Dating submarine landslides using the transient response of gas hydrate stability

Portnov, Alexey; You, Kehua; Flemings, Peter B.; Cook, Ann E.; Heidari, Mahdi; Sawyer, Derek E.; Bünz, Stefan

doi:10.1130/g50930.1

Dating submarine landslides using the transient response of gas hydrate stability

Journal Article · 01 March 2023 · Geology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1130/g50930.1· OSTI ID:2418118

Portnov, Alexey ^[1]; You, Kehua; Flemings, Peter B.; Cook, Ann E.; Heidari, Mahdi; Sawyer, Derek E.; Bünz, Stefan

OSTI

Abstract

Submarine landslides are prevalent on the modern-day seafloor, yet an elusive problem is constraining the timing of past slope failure. We present a novel age-dating technique based on perturbations to underlying gas hydrate stability caused by slide-impacted seafloor changes. Using three-dimensional (3-D) seismic data, we mapped an irregular bottom simulating reflection (BSR) underneath a submarine landslide in the Orca Basin, Gulf of Mexico. The irregular BSR mimics the pre-slide seafloor geometry rather than the modern bathymetry. Therefore, we suggest that the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) is still adjusting to the post-slide sediment temperature. We applied transient conductive heat-flow modeling to constrain the response of the GHSZ to the slope failure, which yielded a most likely age of ca. 8 ka, demonstrating that gas hydrate can respond to landslides even on multimillennial time scales. We further provide a generalized analytical solution that can be used to remotely date submarine slides in the absence of traditional dating techniques.

Research Organization:: Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)

DOE Contract Number:: FE0023919

OSTI ID:: 2418118

Journal Information:: Geology, Journal Name: Geology Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 51; ISSN 0091-7613

Publisher:: Geological Society of America

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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