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Critically pressured free-gas reservoirs below gas-hydrate provinces

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  • Matthew J. Hornbach

    (University of Wyoming)

  • Demian M. Saffer

    (University of Wyoming)

  • W. Steven Holbrook

    (University of Wyoming)

Abstract

Palaeoceanographic data have been used to suggest that methane hydrates play a significant role in global climate change. The mechanism by which methane is released during periods of global warming is, however, poorly understood1. In particular, the size and role of the free-gas zone below gas-hydrate provinces remain relatively unconstrained, largely because the base of the free-gas zone is not a phase boundary and has thus defied systematic description. Here we evaluate the possibility that the maximum thickness of an interconnected free-gas zone is mechanically regulated by valving caused by fault slip in overlying sediments2. Our results suggest that a critical gas column exists below most hydrate provinces in basin settings, implying that these provinces are poised for mechanical failure and are therefore highly sensitive to changes in ambient conditions3. We estimate that the global free-gas reservoir may contain from one-sixth to two-thirds of the total methane trapped in hydrate4. If gas accumulations are critically thick along passive continental slopes, we calculate that a 5 °C temperature increase at the sea floor could result in a release of ∼2,000 Gt of methane from the free-gas zone, offering a mechanism for rapid methane release during global warming events.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew J. Hornbach & Demian M. Saffer & W. Steven Holbrook, 2004. "Critically pressured free-gas reservoirs below gas-hydrate provinces," Nature, Nature, vol. 427(6970), pages 142-144, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:427:y:2004:i:6970:d:10.1038_nature02172
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02172
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    Cited by:

    1. Megan Ceronsky & David Anthoff & Cameron Hepburn & Richard S.J. Tol, 2005. "Checking The Price Tag On Catastrophe: The Social Cost Of Carbon Under Non-Linear Climate Response," Working Papers FNU-87, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Aug 2005.
    2. Hariharan Ramachandran & Andreia Plaza-Faverola & Hugh Daigle, 2022. "Impact of Gas Saturation and Gas Column Height at the Base of the Gas Hydrate Stability Zone on Fracturing and Seepage at Vestnesa Ridge, West-Svalbard Margin," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, April.
    3. 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.

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