Gas hydrate that breaches the sea floor on the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico
- Texas A M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
- Pennsylvania State Univ., Univeristy Park, PA (United States)
We report observations that concern formation and dissociation of gas hydrate near the sea floor at depths of [minus]540 m in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In August 1992, three lobes of gas hydrate were partly exposed beneath a thin layer of sediment. By May 1993, the most prominent lobe had evidently broken free and floated away, leaving a patch of disturbed sediment and exposed hydrate. The underside of the gas hydrate was about 0.2[degree]C warmer than ambient sea water and had trapped a large volume of oil and free gas. An in situ monitoring device, deployed on a nearby bed of mussels, recorded sustained releases of gas during a 44 day monitoring period. Gas venting coincided with a temporary rise in water temperature of 1[degree]C, which is consistent with thermally induced dissociation of hydrate composed mainly of methane and water. We conclude that the effects of accumulating buoyant force and fluctuating water temperature cause shallow gas hydrate alternately to check and release gas venting. 18 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.
- OSTI ID:
- 6997066
- Journal Information:
- Geology; (United States), Vol. 22:8; ISSN 0091-7613
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Support of Gulf of Mexico Hydrate Research Consortium: Activities to Support Establishment of a Sea Floor Monitoring Station Project
>Mud mounds on the continental slope, northwestern Gulf of Mexico and their relation to hydrates and seafloor instability
Related Subjects
02 PETROLEUM
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
DISSOCIATION
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
HYDRATES
METHANE
HYDRATION
NATURAL GAS
BUBBLES
COMPILED DATA
GULF OF MEXICO
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
SEA BED
SEDIMENTS
ALKANES
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CARIBBEAN SEA
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HYDROCARBONS
INFORMATION
MINERAL RESOURCES
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RESOURCES
SEAS
SOLVATION
SURFACE WATERS
030200* - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
033000 - Natural Gas- Properties & Composition
020200 - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
400201 - Chemical & Physicochemical Properties