Geophysical Characterization of Gas Hydrates: Edited by Michael Riedel Eleanor C. Willoughby Satinder Chopra

Geophysical Characterization
of Gas Hydrates
Edited by
Michael Riedel
Eleanor C. Willoughby
Satinder Chopra
SEG Geophysical Developments Series No. 14

Ian Jones, managing editor
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ISBN 978-0-931830-41-9 (Series)
ISBN 978-1-56080-218-1 (Volume)
Copyright © 2010
Society of Exploration Geophysicists
P.O. Box 702740
Tulsa, OK U.S.A. 74170-2740
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, without
prior written permission of the publisher.
Published 2010
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Geophysical characterization of gas hydrates / edited by Michael Riedel,

Eleanor C. Willoughby, Satinder Chopra.
p. cm. — (SEG geophysical developments series; no. 14)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56080-218-1 (volume) — ISBN 978-0-931830-41-9 (series)
1. Natural gas—Hydrates. 2. Natural gas—Geology. I. Riedel,
Michael. II. Willoughby, Eleanor C. (Eleanor Colleen), 1974- III. Chopra,
Satinder.
TN884.G46 2010
622’.18285—dc22
2010041643
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Table of Contents
About the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Foreward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Chapter 1: Gas Hydrates — Geophysical Exploration Techniques and Methods . . . 1

Michael Riedel, Eleanor C. Willoughby, and Satinder Chopra
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Impact of Gas Hydrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Gas hydrates as potential future energy resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Gas hydrates — Greenhouse gas and climate change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The role of gas hydrates in geohazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Gas-hydrate Petroleum System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Stability of gas hydrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Source of gas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Availability of water and focused gas migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Reservoir rocks and gas-hydrate morphologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Gas Production from Gas-hydrate Reservoirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Gas-hydrate production simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Geophysical Exploration for Gas Hydrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Seismic techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Electrical-resistivity methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Other potential-field methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Mapping the gas-hydrate stability field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Well-logging techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Other gas-hydrate characterization and quantification tools on sediment cores. . . . 11
Laboratory Measurements for Gas-hydrate Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Rock-physics Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 2: Motivations for the Geophysical Investigation of Gas Hydrates . . . . . . . 23

Ray Boswell and Tatsuo Saeki
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Introduction
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The gas-hydrate resource pyramid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
iii
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iv Table of Contents
Gas-hydrate Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Section 1: Seismic Imaging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 3: Introduction to Seismic Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Chapter 4: Seismic Indicators of Natural Gas Hydrate and

Underlying Free Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
G. D. Spence, R. R. Haacke, and R. D. Hyndman
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Elastic properties of sediments with gas hydrate or free gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Seismic velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Seismic attenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Seismic anisotropy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Seismic Data Collection Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Surface source and receivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Surface source and deep receivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Deep source and deep receivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Seismic Data Analysis Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Determination of P-wave velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Determination of S-wave velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Determination of seismic attenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Determination of seismic anisotropy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Indicators of Gas Hydrate and Free Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Characteristics of the bottom-simulating reflector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
High-amplitude reflections above BSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
High-amplitude reflections below BSR: Evidence for gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Regional amplitude blanking associated with gas hydrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Characteristics of vent-like fluid escape features and faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Calculation of Gas-hydrate and Free-gas Concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Reference no-hydrate, no-gas velocity profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Conversion of velocity increase to gas-hydrate concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Distribution and Concentration of Gas Hydrate and Free Gas: Examples . . . . . . . . . . 58
Southwest Japan (Nankai Trough) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Cascadia margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Blake Ridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Storegga.
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Outstanding Questions and Avenues for Further Seismic Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
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Table of Contents v
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 5: Seismic AVO for Gas-hydrate-related Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Marc-André P. Chen, Michael Riedel, and Stan E. Dosso
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
AVO Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Zoeppritz equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Shuey approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Marine Gas-hydrate AVO: A Forward Modeling Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Synthetic AVO curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Data processing considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Comparison of reported results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Shortcomings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Marine Gas Hydrate: A Bayesian Approach to BSR–AVO Inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Bayesian inversion theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Synthetic study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Inversion of a northern Cascadia gas-hydrate BSR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Permafrost Gas Hydrate: Bayesian AVO Inversion for Sediments
at the Mallik Well Site — A Synthetic Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Model design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Synthetic models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Interpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Chapter 6: Analysis of Gas-hydrate Provinces by Ocean-bottom

Seismic Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
T. A. Minshull, K. E. Louden, and S. M. Dean
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Elastic properties of hydrate-bearing sediments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Ocean-bottom seismic methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Experiment Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
OBS versus OBC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Sources and receivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Spatial sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Layout of shooting tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Navigation
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Coupling and shear waves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
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vi Table of Contents
Methods of Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Data processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Traveltime inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
S-wave analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Waveform analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Future Developments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Chapter 7: Inversion of Seismic Data for Elastic Parameters: A Tool for

Gas-hydrate Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
M. Riedel, M. W. Lee, and G. Bellefleur
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Poststack Acoustic Impedance Inversion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Example of band-limited AI inversion of Mallik 3D seismic data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
AVO Intercept-gradient Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Elastic Impedance Inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Definition of EI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
EI-inversion schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
EI inversion in the presence of low S-wave velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Poststack EI-inversion — Blake Ridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Full Waveform Prestack Inversion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Chapter 8: Vertical Seismic Profiles through Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediments . . . . 121

Ingo A. Pecher, Bernd Milkereit, Akio Sakai, Mrinal K. Sen, Nathan L.
Bangs, and Jun-Wei Huang
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
VSPs for gas hydrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Ocean Drilling Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
ODP Leg 146. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
ODP Leg 164, Blake Ridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
ODP Leg 204, Hydrate Ridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Mallik – Permafrost Gas Hydrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Mallik 2L-38 (1998) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Mallik 3L-38 (2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Other Recent
Downloaded Surveys
25 Jun 2012 . . . . Redistribution
to 95.28.162.50. . . . . . . . .subject
. . . to. .SEG
. . license
. . . . .Terms
. . . .of.Use:
............ 136
Nankai Trough Exploratory Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
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Gulf of Mexico Joint Industry Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

IODP Expedition 311 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Hot Ice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Discussion and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Section 2: Geophysical Imaging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Chapter 9: Introduction to Geophysical Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Eleanor C. Willoughby, Michael Riedel, and Satinder Chopra
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Chapter 10: Marine Controlled-source Electromagnetics and

the Assessment of Seafloor Gas Hydrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
R. N. Edwards, K. Schwalenberg, Eleanor C. Willoughby, R. Mir, and Carsten Scholl
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Controlled-source electromagnetics — The rationale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Controlled-source EM Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
CSEM — An approach from dimensional analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Electric dipole — dipole methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Resistivity and Archie’s law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
CSEM study in northern Cascadia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Experimental apparatus and methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Data interpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Assessment of gas hydrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Overview of CSEM gas hydrate characterization worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Chapter 11: Resolving an Onshore Gas-hydrate Layer with

Long-offset Transient Electromagnetics (LOTEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Carsten Scholl
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
The Geological Setting at Mallik. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
The LOTEM Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Resolution of the 1D model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
More Complex Resistivity Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
A heterogeneous hydrate layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Large scale resistivity structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Survey Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
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Conclusions and Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Chapter 12: Seafloor Compliance Imaging of Marine Gas-hydrate Deposits . . . . . 179

E. C. Willoughby, K. Latychev, R. N. Edwards, K. Schwalenberg,
and R. D. Hyndman
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Theory of Seafloor Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Instrumentation and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Data Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
3D numerical finite-difference models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Ongoing Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Appendix – The Theory of Seafloor Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Basic Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The general equations of motion for a solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The wave equations for a uniform solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The uniform liquid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Gravity Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The dispersion relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The static approximation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Interaction with a lower half-space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
The dispersion relationship on a compliant seafloor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Effects of pore fluid flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Chapter 13: Gas hydrates and Magnetism: Surveying and Diagenetic Analysis . . . 197
L. Esteban, T. S. Hamilton, R. J. Enkin, C. Lowe, and I. Novosel
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Magnetism, Magnetic Minerals, and Diagenetic Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Magnetism and Gas Hydrates in a Permafrost Setting: Mallik and
the Mackenzie Delta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Aeromagnetic and ground magnetic surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Magnetic properties of the Mallik cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Petrographic and geochemical observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Discussion of arctic gas-hydrate magnetism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Magnetism and Gas Hydrates in the Marine Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Magnetic
Downloaded 25 Junproperties of Cascadia
2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistributionmargin cores
subject to SEG . . or. .copyright;
license . . . . .Terms
. . . .of.Use:
............ 209
Petrographic and geochemical observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
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Discussion of marine gas-hydrate magnetism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Synthesis and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Chapter 14: Infrared Imaging of Gas-hydrate-bearing Cores:

State of the Art and Future Prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Philip Long, Melanie Holland, Peter Schultheiss, Michael Riedel,
Jill Weinberger, Anne Tréhu, and Herbert Schaef
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Introduction and Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
IR Thermal Imaging Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Methods and Approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
IR thermal imaging of sediment cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Development of IR thermal imaging track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Routine IR imaging of sediment core in plastic liners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Direct IR Imaging of Sediment Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
IR imaging of cut core ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
IR imaging of longitudinally split or opened whole-round cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Time-lapse imaging of sediment core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Data Analysis and Typical Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Qualitative gas-hydrate distribution and morphological analysis from
thermal data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Quantitative estimates of gas-hydrate abundance from thermal data . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Linkage to pore water freshening data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Thermal Imaging as a Guide for Subsampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Constraining the extent of temperature change in cores during recovery. . . . . . . . 228
Problems and Issues with Thermal IR Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Future Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Full circumference imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Automated detection and virtual removal of voids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Automated generation of downcore temperature plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Real-time estimation of gas-hydrate abundance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Use of hyperspectral IR cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Section 3: Borehole Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Chapter 15: Introduction to Borehole Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
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Chapter 16: Evaluation of Natural Gas-hydrate Systems Using

Borehole Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
David S. Goldberg, Robert L. Kleinberg, Jill L. Weinberger,
Alberto Malinverno, Pat J. McLellan, and Timothy S. Collett
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Wireline logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Logging while drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Seismic–log-core data integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Field Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Scientific ocean drilling and logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Resource-driven ocean drilling and logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Permafrost drilling and logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Porosity logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Resistivity logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Electromagnetic logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
NMR logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Sonic logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Borehole imaging tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Chapter 17: Borehole Pressure Coring Techniques and Core Analysis

at In Situ Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Peter Schultheiss, Melanie Holland, and Frank Rack
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Introduction: Why Take Pressure Cores?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Wireline Pressure Coring Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
PCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
PTCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
HYACINTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Recovering Gas Hydrate in Pressure Cores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Staying in the stability zone: Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Staying in the stability zone: Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Pressure and temperature changes during a typical deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Nondestructive Analysis of Pressure Cores: Gas Hydrate Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Nondestructive measurements on HYACINTH cores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Nondestructive measurements on PCS cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Depressurization Analysis of Pressure Cores: Gas Hydrate Quantification . . . . . . . . 271
Further Analysis and Subsampling Under Pressure: The Future of
Pressure Coring
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 .to.95.28.162.50.
. . . . . . . Redistribution
. . . . . . . .subject
. . . to. .SEG
. . license
. . . . .Terms
. . . .of.Use:
............ 276
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
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Chapter 18: Seafloor Marine Heat Flux Measurements and Estimation of

Heat Flux from Seismic Observations of Bottom Simulating Reflectors . . . . . . . . . 279
Heinrich W. Villinger, Anne M. Tréhu, and Ingo Grevemeyer
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Theoretical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
General introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Heat flux in an infinite cylinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Downward propagation of a temperature variation at the surface
of an infinite half-space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Corrections due to sedimentation/erosion or seafloor topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Seafloor Heat Flux Measurement Technique. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Introduction and operational considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Determination of thermal conductivity in situ and on cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Data Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Extrapolation of temperature measurements to derive in situ temperature
and thermal conductivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Interpretation of departures from a linear gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Heat Flux Determinations in Boreholes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Tools for measuring in situ sediment temperatures in boreholes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Distributed temperature sensors (DTS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Analysis of borehole temperature data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Results from borehole temperature measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Estimation of Heat Flux from BSR Depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Outline of the procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Seafloor temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Gas hydrate stability curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Thermal conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Discussion of errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Section 4: Laboratory Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Chapter 19: Introduction of Laboratory Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Chapter 20: Round Table: Rock Physics of a Gas-hydrate Reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Jack Dvorkin, Amos Nur, Richard Uden, and Turhan Taner
Reprinted from The Leading Edge, 22, 842–847
Rock Physics Models in Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
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xii Table of Contents
An Effective-Medium Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Putting Numbers into the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Hydrate in a Pseudosection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Hydrate Saturation from Impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Caveats Due to Seismic Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Chapter 21: Velocity and Resistivity Measurements of Artificial

Gas-hydrate-bearing sediment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Erik Spangenberg and Johannes Kulenkampff
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Formation of Pore Space Hydrate from Methane Dissolved in Water . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Experimental setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Description of experiment and sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Determination of Hydrate Saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Petrophysical Properties as Function of Hydrate Saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Chapter 22: Laboratory Measurements on Fresh Terrestrial

Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediment Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Johannes Kulenkampff and Erik Spangenberg
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Coring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Sample storage and preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Measuring system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Chapter 23: Geophysical Properties and Dynamic Response of Methane-

hydrate-bearing Sediments to Hydrate Formation and Decomposition . . . . . . . . . . 329
Jinhai Yang and Bahman Tohidi
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Test Set-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Dynamic response of P-wave velocity to methane-hydrate
formation and dissociation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
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Table of Contents xiii
Effect of clays on geophysical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Dynamic response of hydrate-bearing sediments to hydrate
dissociation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Chapter 24: A Resonant Column Study of the Seismic Properties of

Methane-hydrate-bearing Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
A. I. Best, J. A. Priest, and C. R. I. Clayton
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Design features of the gas-hydrates resonant column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Resonant column theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Resonant column calibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Preparation of methane-hydrate-sand specimens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Experimental procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Dependence on velocity and attenuation on hydrate saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Chapter 25: Wave Theory, Simulation, and Determination of Gas-hydrate

Content in Sediments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
José M. Carcione, Davide Gei, and Giuliana Rossi
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Differential Equations of Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Velocity-stress formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Seismic Velocities and Attenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Seismic velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Comparison of the three-phase Biot theory with other theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Bottom-simulating Reflector — AVA Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Numerical Algorithm for Wave Propagation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Velocity and Attenuation Tomographic Inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Estimation of Gas-hydrate Concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Mallik 2L-38 research well, Mackenzie Delta, Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Norwegian-Svalbard continental margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Conservation of momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
362
Stress-strain relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
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xiv Table of Contents
Seismic velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

Attenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Chapter 26: The Impact of Hydrate Saturation on the Mechanical,

Electrical, and Thermal Properties of Hydrate-bearing Sand, Silts, and Clay . . . . 373
J. Carlos Santamarina and Carolyn Ruppel
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Soils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Hydrate formation and hydrate former . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Laboratory cells and test devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Results and Interpretations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Small strain stiffness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
High strain stiffness and strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Electrical conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Permittivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Thermal conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Appendix A: Mathematical notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
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About the Editors
Michael Riedel graduated from the University of Victoria in September

2001 with a Ph.D. in geophysics and joined the Geological Survey of Can-
ada as a postdoctorate research fellow the same year. The first two major
projects he participated in were the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg
204 (Gas Hydrates at the Southern Hydrate Ridge offshore Oregon) and the
2002 Gas Hydrate Research Drilling at the Mallik Site, Mackenzie Delta,
NWT. In 2005, he was the cochief scientist of the Integrated Ocean Drilling
Program (IODP) Expedition 311 on the northern Cascadia Margin. He then
joined the Earth and Planetary Science Department at McGill University in
2006, where he held the T. H. Clark Chair in Sedimentary and Petroleum
Geology. Over the next three years, he participated as cochief scientist in two additional major gas
hydrate drilling expeditions (India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition in 2006 and Korea
Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition in 2007). Riedel rejoined the Geological Survey of Canada
in Sidney, British Columbia, in 2009. He currently holds an adjunct professor status at the Univer-
sity of Victoria, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences.
His research interests and expertise are focused in geophysical characterization of gas-hydrate
deposits using seismic and logging techniques, drilling and coring, as well as seismic data acquisi-
tion and processing.
Eleanor C. Willoughby is a research associate in the Marine Geophysics

Group at the University of Toronto. Her research has focused on the de-
velopment of new geophysical imaging technology, in particular, systems
which can help evaluate marine gas hydrate deposits. More specifically,
Willoughby has worked on the application of two new techniques used to
identify marine gas hydrates: seafloor compliance and controlled-source
electromagnetics (CSEM). Recently, she has been part of a team who de-
signed, built, and deployed both seafloor compliance and CSEM systems
on the NEPTUNE Canada cabled seafloor observatory, to monitor the gas
hydrate-associated Bullseye cold vent, offshore Vancouver Island. Current
work focuses on the research and development of a deep-towed multi receiver marine CSEM array,
with real-time data acquisition and control.
Willoughby obtained her B.Sc. (honors) in physics in 1996, her M.Sc. in 1998, and her
Ph.D. in physics (marine geophysics) in 2003 all from the University of Toronto. Subsequently,
she joined the Geological Survey of Canada as a visiting fellow at the Pacific Geoscience Centre
for three years before returning to Toronto. She served as a member of the Expert Panel on Gas
Hydrates for the Council of Canadian Academies. Her other research interests include investigating
the relationship between seismicity and slip on oceanic transform faults and the application of time-
domain electromagnetic methods to image subpermafrost gas-hydrate deposits.
xv
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xvi About the Editors
Satinder Chopra received M.Sc. and M.Phil. degrees in physics from

Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India. He joined the Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) of India in 1984 and served there until
1997. In 1998, he joined CTC Pulsonic at Calgary, which later became
Scott Pickford and Core Laboratories Reservoir Technologies. Currently, he
is working as chief geophysicist (Reservoir), at Arcis Corporation, Calgary.
In the last 26 years, Chopra has worked in regular seismic processing and
interactive interpretation but has spent more time in special processing of
seismic data involving seismic attributes including coherence, curvature and
texture attributes, seismic inversion, AVO, VSP processing, and frequency
enhancement of seismic data. His research interests focus on techniques that are aimed at character-
ization of reservoirs. He has published five books and more than 190 papers and abstracts and likes
to make presentations at any beckoning opportunity. He is the chief editor of the CSEG Recorder,
a past member of The Leading Edge Editorial Board, and a former chairman of the SEG Publica-
tions Committee.
He received several awards at ONGC and more recently has received the Best Oral Presentation
Award for his paper titled “Delineating stratigraphic features via cross-plotting of seismic discon-
tinuity attributes and their volume visualization,” presented at the 2010 AAPG Annual Convention
held in New Orleans; the Top 10 Paper Award for his poster titled “Extracting meaningful infor-
mation from seismic attributes,” presented at the 2009 AAPG Annual Convention held in Denver;
the Best Poster Award for his paper titled “Seismic attributes for fault/fracture characterization,”
presented at the 2008 SEG Convention held in Las Vegas; the Best Paper Award for his paper titled
“Curvature and iconic coherence attributes adding value to 3D seismic data interpretation,” pre-
sented at the CSEG Technical Luncheon, Calgary, in January 2007; and the 2005 CSEG Meritorious
Services Award. He and his colleagues have received the CSEG Best Poster Awards in successive
years from 2002 to 2005.
He is a member of SEG; CSEG; CSPG; Canadian Heavy Oil Association; EAGE; AAPG; As-
sociation of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta; and Texas Board of
Professional Geoscientists.
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Foreword
Field study of natural gas hydrates is new in geoscience, as veins, and more massive occurrences are not yet well deter-
it is in commercial interest. It is only some 50 years since mined. Along with the indicators based on hydrate physical
the early recognition of hydrate in hydrocarbon exploration properties, there has been increasing understanding, based
wells in permafrost areas of northern Russia and the detec- mainly on field geophysical surveys, of the processes that
tion of hydrate-related marine bottom-simulating reflectors form gas hydrate and of the structures that host hydrate.
(BSRs) off eastern United States. Early work was driven These include large structures in permafrost sedimentary
mainly by scientific interest, including the role of hydrate basins, regional marine hydrate just above BSRs, hydrate
in climate change, but most of the recent substantial ex- associated with marine “vent” or “plume” structures, and
penditures have come from the energy potential. Detection, hydrate contained in fracture networks. We are now begin-
mapping, and characterization of natural hydrate occur- ning to understand the geophysical characteristics of each
rences by seismic and other methods have come a long of these. Also, initial production proposals and testing have
way but still do not have the refinement of the techniques suggested that sand-hosted hydrate may be most amenable
used in the hydrocarbon exploration industry. The early to gas extraction, so there is increasing focus on sand detec-
field surveys and studies tended to be of the type: “let’s try tion by geophysical methods as well as through structural
everything and see what we learn.” Some were surprisingly indicators. Some of us had a simplistic view of hydrate oc-
useful, like electrical resistivity; others not so. Integration currences and their detection, but we now recognize that
of the results of several types of surveys has been espe- they are at least as complex as for conventional hydrocar-
cially valuable. Much early effort was directed at “direct bons. We still have a long way to go; much is yet to be
detection” of hydrate based on the substantial difference in learned. However, this volume represents a major achieve-
physical properties of hydrate compared to sediment pore ment in consolidating the considerable current geophysical
fluid, especially the high seismic velocity. This approach knowledge of what is required for hydrate detection and
has had some success in field surveys but has been of most mapping. If not a complete recipe, we at least have a clear
value in the analysis of downhole logs, especially where description of the most valuable survey and study tools and
several parameters are available. The associated downhole their uses, along with the basic data processing methods
logs provide a critical complement to field surveys through and interpretations. Congratulations to the authors and to
calibration (“ground truth”) by way of core physical prop- the editors for this important milestone.
erty and composition analyses. Laboratory studies have
been important for determining the changes in physical Roy Hyndman
properties of hydrate under different conditions and of sed- September 2010
iments containing varying amounts of pore-filling hydrate. Pacific Geoscience Centre,
The effects on field data of larger scale hydrate in nodules, Geological Survey of Canada
xvii
02181_SEG_GH_FM.indd xvii 9/24/10 7:53:43 PM

Acknowledgments
This volume is a compilation of individual scientific from engineering and flow assurance to assessing meth-
papers detailing many state-of-the-art geophysical ane hydrates as a component of climate change); rather,
exploration techniques and methods currently used in it should be seen as a handbook or tool box for geophysi-
gas-hydrate research, written by leading experts in the cists and geologists who are in the business of gas-hydrate
field. The techniques covered here are wide-ranging: research and development.
from a spectrum of seismic applications, geophysical im- We would like to first thank the Society of Explora-
aging methods (including electrical resistivity and other tion Geophysicists for the opportunity to create this book.
potential-field methods), borehole techniques, to the de- Without the tremendous help of the SEG staff, it would not
termination of physical properties through laboratory have been possible. We also want to thank all external re-
studies and applications, as well as theoretical modelling viewers for their considered and insightful reviews. Last,
approaches. This book cannot encompass every aspect of but not least, we sincerely thank all of the authors for their
gas-hydrate research (which range from microbiological individual contributions, patience and perseverance over
studies to advanced well-log interpretation techniques and the duration of the project.
xviii
02181_SEG_GH_FM.indd xviii 9/24/10 7:53:43 PM

Chapter 1
Gas Hydrates — Geophysical Exploration

Techniques and Methods
Michael Riedel1, Eleanor C. Willoughby2, and Satinder Chopra3
Abstract are needed, and further production tests are required to

prove longevity of a given gas-hydrate reservoir.
Worldwide supplies of conventional natural gas are
declining; new, unconventional forms of energy resources
are required to meet the increase in demand. Among these Introduction
unconventional resources are gas hydrates, which are solid,
icelike forms of methane and water that form under low- Gas hydrates (also often referred to as methane hydrates)
temperature and high-pressure regimes. Gas hydrates exist are naturally occurring, solid compounds comprised of nat-
in abundance worldwide, and some estimates suggest that ural gas and water. In the past three to four decades, scien-
the total amount of natural gas found in gas hydrates may tific interest in gas hydrates has increased tremendously.
exceed all known conventional gas resources. In addition Gas-hydrate research is driven mainly by interest in its po-
to their energy potential, scientific interest in gas hydrates tential role as an energy resource in the future and by the
has risen in recent years because of possible connections role of methane as a greenhouse gas and contributor to cli-
between climate forcing (natural and anthropogenic, in mate change. Additional interest in gas hydrates stems from
the past, present, and future) and methane trapped in gas- their potential as a hazard, both as a manufactured hazard in
hydrate accumulations. Several large-scale national gas- pipelines and production facilities and as a natural hazard in
hydrate programs exist in countries such as Japan, the relation to seafloor subsidence, slumps, and slides.
United States, China, India, and Korea. The past several Chemists have known about gas hydrates (or clathrates)
years have seen a tremendous number of deep-drilling ex- for almost 200 years but treated them as “laboratory curios-
peditions and other geoscientific studies to understand the ities” for the first 130 years. In general terms, gas hydrates
natural occurrences of gas hydrates. The completion and are clathrate structures in which guest molecules are en-
dissemination of results from these drilling expeditions has caged in a host framework or lattice. The cages are com-
helped the geologic understanding of natural gas-hydrate posed of hydrogen-bonded water molecules and usually
occurrences evolve toward a gas-hydrate petroleum system. contain a single gas molecule, which is required to stabilize
Although our understanding of gas hydrates in marine and the clathrate crystal. Gas hydrate will usually form when
permafrost environments has increased and new deposits about 90% of the cage is filled, giving a volume ratio of gas
have been found and described, only one demonstration to solid of about 160/1 (Hunt, 1979). The three gas-hydrate
project, at the Mallik well site (Mackenzie Delta, North- structures are distinguished as I, II, and H, with the type
west Territories, Canada), has been undertaken so far in of structure depending mainly on the largest gas molecule
which gas was produced from a gas-hydrate deposit using present. Methane, natural gas, or CH4, typically forms struc-
the pressure-drawdown technique. Although this produc- ture I gas hydrate (Figure 1), but if higher hydrocarbons are
tion test in 2008 was a milestone in gas-hydrate exploration present in the gas mixture (as is the case with thermogenic
and exploitation, new or alternative methods of production gas components), structure II or H gas hydrate is formed.
Only two locations have been confirmed with natural occur-
rences of structure H gas hydrate, associated with thermo-
1
Natural Resources Canada, Geological
Downloaded Survey
25 Jun 2012 of Canada–Pacific,
to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject togenic hydrocarbon
SEG license gas
or copyright; Terms venting
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http://segdl.org/
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail: mriedel@nrcan.gc.ca
2
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. of Mexico (Sassen and McDonald et al., 1994) and in Bark-
E-mail: willough@physics.utoronto.ca ley Canyon offshore Vancouver Island (Lu et al., 2007).
3
Arcis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. E-mail: schopra@arcis.com
1
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 1 9/24/10 7:34:10 PM

