Using Carbon Isotope Fractionation to Constrain the Extent of Methane Dissolution Into the Water Column Surrounding a Natural Hydrocarbon Gas Seep in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Abstract
A gas bubble seep located in the northern Gulf of Mexico was investigated over several days to determine whether changes in the stable carbon isotopic ratio of methane can be used as a tracer for methane dissolution through the water column. Gas bubble and water samples were collected at the seafloor and throughout the water column for isotopic ratio analysis of methane. Our results show that changes in methane isotopic ratios are consistent with laboratory experiments that measured the isotopic fractionation from methane dissolution. A Rayleigh isotope model was applied to the isotope data to determine the fraction of methane dissolved at each depth. On average, the fraction of methane dissolved surpasses 90% past an altitude of 400 m above the seafloor. Methane dissolution was also investigated using a modified version of the Texas A&M Oil spill (Outfall) Calculator (TAMOC) where changes in methane isotopic ratios could be calculated. The TAMOC model results show that dissolution depends on depth and bubble size, explaining the spread in measured isotopic ratios during our investigations. Both the Rayleigh and TAMOC models show that methane bubbles quickly dissolve following emission from the seafloor. Together, these results show that it is possible to use measurementsmore »
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
[3];
[4];
[1]
- Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)
- Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
- Univ. of Bremen (Germany)
- Univ. of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Port Isabel. TX (United States); Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1614330
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1481797
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FE0028980
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 19; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 1525-2027
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; methane; bubble; hydrate; dissolution; isotope
Citation Formats
Leonte, M., Wang, B., Socolofsky, S. A., Mau, S., Breier, J. A., and Kessler, J. D. Using Carbon Isotope Fractionation to Constrain the Extent of Methane Dissolution Into the Water Column Surrounding a Natural Hydrocarbon Gas Seep in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1029/2018gc007705.
Leonte, M., Wang, B., Socolofsky, S. A., Mau, S., Breier, J. A., & Kessler, J. D. Using Carbon Isotope Fractionation to Constrain the Extent of Methane Dissolution Into the Water Column Surrounding a Natural Hydrocarbon Gas Seep in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gc007705
Leonte, M., Wang, B., Socolofsky, S. A., Mau, S., Breier, J. A., and Kessler, J. D. Sat .
"Using Carbon Isotope Fractionation to Constrain the Extent of Methane Dissolution Into the Water Column Surrounding a Natural Hydrocarbon Gas Seep in the Northern Gulf of Mexico". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gc007705. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1614330.
@article{osti_1614330,
title = {Using Carbon Isotope Fractionation to Constrain the Extent of Methane Dissolution Into the Water Column Surrounding a Natural Hydrocarbon Gas Seep in the Northern Gulf of Mexico},
author = {Leonte, M. and Wang, B. and Socolofsky, S. A. and Mau, S. and Breier, J. A. and Kessler, J. D.},
abstractNote = {A gas bubble seep located in the northern Gulf of Mexico was investigated over several days to determine whether changes in the stable carbon isotopic ratio of methane can be used as a tracer for methane dissolution through the water column. Gas bubble and water samples were collected at the seafloor and throughout the water column for isotopic ratio analysis of methane. Our results show that changes in methane isotopic ratios are consistent with laboratory experiments that measured the isotopic fractionation from methane dissolution. A Rayleigh isotope model was applied to the isotope data to determine the fraction of methane dissolved at each depth. On average, the fraction of methane dissolved surpasses 90% past an altitude of 400 m above the seafloor. Methane dissolution was also investigated using a modified version of the Texas A&M Oil spill (Outfall) Calculator (TAMOC) where changes in methane isotopic ratios could be calculated. The TAMOC model results show that dissolution depends on depth and bubble size, explaining the spread in measured isotopic ratios during our investigations. Both the Rayleigh and TAMOC models show that methane bubbles quickly dissolve following emission from the seafloor. Together, these results show that it is possible to use measurements of natural methane isotopes to constrain the extent of methane dissolution following seafloor emission.},
doi = {10.1029/2018gc007705},
journal = {Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems},
number = 11,
volume = 19,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Sat Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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