement of in situ methane quantities in a large gas-hydrate reservoir

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  • Gerald R. Dickens

    (University of Michigan
    James Cook University)

  • Charles K. Paull

    (University of North Carolina)

  • Paul Wallace

    (Texas A & M University)

Abstract

Certain gases can combine with water to form solids—gas hydrates—that are stable at high pressures and low temperatures1,2. Conditions appropriate for gas-hydrate formation exist in many marine sediments where there is a supply of methane. Seismic reflection profiles across continental margins indicate the frequent occurrence of gas hydrate within the upper few hundred metres of sea-floor sediments, overlying deeper zones containing bubbles of free gas3–9. If large volumes of methane are stored in these reservoirs, outgassing may play an important role during climate change10–12. Gas hydrates in oceanic sediments may in fact comprise the Earth's largest fossil-fuel reservoir2,13. But the amount of methane stored in gas-hydrate and free-gas zones is poorly constrained2–9,13–18. Here we report the direct measurement of in situ methane abundances stored as gas hydrate and free gas in a sediment sequence from the Blake ridge, western Atlantic Ocean. Our results indicate the presence of substantial quantities of methane (˜15 GT of carbon) stored as solid gas hydrate, with an equivalent or greater amount occurring as bubbles of free gas in the sediments below the hydrate zone.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerald R. Dickens & Charles K. Paull & Paul Wallace, 1997. "Direct measurement of in situ methane quantities in a large gas-hydrate reservoir," Nature, Nature, vol. 385(6615), pages 426-428, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:385:y:1997:i:6615:d:10.1038_385426a0
    DOI: 10.1038/385426a0
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    Cited by:

    1. Tan, Lin & Liu, Fang & Dai, Sheng & Yao, Junlan, 2024. "A bibliometric analysis of two-decade research efforts in turning natural gas hydrates into energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    2. Li, Cong & Xie, Heping & Gao, Mingzhong & Chen, Ling & Zhao, Le & Li, Cunbao & Wu, Nianhan & He, Zhiqiang & Li, Jianan, 2021. "Novel designs of pressure controllers to enhance the upper pressure limit for gas-hydrate-bearing sediment sampling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    3. Mahboubeh Rahmati-Abkenar & Milad Alizadeh & Marcelo Ketzer, 2021. "A New Dynamic Modeling Approach to Predict Microbial Methane Generation and Consumption in Marine Sediments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Chong, Zheng Rong & Yang, She Hern Bryan & Babu, Ponnivalavan & Linga, Praveen & Li, Xiao-Sen, 2016. "Review of natural gas hydrates as an energy resource: Prospects and challenges," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1633-1652.
    5. Li, Xiao-Sen & Xu, Chun-Gang & Zhang, Yu & Ruan, Xu-Ke & Li, Gang & Wang, Yi, 2016. "Investigation into gas production from natural gas hydrate: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 286-322.
    6. Guo, Da & Xie, Heping & Gao, Mingzhong & Li, Jianan & He, Zhiqiang & Chen, Ling & Li, Cong & Zhao, Le & Wang, Dingming & Zhang, Yiwei & Fang, Xin & Liu, Guikang & Zhou, Zhongya & Dai, Lin, 2024. "In-situ pressure-preserved coring for deep oil and gas exploration: Design scheme for a coring tool and research on the in-situ pressure-preserving mechanism," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    7. Ewa Burwicz & Lars Rüpke, 2019. "Thermal State of the Blake Ridge Gas Hydrate Stability Zone (GHSZ)—Insights on Gas Hydrate Dynamics from a New Multi-Phase Numerical Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, September.
    8. Jia-Wang Chen & Wei Fan & Brian Bingham & Ying Chen & Lin-Yi Gu & Shi-Lun Li, 2013. "A Long Gravity-Piston Corer Developed for Seafloor Gas Hydrate Coring Utilizing an In Situ Pressure-Retained Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(7), pages 1-20, July.

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