Porewater Geochemical Assessment of Seismic Indications for Gas Hydrate Presence and Absence: Mahia Slope, East of New Zealand’s North Island

Coffin, Richard B.; Crutchley, Gareth; Pecher, Ingo; Yoza, Brandon; Boyd, Thomas J.; Mountjoy, Joshu

doi:10.3390/en15031233

Title: Porewater Geochemical Assessment of Seismic Indications for Gas Hydrate Presence and Absence: Mahia Slope, East of New Zealand’s North Island

Journal Article · 07 February 2022 · Energies

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en15031233 · OSTI ID:1983110

Coffin, Richard B. ^[1];

^[2]; Pecher, Ingo ^[3];

^[4]; Boyd, Thomas J. ^[5]; Mountjoy, Joshu ^[6]

Texas A & M University, Corpus Christi, TX (United States)
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel (Germany)
Texas A & M University, Corpus Christi, TX (United States); University of Auckland (New Zealand)
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Washington, DC (United States)
National Institute of Water and Atmosphere, Wellington (New Zealand)

We compare sediment vertical methane flux off the Mahia Peninsula, on the Hikurangi Margin, east of New Zealand’s North Island, with a combination of geochemical, multichannel seismic and sub-bottom profiler data. Stable carbon isotope data provided an overview of methane contributions to shallow sediment carbon pools. Methane varied considerably in concentration and vertical flux across stations in close proximities. At two Mahia transects, methane profiles correlated well with integrated seismic and TOPAS data for predicting vertical methane migration rates from deep to shallow sediment. However, at our “control site”, where no seismic blanking or indications of vertical gas migration were observed, geochemical data were similar to the two Mahia transect lines. This apparent mismatch between seismic and geochemistry data suggests a potential to underestimate gas hydrate volumes based on standard seismic data interpretations. To accurately assess global gas hydrate deposits, multiple approaches for initial assessment, e.g., seismic data interpretation, heatflow profiling and controlled-source electromagnetics, should be compared to geochemical sediment and porewater profiles. A more thorough data matrix will provide better accuracy in gas hydrate volume for modeling climate change and potential available energy content.

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Research Organization:: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, Albany, OR (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Naval Research Laboratory; New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE); New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M); USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1983110

Journal Information:: Energies, Journal Name: Energies Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 15; ISSN 1996-1073

Publisher:: MDPICopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Porewater Geochemical Assessment of Seismic Indications for Gas Hydrate Presence and Absence: Mahia Slope, East of New Zealand’s North Island

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