A new global gas hydrate budget based on numerical reaction-transport modeling and a novel parameterization of Holocene and Quaternary sedimentation

This study provides new estimates for the global methane hydrate inventory based on reaction-transport modeling [1]. A multi-1D model for POC degradation, gas hydrate formation and dissolution is presented. The model contains an open three-phase system of two solid (organic carbon, gas hydrates), three dissolved (methane, sulfates, inorganic carbon) and one gaseous (free methane) compounds. The reaction module builds upon the kinetic model of POC degradation [2] which considers a down-core decrease in reactivity of organic matter and the inhibition of methane production via accumulation of metabolites in sediment pore fluids. Global input grids have been compiled from a variety of oceanographic, geological and geophysical data sets including a parameterization of sedimentation rates in terms of water depth (Holocene) and distance to continents (Quaternary).The world's total gas hydrate inventory is estimated at 1.74 x 1013 m3 – ~2 x 1015 m3 CH4 (STP) or, equivalently, 8.3 – ~900 Gt of methane carbon. The first value refers to the present day conditions using the relatively low Holocene sedimentation rates; the second value corresponds to a scenario of higher Quaternary sedimentation rates along continental margins. This increase in the POC input could be explained by re-deposition process at the continental rise and slope due to erosion of continental shelf sediments during glacial times. Our results show that in-situ POC degradation is at present not an efficient hydrate forming process. Significant hydrate deposits are more likely to have formed at times of higher sedimentation during the Quaternary or/and as a consequence of active upward fluid transport

GH-3PAD – a new numerical solver for multiphase transport in porous media - new insights on gas hydrate and free gas co-existence

Gas Hydrate-3 Phase Advanced Dynamics (GH-3PAD) code has been developed to study the geophysical and biochemical processes associated with gas hydrate as well as free methane gas formation and dissolution in marine sediments. Biochemical processes influencing in-situ organic carbon decay and, therefore, gas hydrate formation, such as Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane (AOM), sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis have been considered. The new model assumes a Lagrangian reference frame that is attached to the deposited sedimentary layers, which compact according to their individual lithological properties. Differential motion of the pore fluids and free gas is modeled as Darcy flow. Gas hydrate and free gas formation is either controlled by 1) instant gas hydrate crystallization assuming local thermodynamical equilibrium or by a 2) kinetically controlled rate of gas hydrate growth. The thermal evolution is computed from an energy equation that includes contributions from all phases present in the model (sediment grains, saline pore fluids, gas hydrate, and free gas). A first application of the GH-3PAD model has been the Blake Ridge Site, offshore South Carolina. Here seismic and well data points to the out-of-equilibrium co-existence of gas hydrate and free gas. It has been reported that these two distinct phases appear within sediment column with a gaseous phase tending to migrate upwards throughout the Gas Hydrate Stability Zone (GHSZ) until it reaches the seafloor despite relatively low gas hydrate content (4 – 7 vol. % after Paull et al., 1996). With the GH-3PAD model we quantify the complex transport- reaction processes that control three phase (gas hydrate, free gas, and dissolved CH4) out-of-equilibrium state. References: Paull C. K., Matsumoto R., Wallace P. J., 1996. 9. Site 997, Shipboard Scientific Party. Proceeding of the Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports, Vol. 164

Transport- reaction modeling of marine gas hydrate deposits- global results

We have developed a multi-1D numerical model of gas hydrate formation and dissolution processes in anoxic marine sediments and, by this model, we have estimated the new global gas hydrate inventory (BURWICZ E. B. et al., 2011). The reaction-transport model contains various chemical compounds (solid organic carbon, dissolved methane, inorganic carbon, and sulfates, gas hydrates, and free methane gas). The rates of POC degradation, anaerobic methane oxidation, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis are kinetically controlled. Gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) is defined as a combination of pressure, temperature, and (to a smaller degree) salinity conditions. The lower boundary of the GHSZ is defined as the intersection of gas hydrate and methane gas solubilities. The diffusion equations are solved using a fully-implicit finite-differences method, while all transport processes are resolved by a Semi-Lagrangian scheme. Global input data sets (1°x1° resolution) were compiled from various oceanographic, geological and geophysical sources. The entire model was implemented in Matlab

