The physics of gas chimney and pockmark formation, with implications for assessment of seafloor hazards and gas sequestration

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	The physics of gas chimney and pockmark formation, with implications for assessment of seafloor hazards and gas sequestration
	Cathles, L. M.1; Su, Zheng2 ; Chen, Duofu 3
刊名	marine and petroleum geology
	2010
卷号	27 期号:1 页码:82-91
关键词	Hydrate seal Capillary seal Quick sediments Gas seepage Gas chimneys Rate of gas chimney formation Pockmarks Seafloor hazards Risk CO(2) sequestration
ISSN号	0264-8172
通讯作者	lmc19@cornell.edu
产权排序	[cathles, l. m.] cornell univ, dept earth & atmospher sci, ithaca, ny 14883 usa; [su, zheng] chinese acad sci, guangzhou inst energy convers, cas key lab renewable energy & gas hydrate, guangzhou 510640, guangdong, peoples r china; [chen, duofu] chinese acad sci, guangzhou inst geochem, cas key lab marginal sea geol, guangzhou 510640, guangdong, peoples r china
合作状况	国际
中文摘要	pockmarks form where fluids discharge through seafloor sediments rapidly enough to make them quick, and are common where gas is present in near-seafloor sediments. this paper investigates how gas might lead to pockmark formation. the process is envisioned as follows: a capillary seal traps gas beneath a fine-grained sediment layer or layers. perhaps layers whose pores have been reduced in size by hydrate crystallization. gas accumulates until its pressure is sufficient for gas to invade the seal. the seal then fails completely (a unique aspect of capillary seals), releasing a large fraction of the accumulated gas into an upward-propagating gas chimney, which displaces water like a piston as it rises. near the seafloor the water flow causes the sediments to become "quick" (i.e., liquefied) in the sense that grain-to-grain contact is lost and the grains are suspended dynamically by the upward flow. the quickened sediment is removed by ocean-bottom currents, and a pockmark is formed. equations that approximately describe this gas-piston-water-drive show that deformation of the sediments above the chimney and water flow fast enough to quicken the sediments begins when the gas chimney reaches half way from the base of its source gas pocket to the seafloor. for uniform near-surface sediment permeability, this is a buoyancy control, not a permeability control. the rate the gas chimney grows depends on sediment permeability and the ratio of the depth below seafloor of the top of the gas pocket to the thickness of the gas pocket at the time of seal failure. plausible estimates of these parameters suggest gas chimneys at blake ridge could reach the seafloor in less than a decade or more than a century, depending mainly on the permeability of the deforming near-surface sediments. since these become quick before gas is expelled, gas venting will not provide a useful warning of the seafloor instabilities that are related to pockmark formation. however, detecting gas chimney growth might be a useful risk predictor. any area underlain by a gas chimney that extends half way or more to the surface should be avoided. (c) 2009 elsevier ltd. all rights reserved.
英文摘要	pockmarks form where fluids discharge through seafloor sediments rapidly enough to make them quick, and are common where gas is present in near-seafloor sediments. this paper investigates how gas might lead to pockmark formation. the process is envisioned as follows: a capillary seal traps gas beneath a fine-grained sediment layer or layers. perhaps layers whose pores have been reduced in size by hydrate crystallization. gas accumulates until its pressure is sufficient for gas to invade the seal. the seal then fails completely (a unique aspect of capillary seals), releasing a large fraction of the accumulated gas into an upward-propagating gas chimney, which displaces water like a piston as it rises. near the seafloor the water flow causes the sediments to become "quick" (i.e., liquefied) in the sense that grain-to-grain contact is lost and the grains are suspended dynamically by the upward flow. the quickened sediment is removed by ocean-bottom currents, and a pockmark is formed. equations that approximately describe this gas-piston-water-drive show that deformation of the sediments above the chimney and water flow fast enough to quicken the sediments begins when the gas chimney reaches half way from the base of its source gas pocket to the seafloor. for uniform near-surface sediment permeability, this is a buoyancy control, not a permeability control. the rate the gas chimney grows depends on sediment permeability and the ratio of the depth below seafloor of the top of the gas pocket to the thickness of the gas pocket at the time of seal failure. plausible estimates of these parameters suggest gas chimneys at blake ridge could reach the seafloor in less than a decade or more than a century, depending mainly on the permeability of the deforming near-surface sediments. since these become quick before gas is expelled, gas venting will not provide a useful warning of the seafloor instabilities that are related to pockmark formation. however, detecting gas chimney growth might be a useful risk predictor. any area underlain by a gas chimney that extends half way or more to the surface should be avoided. (c) 2009 elsevier ltd. all rights reserved.
学科主题	geology
WOS标题词	science & technology ; physical sciences
类目[WOS]	geosciences, multidisciplinary
研究领域[WOS]	geology
关键词[WOS]	lower congo basin ; fluid-flow ; norway ; slide
收录类别	SCI
资助信息	973 program [2009cb219508]; national science foundation of china [40725011, u0733003]; china scholarship council
原文出处	https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2009.09.010
语种	英语
WOS记录号	WOS:000272308200007
公开日期	2014-12-24
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.giec.ac.cn/handle/344007/8521]
专题	中国科学院广州能源研究所
作者单位	1.Cornell Univ, Dept Earth & Atmospher Sci, Ithaca, NY 14883 USA 2.Chinese Acad Sci, Guangzhou Inst Energy Convers, CAS Key Lab Renewable Energy & Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, Peoples R China 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Guangzhou Inst Geochem, CAS Key Lab Marginal Sea Geol, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Cathles, L. M.,Su, Zheng,Chen, Duofu. The physics of gas chimney and pockmark formation, with implications for assessment of seafloor hazards and gas sequestration[J]. marine and petroleum geology,2010,27(1):82-91.
APA	Cathles, L. M.,Su, Zheng,&Chen, Duofu.(2010).The physics of gas chimney and pockmark formation, with implications for assessment of seafloor hazards and gas sequestration.marine and petroleum geology,27(1),82-91.
MLA	Cathles, L. M.,et al."The physics of gas chimney and pockmark formation, with implications for assessment of seafloor hazards and gas sequestration".marine and petroleum geology 27.1(2010):82-91.