2 Geophysical Characterization of Gas Hydrates
with different geothermal temperature regimes can be dis-

tinguished: permafrost and marine environments. The region
where gas hydrates are stable is defined by the intersection
of the phase boundary and the local geothermal gradient. Be-
cause of the nature of the conditions for stability, gas hydrates
usually are found only in permafrost regions and on contin-
ental slopes where water depths exceed 500 m (Figure 3).
Some of the earliest scientific evidence of gas hydrates
was reported by Davy (1811), who wrote of a “yellow pre-
cipitate” formed as a result of chlorine gas bubbling through
water. The oil and gas industry began to take an interest in
gas hydrates in the 1930s when gas-hydrate formation was
found to cause blockages in pipelines (Hammerschmidt
1934; Wilcox et al., 1941). Problems related to flow as-
surance and hydrate-dissociation kinetics are still an enor-
mously important topic of research in the hydrocarbon
industry, although beyond the scope of this book.
Figure 1. Chemical structures of gas hydrates. From In the late 1960s, Russian scientists were among the
Ripmeester, 2007. Reproduced with permission from John first to propose that gas hydrate occurred naturally in marine
Ripmeester. and onshore locations (e.g., Makogon et al., 1972; Trofimuk
et al., 1977). Further seis-
mic and drilling work fol-
lowed these early studies,
and in the 1970s and 1980s,
a growing number of sci-
entists inferred that gas hy-
drate indeed existed below
permafrost regions as well
as in marine sediments
along continental margins
(e.g., Markl et al., 1970;
Stoll et al., 1971; Bily and
Dick, 1974; Neave et al.,
1978; Shipley et al., 1979).
In the last 15 years, deep-
sea drilling expeditions of
the Ocean Drilling Pro-
gram (ODP) and Integrated
Ocean Drilling Program
(IODP) confirmed through
direct sampling that gas hy-
Figure 2. Schematics of the (a) onshore permafrost and (b) marine offshore gas-hydrate drate occurred naturally in
stability zone (GHSZ). The phase boundary is shown as green curve, and local (assumed) deepwater sediments along
thermal gradients are in red. Note that the phase boundary is shown as an idealized curve. outer continental margins.
Local variations in pore-fluid salinity and composition of hydrocarbon gases can shift the Accretionary prism en-
phase-boundary by several degrees Celsius for constant pressure (depth). vironments at the Cascadia
Margin were drilled during
ODP Leg 146 (Westbrook
Thermodynamically, gas hydrates are stable only under et al., 1994), ODP Leg 204 (Tréhu et al., 2003), and IODP
high-pressure and low-temperature conditions (Sloan and Expedition 311 (Riedel et al., 2006a), and passive margin
Koh, 2008). Additional factors that affect gas-hydrate sta- environments were drilled at Blake Ridge during ODP Leg
bility are pore-fluid chemistry (salinity) and type of source 164 (Paull et al., 1996).
gas. Figure 2 illustrates the pressure-temperature phase dia- These ODP and IODP drilling expeditions were fol-
gram for methane gas hydrate. In principle, two scenarios lowed recently by dedicated gas-hydrate drilling programs
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 2 10/8/10 9:27:11 PM

Chapter 1: Gas Hydrates — Geophysical Exploration Techniques and Methods 3
Figure 3. Map of known worldwide gas-hydrate occurrences, direct through sampling, or inferred from geophysical observations.
Courtesy of the Council of Canadian Academies (2008), based on original data from Kvenvolden and Rogers (2005).
conducted as part of national gas-hydrate programs off solid methane hydrate is equivalent to ~160 m3 of free gas
the coasts of Japan (e.g., Fujii et al., 2008), India (Collett (Sloan and Koh, 2008). The worldwide occurrence of gas
et al., 2008c), China (Yang et al., 2008) and Korea (Park hydrates on almost all continental slopes and in permafrost
et al., 2008) and in the Gulf of Mexico (Boswell et al., 2009). regions has prompted research to assess the global carbon
In permafrost environments, gas-hydrate research has budget for gas hydrates. Although estimates range widely
been conducted at two test sites with an emphasis on gas- by more than two orders of magnitude (see Table 1), the
hydrate production. The Mallik site (on Richards Island, most widely cited value is that of Kvenvolden (1988), at
Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada) was in- 2 3 1016 m3 of gas, or 10 gigatons of carbon. In compari-
itially drilled by Imperial Oil in 1972. It was the subject of son, estimates for the known combined reserves of conven-
three additional research coring, drilling, and logging pro- tional hydrocarbons (natural gas, oil, coal) are about half
grams in 1998 (Dallimore et al., 1999), a first test on ther- that value. Specifically, the global conventional natural-
mal stimulation in 2002 (Dallimore and Collett, 2005), and gas resources have been estimated at about 4.4 3 1016 m3
a dedicated production test program run throughout 2007 (Ahlbrandt, 2002).
and 2008 using pressure-drawdown techniques (Dallimore Despite the wide range in estimates and uncertainties
et al., 2008a). The second permafrost gas-hydrate site is the associated with those assessments, there is wide recogni-
Mount Elbert well site on the Alaska North Slope (Boswell tion that gas hydrates are an untapped possible energy re-
et al., 2008), where a research coring and logging program source, as demonstrated by the amount of research activity
was complemented in 2007 with modular dynamic tests dedicated to the possible exploitation of this resource as
(MDT) similar in scope to the Mallik 2002 program. well as the large-scale national gas-hydrate programs of
Japan, China, India, South Korea, and the United States. A
detailed review of these gas-hydrate programs is given by
Impact of Gas Hydrates Collett et al. (2008b).
In addition to the global assessments of gas hydrates,
Gas hydrates as a potential future volumetric estimates also have been made on a national and
energy resource regional-to-basin scale. Some of the most recent examples of
these smaller-scale assessments are from the Alaska North
Gas hydrates provide an effective means for storing Slope (Collett et al., 2008a), the Gulf of Mexico (Frye,
natural gas (methane, CH4). At standard atmospheric tem- 2008), and the eastern Nankai Trough (Fujii et al., 2008).
perature (20°C) and pressure (1 atm) conditions, 1 m3 of Most of the assessments are in-place volumetric estimates of
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 3 9/24/10 7:34:18 PM

Table 1. Estimates of gas hydrate concentrations. although deepwater bottom temperatures increase less be-
cause of the large heat capacity of the ocean.
Continental Gas Hydrates
Thus, for deepwater deposits at depths greater than
(3 1012 m3) (TCF) Reference 500 m, the increase in gas-hydrate stability from the ris-
14 490 Meyer (1981) ing sea level might counterbalance the destabilization from
31 1000 McIver (1981) rising water temperatures and result in slowed dissociation
(e.g., Taylor et al., 2002). However, at a critical depth of
57 2000 Trofimuk et al. (1977)
about 500 m, gas-hydrate deposits are most vulnerable to
740 26,000 MacDonald (1990) changes in bottom-water temperatures and in ocean circu-
34,000 1,200,000 Dobrynin et al. (1981) lation (e.g., Kennett et al., 2000). The warming of these
Oceanic Gas Hydrates intermediate waters might occur faster than the rise in sea
level and might trigger the release of methane, with a posi-
(3 1015 m3) (TCF) Reference tive feedback to global warming. Generally, however, the
35,000 to ocean is depleted in methane, causing immediate methane
1 to 5 180,000 Milkov et al. (2003) oxidization. Only if gas hydrate is released rapidly in huge
3.1 110,000 McIver (1981) amounts (perhaps during a slumping event) can consider-
able amounts of methane reach the atmosphere (e.g., Dick-
180,000 to
ens et al., 1995, 1997; Haq, 1998; Paull et al., 2002).
5 to 25 880,000 Trofimuk et al. (1977)
Another possible positive feedback mechanism is ex-
20 706,000 Kvenvolden (1988) pected for gas hydrate that underlies continental shelves
21 740,000 MacDonald (1990) in permafrost regions. First, increasing air temperatures
Kvenvolden and cause a rise in shallow-water temperatures. Second is the
40 1,400,000 Claypool (1988) more devastating increase in ground surface temperature
120 4,200,000 Klauda and Sandler (2005) caused by the transgression of the polar ocean over the ex-
posed, colder continental coastal surface as sea level rises.
7600 270,000,000 Dobrynin et al. (1981)
Flooding the land with relatively warm waters would off-
set the effects of increasing pressure because of the rise in
sea level, and gas hydrates of the polar coastal land would
gas hydrate, but the assessment by Collett et al. (2008a) for be destabilized (e.g., Dillon and Max, 2000). However, the
the Alaska North Slope included for the first time an estimate heat signal induced by climate warming propagating down-
of the technically recoverable portion of methane gas from ward into the ground likely would be expended largely in
gas hydrate (a mean of 85 TCF of gas) based on results from melting permafrost first, resulting in a slowdown of gas-
the first production test using depressurization conducted at hydrate dissociation beneath the permafrost (Taylor, 1999;
Mallik in 2008 (Dallimore et al., 2008b). Taylor et al., 2002).
Gas hydrates — Greenhouse gas and

climate change The role of gas hydrates in geohazards
Although global estimates of methane in gas hydrates Because gas hydrates can be destabilized by pres-
are highly uncertain (Table 1), gas hydrates represent a large sure and temperature changes, they are potential seafloor
natural sink for methane, which otherwise would end up in geohazards. The formation and dissociation of gas hydrate
the ocean and/or atmosphere. Because methane is a more have a significant influence on the mechanical proper-
potent greenhouse gas than CO2 (Shine, 1990), the release ties of marine sediments. The replacement of pore water
into the atmosphere of methane currently trapped in gas by gas hydrate increases the shear strength (especially if
hydrates might have a significant effect on global climate gas hydrate forms in such a way as to form a cement [e.g.,
change (e.g., Buffett and Archer, 2004; Archer and Buffett, Willoughby and Edwards, 1997]) and reduces the poros-
2005; Archer, 2007). Geographically, the effect of global ity and permeability of sediments (e.g., Paull et al., 2000).
warming on gas-hydrate deposits varies significantly, how- In turn, free gas and water are released during gas-hydrate
ever. During global warming, glaciers and ice caps melt, dissociation, thus decreasing the shear strength of the sedi-
contributing water to the oceans. Oceans also expand ther- ment. Gas-hydrate decomposition also affects the pore
mally. The rise in sea level causes an increase of hydrostatic pressure of the sediments (Kayen and Lee, 1993). Water
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to SEG gas
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of Use: pore space usually will ex-
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pressure that stabilizes submarine gas-hydrate deposits and
increases the thickness of the stability zone downward. ceed the volume that was previously occupied by solid gas
Water temperature also increases during global warming, hydrate. The net effect is either an increase in pressure
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 4 9/24/10 7:34:35 PM

(if the sediments are well sealed by a low-permeability the northern Cascadia margin have shown that there can be
cap) or an increase in volume (if the additional pressure a clear disconnect between the actual gas-hydrate accumu-
can escape by fluid flow). The increase in pore pressure, lation (e.g., in a particular turbidite sand) and BSR obser-
expansion of sediment volume, and development of free vations (Riedel et al., 2006a). However, a BSR still remains
gas bubbles all have the potential to weaken the sediment. an easy-to-identify seismic marker and a first-order indica-
Failure could be triggered by gravitational loading tion that gas hydrate might be present in a given area.
(continued sedimentation) or by seismic disturbances (e.g., According to Magoon (1988), a conventional petrol-
earthquakes), yielding slumps, debris flows, and slides. eum system includes geologic components and processes
McIver (1981) first recognized the possible connection be- required to generate and store hydrocarbons, namely, ma-
tween the occurrence of gas hydrate and submarine slides. ture source rocks, migration pathways, and reservoir rocks,
Many authors have related major slumps on continental as well as traps and seals. The gas-hydrate petroleum sys-
margins to instability associated with the breakdown of hy- tem includes all the same elements but is complicated by
drates, including slides and slumps on the continental slope the specifics of the thermodynamically defined stability
and the rise off south-west Africa Namibia (Summerhayes zone, which limits the occurrence of gas hydrate to low-
et al., 1979), slumps on the U. S. Atlantic continental slope temperature, high-pressure regimes (see also Figure 3) and
(Carpenter, 1981), large submarine slides on the Norwe- by restrictions on the availability of water to form crystal-
gian margin (Jansen et al., 1987), and massive bedding- line water cages to trap gas molecules.
plane slides and rotational slumps on the Alaska Beaufort
Sea continental margin (Kayen and Lee, 1993).
In addition to “natural” geohazards, the presence of Stability of gas hydrate
gas hydrate in near-surface sediments (the top few hundred
As mentioned earlier, the stability of gas hydrate is
meters below the seafloor) presents a geohazard to com-
mainly a function of temperature (geothermal gradients)
mercial oil and gas production. Safety issues related to
and pressure. Most studies of gas-hydrate stability assume
drilling and subsequently producing hydrocarbons (from
hydrostatic pore-pressure gradients; however, examples of
greater depth) through shallower gas-hydrate accumula-
areas with overpressured zones exist (e.g., Bhatnagar et al.,
tions have been recognized and documented (e.g., Bily
2008) in which overpressure results in a downward shift
and Dick, 1974; Yakushev and Collett, 1992; Hovland and
of the base of gas-hydrate stability. Additional constraints
Gudmestad, 2001; Collett and Dallimore, 2002; Nimblett
on stability come from the specifics of the gas-mixture
et al., 2005; Birchwood et al., 2008). However, until now,
and pore-fluid composition (salinity). It is known that the
we have gained only limited experience in producing gas
presence of only a small percentage of higher hydrocar-
from gas-hydrate deposits and its possible associated haz-
bons (ethane, propane) shifts the phase boundary to higher
ards. The production test at the Mallik well site in 2008 is
temperatures (at constant pressure); that is, the base of gas
the only example to date in which safety issues related to
hydrate stability effectively is shifted to greater depths
gas production (e.g., sand control and coproduced water)
(Holder et al., 1987; Sloan and Koh, 2008). Analogous to
have been documented (Dallimore et al., 2008a, b). A more
the effect of salt on the freezing point of water, replacing
rigorous review of known and potential safety issues re-
freshwater with a brine shifts the phase boundary to lower
lated to gas-hydrate production can be found in the recent
temperatures at a given pressure and thus results in a shal-
report on energy from gas hydrates by the Council of Can-
lower base of gas-hydrate stability, as demonstrated, for in-
adian Academies (2008).
stance, at the Mallik research site by Wright et al. (2005).
The Gas-hydrate Petroleum Source of gas

System
The isotopic composition of methane recovered from
In the last five years, as new and more detailed infor- most deep-sea gas-hydrate samples is consistent with that
mation became available, particularly from recent drilling of gases produced by low-temperature biological processes.
programs, our understanding of gas-hydrate occurrences However, gas and gas-hydrate samples from some locations
worldwide has changed. Initially, seismic observations in the Gulf of Mexico (Sassen and McDonald, 1994; Sas-
through the bottom-simulating reflector (BSR), were used sen et al., 2004), the Mackenzie Delta (Dallimore and Col-
to identify gas hydrate in the marine environment (see lett, 2005), the Black Sea (Woodside et al., 2003; Mazzini
Spence et al., 2010). More recent explorations for gas- et al., 2004), and the Caspian Sea (Diaconescu et al., 2001)
hydrate deposits have taken on a more conventional petrol- have components typical of a thermal origin for the source
eum-system approach (introduced by Boswell and Collett, gas. The carbon isotopic composition of biogenic methane
2006). For instance, detailed observations of drill sites on is usually lighter than the hydrocarbon gases produced by
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 5 9/24/10 7:34:35 PM

thermal conversion of organic matter. In addition, gener- Some prominent examples are found at southern Hydrate
ally more ethane and propane are produced during ther- Ridge offshore Oregon (Tréhu et al., 2003) and in the north-
mal conversion. Fractionation, the tendency to incorporate ern Cascadia margin (Riedel et al., 2006b).
the lighter gas, can occur during hydrate formation but is Gas emitted from the seafloor is clearly not trapped by
generally not sufficient to explain the observations of light gas-hydrate formation and appears somehow to escape the
carbon isotopic compositions in most natural gas-hydrate gas-hydrate stability zone. One explanation on a local scale
samples (e.g., Thiery et al., 1998). Thus, the majority of is that the gas-hydrate stability field can be shifted ther-
methane in gas hydrates near the earth’s surface likely re- mally by advecting fluids such that the base of gas-hydrate
sults from biogenic conversion of organic matter by micro- stability is effectively outcropping at the seafloor. Wood et
organisms through either fermentation or reduction of al. (2004) postulated this for seepage sites in the Gulf of
carbon dioxide (CO2). Mexico, where the BSR bends sharply upward near the vent
Biogenic methane production and thus the amount of boundaries. Alternatively, a mechanism whereby migration
gas hydrate present within the sedimentary section are pathways (small fissures or fractures) become coated with
both limited by the low total-organic-carbon (TOC) con- gas hydrate, preventing gas migration and contact with
tent of sediments. In the uppermost sediments of current water, might explain why gas is not incorporated into gas
gas-hydrate stability zones, a TOC value of a few percent hydrate. This process also can be associated with (or dom-
is typical (e.g., 1–1.5% on the Blake Ridge [Finley and inated by) local salt exclusion from hydrate formation and
Krason, 1989] or less than 1% on the northern Cascadia an increase in salinity in the surrounding pore waters. This
margin [Kim and Lee, 2009; Pohlman et al., 2009]) and shifts the gas-hydrate stability field in a small halo around
is the most limiting factor for biogenic methane produc- the fracture pathway in such a way that it prevents further
tion and thus for the amount of gas hydrate present in the hydrate growth and allows gas to pass through the hydrate
sedimentary section. Thus, gas recycling near the base stability field (Liu and Flemings, 2006, 2007).
of gas-hydrate stability and significant upward migra- In permafrost environments, gas hydrates have been
tion of gas from deeper sources in the sedimentary sec- documented mainly in close association with certain sand
tion might be required to form substantial gas-hydrate formations, such as at Mallik (Dallimore and Collett, 2005)
accumulations, as postulated by Hyndman and Davis or at the Mount Elbert site (Collett et al., 2008c). Despite
(1992) in their early fluid-expulsion model and by Paull the very high concentrations of gas hydrate at Mallik, a
et al. (1994). mobile (free) water phase was documented in those same
However, as shown by Finley and Krason (1989), those units (Collett et al., 2005), showing that there was no short-
low TOC values are sufficient to explain the gas-hydrate age of available water. Although one example exists from
concentrations at the Blake Ridge, which were on average the Alaska North Slope in which a free-gas-bearing sand
less than 10% of the pore space (Paull et al., 1996). Simi- formation was documented well within the gas-hydrate sta-
larly, the recent IODP Expedition 311 drilling results at the bility field (Collett, 2004). Collett et al. (2005) postulate
northern Cascadia margin show that most of the methane that prior to the establishment of the current thermobaric
incorporated into gas hydrate is produced in situ by CO2 conditions, the gas-charged sand had very low free-water
reduction (Pohlman et al., 2009) except for the cold vent content. The base of gas-hydrate stability then moved
site, which has clear signs of deeper fluid migration. The downward below the gas-bearing sand formation because
locally high concentrations in the sandy turbidite sections of a climate-cooling episode in the more recent past.
were explained by simple diffusion processes by which
methane is produced in situ in the mud and then accumu-
lated in the sand (Malinverno, 2008). Reservoir rocks and gas-hydrate
morphologies
Availability of water and focused According to the review by Sloan and Koh (2008),
gas migration there are four major morphologies of natural gas-hydrate
occurrences (Figure 4): (1) disseminated in the pore space,
In the upper few hundred meters of sediment below (2) nodular and dispersed within sediments, (3) solid within
the seafloor, water is generally abundant because sediment smaller fractures or thin layers, and (4) massive units with
porosities are generally more than 50% (Nafe and Drake, little sediment (mainly as seafloor mounds). Generally,
1957). Thus, availability of water should not generally be a gas-hydrate formation appears to be opportunistic, occur-
limiting factor for gas-hydrate formation in marine environ- ring whenever sufficient gas and water are available, in any
ments. Nonetheless, numerous examples exist along almost possible morphology, although preferential accumulation
all continental margins of methane gas seeping and bubbling of gas hydrate in coarser-grained sediments (Dallimore et al.
from the seafloor above known gas-hydrate accumulations. 1999, Dallimore and Collett, 2005; Riedel et al., 2006a;
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 6 9/24/10 7:34:36 PM

Figure 4. Different
forms of naturally
occurring gas hydrate:
(a) Gas hydrate
disseminated within
sand; sample from
IODP Expedition 311
Site U1326 (Riedel
et al., 2006a); (b)
gas-hydrate nodules
recovered during ODP
Leg 204 (Tréhu et al.,
2003); (c) massive
gas-hydrate fractures
recovered at Site
NGHP-01-10 (Collett et
al., 2008b); (d) massive
hydrate on seafloor
in Barkley Canyon
offshore Vancouver
Island (Chapman et al.,
2004; Pohlman et al.,
2005).
Torres et al., 2008; Hutchinson et al., 2008; Park et al., Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada (Dalli-
2008) or as solid fractures (Collett et al., 2008c; Cook and more and Collett, 2005; Dallimore et al., 2008a; Dallimore
Goldberg, 2008) also has been found. et al., 2008b). Additional smaller-scale, drillstem-type
Combining the classification of reservoir rocks with tests using the Schlumberger modular formation dynamics
the type of gas-hydrate occurrence, Boswell and Collett tester (MDTTM) were performed at Mallik (Hancock et al.,
(2006) developed a resource pyramid, discussed in detail 2005b) and at the Mount Elbert research well (Anderson
in the article by Boswell and Saeki (2010). The pyramid et al., 2008).
classifies gas-hydrate occurrence and relative (estimated) To produce methane from a gas-hydrate reservoir, one
volume in each reservoir type and relates to factors such has to perturb the reservoir conditions in such a way that
as expected reservoir quality and production challenges the phase boundary is altered and free gas is created out
(among other parameters). of the solid form. The phase boundary can be perturbed in
principle through three basic mechanisms: (1) increasing
the temperature of the formation (inputting heat, e.g., steam
Gas Production from or hot water), (2) decreasing pressure (through pumping),
Gas-hydrate Reservoirs and (3) injecting an inhibitor (e.g., salt or another chemical
such as methanol). Obviously, none of these basic tech-
The assessments of the global budget of gas hydrates niques is trivial, and all come at an energy expense and
listed in Table 1 do not relate to how and with what ef- have environmental impacts.
ficiency these resources might or might not be produced. Tests have yet to be conducted to demonstrate the
They reveal an enormous pool of possibly extractable long-term yield of gas-hydrate production. The first pro-
hydrocarbons, at least comparable in size to all known conduction test at Mallik, conducted in 2002, used thermal
ventional sources, such as oil, coal, and natural gas, com- stimulation through hot-water circulation (Hancock et al.,
bined. According to the gas-hydrate resource pyramid, the 2005a). The thermal-stimulation test conducted on the
most readily producible gas-hydrate occurrences are those JAPEX/JNOC/GSC et al. Mallik 5L-38 well was designed
associated with sand-rich formations in the Arctic, espe- to increase the in situ temperature to above the gas-hydrate
cially in conjunctionDownloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
with existing infrastructure. Thus far, stability point while maintaining constant pressure. The
only two larger-scale gas-hydrate production tests have thermal-stimulation test was successful in that the forma-
been carried out on the Mallik deposit on Richards Island, tion temperature was increased and maintained to greater
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 7 9/24/10 7:34:36 PM

than 50°C for about three days continuously, and gas from by Kurihara et al. (2005b) and by Moridis et al. (2005a)
dissociated gas hydrate was produced (~470 m3) and flared by using inverse modeling (history matching). Although
at the surface. However, the thermal-stimulation test also both approaches gave generally comparable results, with
demonstrated the immense difficulty of heating a forma- final simulated gas and gas-hydrate saturation distributions
tion by conductive heat transfer alone. consistent with geophysical well-log data, complications
The second production test at Mallik, conducted in in the history-matching analysis could be overcome only
two stages in 2007 and 2008, employed the depressuriza- by allowing hot-water invasion into the reservoir (Kurihara
tion technique (Dallimore et al., 2008a; Dallimore et al., et al., 2005b).
2008b; Yamamoto and Dallimore, 2008). The production Very similar results were obtained by Anderson et al.
test, particularly the second phase, in 2008, was successful, (2008) from the MDT tests at the Mount Elbert well.
and a continuous gas flow ranging from 2000 to 4000 m3/ Furthermore, all of the groups in the code-comparison study
day was established during the six-day duration of the test. mentioned have attempted to model the results of the Mount
This is regarded as “proof of concept.” Two of the main en- Elbert MDT testing effort. With only two short-duration test
gineering issues that were feared to be possible showstop- data sets available from the Mallik and Mount Elbert well
pers (namely, sand control and coproduced water) could sites, it is difficult to assess completely the validity of the
be tackled with existing technology (using sand screens) production simulators. The various codes do allow nominal
or were less severe than anticipated (i.e., the volume of assessment of gas-hydrate production scenarios and reser-
coproduced water was less than 100 m3) (Dallimore et al., voir responses, but critical data with which to predict and
2008a; Dallimore et al., 2008b). understand completely gas hydrate production on a large
scale are still missing. Among those critical knowledge gaps
are (1) an understanding of the geomechanical response of
Gas-hydrate production simulations the near wellbore and (2) the influence of gas-hydrate reser-
voir heterogeneity (pinch-outs, faults, impurities) on long-
There are various gas-hydrate production simulators: term gas production.
(1) the TOUGH 1 HYDRATE code as developed by Mor-
idis (2003) and further described in Moridis et al. (2005b);
(2) the MH-21HYDRES code of the Japan Oil Engineer- Geophysical Exploration
ing Company and University of Tokyo (Kurihara et al., for Gas Hydrates
2005a; Kurihara et al., 2005b); (3) the STOMP-HYD code
developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The trend toward viewing gas hydrates as petroleum sys-
(Phale et al., 2006); (4) a hydrate-specific variant of the tems has revealed the need to employ a range of geoscientific
commercial simulator CMG-STARS (STARS Computer prospecting tools during assessment. Geophysical explora-
Modeling Group, 2008); (5) HydrateResSim (open source tion is one of the important approaches to assessing gas-hy-
code based on an earlier version of TOUGH); and (6) the drate reservoirs. Geophysical methods allow us to image the
Hydrsim simulator (based in part on the CMG-STARS) gas-hydrate deposit itself and characterize the resource in
developed by Hong and Pooladi-Darvish (2005) at the terms of charge (gas-hydrate concentration), reservoir type
University of Calgary. All of these codes are part of a code- (including sediment type, porosity, and permeability), geo-
comparison study designed to exchange information and graphical extent (vertical and lateral), and physical place-
insight that will lead to improving simulation capability ment in local and regional stability conditions.
for experimental and naturally occurring gas-hydrate ac- In terms of geophysical exploration, the physical prop-
cumulations. The study, which is being led by the U. S. erties of gas hydrates are similar to those of water ice. Gas
Department of Energy (DOE), has been described further hydrate has a high seismic, or P-wave, velocity of about
in several recent reports (e.g., Anderson et al., 2008; Wil- 3300 m/s, densities lower than water at ~0.9 g/cm3 (Hel-
der et al., 2008). gerud et al., 1999), and comparable elastic moduli, and gas
The Mallik production tests (thermal, depressurization, hydrate similarly lowers ionic conduction by filling sedi-
and small-scale MDT) have provided a vast amount of data ment pore space. The presence of gas hydrates within sedi-
for predicting and modeling the response and long-term ments increases the bulk and shear modulus, and thus the
behavior of gas-hydrate reservoirs. Through history match- P- and S-wave velocities. In simple terms, the forming of
ing, the MDT 2002 Mallik data were analyzed by Hancock gas hydrate replaces fluid water in pore space with solid gas
et al. (2005b) and by Kurihara et al. (2005a). Both showed hydrate, with the net effect of a porosity reduction and an in-
that the response of the gas-hydrate-bearing formation crease in the elastic moduli of the sediment. As gas hydrate
to a pressure drawdown was similar
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012to that of a Redistribution
to 95.28.162.50. conven- subjectforms,
to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
the saline, conductive pore water is consumed in the
tional porous but low-permeability reservoir. The data process of gas-hydrate growth, and pathways for ionic con-
obtained from the thermal-stimulation test were analyzed duction are blocked. Excluding the geologically short-term,
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 8 9/24/10 7:34:39 PM