Modeling the fate of methane hydrates under global warming

Large amounts of methane hydrate locked up within marine sediments are vulnerable to climate change. Changes in bottom water temperatures may lead to their destabilization and the release of methane into the water column or even the atmosphere. In a multimodel approach, the possible impact of destabilizing methane hydrates onto global climate within the next century is evaluated. The focus is set on changing bottom water temperatures to infer the response of the global methane hydrate inventory to future climate change. Present and future bottom water temperatures are evaluated by the combined use of hindcast high-resolution ocean circulation simulations and climate modeling for the next century. The changing global hydrate inventory is computed using the parameterized transfer function recently proposed by Wallmann et al. (2012). We find that the present-day world's total marine methane hydrate inventory is estimated to be 1146Gt of methane carbon. Within the next 100years this global inventory may be reduced by ∼0.03% (releasing ∼473Mt methane from the seafloor). Compared to the present-day annual emissions of anthropogenic methane, the amount of methane released from melting hydrates by 2100 is small and will not have a major impact on the global climate. On a regional scale, ocean bottom warming over the next 100years will result in a relatively large decrease in the methane hydrate deposits, with the Arctic and Blake Ridge region, offshore South Carolina, being most affected

Thermal State of the Blake Ridge Gas Hydrate Stability Zone (GHSZ) - Insights on Gas Hydrate Dynamics from a New Multi-Phase Numerical Model

Marine sediments of the Blake Ridge province exhibit clearly defined geophysical indications for the presence of gas hydrates and a free gas phase. Despite being one of the world’s best-studied gas hydrate provinces and having been drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 164, discrepancies between previous model predictions and reported chemical profiles as well as hydrate concentrations result in uncertainty regarding methane sources and a possible co-existence between hydrates and free gas near the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Here, by using a new multi-phase finite element (FE) numerical model, we investigate different scenarios of gas hydrate formation from both single and mixed methane sources (in-situ biogenic formation and a deep methane flux). Moreover, we explore the evolution of the GHSZ base for the past 10 Myr using reconstructed sedimentation rates and non-steady-state P-T solutions. We conclude that (1) the present-day base of the GHSZ predicted by our model is located at the depth of ~450 mbsf, thereby resolving a previously reported inconsistency between the location of the BSR at ODP Site 997 and the theoretical base of the GHSZ in the Blake Ridge region, (2) a single in-situ methane source results in a good fit between the simulated and measured geochemical profiles including the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) zone, and (3) previously suggested 4 vol.%–7 vol.% gas hydrate concentrations would require a deep methane flux of ~170 mM (corresponds to the mass of methane flux of 1.6 × 10−11 kg s−1 m−2) in addition to methane generated in-situ by organic carbon (POC) degradation at the cost of deteriorating the fit between observed and modelled geochemical profiles

Gas hydrate dynamics at the Green Canyon Site, Gulf of Mexico - recovery prospects based on new 3-D modeling study

Due to their favorable P-T conditions and organic-rich deposits, sub-seafloor sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico are known to have a large potential for gas hydrate accumulations. The presence of gas hydrates within sediments of the Green Canyon block has been proven by various methods, incl. seismic imaging, geochemical analysis, and drilling conducted mainly as a part of Joint Industry Project (JIP) Phase II. Gas hydrates reported therein usually occur as tens up to hundreds of meters thick sections with moderate to high concentrations within a range of 50 – 70 vol. % of pore space, and hence, seem to offer a considerable natural deposit of methane gas. The main focus of this study was to explore the complex effects of a set of control- parameters responsible for hydrocarbon migration and storage within the Gas Hydrate Stability Zone (GHSZ) on the accumulation of gas hydrates. To investigate the processes of basin formation and its subsidence history, source rock maturation, hydrocarbon migration and expulsion, and to quantify the gas hydrate accumulation potential, 3-D numerical study has been conducted using PetroMod. The area of interest extends over ~14 km x 33 km and covers the edge of the Sigsbee Escarpment representing the main salt mobility front in the region. The simulation contains full depositional history of the Green Canyon block, incl. salt deposition and re-mobilization as well as its further implications for temperature field, fluids migration and sedimentary layers distribution. Methane generation has been resolved by in-situ POC degradation and deep thermogenic mobilization from two distinct hydrocarbon sources. As a result, we present a number of likely scenarios of gas hydrate formation and accumulation in the study area that have been calibrated against available data

