IN-SITU SAMPLING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NATURALLY OCCURRING MARINE METHANE HYDRATE USING THE D/V JOIDES RESOLUTION
The primary accomplishment of the JOI Cooperative Agreement with DOE/NETL in this quarter was the preparation of tools and measurement systems for deployment, testing and use on ODP Leg 204, which will study hydrate deposits on Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon. Additional accomplishments were related to the postcruise evaluation of tools and measurements systems used on ODP Leg 201 along the Peru margin from January through March, 2002. The operational results from the use of the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) tool and the PCS Gas Manifold on ODP Leg 201 are evaluated in this progress report in order to prepare for the upcoming deployments on ODP Leg 204 in July, 2002. The PCS was deployed 17 times during ODP Leg 201 and successfully retrieved cores from a broad range of lithologies and sediment depths along the Peru margin. Eleven deployments were entirely successful, collecting between 0.5 and 1.0 meters of sediment at greater than 75% of hydrostatic pressure. The PCS gas manifold was used in conjunction with the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) throughout ODP Leg 201 to measure the total volume and composition of gases recovered in sediment cores associated with methane gas hydrates. The FUGRO Pressure Corer (FPC), one of the HYACE/HYACINTH pressure coring tools, was also deployed on the D/V JOIDES Resolution during ODP Legs 201 to field-test this coring system at three shallow-water sites located offshore Peru. The field-testing of these tools provides a corollary benefit to DOE/NETL at no cost to this project. The testing of these tools on the D/V JOIDES Resolution was negotiated as part of a cooperative agreement between JOI/ODP and the HYACINTH partners. The DVTP, DVTP-P, APC-methane, and APC-Temperature tools (ODP memory tools) were used extensively during ODP Leg 201. The data obtained from the successful deployments of these tools is still being evaluated by the scientists and engineers involved in this testing; however, preliminary results are presented in this report. An infrared-thermal imaging system (IR-TIS) was deployed for the first time on ODP Leg 201. This system was used to identify methane hydrate intervals in the recovered cores. Initial discussions of these experiments are provided in this report. This report is an overview of the field measurements made on recovered sediment cores and the downhole measurements made during ODP Leg 201. These results are currently being used to incorporate the ''lessons learned'' from these deployments to prepare for a dedicated ODP leg to study the characteristics of naturally-occurring hydrates in the subsurface environment of Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon during ODP Leg 204, which will take place from July through September, 2002.
- Research Organization:
- National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-01NT41329
- OSTI ID:
- 803201
- Report Number(s):
- FC26-01NT41329-03; TRN: US200221%%593
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Aug 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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In-Situ Sampling and Characterization of Naturally Occurring Marine Methane Hydrate Using the D/V JOIDES Resolution
In-Situ Sampling and Characterization of Naturally Occurring Marine Methane Hydrate Using the D/V JOIDES Resolution