local salt-inhibition effect, the result is that the conductive

saltwater is replaced by electrically insulating gas hydrate,
effectively reducing porosity and increasing resistivity. This
porosity reduction and increase in resistivity is commonly
described by Archie’s empirical relation (Archie, 1942).
The presence of free gas also has a profound impact
on the physical properties of sediments. Seismically, a little
free gas drastically reduces P-wave velocity (with almost
no effect on S-wave velocity), but the effect depends on the
ambient pressure regime (Desmons, 1996). Free gas is also
electrically resistive.
All these changes in the physical properties of sedi-
ments produced by the presence of gas hydrate and/or free
gas result in geophysical anomalies when the associated
imaging method is employed (such as a seismic bright spot
or a high-resistivity patch). However, one of the common
problems in geophysical exploration is nonuniqueness —
ambiguity in the interpretation of the geophysical data
linked to the target of interest. This problem also applies
to gas-hydrate exploration. Before invoking geophysical Figure 5. Example of a prominent bottom-simulating
techniques to detect and quantify gas-hydrate deposits, it reflector (BSR) in seismic data from offshore Vancouver
is critical to define the natural variability of the sediment Island and simplified impedance-depth model explaining the
properties in the absence of gas or gas hydrate (for in- phase reversal of the BSR reflection relative to the seafloor.
stance, through coring and other ground-truth data). Note that the impedance profile is not to scale.
Seismic techniques of shear-wave energy. The OBS technique has been applied
in several gas-hydrate provinces (e.g., Korenaga et al.,
The most commonly used geophysical techniques for 1997; Hobro et al., 2005; LeBlanc et al., 2007; Petersen et
detecting gas hydrate are the seismic method and associ- al., 2007; Minshull et al., 2010). Applications of the OBC
ated processing and imaging techniques. The lateral and technology have been reported from the Gulf of Mexico
vertical resolution of seismic data can range from sub- (e.g., Hardage et al., 2006) and from the Norwegian margin
meter to several tens of meters, depending on the seismic- (Andreassen et al., 2003; Bünz et al., 2005). However, the
acquisition parameters used (such as frequency of the use of OBC technology is still limited because of its enor-
source and the source and receiver geometries). In the mar- mous costs for equipment and deployment.
ine environment, seismic-reflection profiling often is used Seismic data allow the estimation of seismic veloci-
to determine the presence of a BSR (Figure 5), which in ties directly or via impedance or full-waveform inversions.
most cases identifies the base of the gas hydrate stability Using rock-physics modeling or other empirically derived
zone. It is challenging if not impossible, however, to infer relations, seismic velocities are related to gas-hydrate con-
detailed gas-hydrate concentrations from the BSR reflec- centrations. Thus, the mapping of the gas-hydrate reservoir
tion strength alone (e.g., Yuan et al., 1999; Chen et al., (structure, thickness, geographical extent) can be comple-
2007). Instead, a BSR identifies the presence of some free mented with volumetric estimates of the in-place volume
gas below the gas-hydrate stability zone and the potential of methane (e.g., Dai et al., 2008; Riedel et al., 2009). The
for the presence of gas hydrate above the interface. presence of free gas or complex geologic structures that
Deploying seismic receivers on the ocean floor (ocean- alter the seismic response, such as cold vents containing
bottom seismometers, OBS, or ocean-bottom cables, OBC) excessive gas migration (e.g., Riedel et al., 2002), hampers
allows the seismic-velocity structure of the subsurface seismic data collection (because of seismic “blanking”)
to be inferred in more detail (because of a lower Fresnel and interpretation. Furthermore, in sediment environments
zone) than is possible with common surface-towed stream- where low concentrations of gas hydrate diminish seismic
ers. Much larger offsets also can be achieved with this tech- reflectivity (Lee and Dillon, 2000) or where gas-hydrate
nique, thus allowing for more accurate velocity analyses. concentrations are too low to create amplitude anomalies
Furthermore, the noise level is
Downloaded much
25 Jun reduced
2012 to with
95.28.162.50. bottom-
Redistribution subject tosubstantial enough
SEG license or copyright; to ofbeUse:discerned
Terms from regular reflectivity
http://segdl.org/
mounted receivers. The direct contact between receivers (e.g., Bellefleur et al., 2006), the effectiveness of seismic
(geophones) and the ocean floor also allows the recording methods for mapping gas hydrate is limited.
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 9 9/24/10 7:34:39 PM

seismic methods. However, these data are of an entirely

different character. Electromagnetic data are nonunique,
and multiple interpretations of any data set are possible.
The data are sensitive to the resistivity-thickness product,
a property that can be related to the total gas-hydrate con-
tent (Edwards, 1997). However, by definition, these meth-
ods will never produce the sort of vertical high-resolution
section one might expect from a reflection-seismic survey.
Lateral resolution is a function mainly of receiver spacing
and ultimately of economics.
Although new technology and deployment methodolo-
gies are being developed by various research groups, the
resolution of these electromagnetic methods is less than
desirable for detailed resource appraisals at present. Their
relatively broad resolution can result in a smearing of lo-
cal anomalies (smaller overall resistivity but spread out
over a larger area). However, the detection of higher than
usual resistive sediments in the gas-hydrate stability field,
in combination with other geophysical measurements (e.g.,
seismic data), is of crucial importance in minimizing ambi-
guity in the interpretation of remote geophysical data sets
(Willoughby et al., 2005).
An exceptionally useful application of the CSEM method
was the characterization of cold vents on the northern Cas-
cadia margin by Schwalenberg et al. (2005), where the vents
could not be imaged seismically and no information on the
subsurface gas-hydrate content could be derived other than
from the top reflection of a massive gas-hydrate cap (Riedel et
Figure 6. Comparison of (a) controlled-source al., 2002; Riedel et al., 2006b). However, the CSEM method
electromagnetic (CSEM) survey (from Schwalenberg et al., showed that all four major blank zones were associated with
2005) and (b) multichannel seismic data (Riedel et al., 2002) massive resistivity anomalies that were about four times the
across cold-vent sites on northern Cascadia margin. Bullseye assumed regional background resistivity trend (Figure 6).
Vent, the most prominent in the area, has been the target of Unlike seismic-reflection studies, CSEM data are not
IODP Expedition 311 Site U1328. hampered by the presence of free gas. However, CSEM
data alone cannot distinguish among different possible
causes of increased resistivity (including free gas, fresh-
Electrical-resistivity methods ened pore water, or reduced porosity). Although CSEM
data are sensitive to the combination of the resistivity and
The increase in electrical resistivity caused by the pres- the thickness of the target, they are particularly useful for
ence of gas hydrate can be exploited to map and quantify gas- evaluating the concentration and distribution of gas hydrate.
hydrate accumulations with remote-sensing techniques such However, the geologic complexity of the Arctic environ-
as active controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) imaging ment is an impediment to the straightforward application
or (usually) passively magnetotelluric (MT) surveys. CSEM of electromagnetic methods. Imaging gas hydrate below
imaging of gas-hydrate deposits has been employed in mar- the electrically resistive permafrost layer is challenging.
ine environments (e.g., Yuan and Edwards, 2000; Schwa- However, modeling studies (Scholl, 2010) show that long-
lenberg et al., 2005; Weitemeyer et al., 2006). There are no offset time-domain electromagnetic (LOTEM) methods
published CSEM surveys in the Arctic, presumably because ought to resolve and quantify a subpermafrost gas-hydrate
of operational challenges in permafrost regions, although the resistivity anomaly of a Mallik-like deposit.
Geological Survey of Canada recently completed an MT sur-
vey near Mallik, Northwest Territories (Craven et al., 2009). Other potential-field methods
The advantage of employing electromagnetic meth-
ods is that they provide a completely independent source Seafloor compliance uses the relationship between
of data, sensitive to physical properties (namely, electrical pressure induced by naturally occurring ocean waves and
resistivity or impedance) different from those sensed by the associated movement of the seafloor. These data are
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 10 9/24/10 7:34:43 PM

gathered by making time-series measurements of pressure some cases, the regional thermal regime and base of the
and displacement — or its analogue, acceleration — of the gas-hydrate stability field can be estimated from temper-
seafloor during time. Compliance data are most sensitive to ature measurements in exploration wells, either by means
the shear modulus as a function of the depth of the under- of selective deployment of temperature tools at various
lying sediments. When gas hydrate displaces fluid pore depths (e.g., Davis et al., 1997; Heesemann et al., 2006)
water, the shear modulus of sediments is increased. Com- or by special logging tools, such as distributed temperature
pliance data thus can delineate local gas-hydrate accumu- sensor cables (Henninges et al., 2005).
lations by assessing the shear-wave velocity implied by
measurements of long-term displacements or accelerations
and pressure time series (Willoughby and Edwards, 1997, Well-logging techniques
2000; Willoughby et al., 2005). However, seafloor compli- Logging analyses are especially useful for gas-hydrate
ance is not easily invoked as a regional mapping tool. characterization. In general, one distinguishes between
Magnetotelluric (MT) surveys use variations in the wireline operations in which a tool is lowered into an
natural or actively induced electric and magnetic fields to existing borehole to measure physical properties of the
probe subsurface electrical impedance structures, which sediments and operations conducted while the borehole is
can be affected by the presence of the resistive gas hy- being drilled (also referred to as logging while drilling, or
drate (Craven et al., 2009). In general, MT surveys have LWD). Each technique has advantages and shortcomings
lower spatial resolution but much deeper sounding ability (see Goldberg et al., 2010). In simple terms, wireline log-
than controlled-source methods. MT surveys are a promis- ging has the main disadvantage of not allowing measure-
ing method for mapping deep subpermafrost gas-hydrate ments to be conducted until a considerable time after the
deposits. borehole has been drilled and the gas hydrate has been
Magnetic methods can be used to map geochemical exposed. However, the wireline deployment technique of-
changes associated with the formation of gas hydrate. fers the opportunity of making measurements on a higher
Changes in the chemical composition of the mineralogy vertical resolution than can be done with LWD tools. In
related to the reaction of iron with hydrogen sulfide have comparison, LWD is conducted while the borehole is be-
been documented from several gas-hydrate areas worldwide ing advanced and thus offers the “freshest” look into the
(Housen and Musgrave, 1996; Enkin et al., 2007; Novosel gas-hydrate formations; however, it comes at the cost of
et al., 2005; Esteban et al., 2010). Areal magnetic mapping reduced resolution.
over the Mallik gas-hydrate research area in the Macken- In principal, logging analyses exploit the same anom-
zie Delta has also shown an apparent connection between alies in the physical properties of the bulk sediment as
regional magnetic anomalies and gas hydrate occurrences does remote geophysical sensing, including the increase
at depth (Lowe et al., 2005). in P- and S-wave velocity and resistivity in the presence
of gas hydrate compared to nonhydrate-bearing intervals.
Additional logging parameters (such as gamma-ray, poros-
Mapping the gas-hydrate stability field ity, and density) are used to help determine the lithologic
environment (e.g., shale versus sand, indicating grain size),
Defining the stability field of stable gas hydrate (see
which is also an important first-order discrimination factor
Figure 2) is the first step in a regional assessment of pos-
for estimating the occurrence of gas hydrate.
sible gas-hydrate accumulations in a given area of inter-
Gas-hydrate assessments that are possible only by
est. There is an assumption of a normal hydrostatic fluid
using log data are unique applications involving analyses
pore-pressure gradient increase with depth in areas with
of the nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) response (e.g.,
unconsolidated sediments. However, local occurrences of
Kleinberg et al., 2005), acoustic attenuation (e.g., Guerin
overpressured zones can alter the depth to the hydrate sta-
and Goldberg, 2002), and fracture determination from re-
bility field significantly (e.g., Bhatnagar et al., 2008). The
sistivity borehole images (e.g., Cook and Goldberg, 2008).
temperature dependency of gas-hydrate stability needs to
be mapped to define the maximum possible depth of gas-
hydrate occurrence. This can be achieved, for example, Other gas-hydrate characterization
through deployments of heat probes, which measure the and quantification tools on sediment
shallow geothermal gradient in the top 5 to 10 m of the cores
sediment column (see Villinger et al., 2010).
By means of assumptions about the thermal conduc- Besides the remote geophysical sensing tools for de-
tivity of the sediments and 25
Downloaded linear thermal
Jun 2012 gradients,
to 95.28.162.50. the
Redistribution subject totecting
SEG licenseand mapping
or copyright; Terms ofgas
Use: hydrate, other (nongeophysical)
http://segdl.org/
maximum depth of gas-hydrate occurrence can be esti- tools often are used in gas-hydrate characterization programs
mated by simple extrapolation of the shallow gradients. In in the context of sediment-coring efforts. As developed
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 11 9/24/10 7:34:54 PM

Figure 7. IR: (a) Examples

of infrared images of (b) gas-
hydrate-bearing core sample
recovered at Site U1326 of
IODP Expedition 311. After
Riedel et al., 2006a.
a)
b)
through the most recent gas-hydrate drilling expeditions, of individual samples. Sections that hosted gas hydrate can
gas-hydrate-bearing core is now imaged using an auto- be detected easily through distinct pore-water freshening
mated infrared (IR) camera system (Long et al., 2010) that “outliers.” Squeezing of a sediment section (typically, 20–
allows the detection of “cold spots,” which are indicative of 30 cm in length) consumes a lot of core material (which
the presence of gas hydrate resulting from the endothermic is then lost for other detailed analyses of sedimentologic
reaction of gas-hydrate dissociation (Figure 7). Through structures and physical properties), but a new nondestruct-
careful calibration, the IR images allow an estimation of ive technique using Rhizon samplers seems to have gained
gas-hydrate content and morphology (e.g., Weinberger et some acceptance in recent years (Seeburgh-Everfeldt et al.,
al., 2005), especially when linked with direct observations 2005; Dickens et al., 2007; Pohlman et al., 2008).
and pore-water geochemical analyses (Tréhu et al., 2004). Through special wireline-deployed pressure-coring
Gas-hydrate concentration also is defined routinely by tools, it is possible to collect core samples under in situ
using pore-water freshening as a proxy (e.g., Hesse and Har- pressure and temperature conditions (see Schultheiss et al.,
rison, 1981; Kastner, 2001; Hesse, 2003). As gas hydrate 2010). Once a sample is collected and stored safely in a
releases freshwater on dissociation on a recovered (non- pressure chamber, nondestructive tests and imaging can
pressurized) core, the in situ pore-fluid conditions prior to be performed, such as density and P-wave velocity log-
gas-hydrate dissociation are altered significantly. Typically, ging or X-ray imaging, allowing the detailed characteriza-
a section of sediment core is squeezed to retrieve the pore tion of gas-hydrate morphologies. Special nondestructive
water, and a background in situ depth trend in pore fluid tests also have been developed to analyze the core sample
(salinity, chlorinity) can be established through interpolation under in situ pressure conditions and to measure physical
02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 12 9/24/10 7:34:54 PM

properties (see Santamarina et al., 2010) or samples can be al., 2006; Carcione et al., 2010) or three-phase Biot theory
retrieved through transfer mechanisms for further chemical (e.g., Carcione and Tinivella, 2000; Gei and Carcione,
and/or microbiological analyses (Schultheiss et al., 2006). 2003). Chand et al. (2004) recently gave a comprehensive
review and comparison of various approaches.
Laboratory Measurements for

Gas-hydrate Characterization Acknowledgments
Laboratory analyses of natural or artificial gas hy- The authors would like to thank those who helped
drate are part of the exploration approach to gas-hydrate put together this introduction chapter and the external
occurrences. There are several pressure-cell or autoclave reviewers for their helpful critical comments and sug-
systems to measure physical properties under simulated gestions for improvement. As an introductory summary
in situ conditions (e.g., Winters et al., 1999; Priest et al., to this volume, this chapter combines results from many
2005; Uchida et al., 2005; Best et al., 2010; Kulenkampff different fields of gas hydrate studies. It relies on ma-
and Spangenberg, 2010). Growing gas hydrate in the lab- terial presented by other authors, and it incorporates
oratory (either as a pure substance or within sediment) findings from many expeditions and laboratory studies
is not a trivial task, and there are several approaches to it involving many different scientists and technical sup-
(e.g., Stern et al., 2000; Tohidi et al., 2001; Spangenberg port groups. We would like to express our appreciation to
et al., 2005; Spangenberg and Kulenkampff, 2010). Some all those whose work we have cited in this introduction.
research groups use tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a proxy for This is ESS contribution number 20090383.
methane hydrate (Pearson et al., 1986; Waite et al., 2005;
Santamarina and Ruppell, 2010), but THF is not a natu-
rally occurring hydrate. In addition, some questions persist References
about the suitability of THF hydrate in this role (e.g., Na-
tional Research Council, 2004). Waite et al. (2009) give a Ahlbrandt, T. S., 2002, Future petroleum energy resources
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G. J. Moridis, S. J. Wilson, M. Pooladi-Darvish, Y.
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through theoretical rock-physics modeling in which several Alaska: Proceedings of the 6th International Confer-
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measurements made and the geographic location where the sponse of the global ocean clathrate reservoir to cli-
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(Dvorkin and Nur, 1993; Helgerund et al., 1999; Chand et Dallimore, 2007, Implication of seismic attenuation for
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02181_SEG_GH_C01.indd 22 9/24/10 7:35:05 PM

Chapter 2
Motivations for the Geophysical Investigation

of Gas Hydrates
Ray Boswell1 and Tatsuo Saeki2
Abstract geophysical technologies and approaches will contribute

critical insight to the assessment of the role of gas hydrates
Recent years have witnessed an array of international in dynamic natural processes such as carbon cycling and
field expeditions designed to investigate the nature of global climate change by more accurately capturing the
Arctic and marine gas-hydrate geologic systems and the natural variability in gas-hydrate distribution and concen-
potential for gas-hydrate accumulations to be tapped as a tration, the geologic nature of the enclosing media, and
future supply of natural gas. At the same time, numerical other factors that affect gas-hydrate stability and gas and
models designed to assess gas-hydrate reservoir response water mobility.
to production-related or natural perturbations have con-
tinued to mature. With regard to resource potential, it now
appears that the most promising reservoirs will be those
accumulations that are housed at high saturations in sand- Introduction
and sandstone-dominated lithologies at or near the base
of gas-hydrate stability. Essential to assessing and realiz- In the past quarter century, a series of international sci-
ing this potential will be technologies to effectively sur- entific programs in the Arctic and along deepwater conti-
vey deepwater shallow sediments to remotely detect and nental margins has revealed that gas hydrates might be very
characterize gas-hydrate occurrence. The refined focus of common and distributed widely across the globe (Paull et
attention on sand and sandstone reservoirs has significant al., 2000; Dallimore and Collett, 2005; Riedel et al., 2006;
implications for this effort. We now have the opportunity to Park et al., 2008; Collett et al., 2008a; Collett et al., 2008b;
move gas-hydrate exploration beyond the primary reliance Yang et al., 2008; Boswell et al., 2009). Significantly, these
on geochemical and geophysical indicators taken from the efforts appear to confirm that gas-hydrate deposits enclose
margins of the gas-hydrate stability zone. Future gas-hydrate immense volumes of largely biogenically sourced methane
exploration will instead incorporate that information into (Kvenvolden and Lorenson, 2001).
a fuller approach centered on the improved imaging and Great uncertainty remains with respect to the total vol-
characterization of discrete prospects. This potential for ume of methane represented by naturally occurring gas hy-
delineation of specific targets is particularly true for those drates. Despite an increasing array of data returning from
accumulations that are of sufficient gas-hydrate saturation laboratory and field studies around the globe, estimates of
and thickness to be attractive exploration prospects. Fur- the total in-place methane resource continue to range over
ther mitigation of the uncertainties inherent in exploration two orders of magnitude (Milkov, 2004; Klauda and San-
will be provided through geologic, geophysical, and geo- dler, 2005; Archer et al., 2009), pointing out the immensity
chemical data that support the presence of the various ele- of the problem in assessing gas-hydrate resources and the
ments of the gas-hydrate petroleum system, such as gas continuing lack of basic data on the occurrence and funda-
and water charge, suitable migration pathways, and porous mental controls on gas hydrates in nature.
and permeable reservoir facies. In addition, these emerging Despite the continued interest in the assessment of
global in-place resource volumes, these numbers have little
1
U. S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory,
relevance to the full understanding of gas-hydrate energy-
Morgantown, West Virginia supply potential. Instead, as exploration and production
2
Japan Oil, Gas, and Metals National Corporation, Chiba, Japan technologies are refined, the focus will shift from simply
23
02181_SEG_GH_C02.indd 23 9/21/10 6:58:03 PM

Figure 1. In-place natural-gas resource Arctic sands

pyramid for gas hydrates. Resource 100s tcf
elements are arranged with the most Marine sands
promising (most amenable to potential 10,000s tcf
future commercial production) at the
Deformed muds
top. As traced downward, resource ?? tcf
elements contain larger in-place
volumes, but they are poorly quantified, Seafloor mounds
?? tcf
more complex, and more technically
challenged. After Boswell and Collett
Undeformed muds
(2006). Used by permission. 100,000s tcf
more difficult to recover
increasing resource volumes
generally decreasing resource concentration
demonstrating the ability to find gas hydrates to developing schematic “gas-hydrate resource pyramid.” The pyramid
the ability to selectively find those particular gas-hydrate (Figure 1) segregates the total in-place resource into various
accumulations that have the greatest potential to be pro- subsets based on the generalized composite amenability to
ducing gas reservoirs. Key elements in evaluating pros- potential production. The most fundamental differentiation
pects will be the expected accumulation size, gas-hydrate in the pyramid is based on the nature of the enclosing me-
concentration (saturation), reservoir petrophysical prop- dia, with resources housed in sand and sandstone reservoirs
erties, location relative to the seafloor and to gas-hydrate placed above those encased in shales. This fundamental pref-
stability boundaries, issues related to ease of depressuriza- erence is based on the observation that sands and sandstones
tion or chemical exchange, and many others. Ultimately, (because of grain size and shape) typically have enhanced in-
the transition of gas hydrates from a potential resource to trinsic permeability that favors (1) the accumulation of rich
a commercial natural-gas reserve will require the ability to concentrations of gas hydrates (Uchida et al., 2009), (2) the
deliver, as a function of well and infrastructure costs, pro- opportunity to deliver destabilizing pressure perturbations
duction rates sufficient to make projects profitable in the from a wellbore into the reservoir (Moridis et al., 2009), and
expensive Arctic and deepwater environments where gas (3) potential pathways for flow of any dissociated gas from
hydrates occur. Therefore, production infrastructure and the reservoir to the wellbore.
logistics, which consider water depth and proximity to nec-
essary gas-collection and transportation infrastructure, will
be additional essential factors.
Arctic sandstones
In addition to the ongoing work to understand the re- Sand and sandstone reservoirs in the Arctic typically
source potential of gas hydrate, efforts to understand its role are viewed as the most amenable to near-term production.
in the natural environment, its role in various geohazards, This prioritization is based on assumptions regarding over-
and its response to and impact on climate change are likely all reservoir quality and likely drilling costs as compared
to accelerate. This work will benefit from the replacement to typical deepwater marine sands. The global in-place
of homogeneous and regionally averaged models of gas- gas-hydrate resource in Arctic sandstone reservoirs is not
hydrate distribution with a more detailed description of the known. Resources across northern Russia have not been
variety of gas-hydrate occurrence in nature that advanced assessed systematically. Osadetz and Chen (2005) reported
geologic and geophysical characterizations will supply. a probabilistic estimate for the Beaufort Sea–Mackenzie
Delta (northwestern Canada) of 10.2 billion m3 (360 billion
The gas-hydrate resource pyramid ft3). On the Alaska North Slope, the in-place gas resource
in gas-hydrate form has been estimated at 16.7 trillion m3
To provide a schematic depiction of the parsing of the (590 trillion ft2) (Collett,
1995).
vast gas-hydrate in-place resource with respect to poten- Recently, Collett et al. (2008a) estimated a mean
tial recoverability, Boswell and Collett (2006) presented a value of 2.4 trillion m3 (85.4 trillion ft3) of gas from gas
02181_SEG_GH_C02.indd 24 9/21/10 6:58:03 PM