The Global Inventory of Methane Hydrate in Marine Sediments: A Theoretical Approach

The accumulation of methane hydrate in marine sediments is controlled by a number of physical and biogeochemical parameters including the thickness of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), the solubility of methane in pore fluids, the accumulation of particulate organic carbon at the seafloor, the kinetics of microbial organic matter degradation and methane generation in marine sediments, sediment compaction and the ascent of deep-seated pore fluids and methane gas into the GHSZ. Our present knowledge on these controlling factors is discussed and new estimates of global sediment and methane fluxes are provided applying a transport-reaction model at global scale. The modeling and the data evaluation yield improved and better constrained estimates of the global pore volume within the modern GHSZ ( ≥ 44 × 1015 m3), the Holocene POC accumulation rate at the seabed (~1.4 × 1014 g yr−1), the global rate of microbial methane production in the deep biosphere (4−25 × 1012 g C yr−1) and the inventory of methane hydrates in marine sediments ( ≥ 455 Gt of methane-bound carbon)

3-D basin-scale reconstruction of natural gas hydrate system of the Green Canyon, Gulf of Mexico

Our study presents a basin-scale 3D modeling solution, quantifying and exploring gas hydrate accumulations in the marine environment around the Green Canyon (GC955) area, Gulf of Mexico. It is the first modeling study that considers the full complexity of gas hydrate formation in a natural geological system. Overall, it comprises a comprehensive basin re-construction, accounting for depositional and transient thermal history of the basin, source rock maturation, petroleum components generation, expulsion and migration, salt tectonics and associated multi-stage fault development. The resulting 3D gas hydrate distribution in the Green Canyon area is consistent with independent borehole observations. An important mechanism identified in this study and leading to high gas hydrate saturation (> 80 vol. %) at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), is the recycling of gas hydrate and free gas enhanced by high Neogene sedimentation rates in the region. Our model predicts the rapid development of secondary intra-salt mini-basins situated on top of the allochthonous salt deposits which leads to significant sediment subsidence and an ensuing dislocation of the lower GHSZ boundary. Consequently, large amounts of gas hydrates located in the deepest parts of the basin dissociate and the released free methane gas migrates upwards to recharge the GHSZ. In total, we have predicted the gas hydrate budget for the Green Canyon area that amounts to ∼3,256 Mt of gas hydrate which is equivalent to ∼340 Mt of carbon (∼7 x 1011 m3 of CH4 at STP conditions), and consists mostly of biogenic hydrates

Estimating the gas hydrate recovery prospects in the western Black Sea basin based on the 3D multiphase flow of fluid and gas components within highly permeable paleo-channel-levee systems

Gas hydrate deposits are abundant in the Black Sea region and confirmed by direct observations as well as geophysical evidence, such as continuous bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs). Although those gas hydrate accumulations have been well-studied for almost two decades, the migration pathways of methane that charge the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) in the region are unknown. The aim of this study is to explore the most probable gas migration scenarios within a three-dimensional finite element grid based on seismic surveys and available basin cross-sections. We have used the commercial software PetroMod TM(Schlumberger) to perform a set of sensitivity studies that narrow the gap between the wide range of sediment properties affecting the multi-phase flow in porous media. The high-resolution model domain focuses on the Danube deep-sea fan and associated buried sandy channel-levee systems whereas the total extension of the model domain covers a larger area of the western Black Sea basin. Such a large model domain allows for investigating biogenic as well as thermogenic methane generation and a permeability driven migration of the free phase of methane on a basin scale to confirm the hypothesis of efficient methane migration into the gas hydrate reservoir layers by horizontal flow along the carrier beds