Chapter 2: Motivations for the Geophysical Investigation of Gas Hydrates 25
hydrates as recoverable with existing technologies on- likely will further enhance the opportunities to encounter
shore on the Alaska North Slope. As described from the sands in the GHSZ (i.e., Noguchi et al., 2010).
Mallik research site in Arctic Canada (Dallimore et al., The methane volume housed in marine gas-hydrate-
1999; Dallimore and Collett, 2005) and the Milne Point bearing sands has not been assessed globally, and the ul-
Unit on the Alaska North Slope (Boswell et al., 2008), timate abundance of these reservoirs is likely to be a key
the target reservoirs are high-quality fluvial-deltaic sand- factor that ultimately will control the contributions of gas
stones with gas-hydrate saturations ranging from 60% hydrates to future energy supplies. Nonetheless, the U. S.
to 85%. Although Arctic reservoir productivity is likely Minerals Management Service has provided a geologically-
to be highly variable depending on local conditions, re- based probabilistic assessment of gas-hydrate resources
cent testing at the Mallik site appears to have produced in the northern Gulf of Mexico that indicates a mean
favorable results using the depressurization technique ~607 trillion m3 (21,444 trillion ft3) in place, of which >190
(Dallimore et al., 2008; Yamamoto and Dallimore, 2008). trillion m3 (6710 trillion ft3) is inferred to occur in sand reser-
Numerical simulation of the productivity of various gen- voirs (Frye, 2008). Offshore Japan, an extensive drilling cam-
eralized Arctic accumulations, based on prior work at paign in part of the Nankai Trough has confirmed ~1.1 trillion
Mallik as well as the short-duration testing accomplished m3 (40 trillion ft3) total resource in place, with approximately
at Milne Point in early 2007, indicates that potentially vi- half this volume inferred to occur in marine sands with high
able production rates might be obtainable in certain set- gas-hydrate saturation (Fujii et al., 2008; Saeki et al., 2008).
tings (Anderson et al., 2008). No production tests have been reported on marine gas-
Critical factors in determining the ultimate productiv- hydrate-bearing sands; however, numerical simulations
ity of Arctic gas hydrates will be (1) an understanding of indicate that such reservoirs can provide nearly 1.4 billion
the implications of the geomechanical instability of the m3 (50 billion ft3) ultimate recovery over approximately
sediments (Dallimore et al., 2008) and related issues of 15 years of production in certain settings using well-managed
subsidence and sand control, (2) the ability to effectively applications of existing drilling and completion technolo-
depressurize the reservoir (isolation from pressure-mainte- gies (Moridis and Reagan, 2007a, 2007b). Critical issues
nance sources such as water drives), and (3) the ability to facing future marine gas-hydrate recoverability will be the
keep the near-wellbore environment free of secondary ice determination of (1) ultimate resource magnitude, (2) typi-
and/or gas hydrate, particularly for those reservoirs that oc- cal accumulation size and performance, (3) effective ability
cur well within the gas-hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). to depressurize reservoirs, and (4) the nature and implica-
tions of reservoir geomechanical instability and top-seal in-
tegrity. However, for Arctic and marine gas-hydrate-bearing
Marine sands sand reservoirs, there appear to be no identified technical
roadblocks to resource extraction. The issues are (1) the
The second tier of the gas-hydrate resource pyramid is necessity of confirming resource scale, (2) the lack of trans-
occupied by marine sands. Primarily because of the distal, portation infrastructure in many areas, (3) the economics of
deepwater settings for these accumulations, they generally production rate versus extraction costs, and (4) the need for
are expected to have somewhat lesser reservoir quality than a fuller understanding of environmental impact.
Arctic gas-hydrate reservoirs. Similarly, the overall sand The volume of natural gas represented by the various
abundance in the shallow geologic section is expected to accumulation types in the remainder of the gas-hydrate re-
be low relative to the most prospective sedimentary sec- source pyramid is vast, but those accumulations also face
tions in the Arctic. Nonetheless, the total area of potential the most severe economic and technical hurdles to com-
marine gas-hydrate occurrence is extremely large (Wood mercial production (Hancock et al., 2010). However, these
and Jung, 2008). Marine sands with high gas-hydrate satu- occurrences, because of the sheer volume of organic carbon
rations have been reported from offshore Vancouver Island which they contain, could be very important contributors to
(IODP Expedition 311, Riedel et al., 2006), in the Nankai a variety of natural processes (Kvenvolden, 1998; Archer et
trough offshore Japan (Fujii et al., 2005), in the Gulf of al., 2009), and continuing study is clearly warranted.
Mexico (Boswell et al., 2009), offshore India (Collett et al.,
2008b), and offshore Korea (Park et al., 2008).
A 2009 expedition to the Gulf of Mexico specifically tar- Seafloor mounds
geted sand reservoirs (Hutchinson et al., 2008) and encoun-
tered highly saturated sands in four of seven wells drilled One unique gas-hydrate habitat is the shallow, often ex-
(Boswell et al., 2010). Given the limited marine exploration posed, and potentially highly dynamic massive seafloor ac-
to date to specificallyDownloaded
target sand
25 Junreservoirs, theseRedistribution
2012 to 95.28.162.50. results are subject tocumulations (“mounds”)
SEG license or copyright; that
Terms of Use: generally are found associated
http://segdl.org/
encouraging. Future exploration programs that incorporate with active vent sites. These features have been observed
seismic facies analyses and sequence stratigraphic concepts at several localities, including, Barkley Canyon (Chapman
02181_SEG_GH_C02.indd 25 9/21/10 6:58:06 PM

et al., 2004), other vent fields offshore Vancouver Island are now appearing (Osadetz and Chen, 2005; Collett et al.,
(Riedel et al., 2006), and several sites in the Gulf of Mex- 2008a; Frye, 2008; Fujii et al., 2008). The critical ques-
ico (MacDonald et al., 1994) and could provide important tions now facing gas-hydrate research and development
information on the nature of methane flux from sediments are (1) confirmation of the resource volumes in each cat-
to oceans. However, at this point, it is not known if these egory via drilling, (2) demonstration of technologies for
features hold economically viable volumes of methane. In efficient identification and delineation of accumulations,
addition, these mounds often are associated with unique and (3) development of safe and economical exploitation tech-
poorly understood chemosynthetic communities that deserve nologies, and (4) investigation of the environmental impli-
protection and further study (Sassen et al., 1998). cations of gas hydrates for ongoing natural processes, for
conventional hydrocarbon development, and during poten-
tial methane extraction.
Clay-dominated systems The remainder of this overview will focus on the sec-
ond item — gas-hydrate exploration and assessment — and
Gas hydrates encased in fine-grained sediments occupy the role geophysics will continue to play in those activities.
the base of the gas-hydrate resource pyramid and are con-
sidered to represent the vast bulk of the total global methane
content of gas hydrates. Clay-bound accumulations gener- Gas-hydrate Exploration
ally are considered to cover large areas with generally low
average gas-hydrate saturation (Kvenvolden, 1998; Milkov, Bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs) are anomalous
2004). More important, the impermeable and unconsoli- seismic events that conform approximately to the geom-
dated nature of the enclosing sediment effectively precludes etry of the seafloor and often crosscut events related to
most well-based extraction concepts. As a result, extraction primary depositional features (Shipley et al., 1979; Spence
likely would include the need to produce large volumes of et al., 2010). BSRs have been used widely in the past several
the enclosing clay sediment to extract the gas (essentially decades to guide gas-hydrate exploration and assessment (see
requiring some form of deepwater mining in zones as much Tables 7-4 and 7-5 in Sloan and Koh, 2008). However, seis-
as several hundred meters below the seafloor). The techni- mic data analyses, combined with data collected in the field,
cal, environmental, regulatory, and economic challenges to have shown that the occurrence of BSRs is driven primarily
such production concepts are likely to be very severe. by the presence of free gas and is very insensitive to the
Gas-hydrate occurrence in clay-dominated systems thickness or concentration of gas hydrate present (Holbrook
is highly variable at virtually every scale of investigation et al., 1996; Fujii et al., 2005; Riedel et al., 2006).
(Holland et al., 2008), and gas-hydrate saturations in un- Furthermore, BSRs provide no information as to res-
deformed fine-grained sediments generally are consid- ervoir quality. BSRs can provide important insight into the
ered to be in the range of 1% to 10% (Paull et al., 2000; vertical extent of gas-hydrate stability conditions, although
Borowski, 2004; Buffet and Archer, 2004; Milkov, 2004). this relationship can be complex in areas with sufficient
However, gas-hydrate saturations as high as 20% to 40% ethane and propane to enable formation of structure II gas
have been reported recently for undeformed clays from the hydrates (Hadley et al., 2008). As a result, BSRs are not a
South China Sea (Zhang et al., 2008). In addition, recent reliable stand-alone exploration tool (Tsujii et al., 2009).
expeditions offshore India (Collett et al., 2008a), Malaysia Therefore, a new exploration paradigm is emerging that will
(Hadley et al., 2008), and Korea (Kim et al., 2008; Park reduce the uncertainties in gas-hydrate exploration through
et al., 2008) have discovered thick (100 m or more), highly the integration of geologic and geochemical information in-
heterogeneous gas-hydrate accumulations in highly de- dicating the potential presence of reservoirs, gas and water
formed clay-dominated sediments that exhibit numerous sources, and traps and seals with geophysical indicators for
grain-displacing veins and lenses of massive gas hydrate. gas-hydrate accumulations throughout the GHSZ.
Accurate saturation measurement is a serious challenge to Imaging and assessment of gas-hydrate-bearing sand
the appraisal of these deposits (Hadley et al., 2008). De- bodies in Arctic settings has been demonstrated (Belle-
spite the potential richness of these accumulations, their fleur et al., 2006; Bellefleur et al., 2008; Inks et al.,
ultimate commercial potential likely will require the devel- 2009) via integrated geologic and geophysical analysis.
opment of new drilling and production technologies. Figure 2 shows one of 14 discrete, mappable, and previ-
Having apportioned gas-hydrate resources into various ously undrilled gas-hydrate accumulations delineated in
elements, we are now poised to move beyond the past par- the Milne Point region by Inks et al. (2009). Using tech-
adigm of discussing gas hydrates only in terms of in-place niques described by Lee et al. (2009), Inks et al. (2009)
resources. Instead, the Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
first regional and local estimates of provided predrill estimates of reservoir thickness and
resources in settings with very different implications for gas-hydrate saturation based on seismic-attribute analysis
application to energy supply and environmental studies conditioned by nearby well data that subsequently were
02181_SEG_GH_C02.indd 26 9/21/10 6:58:06 PM

verified by the success-

ful drilling and logging of
this prospect in early 2007 m
(Lee et al., 2010). 500
te ly 1
a
Exploration for marine im
prox
gas-hydrate sand reservoirs Ap
has similar potential for im-
aging and characterization of
Bounding fault
discrete, high-saturation gas-
hydrate accumulations. Ma-
rine gas-hydrate prospecting
will be based primarily on
identification and analysis of
amplitude anomalies within Bounding
(Figure 3) (Dai et al., 2004; fault
Xu et al., 2004; Dai et al., Ap
2008c; Saeki et al., 2008) pro
xim
ate
or at the base of the GHSZ ly 3
000
(McConnell and Kendall, m
2002; McConnell and Zhang,
2005; Latham et al., 2008)
that derive from the con-
tacts of specific gas-hydrate
accumulations with other
lithologies and pore fills.
Seismic inversion of ampli-
tude data has been applied Thickness and
prior to drilling in the Keath- gas-hydrate concentration
ley Canyon, Green Canyon, increasing
and Walker Ridge areas of

the Gulf of Mexico, with Below resolution
the predictions conforming
well with subsequent drilling Figure 2. 3D image of seismic amplitudes (red colors indicate higher amplitudes) mapped
results (Figure 4) (Dai et al., on the Mount Elbert fault block, Milne Point, Alaska. The accuracy of predrill estimates of
2008a; Boswell et al., 2009; gas-hydrate reservoir thickness and saturation (conditioned by nearby wells) was proved
Shelander et al., 2010). In later by drilling. After Inks et al. (2009). Used by permission.
addition, analysis of zones
of anomalously high interval velocities is another important (technically and economically). However, remote char-
diagnostic feature of zones of high gas-hydrate concentration acterization of such deposits could be very useful in fully
(Saeki et al., 2008). Continued development of rock-physics understanding global gas-hydrate occurrence and behavior,
models for high-porosity, highly unconsolidated shallow- particularly for safety and environmental applications. Such
marine sediments will enable further improvement of these assessment will rely on advanced attribute analyses of re-
techniques. mote-sensing data that must be conditioned with well data
To complement the analysis of conventional seismic (Dvorkin and Uden, 2006; Spence et al., 2010).
data, the potential of advanced seismic data such as ocean- The inherent geologic uncertainty in delineating gas-
bottom seismic (e.g., Mienert et al., 2004; Backus et al., hydrate prospects via remote-sensing data will be miti-
2006; Minshull et al., 2010) is under evaluation. Electro- gated further by integration with supporting geologic,
magnetic techniques (e.g., Weitemeyer et al., 2006; Scholl geophysical, and geochemical data. Perhaps most critical
et al., 2010) also have shown great promise in the assess- to this effort will be geologic interpretations that support
ment of marine gas hydrates but so far have been applied the presence of reservoir sand facies. Such interpretations
primarily in the assessment of vent-related sites. will rely on seismic-facies analysis, stratigraphic-sequence
Assessment of gas-hydrate accumulations that consist of analyses, and extrapolation of data from any existing well
sequences of subresolution, dispersed thin beds or zones of control. Geophysical evidence of excess gas charge and
low saturation will be very challenging prospecting targets migration pathways also will be an important element of
02181_SEG_GH_C02.indd 27 9/21/10 6:58:06 PM

Figure 3. Direct seismic

detection of high-saturation
methane-hydrate-bearing sand
reservoirs, Nankai Trough, Japan.
Purple line denotes base and
green line denotes top of sand-rich
turbidite package with channel
morphology. Pink indicates the
region of high amplitudes and
increased interval velocities.
Existence of high-concentration
gas hydrate corresponding to
the high-amplitude section was
indicated by 2004 drilling. After
Saeki et al., 2008. Used by
permission of METI (Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry)
and MH21 (Research Consortium
for Methane Hydrate Resources
in Japan).
Figure 4. Predrill estimates

a) b)
of gas-hydrate saturation
in two inferred sand-rich
intervals in the Walker Ridge WR 313 H WR 313 G
G H
311 area, northern Gulf of
Mexico. Subsequent drilling at
locations marked “G” and “H”
encountered gas hydrates in
sands at saturations consistent
with the predictions. After
Shelander et al., 2010. Used by
permission of OTC.
SGH increasing
the exploration methodology. The BSR, which provides in- to accurately image and characterize discrete accumulations.
formation on the extent of the GHSZ and insights on gas The successful development and use of such technologies
presence, will continue to be an important but supporting will enable an improved understanding not only of global in-
element in gas hydrate prospecting. However, prospects for place volumes but also of the distribution of those volumes
production testing or general resource assessment devel- in geologic settings and accumulations of varying relevance
oped solely on indications of sufficient methane flux and to resource recoverability and environmental issues. With re-
suitable pressure and temperature conditions for hydrate spect particularly to the resource issues, the current focus on
formation without some supporting geophysical indicators highly saturated sand reservoirs provides an opportunity to
of gas-hydrate fill likely will remain very high risk. integrate emerging tools for the geophysical delineation of
discrete accumulations with established geologic, geochem-
ical, and geophysical investigations of proxy indicators. For
Summary example, the appearance of strong amplitudes with polarity
of seafloor reflector that occurs above the presumed base of
Recognition of the implications of gas hydrates for the gas-hydrate stability will be highly prospective, particularly
environment and for future energy supply has resulted in a re- when combined with evidence of increased acoustic velocity.
cent acceleration of research and development efforts around Critical to the success of future gas-hydrate prospecting will
the globe. Critical to the success of these efforts is the ability be the full integration with geologic and hydrologic models
02181_SEG_GH_C02.indd 28 9/21/10 6:58:09 PM

and interpretations that support the confluence of sufficient Boswell, R., and T. S. Collett, 2006, The gas hydrate re-
gas and water charge with the most favorable (high-permea- source pyramid: Fire in the Ice, NETL Methane Hydrates
bility) reservoir facies. R & D Program Newsletter, fall 2006, http://www.netl.
As technically recoverable estimates for the major gas- doe.gov/technologies/oil-gas/publications/Hydrates/
hydrate provinces emerge (see Collett et al., 2008a, for the Newsletter/ HMNewsFall06.pdf, accessed 22 June
first such estimate), total in-place estimates will become 2010.
less relevant to the discussion of gas hydrates as a resource. Boswell, R., T. Collett, D. McConnell, M. Frye, W. Shedd,
However, the assessment of the role of gas hydrates in S. Mrozewski, G. Guerin, A. Cook, D. Shelander, J.
global environmental processes — most notably carbon Dai, P. Godfriaux, R. Dufrene, E. Jones, R. Roy, 2010,
cycling but also potentially extending to climate change — Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates Joint Industry Project:
will require broad-based estimates of gas-hydrate distribu- Overview of Leg II LWD results: OTC Paper 20560.
tion and abundance. Regional numerical modeling likely Boswell, R., R. Hunter, T. S. Collett, S. Digert, S. Hancock,
will be the most credible source of such data; however, and M. Weeks, 2008, Investigation of gas hydrate-bear-
these estimates will need to be calibrated to existing data ing sandstone reservoirs at the “Mount Elbert” strati-
from select field locations. Of critical importance to this graphic test well, Milne Point, Alaska: Proceedings
work will be the ability to accurately assess gas-hydrate of the 6th International Conference on Gas Hydrates
concentrations found in field programs and to translate that (ICGH 2008), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
information into data discernible from regional seismic and Paper 5755.
other remote-sensing data. Boswell, R., D. Shelander, M. Lee, T. Latham, T. S. Col-
lett, G. Guerin, M. Moridis, M. Reagan, and D. Gold-
berg, 2009, Occurrence of gas hydrate in Oligocene
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NewsFall05.pdf, accessed 22 June 2010. Requejo, S. Sweet, J. Alcala Herrera, D. DeFreitas,
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Milkov, A., 2004, Global estimates of hydrate-bound gas in Shelander, D., J. Dai, and G. Bunge, 2010, Predicting satu-
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Minshull, T. A., K. E. Louden, and S. M. Dean, 2010, Anal- s11001-010-9087-8.
ysis of gas-hydrate provinces by ocean-bottom seismic Shipley, T., M. Houston, R. Buffler, F. Shaub,
methods: this volume. K. McMillen, J. Ladd, and J. Worzel, 1979, Seismic
Moridis, G., and M. Reagan, 2007a, Strategies for gas pro- evidence for widespread possible gas hydrate hori-
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———, 2007b, Gas production from oceanic class 2 hy- Sloan, E., and C. Koh, 2008, Clathrate hydrates of natural
drate accumulations: OTC Paper 18866. gases, 3rd ed.: Marcel Decker, Inc.
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02181_SEG_GH_C02.indd 32 9/21/10 6:58:14 PM

Section 1
Seismic Imaging
02181_SEG_GH_C03.indd 33 9/1/10 5:07:59 PM

02181_SEG_GH_C03.indd 34 9/1/10 5:07:59 PM

Chapter 3
Introduction to Seismic Imaging

Intensive seismic exploration for naturally occurring 2008). Despite this complexity and ambiguity, the presence
gas hydrate probably started in the 1970s with the first dis- of a BSR is a first indicator in seismic data for the potential
covery of bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs) in marine presence of gas hydrate in the sedimentary section.
seismic profiles (Markl et al., 1970; Shipley et al., 1979). In this section of the book, several seismic techniques
The BSR is inferred to mark the base of the gas-hydrate are presented with applications in various geologic settings
stability field and represents an acoustic impedance con- (marine and permafrost). Spence et al. (2010) give a sum-
trast that is interpreted to correspond to gas-hydrate-bearing mary of the general indicators of gas hydrate in seismic data,
sediments (high impedance) above the interface underlain describe the nature of BSRs, introduce ways to convert seis-
by free-gas-bearing sediments (lower impedance). Various mic velocities to gas-hydrate concentration as well as give
attempts were made to infer gas hydrate and/or free-gas several examples for regional occurrences of gas hydrate.
concentrations from the reflection amplitude of the BSR, The use of the AVO technique to quantify concentrations of
but considerable ambiguity exists in the interpretation gas hydrate and/or free gas in association with the BSR in-
whether the reflection amplitude can be related solely to the cluding a discussion of the uncertainty associated with AVO
gas-hydrate content above or free gas below (e.g., Fink and inversion is presented by Chen et al. (2010). The special use
Spence, 1999), despite various attempts to exploit advance of ocean-bottom seismometers (OBSs) in exploiting seis-
seismic processing techniques such as amplitude-variation- mic data to extract information about gas-hydrate-bearing
with-offset (AVO) modeling and inversion (Hyndman and sediments is presented by Minshull et al. (2010), which
Spence, 1992; Ecker et al., 1998; Chen et al., 2007), full also includes a description of the full-waveform inversion
waveform inversion (Minshull et al., 1994; Singh and Min- technique. The use of multicomponent seismic data to in-
shull, 1994; Yuan et al., 1996; Yuan et al., 1999) or imped- vestigate the shear-wave structure is very complicated and
ance inversion (e.g., Grevemeyer et al., 2000). not often attempted partially because of the demanding in-
A common problem in imaging the BSR is the varying strumentation issues related to coupling of geophones to
response of this complex interface with seismic frequency, the seafloor and insignificant amounts of S-wave energy
as demonstrated by various authors (e.g., Chapman et al., available from poor P- to S-wave conversion in often un-
2002). The latest deep-drilling expeditions carried out on consolidated sediments. However, recent results show the
active as well as passive continental margins have also power of the multicomponent seismic techniques in gain-
shown that there is considerable complexity in the gas-hy- ing higher imaging resolution and additional constraints for
drate content and distribution and that the BSR cannot eas- gas-hydrate concentration estimates (Backus et al., 2006;
ily be related to gas-hydrate concentrations above the base Hardage et al., 2008).
of gas-hydrate stability (Riedel et al., 2006; Collett et al., Seismic impedance inversion (acoustic and elastic) has
been shown to be a successful tool in regional gas-hydrate
assessment (Dai et al., 2004; Lu and McMechan, 2004;
Bellefleur et al., 2006; Dai et al., 2008) and a summary of
1
Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada – Pacific, existing techniques, procedures, as well as case studies from
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail: mriedel@nrcan.gc.ca marine and permafrost environments is presented in the pa-
2
Department of Physics, University
Downloaded of Toronto,
25 Jun Ontario, Canada.
2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
E-mail: willough@physics.utoronto.ca
per by Riedel et al., 2010. The last chapter in this section by
3
Arcis Corporation, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. E-mail: schopra@arcis. Pecher et al., 2010 is about the use of vertical seismic pro-
com filing (VSP) in the assessment, detection, and quantification
35
02181_SEG_GH_C03.indd 35 9/1/10 5:07:59 PM

of gas hydrate, mainly in association with open-hole drill- hydrate deposits, and they also are less sensitive to the
ing campaigns such as the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) presence of free gas in the system (which usually masks
and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). P-wave seismic data).
Seismic exploration for gas hydrate is a wide-ranging
field with many applications and advanced techniques, all
of which cannot be covered in this book. Additional seis- References
mic techniques applied to the field of gas hydrate include
cross-hole seismic imaging as carried out at the Mallik Backus, M. M., P. E. Murray, B. A. Hardage, and R. J.
2002 research campaign (Bauer et al., 2005; Pratt et al., Graebner, 2006, High-resolution multicomponent seis-
2005), the use of vertical seismic hydrophone arrays as mic imaging of deepwater gas-hydrate systems: The
tested in the Gulf of Mexico (McGee et al., 2003), spe- Leading Edge, 25, 578–596, doi: 10.1190/1.2202662.
cific use of multifrequency seismic imaging of gas-hydrate Bauer, K., R. G. Pratt, M. H. Weber, T. Ryberg, C. Hab-
provinces (Vanneste et al., 2001), and the use of seismic erland, and S. Shimizu, 2005, Mallik 2002 cross-well
data to investigate wave attenuation (Bellefleur et al., 2007) seismic experiment: project design, data acquisition,
and anisotropy (Haacke et al., 2006). Furthermore, alterna- and modelling studies, in S. R. Dallimore and T. S.
tive geophysical imaging techniques have to be employed Collett, eds., Scientific results from the Mallik 2002
for a better understanding of distribution and concentration Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program,
of gas hydrate in a given geologic setting. Combination of Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada: Geo-
seismic and electromagnetic techniques may be promising logical Survey of Canada Bulletin 585.
to significantly reduce ambiguity in the use of acoustic and Bellefleur, G., M. Riedel, and T. Brent, 2006, Seismic
EM techniques alone (Ellis et al., 2008). characterization and continuity analysis of gas-hydrate
Seismic imaging is widely used in exploration for horizons near Mallik research wells, Mackenzie Delta,
gas hydrates, but despite advances made, for example, in Canada: The Leading Edge, 25, 599–604.
conjunction with recent drilling operations at the Mount Bellefleur, G., M. Riedel, T. Brent, F. Wright, and S. R.
Elbert site, Alaska North Slope (Inks et al., 2009) or Gulf Dallimore, 2007, Implication of seismic attenuation for
of Mexico (Boswell et al., 2009a), significant challenges gas hydrate resource characterization, Mallik, Mack-
still exist to robustly identify and quantify gas hydrate enzie Delta, Canada: Journal of Geophysical Research,
from seismic data. These challenges mainly stem from 112, no. B10311, doi: 10.1029/2007JB004976.
the problem that there is no unique gas-hydrate indicator Boswell, R., T. S. Collett, D. McConnell, M. Frye, B.
beyond the BSR, and the BSR does not provide insight Shedd, S. Mrozewski, G. Guerin, A. Cook, P. Godfri-
into reservoir details. Gas hydrate in high concentrations aux, R. Dufrene, R. Roy, and E. Jones, 2009a, Joint
and clean, especially sandy, lithologies has been success- Industry Project Leg II discovers rich gas hydrate ac-
fully imaged seismically in numerous settings (e.g., Dai cumulations in sand reservoirs in the Gulf of Mex-
et al., 2008; Riedel et al., 2009), and concentration esti- ico: DOE-National Energy Technology Laboratory
mates from seismic data predrilling have also been shown (NETL) Fire in the Ice Methane Hydrate Newsletter,
to be near estimates from subsequent logging and cor- summer, 1–5: http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/
ing data (Boswell et al., 2009b). However, gas hydrate oil-gas/publications/Hydrates/Newsletter/MHNews-
in lower concentrations may not be as easily identifiable, Summer09.pdf, accessed 21 June 2010.
and seismic data can be masked in some areas (e.g., cold Boswell, R., R. Hunter, T. S. Collett, S. Digert, S. Hancock,
vents) by the presence of massive gas-hydrate outcrops M. Weeks, and Mount Elbert Science Team, 2009b, In-
and/or carbonate formations on the seafloor. vestigation of gas hydrate-bearing sandstone reservoirs
Gas-hydrate assessments to date have in most cases at the “Mount Elbert” Stratigraphic test well, Milne
been based on 3D seismic data entirely acquired for dif- Point, Alaska: Proceedings of the 6th International
ferent purposes — the deeper hydrocarbon targets (espe- Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2008), Vancou-
cially those at Mallik, Mount Elbert, Alaska North Slope, ver, British Columbia, Canada, http://www.netl.doe.
and the Gulf of Mexico). The collection of these data was gov/technologies/oil-gas/publications/2008_ICGH/
not optimal for imaging for shallow gas-hydrate depos- ICGH_5755_41332.pdf, accessed 21 June 2010.
its. Future seismic surveys specifically designed for gas- Chapman, R., J. Gettrust, R. Walia, D. Hannay, G. D.
hydrate imaging should include higher frequencies of the Spence, W. Wood, and R. D. Hyndman, 2002, High
seismic sources used to identify thinner deposits and 3D resolution deep-towed multichannel seismic survey of
acquisition geometry with finer bin spacing to increase deep sea gas hydrates off western Canada: Geophys-
resolution. Further, multicomponent technologies (OBS, ics, 67, 1038–1047.
ocean-bottom cable [OBC]) should be used, as the ad- Chen, M. P., M. Riedel, R. D. Hyndman, and S. E.
ditional S-wave data are beneficial when imaging gas- Dosso, 2007, AVO inversion of BSRs in marine gas
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Chapter 3: Introduction to Seismic Imaging 37
hydrate studies: Geophysics, 72, no. 2, C31–C43, doi: Hydrates (ICGH 2008), Vancouver, British Columbia,
10.1190/1.2435604. Canada, http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/oil-gas/
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AVO for gas-hydrate-related reflections: this volume. accessed 21 June 2010.
Collett, T. S., M. Riedel, J. Cochran, R. Boswell, J. Pres- Hyndman, R. D., and G. D. Spence, 1992, A seismic study
ley, P. Kumar, A.V. Sathe, A. Sethi, M. Lall, V. Sibal, of methane hydrate marine bottom simulating reflec-
and the NGHP Expedition 01 scientists, 2008, Indian tors: Journal of Geophysical Research, 97, 6683–6698.
National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition Inks, T., M. Lee, W. Agena, D. Taylor, T. S. Collett, R.
01: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Hunter, and M. Zyrianova, 2009, Prospecting for gas
Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2008),Vancouver, British Colum- hydrate accumulations using 2D and 3D seismic data,
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gas/publications/2008_ICGH/ICGH_5365_42496.pdf, A. Johnson, C. Knapp, and R. Boswell, eds., Natural
accessed 21 June 2010. gas hydrates––Energy resource potential and associ-
Dai, J., H. Xu, F. Snyder, and N. Dutta, 2004, Detection and ated Geologic Hazards: AAPG Memoir 89, 1–29.
estimation of gas hydrates using rock physics and seis- Lu, S., and G. A. McMechan, 2004, Elastic impedance in-
mic inversion: Examples from the northern deepwater version of multichannel seismic data from unconsoli-
Gulf of Mexico: The Leading Edge, 23, 16. dated sediments containing gas hydrate and free gas:
Dai, J., F. Snyder, D. Gillespie, A. Koesoemadinata, and N. Geophysics, 69, 164–179.
Dutta, 2008, Exploration for gas hydrates in the deep- Markl, R. G., G. M. Bryan, and J. I. Ewing, 1970, Structure
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proach based on geologic model, inversion, and rock cal Research, 75, 4539-4555.
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25, 830–844. ing the hydrate stability zone using a vertical array: First
Ecker, C., J. Dvorkin, and A. Nur, 1998, Sediments with results: OTC Paper 15390, doi: 10.4043/15390-MS.
gas hydrates: Internal structure from seismic AVO: Minshull, T. A., S. C. Singh, and G. K. Westbrook, 1994,
Geophysics, 63, 1659–1669. Seismic velocity structure at a gas hydrate reflector,
Ellis, M. H., T. A. Minshull, M. C. Sinha, and A. I. Best, offshore western Columbia, from full waveform in-
2008, Joint seismic/electrical effective medium mod- version: Journal of Geophysical Research, 99, no. B3,
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plication to the Vancouver Island margin: Proceedings Minshull, T. A., K. E. Louden, and S. N. Dean, 2010, Anal-
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(ICGH 2008), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, methods: this volume.
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June 2010. Bangs and J. Huang, 2010, Vertical seismic profiles
Fink, C. R., and G. D. Spence, 1999. Gas hydrate distribu- through gas-hydrate-bearing sediments: this volume.
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channel seismic reflection data: Journal of Geophysi- form tomography images of velocity and inelastic at-
cal Research, 104, 2909–2922. tenuation from the Mallik 2002 crosshole seismic
Grevemeyer, I., A. Rosenberger, and H. Villinger, 2000, surveys, in S. R. Dallimore and T. S. Collett, eds.,
Natural gas hydrates on the continental slope off Scientific results from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate
Pakistan: Constraints from seismic techniques: Geo- Production Research Well Program, Mackenzie Delta,
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method for detecting and characterising azimuthal Riedel, M., M. E. Lee, and G. Bellefleur, 2010, Inversion
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doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.03186. 311 Scientists, 2006, Proceedings of the IODP, 311:
Hardage, B. A., H. H. Roberts, D. C. Sava, P. E. Murray, (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management In-
M. V. DeAngelo, M. M. Backus, and R. J. Graebner, ternational, Inc.), doi: 10.2204/iodp.proc.311.2006.
2008, Assessing fluid-gas expulsion geology and gas Riedel, M., G. Bellefleur, T. Saeki, T. Brent, and S.
hydrate depositsDownloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
across the Gulf of Mexico with mul- R. Dallimore, 2009, Acoustic impedance inver-
ticomponent and multifrequency seismic data: Pro- sion and seismic reflection continuity analysis for
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research sites, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territo- Vanneste, M., M. de Batist, A. Golmshtok, A. Kremlev, and
ries, Canada: Geophysics, 74, no. 5, B125–B137, doi: W. Versteeg, 2001, Multi-frequency seismic study of
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Shipley, T. H., M. H. Houston, R. T. Buffler, F. J. Shaub, K. Marine Geology, 172, 1–21.
J. McMillen, J. W. Ladd, and J. L. Worzel, 1979, Seis- Yuan, T., R. D. Hyndman, G. D. Spence, and B. Desmons,
mic reflection evidence for the widespread occurrence 1996, Seismic velocity increase and deep-sea hydrate
of possible gas-hydrate horizons on continental slopes concentration above a bottom-simulating reflector on
and rises, AAPG Bulletin, 63, 2204–2213. the northern Cascadian slope: Journal of Geophysical
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a gas hydrate reflector at Ocean Drilling Program site Yuan, T., G. D. Spence, R. D. Hyndman, T. A. Minshull,
889 from a global seismic waveform inversion: Journal and S. C. Singh, 1999, Seismic velocity studies of a
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02181_SEG_GH_C03.indd 38 9/1/10 5:08:00 PM

Chapter 4
Seismic Indicators of Natural Gas Hydrate

and Underlying Free Gas
G. D. Spence1, R. R. Haacke,1,2,* and R. D. Hyndman1,2
Abstract seafloor reflectivity produced by authigenic carbonates or

distributions of clam shells in the region of the vent.
Seismic methods provide the most important means Borehole studies suggest that seismic attenuation in
for detecting, mapping, and characterizing the distribution hydrate-bearing sediments increases at sonic log frequen-
of natural gas hydrate and underlying free gas. Bottom- cies of 10–20 kHz. However, it is not clear that attenuation
simulating reflectors (BSRs) are the most common indica- changes significantly at seismic frequencies of 20–150 Hz,
tor of the presence of gas hydrate. However, gas hydrate particularly in surface reflection studies conducted at sea.
has been shown to occur without an underlying BSR, and The degree to which gas hydrate attenuates seismic waves
significant gas-hydrate accumulations can occur well above is currently an active field of research.
the BSR. To obtain quantitative estimates of the amount of Recent research is also focused on determining S-wave
gas hydrate or free gas in the natural environment, we must velocities in hydrate-bearing sediments (particularly using
examine the elastic properties of sediments with hydrate or P- to S-mode-converted waves) because S-wave velocities
gas and compare these with sediments that do not contain might be a particularly sensitive indicator of how gas hy-
hydrate or gas phases. The most important seismic prop- drate is distributed in the pore space. In addition, P- to S-
erties are P-wave and S-wave velocities, attenuation, and converted waves provide information on azimuthal seismic
anisotropy. anisotropy, which can be used to determine the intensity
Because the P-wave velocity of pure gas hydrate is and orientation of fractures in the subsurface. The hydraulic
high (3650 m/s) compared with the sediments in which properties of the subsurface are important to understanding
they occur, strong reflectors from the top of massive hy- how hydrate-forming gases move through sediments and
drate layers are sometimes observed. However, bright re- how gas hydrate is likely to be distributed within them.
flections below the BSR are more common observations Recent estimates of gas hydrate and free-gas concen-
and are produced by layers of low-velocity gas-charged trations reported in the literature, based mainly on seis-
sediments. Near-vertical seismic blank zones that extend mic velocity anomalies in the marine environment, seem
upward to the seafloor from near the BSR are also de- to have converged: (1) regional hydrate concentrations are
tected; the blanking may be produced by vertical fractures approximately 1%–10% of pore space in tectonically pas-
that carry fluid and gas to the seafloor or by unusually high sive margins and about 5%–30% in accretionary wedges;
concentrations of gas hydrate or free gas within the sedi- (2) regional, subBSR free-gas concentrations are typically
ments. Significant near-surface concentrations of massive <4% of pore space in all tectonic environments (often
gas hydrate have been found in some of these structures. <1%); and (3) hydrate concentrations in local vent struc-
Gas or fluid-venting sites are also associated with mounds tures approach 80%–100%.
or pockmarks on the seafloor or with anomalously high-
1
Introduction
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada Seismic methods are the most widely used means to de-
2
Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological
Downloaded Survey
25 Jun 2012 of Canada,Redistribution
to 95.28.162.50. Sidney, subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
termine the distribution and concentration of gas hydrates
British Columbia, Canada
*
now at Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, and free gas in deepsea sediments. The objective of this pa-
England per is to provide a review, with examples, of how seismic
39
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 39 9/1/10 5:16:38 PM

indicators have been used to detect and quantify accumu- velocity in marine sediments, especially for S waves, is not
lations of gas hydrate and free gas. First, we discuss the so clear and depends strongly on how it is distributed at the
main elastic properties of sediments containing gas hydrate grain scale. If hydrate simply fills the pore space with little
or free gas. Then, we list some of the main seismic data grain contact, then it has almost no effect on S-wave veloc-
collection techniques that have been used to investigate gas ity because the frame rigidity and shear modulus are unaf-
hydrates and provide a brief description of common data fected and the density of hydrate is slightly less than that
analysis methods (many of these methods are discussed in of pore water. In this case, P-wave velocity increases due
greater detail in other papers in this volume). In the main to the loss of pore volume (see the hydrate concentration
part of this paper, we discuss selected examples of gas- estimates by Yuan et al. [1996], for example). If the hy-
hydrate and free-gas indicators in more detail and review drate cements grains or if it acts as part of the load-bearing
several methods to calculate hydrate concentration from frame, then (a) the structure is more rigid and produces a
the measured velocity increase relative to a no-hydrate and higher S-wave velocity, and (b) the structure is less com-
no-gas reference velocity. Then, we summarize the main pressible and produces an even higher P-wave velocity (for
seismic results using examples from several regions where example, see Helgerud et al., 1999; Chand et al., 2004; and
detailed studies have been carried out and use these to il- Sava and Hardage, 2006).
lustrate some of the current problems that are the topics of In contrast to the effect of gas hydrate, sediments
active research. containing even a small amount of free gas (<1%) show
This review focuses mainly on marine gas-hydrate a significant decrease in P-wave velocity compared with
studies, although much of the discussion is relevant to the equivalent liquid-saturated sediments (e.g., Domenico,
permafrost gas hydrate as well. The emphasis is also on 1976). However, the presence of free gas in sediments has
field seismic reflection surveys and studies, but we include only a small effect on S-wave velocities unless the concen-
brief references to downhole sonic log and laboratory data trations are sufficiently large to reduce the density appre-
that provide important calibrations for seismic measure- ciably or unless the gas changes the sediment structure.
ments. While focusing on seismic methods, we note that
many fundamental questions about gas hydrates, including Seismic attenuation
their formation and dissociation, their relation to the local
environment/geology, and their exploitation as an energy The presence of gas hydrate or free gas also affects
source, can be answered only by integrating results from other elastic properties of the sediment, notably seismic
several disciplines. attenuation. Attenuation has been the subject of recent
work because of the potential for mapping hydrate concen-
trations through the effect of local blanking of sediment
Elastic properties of sediments stratigraphic reflectivity. However, until now, in situ mea-
with gas hydrate or free gas surements of seismic attenuation have been infrequently
addressed because of the difficulties of obtaining good
Seismic velocities measurements from field data. As a result of these difficul-
ties and the relatively small number of studies devoted to
The seismic wavefield is sensitive to the concentration aspects of attenuation in natural gas-hydrate systems, re-
and distribution of gas hydrate and free gas within the host search in this area has not yet reached a consensus.
sediments. Laboratory work on a pure synthetic methane In hydrate-free water-saturated marine sediments, a
hydrate (e.g., Waite et al., 2000) gives a P-wave velocity of recent compilation of compressional wave attenuation
3650 m/s, an S-wave velocity of 1890 m/s, and a density studies for frequencies between 20 and 250 Hz indicated
of 900 kg/m3. These properties should be compared with a wide range in estimates for quality factor Q (i.e., inverse
those of the little-consolidated sediments in the upper few attenuation), although most of the values were concen-
hundred meters beneath the seafloor on continental slopes trated between 200 and 700 Hz (Bowles, 1997; Wood et al.,
and rises, where marine gas hydrate usually occurs. These 2000). There are very few measurements of Q in partially
marine sediments (without gas hydrate or free gas) com- saturated sandstones and fewer in muddy sediments, and
monly have P-wave velocities around 1600–1800 m/s, S- the best estimates of Q for gassy muds are in the range of
wave velocities around 300–800 m/s (low Poisson’s ratio), 10–100 Hz (Baldri and Mooney, 1987; Wood et al., 2000).
and densities about 1.8 g/cm3 (e.g., Hamilton 1980). Not Attenuation in hydrate-bearing sediments from the
surprisingly, laboratory and field data show that the pres- Mackenzie Delta and the Nankai accretionary margin,
ence of large concentrations of hydrate within the sediments measured from downhole logging at frequencies of 10–20
substantially increases Downloaded
P- and S-wave
25 Jun 2012velocities relative
to 95.28.162.50. to subjectkHz,
Redistribution to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
is consistently higher than in hydrate-free sediments,
the same sediment with no gas hydrate. However, the ef- with Q values of ~10–100 for P-waves (Sakai, 1999;
fect of smaller concentrations of gas hydrate on seismic Guerin and Goldberg, 2002; Pratt et al., 2003; Dvorkin
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 40 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

Chapter 4: Seismic Indicators of Natural Gas Hydrate and Underlying Free Gas 41
and Uden, 2004; Matsushima, 2005). Explanations for the nature of hydrate distribution at the grain scale. Attenu-
the apparent increase of sonic attenuation with increasing ation mapping of hydrate using seismic data remains an
hydrate concentration involve (1) squirt-flow mechanisms open topic for future study.
(friction produced by the physical motion of fluid that is In contrast to hydrate-bearing sediments, the loss of
squeezed laterally from pores that are deformed by a pass- seismic amplitudes in gassy sediments is well documented
ing elastic wave) through pores within a hydrate matrix at all frequencies (e.g., Matsushima, 2006). For example,
that is independent of the sediment grain matrix (Chand significant amplitude attenuation is associated with leak-
and Minshull, 2004), (2) an increase of elastic hetero- age from gas reservoirs or with near-surface Holocene
geneity that causes increased scattering and pore fluid sediment layers containing large amounts of biogenic gas.
crossflow between regions with different strengths (Dvor- Beneath a gas-charged layer, there may be an amplitude
kin and Uden, 2004), and (3) an increase of elastic het- shadow in which the amplitudes of all deeper reflectors
erogeneity that causes grain-hydrate viscous friction and are reduced. Similarly, because passage of energy through
increasing squirt flow attenuation (Guerin and Goldberg, a gas-charged layer reduces not only amplitudes but also
2005). Chand et al. (2006) provide an inversion algorithm reduces the high-frequency content, a frequency shadow
for gas-hydrate concentration from seismic velocity and could also be present (e.g., Wood et al., 2000).
attenuation measurements.
At seismic frequencies (dominant frequency ~100 Hz),
different studies indicate different relations between atten- Seismic anisotropy
uation and gas-hydrate concentration perhaps because li-
thology is also a controlling factor, and this may vary from One consequence of the link between seismic veloc-
location to location or even within a given site. Analysis ity and gas hydrate concentration is that preferential ac-
of marine vertical seismic profile (VSP) data acquired at cumulation of hydrate in layers or fractures will influence
Blake Ridge and Nankai (e.g., Wood et al., 2000; Mat- the elastic anisotropy of the host sediments (Pecher et al.,
sushima, 2006) indicate that gas hydrate may not have a 2003; Kumar et al., 2006b; Haacke and Westbrook, 2006).
significant effect on attenuation at frequencies of 30–110 Vertically symmetric anisotropy would be increased by the
Hz. However, in the Mackenzie Delta, VSP data at seismic preferential accumulation of high-velocity hydrate in rela-
frequencies of 10–200 Hz show that the hydrate-bearing tively permeable, horizontally bedded layers. Differences in
zones have significant P-wave attenuation (Q values of the relative permeability of interbedded, stratigraphic units
~10). Bellefleur et al. (2007) suggest that the larger attenu- would likely lead to differences in the relative concentra-
ation relative to the Nankai region is due to the much larger tions of hydrate in those units. Gas hydrate is also likely
thickness of the hydrate intervals in the Mackenzie Delta. to form preferentially in fractures and cracks if these act as
The opposite relation is indicated in attenuation analysis of conduits for migrating, gas-rich fluids. Azimuthal anisot-
seismic reflection data acquired in the west Svalbard conti- ropy in the top few hundred meters below the seabed is
nental slope at dominant frequencies of 90 Hz (Rossi et al., usually caused by the alignment of near-vertical fractures.
2005, 2007), where both P-wave velocities and Q values Thus, studies of azimuthal anisotropy can provide useful
are higher in the gas-hydrate-bearing zone. It is notable, insights into the hydraulic properties (fracture alignment
however, that the concentration of gas hydrate at this site is and intensity) of the hydrate- and gas-bearing sediment and
low (3%–10%), and lithological changes might be a factor. aid understanding of how gas-rich fluids or gases can move
Another piece of the attenuation puzzle comes from through the subsurface to produce hydrate.
laboratory experiments conducted at seismic frequencies The character of elastic anisotropy is also likely to
of 50–450 Hz with synthetic gas-hydrate-bearing sand change with depth as the crack-filling material changes
samples. The laboratory results indicate a peak in both from liquid, to free gas and liquid, to hydrate and liquid.
P-wave and S-wave attenuation at hydrate concentrations The change in anisotropy is probably small and difficult to
of 3%–5% (Priest et al., 2006). This attenuation peak is resolve, but if detected seismically it could provide a useful
thought to be caused by the increase of low aspect-ratio way to compare the properties of hydrate-bearing and hy-
void space produced by formation of hydrate during sam- drate-free sediments in situ with relatively minimal com-
ple preparation. It is not clear whether the same formation plications caused by changes in lithology. In particular, the
mechanism occurs for natural marine hydrates. presence of appreciable concentrations of hydrate in near-
Thus, the attenuation of seismic and sonic energy by vertical cracks could influence the azimuthally anisotropic
gas hydrate in natural sediments is likely to depend on the attenuation of seismic energy. Analysis of anisotropic at-
concentration of hydrate, the dominant frequency at which tenuation could provide a route to separating the effects of
the energy is carried,Downloaded
and also25on
Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
the mechanism of hydrate hydrate and lithology on the seismic wavefield and enable
formation (which, in turn, would depend on the supply rate the attenuation of seismic energy by naturally occurring
of hydrate-forming gases and liquids), which influences gas hydrate to be investigated in situ.
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 41 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

Seismic Data Collection Surface source and receivers

Methods 2D multichannel marine reflection surveys
Gas hydrate has been investigated in large parts of the
Many seismic studies of marine gas hydrate have used
world’s oceans using a wide range of modern seismic tech-
data from conventional, industry-style seismic surveys.
niques (Table 1). The basic geometry of the seismic recording
These surveys involve: (a) low frequencies, usually in the
depends on whether the sources and receivers are at or near
range of 10–100 Hz, so they have low spatial resolution but
the surface or on whether they are at or near the seafloor.
Table 1. A selection of seismic surveys with hydrate targets; multichannel seismic (MCS); single channel seismic (SCS);
ocean bottom seismometer (OBS); ocean bottom cable (OBC); vertical seismic profile (VSP); pseudo 3D (p3D).
Region Year Source Receiver Reference
Southwest 1996 Two 45/105 GI guns surface+deep-tow SCS Foucher et al., 2002
Japan
(Nankai) 1996 high-res MCS Baba and Yamada, 2004
3
2000 2600 in five air gun array 4500 m /360 ch MCS p3D Martin et al., 2004
North 1989 7800 in3 array 3600 m /144 ch MCS Yuan et al., 1996
Cascadia Tréhu et al., 1995
and Hydrate
Ridge 1993 120 in3 air gun SCS p3D Fink and Spence, 1999
1996 6350 in3 array OBS Tréhu and Flueh, 2001
1996 0.7/1.7 l GI gun SCS Zühlsdorff et al., 2000
0.4/0.4 l GI gun 300 m /24 ch MCS
4 kHz Parasound
1997 DTAGS deeptow Gettrust et al., 1999
(200–650 Hz) Chapman et al., 2002
1999/2000 40 in3 air gun 1100 m MCS, SCS p3D Riedel et al., 2002,
2006a
2000 two 40 in3 GI guns 600 m /144 ch MCS p3D Bangs et al., 2005
2002 two GI guns 1500 m /120 ch MCS, Kumar et al., 2006a
OBS, VSP
2002 DTAGS2 (150-650 Hz) 600 m /104 ch Gettrust et al., 2004
Blake Ridge 1988 177 l array 6000 m /240 ch MCS Wood et al., 1994
Xia et al., 2000
1992 160 in3 air gun SCS+OBS Katzman et al., 1994
Korenaga et al., 1997
1997 160 in3 air gun SCS
2000 two 105/105 in3 GI guns 6000 m /480 ch MCS Gorman et al., 2002
Hornbach et al., 2003
Gulf of 1998 35/35 in3 GI gun 240 m /24 ch MCS, OBS Jaiswal et al., 2006
Mexico
Hardage et al., 2006
200? deep-tow chirp MCS + OBC Backus et al., 2006
2002/2003 high-res MCS, VLA Géresi et al., 2004
Svalbard and 1998 1.5 l air gun SCS Mienert and Posewang
mid-Norway 1999
Bouriak et al., 2000
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 42 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

1998 3180 in3 single air gun 3975 m /120 ch OBC Andreassen et al., 2003
Bünz and Mienert, 2004
1998? 140 in3 sleeve gun array 1200 m /96 ch MCS Bünz and Mienert, 2004
1999 two 40 in3 sleeve guns SCS+OBS Bünz et al., 2005
2000 3.5 l air gun SCS Bouriak et al., 2003
2001/2002 two 40 in3 sleeve guns SCS+OBS Westbrook et al., 2005
Rossi et al., 2005, 2007
2001 air gun OBS Mienert et al., 2005
2003 1340 in3 array 6000 m /240 ch MCS Brown et al., 2006
Chile 1995 51.2 l array 3000 m /120 ch MCS Grevemeyer et al., 2003
199? 61.3 l array 3300 m /240 ch MCS Brown et al., 1996,
Grevemeyer et al., 2003
Black Sea 2001 high res GI gun SCS+OBS Zillmer et al., 2005
1998/2002 GI gun (70 Hz) 300 m /24 ch streamer Popescu et al., 2006
miniGI gun (150 Hz)
Peru 2000 two 105/105 in3 GI guns 150 m /24 ch MCS, OBH Netzeband et al., 2005
Antarctica, 1996/1997 two 2 l GI guns 300 m /120 ch MCS, OBS Tinivella and Accaino
South 2000, Lodolo et al.,
Shetlands 2002
Nova Scotia 2002 two 0.655 l sleeve guns SCS+OBS LeBlanc et al., 2007
good depth penetration, (b) large, high-energy air-gun ar- more reliable determination of velocities and amplitudes.
rays, commonly 25–100 liters (1500–6000 cu in) that also Prior to 2002, no true 3D seismic survey (i.e., multiple
facilitate deep penetration and have good signal-to-noise sources or receiver cables with a range of sagittal azimuths)
ratios, (c) long multichannel hydrophone arrays, usually had been collected with hydrate as the primary target, mainly
more than 1000 m and commonly more than 3000 m, that because of the very high cost of commercial surveys. How-
give large offsets to help determine interval velocities and ever, the shallow portions of a number of industry-standard
for amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) analyses. low-frequency 3D surveys have now been made available to
These systems usually record useful reflections to at hydrate researchers. These data are primarily from regions
least a few kilometers depth, well below the depth of the where conventional oil and gas exploration is active — for
BSR and underlying free gas. These depths are important example, marine surveys in the Gulf of Mexico (Roberts
for extrapolating the regional velocity-depth function for et al., 2006), the Atlantic margin of Canada (Hansen et al.,
deeper rocks with no hydrate and no gas into the gas-hy- 2004), the mid-Norwegian margin (Berndt et al., 2003), and
drate stability zone (GHSZ), which can then be used to the Congo continental slope (Sultan et al., 2004), plus land
estimate concentrations of gas hydrate and free gas from surveys in the Mackenzie Delta (Bellefleur et al., 2006) and
velocities that differ from this reference function. The BSR the Alaska North Slope (Inks et al., 2004). Since 2002, 3D
is usually strongest at the low frequencies (<100 Hz) com- surveys with gas hydrate as the primary target have been
mon to these systems (e.g., Chapman et al., 2002). carried out in the Storegga Slide area (Nouzé et al., 2004)
and on the Nankai margin off Japan (Inamori et al., 2007).
3D multichannel seismic
2D and pseudo-3D high-frequency
There are significant advantages to 3D surveys for seismic
mapping gas-hydrateDownloaded
concentrations
25 Jun 2012 and for understanding
to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
how the distribution of hydrate and gas is controlled by the A wide variety of single-channel seismic (SCS) and
local geology. Specifically, 3D surveys allow the structures multichannel seismic (MCS) 2D surveys have been car-
responsible for reflections to be located properly and allow ried out, using a large range of source sizes and streamer
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 43 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

lengths (Table 1). When 2D data are collected over a system and the need to locate the source and receiver array
closely spaced grid of lines, then a 3D volume of seismic very precisely before further processing have proven to be
data can be formed. Most important are high-resolution considerable challenges (He et al., 2009).
surveys obtained with small air guns that generate high In another approach, chirp-sonar data (2–8 kHz) were
frequencies, including single air guns or GI guns with acquired at a depth of 40 m above the seafloor using an au-
chamber sizes as small as 0.5 liters (25 cubic inches); these tonomous underwater vehicle in the Gulf of Mexico (Hard-
sources are towed at shallower depths than low frequency age et al., 2006).
sources. Very high-resolution images of near-surface sedi-
ments, to depths of several tens of meters, are provided by
hydroacoustic systems, usually ship-hull mounted, such as Seismic Data Analysis Methods
3.5-kHz profilers or the Parasound system (e.g., Zühlsdorff
et al., 2000) that generates frequencies near 4 kHz. Several Many of the methods used to extract diagnostic, hy-
comparisons of coincident lines collected with different drate-related physical properties from seismic data are de-
frequency sources have been carried out, and the frequency scribed in detail in later papers in this volume. As a brief
dependence in reflection responses provide additional in- summary, Table 2 presents a number of references in which
formation about the subsurface, particularly about the BSR the methods have been applied previously.
(e.g., Fink and Spence, 1999; Zühlsdorff et al., 2000; Van-
neste et al., 2001; Chapman et al., 2002).
Determination of P-wave velocities
Surface source and deep receivers Increase in P-wave velocity over a no-hydrate no-gas ref-
erence is the primary observation that allows determination of
Hydrate surveys with OBS have been carried out on the presence and concentration of gas hydrate. Measurement
many margins, including North Cascadia, Hydrate Ridge, of P-wave velocities from moveout analysis of multichannel
Gulf of Mexico, Blake Ridge, Nova Scotia, Storegga, Sval- data has proved to be a useful and important approach in a
bard, Antarctica, and the Black Sea (see Table 1 for refer- number of studies (see Table 2). These stacking velocities
ences). The large source-receiver offsets in OBS surveys can also be used as the starting models for more detailed 1D
allow improved determination of P-wave velocity structure. full-waveform analyses (see Table 2). Tomographic inversion
OBSs can also obtain S-wave data through P- to S-mode- of traveltimes, using 2D or 3D ray tracing, has been applied
converted waves. Two surveys using ocean-bottom mul- to ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) wide-angle data with
tichannel cable technology for hydrate targets have been additional constraints provided by vertical-incidence seismic
reported in the Storegga Slide region (Andreassen et al., sections (Table 2). 1D full-waveform inversion has also been
2003; Bünz and Mienert, 2004) and in the Gulf of Mexico applied to P-wave OBS data (at Blake Ridge, Storegga, and
(Backus et al., 2006). The deep-towed PASISAR system, Svalbard).
a single-channel streamer navigated about 100 m above Amplitude analyses on vertical incidence or wide-
the seafloor, has been used on the Nankai margin (Foucher angle data have included several AVO studies and related
et al., 2002). Several drillhole vertical seismic profiles seismic attribute analyses (Table 2). From vertical inci-
(VSP) have also been acquired and analyzed at Nankai dence data, inversion for acoustic impedance, constrained
(Takayama et al., 2004), North Cascadia (MacKay et al., by well logs from nearby drillholes, provide cross sections
1994; Hobro et al., 2005; Riedel et al., 2006a), Hydrate illustrating the distribution and concentration of hydrate
Ridge (Kumar et al., 2006a), Blake Ridge (Holbrook et al., and free gas (e.g., Coren et al., 2001; Hato et al., 2006).
1996) and the Mackenzie Delta Mallik wells (Sakai, 1999; Elastic, as well as acoustic, properties have also been de-
Walia et al., 1999; Bellefleur et al., 2007). rived (on Blake Ridge) from multichannel seismic data
by elastic impedance inversion, which generalizes AVO
inversion when the wavelet varies with offset (Lu and
Deep source and deep receivers McMechan, 2002, 2004).
The unique DTAGS system, operated by the U. S.
Navy Research Laboratory, has a deep-towed source (200– Determination of S-wave velocities
650 Hz) and a 450-m-long 48-channel streamer. It has col-
lected data in hydrate surveys at Southwest Japan, North S-wave velocities cannot be determined directly
Cascadia, Chile, Blake Ridge, and the Gulf of Mexico from marine surface-streamer data because of the lack of
(e.g., Gettrust et al., 1999; Wood et al., 2005). This sys- shear transmission in the ocean. Most S-wave velocities
tem has the potential for measurement of seismic velocities have been estimated through traveltime inversion or mo-
and seismic imaging with unusually high vertical resolu- veout analysis of PS-converted-wave arrivals recorded
tion. However, the short wavelengths characteristic of this on ocean-bottom seismometers (OBSs) or ocean-bottom
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 44 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

Table 2. An outline of selected analysis methods used to determine elastic parameters that serve as indicators of hydrate and
associated gas.
1. P-wave velocities or impedances from

2. P-wave velocities or impedances from OBS data
multichannel data
1.1 NMO semblance analyses 2.1 2D traveltime inversion
: Yuan et al., 1996, N. Cascadia : Katzman et al., 1994, Blake Ridge
: Ecker et al., 2000, Blake Ridge : Jaiswal et al., 2006, Gulf of Mexico
: Lodolo et al., 2002, Antarctica (3D) : Rossi et al., 2005, Svalbard
: Lee et al., 2005, East Sea, Korea : Tréhu and Flueh, 2001, Hydrate Ridge
1.2 1D full-waveform inversion : Kumar et al., 2006a, Hydrate Ridge
: Singh et al., 1993, 1994, N. Cascadia : LeBlanc et al., 2006, Nova Scotia
: Minshull et al., 1994, Colombia : Bünz et al., 2005, Storegga
: Wood et al., 1994, Blake Ridge : Mienert et al., 2005, Storegga
: Pecher et al., 1998, Costa Rica : Westbrook et al., 2005, Svalbard + Storegga
: Yuan et al., 1999, N. Cascadia 2.2 2D/3D traveltime inversion, joint OBS + MCS
: Xia et al., 2000, Carolina trough : Tinivella and Accaino, 2002, Antarctica
: Gorman et al., 2002, Blake Ridge : Lodolo et al., 2002, Antarctica
: Dai et al., 2004, Gulf of Mexico : Hobro et al., 2005, N. Cascadia
1.3 AVO studies : Zykov, 2006, N. Cascadia
: Minshull et al., 1994, Colombia 2.3 1D full waveform inversion
: Andreassen et al., 1995, Beaufort Sea : Korenaga et al., 1997, Blake Ridge
: Ecker et al., 1998, Blake Ridge : Holbrook, 2001, Blake Ridge
: Yuan et al., 1999, N. Cascadia
: Tinivella and Accaino, 2000, Antarctica
: Chen et al., 2007, Cascadia
1.4 Seismic attribute analyses
: Coren et al., 2001, Blake Ridge
: Xu and Chopra, 2003, Arctic Mallik
: Hato et al., 2004, 2006, SW Japan
1.5 Impedance inversion
: Lu and McMechan, 2002, Blake Ridge
: Lu and McMechan, 2004, Blake Ridge
: Inamori and Hato, 2004, SW Japan
: Bellefleur et al., 2006, Arctic Mallik
3. S-wave velocity from multicomponent analyses 4. Attenuation
of ocean bottom data
: Tinivella and Accaino, 2000, Antarctica : Rossi et al., 2005, Svalbard
: Andreassen et al., 2003, Storegga : Tréhu and Flueh, 2001, Hydrate Ridge
: Bünz and Mienert, 2004, Storegga : Wood et al., 2000, Blake Ridge
: Bünz et al., 2005, Storegga : Pratt, 2003, Mallik
: Kumar et al., 2006a, Hydrate Ridge : Matsushima, 2005, 2006, Nankai
: Backus et al., 2006, Gulf of Mexico
: Westbrook et al., 2005 Svalbard + Storegga
: Rossi et al., 2005, 2007 Svalbard
5. Anisotropy
: Holbrook, 2001, Blake Ridge

: Pecher et al., 2003, Blake Ridge
: Kumar et al., 2006b, Hydrate Ridge
: Haacke and Westbrook, 2006, Svalbard
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 45 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

cables (OBCs). An initial estimate of P-wave velocities is and Westbrook, 2006). One of the biggest challenges in
required to deduce the S-wave velocity once the equivalent the quantification of seismic anisotropy as applied to gas-
converted-wave arrivals have been identified. However, the hydrate studies, however, is that the targeted sequence is
correlation between P- and PS-wave arrivals is a significant usually in the top few hundred meters of sediments beneath
issue in reliable determination of S-wave velocities. several hundred meters of water. Consequently, the varia-
S-wave velocities provide key constraints on the nature tion in traveltimes caused by anisotropy is typically very
of hydrate interaction with the sediment grains because frame small and difficult to measure accurately. The most promis-
rigidity (and thus the S-wave velocity) is highly dependent on ing method for analysis of seismic anisotropy is through S-
whether or not the hydrate cements the grain contacts. Fur- wave polarization anomalies, such as shear-wave splitting.
thermore, S-waves are generally more sensitive to azimuthal
anisotropy than P-waves, and this can be used to complement
velocity-derived information about the distribution of gas hy- Indicators of Gas Hydrate
drate and free gas in the near-surface sediments.
Converted-wave analyses targeting gas hydrates include
and Free Gas
OBC, OBS, and VSP investigations in the Storegga area of Characteristics of the bottom-
the Norwegian margin (Andreassen et al., 2003; Bünz and
simulating reflector
Mienert, 2004; Bünz et al., 2005; Westbrook et al., 2005),
Hydrate Ridge (Kumar et al., 2006a), Gulf of Mexico Identification of a gas-hydrate BSR
(Backus et al., 2006), and the west Svalbard continental slope
(Westbrook et al., 2005; Haacke and Westbrook, 2006). The seismic bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) is typi-
cally a strong, coherent reflector that lies at the base of the
GHSZ and is overlain by sediments containing gas hydrate
Determination of seismic attenuation and underlain by sediments containing free gas. The high
amplitudes and negative reflection coefficients character-
Seismic attenuation for sediments containing gas hy-
istic of this reflector are a product of the strong contrast in
drate or free gas has been calculated from vertical-incidence
elastic impedance between sediments with hydrate (having
data (Hato et al., 2006; Inamori et al., 2007), wide-angle data
high seismic velocities) and those with free-gas (having
(Tréhu and Flueh, 1999; Rossi et al., 2007), VSP data (Sakai,
low seismic velocities).
1999; Wood et al., 2000; Pratt et al., 2003; Matsushima, 2006),
The base of the gas-hydrate stability field is strongly
and sonic data (Guerin and Goldberg, 2002, 2005; Matsush-
controlled by local pressure and temperature (and second-
ima, 2005). A comparison of different methods for estimating
arily by gas composition and pore-fluid salinity). Because
attenuation is presented in Tonn (1991). Matsushima (2006)
the temperature dependence is usually stronger than that of
applied two of these methods to VSP and sonic data on the
pressure, BSRs commonly occur at an approximate constant
Nankai margin — the spectral ratio method and the centroid
depth below the seafloor in areas where the heat flow remains
frequency shift method (Quan and Harris, 1997). In the pop-
unchanged over large distances. Gas hydrate is stable at low
ular spectral ratio method, ratios over a range of frequencies
temperatures and high pressures and cannot exist in thermo-
are taken at two different times or depths. The frequency shift
dynamic equilibrium below the depth where the geotherm
method is based on broadening of the first arrival wavelets,
intersects the gas-hydrate phase stability curve. Hydrate is
using the estimated shift in the centroid of the pulse spec-
usually found where water depths are greater than about 600
trum. In contrast to these methods that provide a quantitative
m at temperate latitudes (more shallow in polar regions). In
estimate for quality factor Q, attenuation calculated by Hato
continental slope sediments, the BSR is commonly in the
et al. (2006) and Inamori et al. (2007) on the Nankai margin
range of 100 to 400 m below the seabed. On the continental
is a relative or anomalous value only, using a Gabor-Morlet
shelf and upper slope at temperate latitudes, the bottom-wa-
decomposition of poststack seismic reflection data (Morlet
ter temperatures are usually too high for hydrate to be stable.
et al., 1982).
Natural gas hydrates occur beneath shallow water and be-
neath land only in high-latitude permafrost areas.
Determination of seismic anisotropy To have confidence in BSR identification as an inter-
face between hydrate and gas phases, the depth to the base
Seismic anisotropy is usually investigated by analysis of the GHSZ must be estimated using the temperature-depth
of residuals after isotropic traveltime inversion of P-waves, profile determined from the local heat flow for a given gas
by direct measurement of offset- or azimuth-dependent and pore-water composition, an average value for sediment
velocities from PS-, S-, or P-waves (often with nonhy- thermal conductivity, and seafloor temperatures (e.g., Greve-
perbolic moveout corrections) or by measuring changes meyer and Villinger, 2001). Ideally, the heat flow and ther-
in S-wave polarizations as the waves propagate through mal conductivity are measured in local boreholes (i.e., Ocean
the anisotropic medium (e.g., Pecher et al., 2003; Haacke Drilling Program [ODP]/ Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 46 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

[IODP] or petroleum exploration) or at least by marine heat zone by upward flow of undersaturated pore water that is
probes. In the absence of borehole or in situ thermal conduc- fast enough to remove any gases produced by hydrate re-
tivity data, the thermal conductivity-depth relation could be cycling. In general, unless there is an upward migration of
estimated from velocity depth and empirical velocity-con- free gas from deeper source rocks or the rate of hydrate
ductivity relations (e.g., Ganguly et al., 2000). For a region recycling is exceptionally fast, the free-gas phase cannot
with constant heat flow, the base of hydrate stability shal- exist beneath the GHSZ if the water depth and geothermal
lows with decreasing water depth. Because there is a min- gradient is low (Haacke et al., 2007). If a BSR is observed
imum water depth for which hydrate is stable, the BSR is with the characteristics discussed previously and lies near
observed to intersect the seafloor in rare circumstances (e.g., the expected base of the GHSZ, it is thought to be direct
Costa Rica; Figure 1 [Pecher et al., 1998]). evidence for the presence of at least some gas hydrate in
The base of the GHSZ is a phase boundary rather than the region immediately above the BSR.
a lithological interface, so if the subsurface temperature An example of a BSR that is not hydrate-related is de-
(T) and pressure (P) do not change laterally, then the BSR scribed by Berndt et al. (2004) from a region on the mid-
could cut through dipping lithological stratigraphy; this is a Norwegian margin. This widespread BSR (Figure 2b) is
commonly cited characteristic considered diagnostic of the produced by the conversion of opal A to opal CT, which
BSR as a gas-hydrate-related phenomenon. The BSR is also causes an increase in seismic impedance and thus produces
of opposite polarity to the seafloor reflection and because
of the underlying low-velocity free gas, it corresponds to
a decrease in acoustic impedance (Figure 2a). However,
the base of the hydrate stability zone is not always marked
by a coherent, single-phase reflection. Rather, it might be
a boundary at which the reflection amplitude increases
sharply downward because of underlying gas brightening
the local reflectors. Thus, particularly if there are strong
interfering lithologic reflectors crossing the BSR, the po-
larity of the BSR might be difficult to identify. A further
complication is that gas hydrate has been recovered (by
scientific drilling) from areas that do not have a regional
BSR (e.g., the Gulf of Mexico and the Mackenzie Delta).
Such observations show that if the P-T conditions are fa-
vorable for the formation of gas hydrate, and there is an
abundance of water and hydrate-forming gas, the absence
of a BSR should not be considered evidence that there is Figure 1. Time-migrated stack at the landward termination
no gas hydrate. The absence of the BSR in these areas has of the BSR on the Costa Rica margin. The BSR nearly
been attributed to rapid depletion of the subBSR free-gas intersects the seafloor (Pecher et al., 1998).
Figure 2. (a) SeismicDownloaded

section 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
from the Storegga Slide region on the mid-Norway margin, showing a gas-hydrate-related
bottom-simulating-reflector (BSR). The BSR is identified mainly as the termination of high-amplitude stratigraphic reflectors.
(b) Seismic section from the mid-Norway margin (Voring plateau) showing a diagenesis-related BSR associated with the opal
A to opal CT transition (Berndt et al., 2004). Used by permission. Copyright 2004.
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 47 9/1/10 5:16:39 PM

a seismic reflection with the same polarity as the seafloor. Different forms of a hydrate BSR
The opal A/CT reaction is temperature and pressure de-
pendent and typically occurs at temperatures of 35º–50ºC, On many margins, the BSR is mainly defined by abrupt
whereas methane hydrate (the most common form in na- termination of high-amplitude stratigraphic reflections
ture) is generally not stable above 25ºC (Berndt et al., and only occasionally as a separate reflection, as noted in
2004). Thus, the opal BSR occurs at greater depths below Figure 4 for Lake Baikal. Similarly, for the Storegga margin
the seafloor than the base of gas-hydrate stability and a (Figure 6d), Berndt et al. (2004) argue that the large lateral
hydrate-related BSR. At even greater depths and higher extent of the high-amplitude reflectors (reflector brighten-
temperatures (~60ºC), Berndt et al. (2004) also note a third ing) beneath the base of hydrate stability is convincing evi-
type of BSR (BSR2 in Figure 2b). The origin of this BSR dence that they are produced by gas-charged sediments. It
is uncertain, although the authors favor an association with is possible that gas hydrate is formed preferentially at the
the smectite-to-illite clay transition (100–150ºC). Other intersection of these sediment layers with the base of the
areas where there is a bottom-simulating reflector inter- GHSZ, but the largest amplitudes are below the BSR and
preted to be the result of the opal A to opal CT transition thus not produced by hydrate.
are beneath the Bering Sea (Hein et al., 1978), the Japan The amplitude and appearance of a BSR depends sig-
Sea (Kuramoto et al., 1992), and the deep sea northwest of nificantly on the frequency of the seismic source that is il-
the United Kingdom (Davies and Cartwright, 2002). luminating it. It is recognized that reflection amplitudes
The opal transition occurs at higher temperatures with attenuate more rapidly with depth for higher frequencies,
decreasing pressure (opposite to the hydrate-to-gas transi- and thus at very high frequencies there might not be enough
tion). In an area with fairly uniform heat flow, the opal BSR energy remaining to image the BSR. A dramatic example of
thus occurs at greater sub-seafloor depths as water depth be- frequency dependence is seen in Lake Baikal (Vanneste et
comes shallower (Figure 2b). However, this behavior is not al., 2001). On low- to mid-frequency data (40–120 Hz), the
a good feature with which to distinguish an opal BSR from a BSR is seen as a simple, continuous reflection with reversed
hydrate BSR. For example, the gas-hydrate BSR might shal- polarity relative to the seabed reflection. However, for
low downslope on convergent continental margins where the higher frequency data (330 Hz dominant frequency), there is
heat flow increases downslope, such as on the North Casca- no clear BSR; the base of the hydrate stability zone appears
dia margin (Hyndman et al., 1993b) and the Colombia mar- as a contrast between low-amplitude reflections above and
gin (Marcaillou et al., 2006), as seen in Figure 3. high-amplitude (gas-enhanced) reflections below (Figure 4).
On even higher frequency sparker data (550 Hz dominant
frequency), strong reflectivity
continues from the seafloor to
near the expected depth of the
BSR, while at greater depths
the reflections are suddenly
and completely attenuated.
The sudden attenuation could
be partly associated with the
presence of gas below the
GHSZ, but the coincident
BSR cannot be identified
unambiguously.
The frequency depen-
dence of the BSR is also
evident in subduction zone
accretionary sedimentary
prisms where there have been
multifrequency seismic sur-
veys. With the high-frequency
deep-towed DTAGS source
(250–650 Hz), a BSR is rarely
Figure 3. Hydrate BSR on the Colombian margin. Note that the depth of the BSR becomes evident in sediments at the
Cascadia, Nankai, and Chile
smaller with increasing depth, opposite to the expected effect of increasing pressure alone.
The reason is that heat flow is also increasing with depth as the trench is approached accretionary wedges (Gettrust
(Marcaillou et al., 2006). et al., 1999), whereas it is
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 48 9/1/10 5:16:40 PM

strong and continuous at

frequencies <100 Hz (Hynd-
man and Spence, 1992). In
contrast, the BSR at Blake
Ridge is clearly seen with
the high-frequency DTAGS
source (Figure 5) as well
as with a lower frequency
conventional air-gun source
(Holbrook, 2001). In the
DTAGS image, vertical reso-
lution in the data is sufficient
to associate offsets in the
BSR with numerous faults.
The variation in strength
of a continuous BSR can
be quantitatively modeled
as a function of source fre-
quency. The primary origin
of the frequency dependence
appears to be the thickness
of the transition between
high velocity produced by
hydrate and underlying low
velocity produced by free Figure 4. On high-frequency data collected with a 15 in3 watergun in Lake Baikal, the BSR
gas. In North Cascadia, Fink appears as an abrupt termination of high-amplitude reflectors (Vanneste et al., 2001). Used
and Spence (1999) presented by permission. Copyright 2001.
coincident seismic sections
collected with three different
air-gun sources (Figure 7)
with dominant frequencies
of 30, 80, and 120 Hz. Syn-
thetic seismogram model-
ing of the BSR reflection
coefficients was carried out
by Spence et al. (2000) and
Chapman et al. (2002), who
also used the constraint that
little or no BSR could be
observed on DTAGS deep-
towed seismic data with a
source bandwidth of 250–
600 Hz. The frequency-
dependent decrease in BSR
amplitude is interpreted as
the result of a velocity de-
crease at the BSR that oc-
curs over a depth interval of
about 4 m (Figure 7d). This
gradient in elastic proper-
ties across the base of the
GHSZ is consistent with the
existence of the three-phase Figure 5. On deep-towed DTAGS data from Blake Ridge, the BSR is not continuous but
zone (in which gas hydrate, appears segmented by a series of faults (Rowe and Gettrust, 1993).
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 49 9/1/10 5:16:41 PM

Figure 6. Double or multiple BSRs: (a) southern Hydrate

Ridge on Cascadia margin off Oregon (Bangs et al., 2005);
(b) Blake Ridge (Hornbach et al., 2003); (c) gas-hydrate
concentrations on Blake Ridge, estimated from elastic
impedance inversion (Lu and McMechan, 2004); (d) Storegga
Slide on mid-Norway margin (Bünz and Mienert, 2004); and
(e) Black Sea (Popescu et al., 2006).
free gas, and liquid water are simultaneously stable) that Slide (Figure 6d), whereas up to five are observed in the
Zatsepina and Buffett (1998) predict on the basis that pore- Black Sea (Figure 6e). Where there is confident identification
water salinity increases during hydrate recycling caused by of polarity/or velocities, the reflection coefficient of nearly
the rapid formation of hydrate from rising free gas. In a all BSRs is negative, and a small amount of gas is inferred
different interpretation at southern Hydrate Ridge, Papen- below each BSR. At Nankai, full waveform inversion (Song
berg et al. (2005) argued that amplitude variations at dif- et al., 2003) indicated that velocity decreases downward by
ferent frequencies are due to tuning effects associated with ~250 m/s at each of two BSRs that are separated by ~26 m.
interference of reflections from the top and base of a thin The physical processes that have been proposed to explain
gas layer 3–11 m in thickness. the origin of multiple BSRs include (1) a contemporary BSR
accompanied by a residual paleo-BSR formed by a seismic
Double BSR signature associated with previous periods of climatic stabil-
ity, such as an old gas accumulation that has not dispersed or
Two or more BSRsDownloaded
have been
25 Jun reported in many
2012 to 95.28.162.50. loca- subjectatodiagenetic
Redistribution SEG license or alteration inofthe
copyright; Terms Use: sediments,
http://segdl.org/ and (2) the fraction-
tions, both on convergent margins and passive margins. As ation of hydrate-forming hydrocarbon gases under modern
discussed below, two reflectors are seen in southern Casca- pressure and temperature conditions. The P-T conditions for
dia (Figure 6a), Blake Ridge (Figure 6b and c), and Storegga hydrate stability are different for higher hydrocarbons. Each
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 50 9/1/10 5:16:45 PM

Figure 7. Coincident
single-channel seismic
sections from the north
Cascadia margin using
sources with different
dominant frequencies:
(a) 30 Hz, using 8100-cu-in
air-gun array (and selecting
only channel 4 from
streamer), (b) 80 Hz,
using 120-cu-in air gun,
(c) 150 Hz, using 40-cu-
in air gun. (d) Results
of synthetic seismogram
modeling for different
thicknesses of gradient layer
at base of hydrate (after
Chapman et al., 2002);
observations of reflection
coefficients with different
frequency sources are
shown as shaded regions.
gas forms its own contemporary BSR at different depths in At the Nankai margin, the formation mechanism fa-
the subsurface. The mechanisms for process 1 include up- vored by Matsumoto et al. (2004) and Foucher et al. (2002)
ward migration of the GHSZ caused by rapid tectonic uplift for the second deeper paleo-BSR is rapid tectonic uplift by
or upward migration of the GHSZ caused by ocean warming approximately 100 m in the last 10,000 years, or 1 cm/year.
after the Last Glacial Maximum (Foucher et al., 2002; Bangs Although long-term average uplift rates are 1–2 mm/year,
et al., 2005). In both cases, a paleo-BSR existed at the former much larger short-term rates of 1 cm/year are considered
base of the GHSZ. The paleo-BSR might persist if the time reasonable in this accretionary wedge environment, where
for gas-zone depletion (typically ~105–106 years, Haacke nearby knolls might have originated by subduction of a
et al., 2008) is greaterDownloaded
than the25time since
Jun 2012 the ocean-warming
to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject toseamount
SEG license or or ridge.
copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
event or if the paleo-BSR is a persistent diagenetic lithologic A tectonic origin is also proposed as the best explana-
marker of the previous BSR position (such as carbonate tion for the Blake Ridge paleo-BSR (Figure 6b) reported
precipitation). by Hornbach et al. (2003). This BSR is unusual, in that no
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 51 9/1/10 5:16:47 PM

low-velocity gas is inferred directly beneath it; rather, (a) the Ocean warming and a progressive upward migration of
paleo-BSR is more shallow than the current BSR, (b) it has the GHSZ are considered the best explanations of multiple
positive polarity, and (c) seismic velocities (from detailed BSRs in southern Cascadia, Storegga Slide, and the Black
semblance analyses) are high in the lens between the two Sea. Even in the active tectonic environment of Hydrate
BSRs. Hornbach et al. (2003) argue that the area is subject Ridge on the Cascadia margin (Figure 6a), Bangs et al.
to significant erosion, currently by the Western Boundary (2005) reject tectonic uplift because they find no evidence
Undercurrent, and that rapid erosion of seafloor sediments for an extreme tectonic event, such as ridge or seamount
would cause the GHSZ to become deeper. Then gas beneath subduction, to produce the required recent uplift rates of
the original BSR would form a high-velocity hydrate lens ~1 cm/year. Rather, they model the inferred 20–40-m uplift
between the paleo-BSR and the present-day BSR. of the GHSZ by using a bottom-water temperature rise of
1.75–2.25ºC and a simulta-
neous 120-m sea-level rise.
Very similar temperature
and water depth changes
are used by Posewang
and Mienert (1999) in the
Storegga Slide region to
explain the ~45 m shift
between observed BSRs
(Figure 6d). In the Black
Sea (Figure 6e), the mul-
tiple BSRs are consistent
with diagenetic signatures/
residues formed between
successive stages of stable
climatic episodes, with bot-
tom water temperatures be-
tween Pleistocene glacial
and modern values (Pope-
scu et al., 2006). Gas sam-
pling at this site rules out
the fractionation of differ-
ent hydrates formed from
heavier mixtures of hydro-
carbon gases.
High-amplitude
reflections
above BSR
Bright spots, or local-
ized high-amplitude reflec-
tions, have been observed
above the BSR in a few
locations and have been in-
terpreted as direct indicators
of gas hydrate. On Blake
Figure 8. On Blake Ridge, bright spots above the BSR may indicate massive hydrate, Ridge, Gorman et al. (2002)
modified after Gorman et al. (2002). (a) The bright spots at ~4.1 s two-way time result in a noted local bright reflec-
shadow beneath of reduced amplitude and a disrupted BSR-reflection pattern. (b) Similar tors several hundred meters
above the BSR (Figure 8);
bright spots (between 3.6 and 3.9 s two-way time) and a shadow-like effect are associated
with normal faults (similar to observations seen by [Rowe and Gettrust, 1993] shown in amplitudes were reduced
Figure 5). in the region beneath the
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 52 9/1/10 5:16:48 PM

reflectors, including the BSR and the free-gas zone below the concentration of low-velocity gas in some horizons, espe-
BSR. Gorman et al. (2002) argued that the high amplitudes cially sandier layers, compared with others. The distribu-
are due to a thin layer with high concentrations of gas hy- tion of the gas-bearing sediments varies from location to
drate and that the low-amplitude chimney beneath represents location and can be very heterogeneous in places where
a fault and fracture system along which free gas has previ- gas is known to leak vigorously from deeper gas reser-
ously migrated. In Nankai Trough, Baba and Yamada (2004) voirs (e.g., Storegga).
also observed high-amplitude positive-polarity reflectors just In some areas, especially convergent margins, syn-
above the BSR and interpreted these as sand layers filled thetic seismogram or full waveform modeling shows that
with high concentrations of gas hydrate. In both Blake Ridge the gas layer beneath the BSR is thin, 20–30 m or less, and
and Nankai Trough (see Case Studies section), the reflectors that P-wave velocities within this layer are often compa-
are associated with a region of high P-wave velocities. How- rable to, or less than, water velocity (1.5 km/s) (Minshull
ever, it should be noted that, for nearly massive gas hydrate, et al., 1994; Yuan et al., 1999; Bangs et al., 2005). IODP
the density is about half and the velocity about double that of downhole vertical seismic profiles have confirmed these
the surrounding sediments without hydrate. Local conditions characteristics in several regions. In other areas, usually
might dictate whether the massive hydrate represents a low passive margins, the gas zone beneath the BSR could be
impedance or high impedance compared with the sediments up to a few hundred meters in thickness, as indicated by
without hydrate. the distribution of gas-brightened reflectors or by thick
zones with low P-wave velocity (Holbrook, 2001; West-
High-amplitude reflections below BSR: brook et al., 2005). The BSR has been seen to disappear
Evidence for gas above stratigraphic gas traps, where gas is prevented from
migrating upward to the GHSZ, and the top of the bright
Localized high-amplitude reflections beneath the reflector zone might be deeper than the expected depth of
BSR, or the base of hydrate stability zone, are common the BSR (Baba and Yamada, 2004). In rare cases, the base
in nearly all areas where gas hydrates are found (e.g., see of the free-gas zone is interpreted as an identifiable reflec-
Figure 9 below 2.0 s at CDP 1250). They could repre- tor, such as on the South Shetland margin (Tinivella et al.,
sent reflections from the top of local gas concentrations 2002). In most cases, however, the base of the free-gas
generated at the top of a layer or zone of especially per- zone is not evident in seismic reflection sections and the
meable sediments. Alternatively, they could represent lo- concentration of free gas is thought to decrease gradually
cal brightening of sediment stratigraphic reflectivity by downward to liquid-saturated sediments.
Figure 9. North Cascadia

MCS line XL07 crossing the
Bullseye vent in a direction
perpendicular to the continental
margin through IODP
Site U1328 of Expedition
311 (Riedel et al., 2006a).
Brightened reflections beneath
the BSR are seen to the
southwest of the drill site.
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 53 9/1/10 5:16:50 PM

Regional amplitude blanking As an example, extensive seismic-blanking zones are

associated with gas hydrate seen in a large area of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea of
Korea (Lee et al., 2005) with horizontal dimensions ranging
Amplitude blanking is the reduction of seismic am- from a few hundreds of meters to over 1000 m in diameter,
plitudes caused by gas-hydrate concentration in the region whereas vertical dimensions are typically 200–300 m. Al-
above the BSR. Addition of gas hydrate changes the im- though reflection amplitudes are reduced within the blank
pedance of a high porosity or high-permeability sediment zones at 100 Hz, stratigraphic reflectors are sometimes
layer more than that of an adjacent lower porosity or lower continuous through the structures. In these cases upward
permeability layer because hydrate preferentially grows bowing of the reflectors can be observed clearly on seismic
in larger pores (Clennell et al., 1999) or because gas-rich time-sections (Figure 10). Although the upward bowing of
fluids preferentially flow through more permeable layers. the reflectors in this example could be structural, that is,
The result is that the impedance contrast and reflectivity diapiric, velocity analyses show that it is mainly caused by
at the interface between the high- and low-porosity layers velocity pull up. In some of the studied structures, simple
is reduced (Lee et al., 1993; Lee and Dillon, 2001). The modeling using vertical traveltime pull up indicates a thin
phenomenon is most prominently observed in the Blake anomalous body in the upper several tens of meters below
Ridge (Shipley et al., 1979), although some authors (e.g., seafloor with a velocity of about 2200 m/s, compared with
Holbrook, 2001) feel the blanking is not related to hydrate velocities of 1515 m/s in the surrounding sediments. Such
but rather to the unusually homogeneous sediments in the a velocity increase represents hydrate concentrations of at
area. Other regions worldwide also have examples of am- least 35% of the pore space. In other structures, the pull up
plitude blanking (e.g., Figure 3, Colombia); however, in is small near the seafloor and increases gradually down-
some cases, the effect is more an increase in reflectivity ward toward the base of the GHSZ; this perhaps indicates
beneath the BSR because of the brightening of reflectors that the maximum hydrate concentration is not just below
by the presence of gas (e.g., Figure 2, Storegga; Figure 4, the seafloor but at greater depths.
Lake Baikal). Nevertheless, recent models for amplitude A prominent blank zone on the northern Cascadia mar-
blanking (Lee and Dillon, 2001) use realistic porosity- gin (the so-called Bullseye vent, detailed in other chapters
concentration estimates based on drilling in Arctic perma- within this volume) was the target of recent drilling during
frost regions (Collett et al., 1999) and show that significant Expedition 311 of the IODP (Riedel et al., 2006a). Bright-
blanking can occur if hydrate concentration is proportional ened reflectors were found in an underlying localized
to the sediment porosity. Although amplitude blanking is a region just below the BSR (Figure 9). A prominent convex-
good indicator of the presence of gas hydrate in sediments, upward reflector was observed just beneath the seafloor
amplitude blanking by itself cannot be used to uniquely within the vent feature (Figure 9), which is thought to rep-
determine hydrate concentration unless interval velocity is resent the top of a massive hydrate lens. This interpretation
well-constrained (Lee and Dillon, 2001). was confirmed by the recovery of massive gas hydrate in
several piston cores (~8 m length) near the shallowest por-
Characteristics of vent-like fluid tion of the feature (Riedel et al., 2006b). IODP drilling also
escape features and faults confirmed this interpretation through downhole-resistivity
logs and direct sampling of gas hydrate. The thickness of
Vertical or subvertical zones of reduced seismic reflec- the hydrate layer is about 40 m. If the gas hydrate replaces
tivity (e.g., Figure 9) are usually interpreted to be indicators pore fluid in the sediment pore spaces, the estimated con-
of upward fluid or gas flow and in several examples have centrations are as high as 50%–60% of the pore space.
been shown to contain significant concentrations of gas hy- However, downhole logs indicate low density, indicating
drate (Riedel et al., 2006b; Wood et al., 2002). Such blank- that there might be nearly massive gas hydrate in the struc-
ing zones are sometimes associated with seafloor features ture that displaces sediments.
that are commonly taken as indicators of cold vents, such High concentrations of gas hydrate at the top and in
as pockmarks, mounds, extensive carbonate pavement, or the walls of Bullseye-like vent features at Hydrate Ridge
unusual biological communities such as tube worms and have recently been reproduced with numeric models of
clams. Many blanking zones extend upward from a level rapid upward gas migration toward the seabed from deeper
near the base of the GHSZ (where the BSR occurs), that is, sources (Liu and Flemings, 2007). In these models, the
they have a height of several hundred meters. However, not rapid formation of hydrate from upward migration of free
all blanking zones extend to the seafloor. It should be em- gas within the vent feature increases the local pore-water
phasized that the blanking zones in most seismic sections salinity to such high levels that the hydrate phase can no
have a misleading largeDownloaded
vertical25exaggeration. They
Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. appear subjectlonger
form (salt inhibits gas hydrate formation). That is,
to be very narrow laterally compared with their height. moderately high concentrations of gas hydrate and salt
However, with no vertical exaggeration these features are within the feature allow the passage of free gas through the
commonly as wide, or wider, than they are high. regional GHSZ and toward the seabed. Near the seabed,
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 54 9/1/10 5:16:50 PM

Figure 10. (a) Detailed view of a seismic blanking zone with

velocity pull-up in the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea of Korea.
(b) Measured pull-up within the feature increases with depth.
(c) Inferred interval velocities that produce the measured
pull-up. (d) Blanking extends to depths of at least 400 ms
beneath the seafloor, and proto-blank-zones are seen on either
side of the main feature (Lee et al., 2005).
the relatively low-salinity seawater causes salt to diffuse

upward, thus reducing the concentration of salt in near-
surface sediments and allowing greater concentrations of
gas hydrate to form from the migrating gas phase. A similar
but smaller effect happens at the walls of the vent, where
salts diffuse laterally toward lower-concentration pore wa-
ters to form increased concentrations of hydrate in the walls
of the vent. So far, insufficient numbers of vent features
have been drilled to determine reliably whether salt concen-
trations within them are generally high, or whether all vent
features are, or have been, conduits for free-gas migration.
In the Bering Sea, hundreds of velocity-amplitude
anomaly structures (VAMPs) are interpreted as low-velocity
gas chimneys overlain by high-velocity hydrate caps (Scholl
and Cooper, 1978; Barth et al., 2004). The lateral extent of
these VAMPs is very large, typically 2–6 km, with common
velocity pull up of 20–40 ms above the BSR and similar
magnitudes of velocity pull down beneath the BSR (Figure
11). Gas-hydrate concentrations are inferred to be as large as
50% in layers with a cumulative thickness of 20–50 m.
High-amplitude Downloaded
seafloor25reflectivity
might be an im- Figure 11. A VAMP pseudostructure illustrating velocity
portant indicator of regions of fluid-gas expulsion and as- pull-up above the gas hydrate BSR and velocity push-down
sociated gas hydrate, particularly in environments such as including bowtie style distortion in a focused gas chimney
the Gulf of Mexico where the BSR is only rarely observed. below the BSR (Barth et al., 2004).
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 55 9/1/10 5:16:50 PM

Roberts et al. (2006) argue that the patterns of seafloor re- gas-hydrate. The magnitude of the velocity increase, rela-
flectivity provide qualitative information on expulsion rates tive to a reference velocity for sediment containing no hy-
and on the style of hydrate occurrence at the vent sites. The drate, provides the most important measure of gas-hydrate
high-surface reflectivities are interpreted to be produced by concentration. The subBSR gas concentrations also may be
authigenic carbonates and by chemosynthetic communities estimated from the low seismic velocities below the BSR.
such as clam beds at moderate to high flow rates. The local Most models assume that there is no free gas present above
expulsion centers themselves are usually low reflectivity, the regional base of gas-hydrate stability. However, in lo-
possibly because gas venting through the near-surface sed- cal areas there may be shallow free gas within the regional
iments produces abnormally high porosities. Comparable hydrate stability field, either because of high pore-fluid sa-
to the Gulf of Mexico observations, low-surface reflection linity as might be the case if rapid hydrate formation from
coefficients were also noted at the North Cascadia vent site migrating gas causes increases in pore-fluid salinity (Liu
drilled by IODP 311 (Riedel et al., 2006b). and Flemings, 2007) or because locally all pore water is
Hydrate-related vent chimneys almost always extend used up in hydrate formation.
downward to the depth of the BSR and to greater depths in
some cases. In some environments, thick intervals of fine-
grained muds are present beneath the BSR, and polygo- Reference no-hydrate, no-gas velocity
nal faulting might develop and play a role in the vertical profile
transport of gas-rich fluids through these layers and into the
GHSZ. Such fault systems have been identified from 3D The first problem in estimating gas-hydrate concentra-
seismic data in more than 50 sedimentary basins worldwide tions from high-velocity anomalies and gas concentration
(Hansen et al., 2004). On the Nova Scotia margin of eastern from low-velocity anomalies is to determine the velocity-
Canada, polygonal faults affect Upper Cretaceous chalk and depth relation for sediments with no hydrate and no free gas.
Cenozoic mudrocks (Figure 12) with horizontal separations If there are very high concentrations of hydrate, then the ve-
between faults averaging about 400 m (Hansen et al., 2004). locity anomaly is likely to be large and the precision of the
On the mid-Norwegian margin, a polygonal fault system no-hydrate reference curve is less important. However, for
with an average fault separation of about 1–1.5 km, is wide- lower concentrations, this reference profile requires careful
spread throughout a Miocene hemipelagic ooze beneath the consideration and may be very difficult to determine pre-
BSR (Berndt et al., 2003). In the Lower Congo Basin, Gay cisely if the sediment section is heterogeneous. Many clastic
et al. (2006) propose that seafloor pockmarks and their un- sediments are expected to follow a simple velocity increase
derlying subvertical gas chimneys are located at or above with depth caused by normal compaction (approximately fol-
the triple junction intersection of three neighboring polygo- lowing an exponential porosity decrease with depth: Athy’s
nal cells and that the intersection represents a preferential Law). For such sediments, the reference velocity can be ob-
pathway for upward fluid migration from deeper levels. tained from nearby areas and depths, where there is thought
to be no hydrate or no free gas. In both cases, it must be
assumed that the lithology is the same as in the anomalous
Calculation of Gas-hydrate and area. This may involve vertical interpolation between veloci-
Free-gas Concentrations ties at shallow depths, where there is no hydrate and depths
well below the BSR, where there is no significant free gas.
Within the GHSZ, sediments with seismic velocities Where there are borehole-logging data, the reference veloc-
in excess of those expected for normally compacted, fluid- ity may be estimated from the gamma density and neutron
saturated sediments are usually attributed to the increase of porosity logs and empirical density-velocity and porosity-
seismic velocity caused by the presence of high-velocity velocity relations appropriate for those sediments. General
Figure 12. Seismic line from

3D survey off Nova Scotia
margin, showing extensive
polygonal faulting between
the Eocene marker and the
Miocene unconformity MUC
(Hansen et al., 2004). Used by
permission. Copyright 2004.
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 56 9/1/10 5:16:52 PM

global density-velocity and porosity-velocity relations and calibrating seismically derived estimates of hydrate satu-
unconstrained rock-physics-based estimates are not of suf- ration with direct measurements of hydrate saturation in
ficient accuracy to give useful results. Density and porosity close to in situ conditions.
provide good no-hydrate references because, for these logs,
gas hydrate that replaces pore fluid has a similar response Porosity reduction based on empirical
to that of the pore fluid itself, so the logs are largely unaf- porosity-velocity relations
fected by hydrate (e.g., Chen, 2006), although problems are
encountered if hydrate formation disturbs the sediment grain Probably the simplest model for the effect of hydrate
structure. Additional constraints on the no-hydrate, no-gas on velocity is the porosity reduction model. The porosity
reference profile may be obtained from measurements of S- model assumes that the pore fluid has been replaced with
wave velocities below the BSR because the gas concentra- high-velocity hydrate material (e.g., Hyndman and Spence,
tions are usually very small, and VS is largely unaffected by 1992; Yuan et al., 1996). Because the P-wave velocity of
its presence. pure gas hydrate is similar to that of the sediment grains,
the hydrate may be simply interpreted as reducing the effec-
tive sediment porosity. The amount of gas hydrate required
Conversion of velocity increase to produce the observed velocity increase can then be evalu-
to gas-hydrate concentration ated by calculating the difference in effective porosity be-
tween hydrate-bearing sediments and the corresponding
Below we discuss three methods to determine gas- water-saturated sediments (determined from the reference
hydrate concentration from the velocity increase rela- velocity-depth profile). This requires a velocity-porosity
tive to a reference velocity-depth profile. Chand et al. relation that may be obtained from empirical relations be-
(2004) provide a good review and comparison of vari- tween velocity and porosity data in areas known not to con-
ous theories. An important limitation for all but one of tain gas hydrate or free gas (e.g., Hamilton, 1980; Hyndman
the most popular methods is that they assume the hy- et al., 1993a). Such regions may be in the deep ocean basin
drate occupies a homogeneous distribution within the or at depths below the free-gas layer. The velocity-porosity
sediment with little sediment disturbance (e.g., Tohidi relations may be obtained both from downhole log data or
et al., 2001). However, many recovered cores and downhole from laboratory measurements on sediment core samples.
log measurements indicate that gas hydrate occupies veins,
lenses, fractures, and nodules and is of a generally hetero- Time-averaging or weighted equations
geneous distribution. In an extreme case, a massive vein, or
lens, 3–4 m thick was drilled on the Middle America mar- Lee et al. (1996) estimated the P-wave velocity of
gin (Mathews and von Huene, 1985). Also, IODP North hydrate-bearing sediment from a weighted-average of the
Cascadia Site U1328 (Bullseye structure) indicated nearly three-phase Wood equation (Wood, 1941) and the three-
massive gas hydrate in the top 40 m below the seafloor. phase time-average equation (Wyllie et al., 1958), in which
Off the Cascadia and India margins, recent observations the three phases considered are the sediment grains, solid
from X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans of pres- gas hydrate, and liquid water. These empirical relations have
sure core barrels indicate that the dominant mode of gas been widely used to estimate physical properties of rocks
hydrate occurrence is in heterogeneous fracture networks from their mineral aggregates and for sediments as a func-
(e.g., Weinberger et al., 2005; Schultheiss et al., 2006) and tion of mineral constituents and porosity. The weighting fac-
that, although gas hydrate may exist in the pore volume, tor W controls which equation is favored: for W . 1, more
the gross seismic properties often will be controlled mainly weight is given to high porosities or particles in suspension
by the fracture networks filled with solid gas hydrate. (Wood equation), whereas for W , 1, more weight is given
The Biot-type three-phase theory discussed by Car- to consolidated sediments with lower porosities (Wylie
cione and Tinivella (2000), Gei and Carcione (2003), and equation). The choice of W is empirical and so only applies
Carcione et al. (2005) seems well suited to the nature of to a specific data set or sediment type. The two equations
these observations. The Biot-type three-phase theory con- qualitatively relate to the rock-physics models below, that is,
siders a matrix of hydrate within a matrix of sediment whether the different components are or are not load bear-
grains, with variable degrees of interaction between these ing. Like the porosity reduction method, this method does
two phases, and it is more like a network of hydrate-filled not make use of information from S-wave velocities. In ap-
fractures than the grain-scale effective medium theories plication of this approach, as with all approaches, it is im-
discussed below. Calibrated velocity-concentration rela- portant to ensure that the relation gives the correct reference
tions have not been Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
tested against field data for fracture- velocity for no hydrate and no gas. In general, the porosity
filling distributions of gas hydrate, but recent developments reduction model and the time-average equation give similar
in pressure-coring techniques may open new avenues for velocity-versus-hydrate concentration relations.
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 57 9/1/10 5:16:52 PM

Rock-physics modeling or effective show a clear correlation between changes in VP and VS

medium theories (Walia et al., 1999; Chand et al., 2004). The implication
is that the gas hydrate acts as a frame-strengthening ce-
Rock-physics models attempt to model the grain-scale ment between sediment grains. However, in similar well-
effects of hydrate on the bulk and shear moduli of the host log studies at Blake Ridge (3.0 and 13.5 kHz) where local
medium (e.g., Dvorkin and Nur, 1993; Helgerud et al., gas-hydrate concentrations are as high as 20% of the pore
1999; Jakobsen et al., 2000; Carcione and Tinivella, 2000; volume, the S-wave response was not well correlated with
Gei and Carcione, 2003). Broadly speaking, most effective the P-wave response (Guerin et al., 1999; Chand et al.,
medium models have two limiting cases. The first assumes 2004). This suggests that hydrate is mainly distributed in
that gas hydrate occurs within the sediment pore space so the fluid between the sediment grains. The resolution of
that the stiffness of the sediment frame is unaffected and these apparently inconsistent results may be that gas hy-
S-wave velocity is largely the same. The second case as- drate coats sediment grains only when the concentration is
sumes the hydrate is part of the load-bearing sediment above a certain threshold or that lithologic effects have not
matrix, or forms an independent matrix itself, so that both been adequately accounted for.
compressibility and stiffness of the bulk solid (P-wave and
S-wave velocities) are increased because of the presence of
hydrate. Models of the second type are generally referred Distribution and Concentration
to as cementation models. For both types of rock-physics
models, an important assumption is that the gas hydrate
of Gas Hydrate and Free Gas:
is primarily in the pore spaces. As noted above, because Examples
gas hydrate often is found in lenses, nodules, veins, and in
In this section, we present examples of areas with de-
massive concentrations, this assumption may be a signifi-
tailed marine seismic investigations of gas hydrate. We focus
cant limitation.
on five areas where there have been intensive seismic studies
Whether or not hydrate acts to cement the sediment
with multiple projects and a range of sources, receivers, and
grains can be determined in principle if measurements of
acquisition geometries and where information from drilling,
the shear-wave response to the hydrate-gas phase change at
downhole logging, and core sampling provide calibrations
the base of the GHSZ can be made with high enough preci-
for the seismic analyses.
sion. The P-wave response to the base of the GHSZ depends
strongly on small amounts of free gas, which reduces the
P-wave velocity markedly because of the reduction in com- Southwest Japan (Nankai Trough)
pressibility (Domenico, 1976). Moderate amounts of gas
hydrate in the sediment pore space should not affect the There have been seismic studies of gas hydrate for
bulk sediment density too much because the density of hy- many years along the Nankai Trough accretionary prism
drate itself is close to that of seawater (0.91 vs. 1.03 g/cm3). off southwest Japan (for recent summaries, see Ashi et al.,
However, if the gas hydrate is massive and displaces the 2002 and Nouzé et al., 2004). The most focused seismic
bulk sediment rather than the pore water, the density will be surveys have been in the eastern Nankai Trough where
much reduced. The presence of free gas beneath the GHSZ there also have been two hydrate drilling programs that
also has little effect on density because typically it occupies provide important calibration of the seismic interpreta-
only a few percent of pore space. Thus, the shear-wave re- tions. In 1999–2000, the Japanese Ministry of International
sponse depends primarily on the change in shear modulus Trade and Industry (MITI), which was later named the
caused by the degree of hydrate cementation, unless the hy- Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), drilled
drate is massive and displaces the sediment. a series of exploratory wells using the commercial semi-
In the few places where shear waves have been the submersible drilling platform MG Hulme Jr. The downhole
target of controlled-source seismic experiments, the shear geophysical log and core measurement results have been
velocities show little change across the depth of the BSR reported in a special issue of Resource Geology (Tsuji
(e.g., Andreassen et al., 2003; Bünz et al., 2005; West- et al. [2004a] ). Maximum gas-hydrate concentrations, cal-
brook et al., 2005). However, in these cases, the concen- culated from chloride anomalies, are 60%–80% mainly in
tration of gas hydrate is thought to be very low (typically <1-m-thick sandstone turbidite layers, with a total thick-
<10 %), possibly too low to generate a measurable change ness of 12 m. Extensive grids of industry-standard 2D mul-
in shear-wave velocities. In hydrate-bearing sediments be- tichannel seismic lines, including 2D high-resolution data,
neath permafrost in the Canadian Arctic, where local con- were collected prior to drilling. Subsequently, in 2002, a
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectseries of closely
to SEG license spaced
or copyright; Terms ofgrid lines were collected, allowing
Use: http://segdl.org/
centrations are as high as 80% of the pore volume (Collett
et al., 1999; Dallimore and Collett, 2005), well-log mea- the formation of 3D volumes (not yet published). Based on
surements acquired at higher frequencies (2.5 and 12 kHz) these surveys, the drillship JOIDES Resolution (normally
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 58 9/1/10 5:16:52 PM

used by IODP) was contracted to carry out a multiwell values at that depth, whereas S-wave velocities are ~350
drilling campaign, the METI Tokai-oki to Kumano-nada m/s above and below the BSR. Using a rock-physics-based
program, in 2004 (Tsuji et al., 2004b). model, these velocities yielded maximum gas-hydrate con-
Baba and Yamada (2004) provided an excellent over- centrations of ~12% of the pore fluid volume and low gas
view of seismic indicators of hydrate derived from the concentrations of up to 0.4%. The S-wave velocities do not
2D data, particularly the distribution of the BSR and as- show an anomalous increase in the region where hydrate is
sociated reflections, and described the implications for the found; this suggests that, for the low concentrations in this
structural, tectonic, and sedimentary controls on fluid flow. area, the hydrate does not cement the grains but rather is
Detailed stacking analyses were carried out by Inamori and located within the pore spaces.
Hato (2004), who also performed a higher-resolution im- Off Vancouver Island, early multichannel seismic
pedance inversion calibrated by logs from two of the MITI studies of gas hydrate were reported by Hyndman and
wells. They identified thin high-velocity hydrate-bearing Spence (1992). Summaries of seismic studies prior to
zones (P-wave velocities >2.0 km/s) above double BSR, 2000 are given in Yuan et al. (1996), Yuan et al. (1999),
low-velocity gas-bearing zones below each BSR and mi- Spence et al. (2000), and Hyndman et al. (2001); an
nor high velocities indicating hydrate between the BSRs. overview of more recent seismic surveys with a variety
In contrast, from AVO analyses of the same seismic data of air-gun sources (see Table 1) is found in Riedel et al.
that were interpreted by Inamori and Hato (2004), Hato (2006b). Based on careful stacking velocity analyses and
et al. (2004) concluded that there was very little gas be- full waveform inversions, seismic reflection data pro-
neath the hydrate-bearing zones, consistent with drilling vided estimates of 10%–20% for hydrate concentrations
results. However, they were unable to closely match the in the 100-m zone above the BSR and a 25-m-thick low-
theoretical and observed AVO behavior accurately. velocity free-gas zone below the BSR (Singh et al., 1993;
Yuan et al., 1996; Yuan et al., 1999), consistent with ODP
Cascadia margin downhole velocity data (Westbrook et al., 1994). Seis-
mic refraction analyses of OBS data (Hobro et al., 2005)
Both the northern Cascadia (Vancouver Island) and provide similar but lower resolution estimates. IODP Ex-
central Cascadia Hydrate Ridge (Oregon) segments of pedition 311 drilled a margin-perpendicular transect of
the Cascadia margin have had extensive seismic and holes off Vancouver Island in 2005 (Riedel et al., 2006a).
other geophysical and geologic study. Both margins were The sonic logs provide important calibration of the field
drilled with cores and downhole logs in 1992 during ODP seismic data and interpretations; on average, estimates
Leg 146 (Westbrook et al., 1994). The Oregon margin from downhole velocity logs at Sites U1325, U1326, and
was drilled again in IODP Leg 204 (Tréhu et al., 2003; U1327 give 15%–25% hydrate saturations and 1%–3%
Tréhu et al., 2004), and the North Cascadia margin was gas saturations (Chen, 2006).
drilled in IODP Expedition 311 (Riedel et al., 2006a). Many seismic and other studies in this region have
Extensive seismic and other geophysical site surveys had focused on local blanking zones where the stratigraphic
been carried out prior to the drilling programs, including reflectivity is much reduced. The blanking zones have
a regional multichannel seismic survey in 1989 and, for very high electrical resistivity supporting conclusions of
Hydrate Ridge, a high-resolution 3D seismic survey in significant hydrate (Schwalenberg et al., 2005). The most
2000 (Bangs et al., 2005). detailed studies have examined Bullseye vent, for which
Off Oregon, Tréhu et al. (1995) calculated interval ve- the blanking zone has a diameter of about 400 m. It was
locities and BSR-reflection coefficients and inferred only drilled by IODP Expedition 311 at Site U1328. In the re-
small amounts of gas hydrate overlying the BSR and low gion of Bullseye vent, seismic refraction measurements
concentrations of free gas below. An OBS seismic survey in do not indicate any significant velocity increase above the
1996 provided measurements of low velocities (<1.85 km/s) BSR relative to the expected background velocity (Zykov,
and high attenuations (Q ~12) extending for 500–600 m be- 2006). Thus, refraction interpretations predict only small
neath the base of hydrate stability in Hydrate Ridge (Tréhu hydrate concentrations throughout the 230-m region above
and Flueh, 2001). Subsequently, ODP Leg 204 drilled sev- the BSR. However, a thin massive hydrate layer near the
eral new hydrate-bearing sites on the Oregon margin (Tréhu surface (with a velocity anomaly of +150 m/s, <20-m
et al., 2003). Additional site information in this region was thick) is not excluded (Zykov, 2006). Massive hydrate was
obtained from high-resolution 3D seismic data collected in recovered at shallow depths by piston coring (Riedel et al.,
2000 and in a two-ship seismic experiment conducted at 2006b), and this massive layer was found to be 40–50-m
the time of drilling with collection of multichannel seismic, thick by IODP drilling at Site U1328 (Riedel et al., 2006a).
VSP, and OBS data (Kumar et al., 2006a). From interval The geophysical logs and core chlorinities indicated only
velocity analyses of the OBS data, P-wave velocities are low underlying concentrations, consistent with the seismic
<1680 m/s above the BSR, slightly higher than regional data interpretations.
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 59 9/1/10 5:16:52 PM

Gulf of Mexico drilling in 1996 (Paull and Matsumoto, 2000). Regional

hydrate concentrations estimated from seismic velocities
Because of the intensive exploration for conventional are relatively low (averaging 2%–4% of total sediment
oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, there is an exception- volume) in a 250-m-thick zone above the BSR. However,
ally wide coverage of seismic data in the region, including waveform inversion of OBS data provide support for lo-
3D. Examples of these data that have been used for hydrate cal high concentrations (20%–25%) just above the BSR.
objectives are presented in Roberts et al. (2006), who em- Only about 15% of the impedance contrast at the BSR is
phasize the importance of seafloor reflectivity as a seismic attributed to the overlying high-velocity gas hydrate, with
indicator for gas-hydrate and fluid-expulsion sites. In 2005, the majority produced by the underlying low-velocity gas
the Joint Industry Program (JIP) drilled two sites as part zone. From both VSP and waveform inversion, P-wave
of a hydrate study in the Gulf of Mexico (Keathley Can- velocities in the strongest low-velocity zone reach a mini-
yon 151 and Atwater Valley 13/14). Although a BSR is not mum of about 1.3 km/s beneath the BSR, which requires
commonly observed in the Gulf of Mexico, one is seen at a bulk gas composition estimated to be about 3% (Hol-
Keathley Canyon, in a minibasin where the BSR deepens brook, 2001).
from 260 mbsf at the edge of the basin to 500 mbsf near New multichannel seismic data collected in 2000 show
the center of the basin (Hutchinson et al., 2005). At the At- high amplitudes or bright spots above the BSR (Figure 8).
water Valley mound/seep drill site, chlorinity anomalies in Waveform inversion yielded velocities as high as 2.1 km/s
core pore fluids suggest hydrate concentrations of 7%–9% in a 6–8 m thick layer; these velocities correspond to high
(Kastner et al., 2005). concentrations of hydrate (30%–42% of the bulk volume)
In 1998, high-resolution multichannel seismic and formed by upward migration of gas within the hydrate sta-
OBS data were collected along five lines in Mississippi bility field (Gorman et al., 2002; Hornbach et al., 2003). De-
Canyon Block 798 (Jaiswal et al., 2006). Zones of high tailed semblance analyses show that the 95-m-thick region
reflectivity and low seismic velocity were interpreted as between the BSR and the paleo-BSR has reduced reflectivity
indicators of gas-charged layers, associated with upward and high P-wave velocity; these features are attributed to
fluid flow near a diapir that may produce shallowing of the sediments with a bulk hydrate content of 13%–22% (Horn-
base of the GHSZ. Several types of unconventional seismic bach et al., 2003).
data, especially high frequency, have also been collected
in the Gulf of Mexico. Chirp-sonar data (2-8 kHz source)
Storegga
were acquired with an autonomous underwater vehicle in
Green Canyon Block 204. These images were compared From a suite of single channel seismic lines, Bouriak
with four-component OBC data (10–100 Hz source) that et al. (2000) and Bouriak et al. (2003) mapped the BSR
allow impressive vertical resolution through careful con- on the slope of the Vøring Plateau, located on the north-
verted-wave processing (Backus et al., 2006; Hardage et east Atlantic margin and around the northern headwall of
al., 2006). Along the OBC line, VP /VS ratios are very high the Storegga Slide. In this region, they identified pock-
(~35) in the 10-m layer just below the seafloor, except near marks and fluid-escape features at the seabed. The geo-
fluid expulsion sites, where they reduce slightly to 30. In logic controls on BSR formation were further outlined
the layer between 10 m and 130 m depth, VP /VS is 8.5, in- by Bünz et al. (2003), who used a variety of single-chan-
creasing slightly to 9.5 near the expulsion zone. nel and multichannel seismic lines to show that hydrate
High-resolution multichannel data were also collected forms preferentially in the coarse-grained sediments
in Atwater Valley in 2003, and prototype vertical line array away from glacial debris flow deposits. In a split-spread
data were acquired in 2002 and 2003 (Géresi et al., 2004). OBC survey in 1998, Andreassen et al. (2003) used PS
Velocity analyses of these data indicated little if any veloc- waves to show that there is no converted-wave response
ity increase caused by hydrate, with hydrate concentrations to the BSR evident in P-wave arrivals. From their results,
inferred to be <1% (Géresi, 2007). they concluded that gas hydrate above the BSR is of low
concentrations (1%–1.5%) and does not cement the grain
Blake Ridge contacts or increase the stiffness of the sediments. How-
ever, Bünz and Mienert (2004) used the same data to find
ODP Leg 164 on the Blake Ridge (offshore the eastern a slightly higher average hydrate concentration of 5%
United States) was the first drilling leg dedicated to drill- (modeled with hydrate as part of the sediment frame) un-
ing the hydrate stability zone and the BSR. Blake Ridge derlain by free gas with average concentration of 0.45%
seismic results prior to 2000 are summarized by Holbrook if homogeneously distributed. Bünz and Mienert (2004)
(2001). These studies include a 1988 multichannel seismic also discussed the possible role of polygonal faulting and
survey, single-channel seismic reflection, OBS surveys in variable upward fluid migration as causes of lateral varia-
1992, and vertical seismic profiles acquired during ODP tions in concentration of gas and gas hydrate.
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 60 9/1/10 5:16:52 PM

From OBS data collected near the previous OBC Outstanding Questions and
deployment, careful analysis of P- and PS-wave arrivals lead
to the determination of seismic velocities to a depth greater
Avenues for Further Seismic
than 600 mbsf (Bünz et al., 2005). P-wave velocities increase Research
gradually with depth to a value near 1.8 km/s at the BSR with
Seismic methods provide the means for quantita-
a sharp decrease to 1.4–1.5 km/s immediately beneath the
tive estimates of gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations.
BSR. In contrast, S-wave velocities increase continuously
However, the variability in hydrate distribution, based on
beneath the seafloor from about 0.2 km/s to 0.6 km/s at 600
seismic estimates or on the small number of available drill-
mbsf. These velocities were used to estimate hydrate con-
hole estimates, is still probably too great to make reliable
centrations of 3%–12% in a zone up to 50-m thick above the
global estimates of the amount of hydrocarbons stored in
BSR, and free-gas concentrations of 0.4%–0.8% in a zone
natural gas hydrate. Seismic estimates are further com-
about 80-m thick below the BSR (Bünz et al., 2005). This
plicated by the uncertainties in determining the elastic
work confirms the negligible S-wave response to the hydrate-
properties of the sediment without gas hydrate or free gas;
gas phase change across the BSR and suggests that hydrates
consequently, although the upper bound in regional con-
in this area do not cement sediment grains, supporting the
centration is fairly well-determined (10%–30% of the pore
conclusion of Andreassen et al. (2003). The results also in-
space in convergent margin environments, <10% in passive
dicate that the hydrate-related BSR is mostly caused by the
margin environments), there is considerable uncertainty in
presence of underlying free gas and not gas hydrate above.
the estimates of minimum concentration (although it seems
A high-resolution OBS experiment conducted in 2002
that 3%–5% or more is necessary for high-velocity hydrate
by the HYDRATECH consortium further investigated gas
to be detected seismically). The variability in gas-hydrate
hydrates in the northern sidewall of the Storegga Slide
distribution will be better understood as more extensive
(Westbrook et al., 2005; Westbrook et al., 2008). In gen-
surveys are carried out in new areas, accompanied by quan-
eral, there were no PS-wave arrivals corresponding to a
titative analyses of elastic properties including P-wave and
gas-hydrate-related BSR consistent with the previous ap-
S-wave velocities. Further progress is required in the deter-
proximately coincident OBC deployment. The reduction in
mination of the baseline or reference for elastic properties
VP across the BSR was found to be laterally variable and
of sediments with no gas hydrate and no free gas.
strongly controlled by the properties of the lithologic lay-
The greatest local concentrations of gas hydrate in the
ers crossing the depth of the BSR. Near the upslope end of
marine environment are likely to be found in vent struc-
the deployment, both VP and VS show a marked decrease
tures, often marked by localized seismic blanking (in which
across the BSR, indicating some degree of hydrate cemen-
the amplitude of stratigraphic reflectivity is reduced), sea-
tation in overlying sediments or alternatively some disrup-
bed brightening, and reflector pull up. Vents, with associ-
tion of the sediment structure in underlying sediments. The
ated seafloor pockmarks, mounds, and water-column gas
velocity results were used to estimate gas-hydrate concen-
plumes, are found on nearly all margins. The potential for
tration and indicated that hydrate occupies approximately
commercially viable quantities of methane in such vent
10% of pore space.
features is exemplified by the Bullseye vent on the North
In general, the concentration of hydrate above the BSR
Cascadia margin, where drillhole estimates, extrapolated
is about 10% or less of pore space, and the underlying
into the surrounding region by seismic observations, show a
free gas is less than 1% (if uniformly distributed, more if
near-surface massive hydrate lens, ~40-m thick and ~200 m
patchy). However, the distribution of gas hydrate and free
in diameter, with gas hydrate concentrations of 60%–80% of
gas in the Storegga region is strongly influenced by lithol-
the pore space (Riedel et al., 2006a; Riedel et al., 2006b).
ogy (accumulating preferentially in particular stratigraphic
The quantitative determination of the amount of free
layers) and by the stratigraphically mediated migration of
gas released at vents like those described previously is an
gases from deeper reservoirs. The hydrate and gas distribu-
interesting scientific challenge that constitutes important
tions in this area are thus laterally heterogeneous and of-
input for ocean chemists and climate scientists as con-
ten do not conform to the model of a laterally continuous,
straints on the amount of gas reaching the atmosphere. Re-
downward-increasing distribution of hydrate underlain by
cent models (Liu and Flemings, 2007) describe how free
a downward-decreasing distribution of free gas beneath the
gas can be present at shallow depths in vent systems. Al-
level of the BSR.
though submersibles observe free gas exiting the seafloor
Based on new MCS data, Brown et al. (2006) argue
at vents, and large water-column gas plumes are often ob-
that the base of hydrate stability was too deep to play a sig-
served with acoustic profilers (e.g., Heeschen et al., 2003;
nificant role in slide initiation at this location, in contrast to
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copyright; seismic
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earlier suggestions that hydrate dissociation may have trig-
tected the low P-wave velocities expected in these vents if
gered the Storegga Slide during periods of climatic warm-
gas were present within the regional GHSZ.
ing (e.g., Mienert et al., 2005).
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 61 9/1/10 5:16:52 PM

Furthermore, the elevated salinities thought to be pro- To further calibrate and corroborate estimates of gas
duced within these features during hydrate formation have hydrate concentration and distribution, the results from
not yet been observed by scientific drilling. Some of the diffi- seismic methods need to be compared directly with other
culty and challenge in understanding how these vent features geophysical technologies in the field, the laboratory, and
form and evolve is that free gas may be present only in nar- the drillhole. Elastic properties of hydrate-bearing sediment
row conduits, the gas venting may be episodic or sporadic, samples from the drillhole, preserved at in situ pressures
and high-velocity gas hydrate is also likely present in some and temperatures (e.g., see Holland et al., 2006), need to be
sort of gas/liquid/hydrate mix. Also, the evolving state of measured. The link between electrical and seismic proper-
these features should be considered (i.e., the salinity anomaly ties needs to be investigated further, and a consistent rock
may have dissipated if the feature is old and is decaying after physics or effective medium theory that incorporates both
a sporadic release of gas). To meet this challenge will require types of properties needs to be developed and tested in the
(1) high-resolution seafloor seismic surveys, particularly laboratory (e.g., see Ellis et al., 2006) and in coincident
wide-angle measurements for better determination of P-wave seismic and electrical field surveys.
and S-wave velocities and better imaging of vertical features; It is increasingly apparent that the local geology is a very
(2) seismic surveys repeated at different times, ideally in important factor in understanding hydrate formation and dis-
boreholes or at long-term, stationary seafloor observatories tribution. More efforts should be paid to understanding how
to minimize source and/or receiver variability; and (3) further gas-rich fluids migrate into the GHSZ and how fluid focusing
numerical and experimental exploration of the temporal rela- might influence the distribution of hydrate. Although sophis-
tionships between flow of liquid and gas, salinity, and hydrate ticated interpretations of seismic stratigraphy and structure
and gas concentrations. Continuous observation of vents is have been carried out for conventional deep gas and petro-
likely to help constrain the physical controls on vent activity, leum systems, there is significant opportunity to apply these
such as possible correlation with earthquake activity. methods more extensively to the shallow region beneath the
The nature of gas hydrate distribution within the pore seafloor where gas hydrate and associated free gas are found.
space can best be accomplished with more extensive S-
wave surveys, again requiring seafloor observations at
wide angles coupled with direct S-wave excitation or P- to Conclusions
S-mode conversion. Such measurements can also be corre-
lated with other measurements of sediment rigidity, such as Deep sea natural gas hydrate has been extensively
seafloor compliance (Willoughby et al., 2005). However, mapped and studied by a wide range of seismic surveys.
at high concentrations of gas hydrate (>20%), the hydrate The seismic reflection and refraction data include those
appears to be distributed in locally massive structures like from (a) multichannel surface streamer systems, (b)
nodules, veins, or vertical fractures, all of which involve high-resolution single-channel surface streamer systems,
significant sediment deformation. Thus, grain-based rock (c) high-frequency, deep-towed seismic systems near the
physics models describing the effect of hydrate on the elas- seafloor, and (d) OBSs and OBCs. Each type of system
tic properties of the sediment may not be appropriate for provides important complementary data. Low-frequency
such distributions, and new models must be developed and systems provide deep penetration and regional coverage.
calibrated with in situ measurements or with measurements Commonly the BSR is best expressed at low frequencies
conducted in the laboratory at close to in situ conditions. (generally <100 Hz). Higher frequency systems and deep-
Seismic attenuation holds promise as a gas-hydrate- tow systems provide much higher-resolution data. Seafloor
mapping tool, both for detecting the presence of hydrate OBS and OBC systems also can provide important shear-
and for evaluating its concentration. However, more effort is wave data. Studies have focused on both regional BSRs
required to understand the variation of attenuation with gas- that lie at the base of the regional GHSZ and on local struc-
hydrate concentration and with seismic source frequency, as tures that contain significant concentrations of hydrate,
well as to remove the influence of the changing lithologic especially fluid vent features. In four regions (southwest
properties of the host sediment. It may be that analysis of Japan, North Cascadia, Hydrate Ridge, and Blake Ridge),
the relationship between attenuation anisotropy and veloc- drill core and downhole logs have provided important cali-
ity anisotropy will provide a way to separate the influence bration of interpretations from seismic data.
of gas hydrate from the influence of lithology. To achieve The presence of a BSR is still thought to be a good
this, however, high levels of precision are likely to be re- indicator of the presence of overlying gas hydrate and un-
quired in the measurements of both velocity and attenuation derlying free gas. However, quantitative information from
from field data; increases in precision will require dense ar- analysis of the BSR is restricted mainly to the thickness and
rays of ocean-bottom instruments with shot patterns care- concentration of the gas layer immediately beneath, with
fully designed to maximize azimuthal and offset coverage little information on the hydrate itself. Furthermore, ab-
in a uniform and evenly distributed manner. sence of the BSR does not mean that hydrate is absent in
02181_SEG_GH_C04.indd 62 9/1/10 5:16:52 PM

overlying sediments. BSRs are most common in subduction has been selected, deep-towed and ocean bottom seismic
zone accretionary prisms and less common on passive con- surveys provide additional means to evaluate quantitatively
tinental margins. Thus, we need to rely on other seismic ob- the gas hydrate distribution. The primary results based on
servations to detect and quantify gas hydrate and free gas, seismic surveying include the following:
including the following: 1) Regional hydrate saturations are typically 1%–10%
1) high-amplitude reflectors above the expected depth of the pore space in tectonically passive environments, and
of the BSR, possibly associated with massive hydrate about 5%–30% of the pore space in accretionary wedges.
occurrences; 2) Regional free-gas saturations are typically 0.5%–4%
2) high-amplitude reflectors below the expected of the pore space in all environments — this gas is not con-
depth of the BSR, likely indicating layers of gas-charged centrated enough to be a buoyant body of connected gas, and
sediments; it appears that the overlying hydrate does not usually trap
3) near-vertical seismic blanking zones with reduced gas in a conventional reservoir sense.
sediment-stratigraphic reflectivity, probably associated with 3) Locally, hydrate saturations may approach 80%–100%,
localized upward fluid discharge or venting regions; these possibly due to salinity effects during hydrate formation
regions may be the most prospective regions for the largest from rapid migration of free gas.
hydrate or gas concentrations; 4) If no BSR is observed, gas hydrate can still be de-
4) zones of high P-wave velocity, indicating hydrate, or tected by seismic methods, particularly from high veloci-
low P-wave velocity, indicating free gas; the zones may ex- ties and the observation of amplitude-blanking zones of
tend laterally by hundreds of meters or more, as determined increased seismic attenuation or decreased seismic reflec-
from detailed velocity analyses or from other seismic attri- tivity. Quantitative estimates of gas-hydrate or free-gas con-
butes including impedance; and centration thus far rely almost entirely on seismic velocity
5) PS-wave studies to determine S-wave velocities, anomalies relative to a hydrate- and gas-free reference; this
which may be the most sensitive indicator of how hydrate is is complicated by the need to determine velocities in the
distributed in the pore space. Although seismic attenuation same sediments without hydrate and gas.
for hydrate-charged sediments appears to increase at sonic
log frequencies of 10–20 kHz, it is not yet clear that attenu-
ation changes significantly with hydrate concentration at
seismic frequencies of 20–150 Hz, and active research in Acknowledgments
this area is ongoing.
This review paper necessarily relies on the excellent
A combination of seismic and well-log analyses pro-
work of many seismic researchers in the gas-hydrate field.
vides the optimal means for quantitative mapping of hy-
Although we would like to thank all workers individually
drate distribution. Sonic logs, both P-wave and S-wave,
by name, we would particularly like to single out several
confirm or calibrate the velocity variation with depth deter-
key researchers whose work contributed significantly to
mined from seismic measurements, and also provide veloc-
this review: Kei Baba and Yasuhiro Yamada and their 2004
ity information at the low frequencies (<20 Hz) and high
overview paper; and Christian Berndt and coworkers, par-
frequencies (>150 Hz) missing from typical seismic data.
ticularly for their 2004 broad-based BSR paper. We also
The in situ drillhole methods provide ground truth infor-
relied on work by Stefan Bünz, Gilles Guerin, Matthew
mation for remotely sensed measurements, including con-
Hornbach, Boris Marcaillou, Ingo Pecher, Irina Popescu,
straints on velocity increase and hydrate concentration and
Martin Scherwath, Anne Tréhu, Warren Wood, Graham
on velocity decrease and free-gas concentration.
Westbrook, and many others. An excellent review by Na-
Recent drillhole observations off the Cascadia and India
than Bangs improved the manuscript. Thanks also to
margins emphasize that the deep-sea hydrate often occurs in
editors Michael Riedel and Ele Willoughby for their com-
heterogeneous fracture networks, especially in low-permea-
ments and encouragement.
bility silts and muds. Most models for the effect of hydrate
on seismic properties have assumed that the hydrate replaces
sediment pore fluid. The ODP/IODP drilling has shown the
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Chapter 5
Seismic AVO for Gas-hydrate-related Reflections

Marc-André P. Chen1,2, Michael Riedel3, and Stan E. Dosso1
Abstract bearing sand over shale, and gas-hydrate-bearing sand

over water-saturated sand scenarios. The AVO inversion
This paper examines the usefulness of amplitude ver- sufficiently constrains the shear-wave velocity for reliable
sus offset (AVO) analysis for marine and permafrost gas- quantitative analysis only if the gas hydrate concentration
hydrate settings. In marine environments, AVO analyses exceeds ~40%.
have traditionally focused on bottom-simulating reflec- The variable degree of model constraint obtained in
tions (BSRs) for estimating associated marine gas-hydrate this AVO study highlights the need to include rigorous
and free-gas concentrations. A nonlinear Bayesian inver- quantitative uncertainty analysis in all AVO studies.
sion is applied to estimate marginal probability distribu-
tions (MPDs) of physical parameters at a BSR interface,
which are related to overlying gas-hydrate and underlying Introduction
free-gas concentrations via rock physics modeling. The
problem is further constrained by prior information and The successful use of seismic amplitude versus offset
reparameterization of inversion results. Inversion of BSR (AVO) studies as hydrocarbon indicators in the oil and gas
AVO data from offshore Vancouver Island, Canada, shows industry has prompted the scientific community to use AVO
that gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations are 0%–23% as a tool in gas-hydrate-related studies (e.g., Hyndman and
and 0%–2% of the pore volume, respectively, at a 90% Spence, 1992; Andreassen et al., 1997; Ecker et al., 1998;
credibility level. However, it should be noted that these two Yuan et al., 1999; Carcione and Tinivella, 2000; Xu and
parameters are not independent in the analysis but instead Chopra, 2003). Many standard seismic data analysis meth-
are inversely related. Thus, 0% in gas-hydrate concentra- ods (e.g., normal-incidence amplitudes, normal moveout
tions requires some percent of free gas within the range [NMO] velocity analysis) provide information on forma-
stated (and vice versa). tion density and compressional- (P-) wave velocity because
This result indicates that the data do not provide suffi- only the compressional wavefield is generally recorded.
cient information to independently resolve gas-hydrate and The main advantage of AVO is that it has the potential to
free-gas concentrations to useful accuracy. provide information on formation shear- (S-) wave veloc-
The same Bayesian inversion method is applied to syn- ity (in addition to P-wave velocity and density) even if only
thetic AVO data generated from well-log data obtained at compressional waves are measured directly. This is possible
the Mallik 5L-38 well in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest because at nonnormal incidence angles, P-wave reflection
Territories (NWT). The model cases representing typical coefficients (and therefore, the measured compressional
permafrost gas-hydrate occurrences are investigated and wavefield) are affected by formation S-wave velocity.
include shale over gas-hydrate-bearing sand, gas-hydrate- The occurrence of gas-hydrate in sediment pore space
should increase both P- and S-wave velocities of those sedi-
ments (e.g., Dvorkin and Nur, 1993; Helgerud, 2001; Lee and
Collett, 2005). Below the base of the gas-hydrate stability
1
zone (GHSZ), P-wave velocities should be significantly re-
University of Victoria, School of25Earth
Downloaded andtoOcean
Jun 2012 Sciences,
95.28.162.50. Victoria,subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
Redistribution
duced where free gas occurs (e.g., Gregory, 1976). However,
British Columbia, Canada
2, 3
Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada–Pacific, the occurrence of free gas does not greatly influence sedi-
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail: mriedel@nrcan.gc.ca ment rigidity, and therefore S-wave velocities remain nearly
73
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 73 9/15/10 6:54:37 PM

with
a 5 r2 1 1 2 2V2S2 p 2 2 2 r1 1 1 2 2V2S1 p2 2 ,
b 5 r2 1 1 2 2V2S2 p 2 2 1 2r1V2S1 p2,
d 5 2 1 r2VS2 2 2 r1VS21 2 ,
D 5 EF 1 GHp2,
where VP, VS, and r are respectively, P-wave velocity,

S-wave velocity, and bulk density (with subscripts 1 and 2
indicating the upper and lower media). The incidence angle
is u, w and c are the P-wave and converted S-wave trans-
mission angles, and z is the S-wave reflection angle related
by Snell’s law:
sin u sin w sin z sin c

p5 5 5 5 , (2)
VP VP VS1 VS2
1 2
where p is the ray parameter.
Figure 1. Schematic ray diagram of the partitioning of Shuey approximation

an incident P-wave into reflected and transmitted P- and
Although the Zoeppritz equations are an exact for-
converted S-waves at a half-space/half-space interface.
mulation of the AVO problem, they are not very intuitive
because the reflection coefficient is not defined explicitly
unchanged relative to a no-gas reference (e.g., Gassmann, in terms of elastic parameters or of incidence angle. This
1951). Changes in both P- and S-wave velocities are there- has motivated the formulation of various approximations
fore expected at gas-hydrate-related seismic reflections (e.g., to the Zoeppritz equations (e.g., Aki and Richards, 1980;
bottom-simulating reflections [BSRs], or top and base of Shuey, 1985; Smith and Gidlow, 1987; Goodway et al.,
gas-hydrate-bearing sand units) making gas-hydrate studies 1997). Note that in the past, computational efficiency also
a potential candidate for AVO analysis. This paper reviews motivated the development of approximate AVO equa-
the applicability of seismic AVO in gas-hydrate studies for tions; however, current levels of computing power gener-
both the marine and permafrost gas-hydrate occurrences. ally allow for the use of the exact Zoeppritz equations.
One useful approximation to the Zoeppritz equations
is the Shuey (1985) formulation:
AVO Theory
R 1 u 2 < R0 1 cA0 R0 1 d sin2 u
Ds
Zoeppritz equations 11 2 s22
1 tan2 u 2 sin2 u 2 ,
1 DVP
AVO theory is based on the Zoeppritz (1919) equations, 1 (3)
expressing the reflection and transmission coefficients of a 2 VP
plane-wave incident on a planar interface between two ho- where
mogeneous media as a function of the angle of incidence
and the elastic properties of the media (Figure 1). Zoep-
A0 5 A 2 2 1 1 1 A 2
pritz (1919) derived the equations by solving the wave 1 2 2s DVP /VP
, A 5 .
equation with continuity of displacements and stresses at 12s DVP /VP 1 Dr/r
the interface between the two media. Of interest in conven-
tional seismic studies are P-to-P reflections, described in R 0 is defined as the reflection coefficient at normal
terms of the reflection coefficient R incidence
R 5 c ab bF 2 aa d to 95.28.162.50.bHp d ^ Dsubject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/

cos u cos w cos u cos c 2
2c Downloaded 12012
25 Jun Redistribution
VP1 VP2 VP1 VS2
R0 < a b,
1 DVP Dr
1 (4)
(1) 2 V P r
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 74 9/15/10 6:54:37 PM

Chapter 5: Seismic AVO for Gas-hydrate-related Reflections 75
and the Poisson’s ratios s1 and s2 are defined for each me- sediments immediately above and below the BSR. The ver-
dium as tical resolution of the estimates depends on the frequency
content of the data at BSR depths.
1 VP /VS1 2 2 2 2 1VP /VS2 2 2 2 2
2 11 VP /VS1 2 2 2 1 2 2 11 VP2 /VS2 2 2 2 1 2
s1 5 1
and s2 5 2
.
1
Synthetic AVO curves
(5) To obtain synthetic AVO curves, a rock physics model
is first used to calculate elastic properties (VP, VS, r) for
both the gas-hydrate- and free-gas-bearing zones. The
Also,
Zoeppritz equations (equation 1) are then used to calculate
the synthetic AVO response of a BSR, modeled as an inter-
Ds 5 s2 2 s1, s 5 1 s1 1 s2 2 /2, face between sediments containing gas hydrate above and
VP 5 1 VP 1 VP2 2 /2.
free gas below. In the simplest models, the Zoeppritz equa-
DVP 5 VP 2 VP1 and tions are used once, and the BSR is modeled as an interface
2 1
between two homogeneous half-spaces (e.g., Andreassen et

The Shuey formulation is practical for AVO analysis al., 1997). More complex models have included thin beds
in the sense that R is defined as the reflection coefficient and gradational boundaries by ray tracing through a 1D
at normal incidence R0 (dependent only on the P-wave im- velocity model with Zoeppritz equations (e.g., Andreassen
pedance contrast) plus two contributions at nonnormal inci- et al., 1995; Yuan et al., 1999). Velocity gradients are typi-
dence angles (equation 3). At intermediate angles 1 0°–30° 2 , cally approximated by thin homogeneous layers.
the second term in equation 3 dominates, and the AVO
character in that angle range depends mostly on the change
in Poisson’s ratio across the boundary. At wider angles, the Data processing considerations
third term becomes important, and the AVO response is a
An important difficulty in all AVO studies is that of ob-
function mostly of the fractional change in P-wave veloc-
taining true-amplitude processed data (e.g., Duren, 1991).
ity. The Shuey approximation therefore allows changes in
Acquisition geometry always results in shorter raypaths at
P-wave impedance, Poisson’s ratio, and P-wave velocity to
near offsets, and seismic sources generally focus seismic
be interpreted from specific segments (angle ranges) of an
energy vertically, so unprocessed data are typically damp-
AVO curve.
ened at far offsets and therefore are unfit for AVO analysis.
As noted by Shuey (1985), if measured AVO data are
Processing corrections typically applied for true-amplitude
plotted as reflection coefficients as a function of incidence
angle, the intercept R 1 u 5 0° 2 is closely related to the
analyses such as AVO are (1) source-directivity correc-
tions to compensate for downward-focused source energy,
P-wave impedance contrast, and the gradient in the 0°–30°
(2) receiver array directivity corrections related to varia-
angle range is related to the contrast in Poisson’s ratio.
tions in ghost reflection interference patterns with changes
This observation is the basis for the AVO intercept-gradient
in arrival angle, (3) geometric spreading corrections,
method (e.g., Shuey, 1985). Note that approximating the
(4) residual statics corrections for variable seafloor char-
AVO trend as a (linear) gradient can induce large errors
acteristics, (5) corrections for seismic attenuation, and
in cases of strongly nonlinear AVO; however, the method
(6) corrections for NMO stretching (if amplitudes are picked
can provide a good first approximation of model parameter
after NMO). An alternative to accounting for each of the
estimates and highlight common depth point (CDP) gath-
above effects individually proposed by Andreassen et al.
ers with anomalous AVO character.
(1995) is to first apply time-dependent corrections (geomet-
ric spreading and seismic attenuation) and then to account
Marine Gas-hydrate AVO: for all offset- (angle-) dependent corrections by calibration of
A Forward Modeling Approach the measured seafloor AVO to the seafloor AVO expected for
a realistic model of the seafloor. This is an empirical approach
In the marine setting, the common approach in gas- to derive a pooled offset-dependent correction that essen-
hydrate AVO studies has been to estimate gas-hydrate and tially combines corrections for source/receiver directivity and
free-gas concentrations immediately above and below a variable seafloor characteristics. Chen et al. (2007) further
BSR by matching the measured AVO response of the BSR developed the method by accounting for uncertainty in the
to synthetic AVO curves for different gas-hydrate/free-gas modeled seafloor AVO by use of a Monte Carlo simulation.
concentration scenarios (Andreassen et al., 1995; Andreas- Once true-amplitude processed data are obtained,
sen et al., 1997; Ecker et al., 1998; Yuan et al., 1999). Gas- BSR amplitudes can be picked at different offsets. How-
hydrate and free-gas concentration estimates apply to the ever, comparison with synthetic AVO curves requires BSR
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 75 9/15/10 6:54:44 PM

reflection coefficients as a function of incidence angles. the AVO synthetic curves used in the modeling are highly
BSR incidence angles can be obtained from ray tracing dependent on the S-wave velocities (or Poisson’s ratios)
through a 1D velocity model using Snell’s law (equation used for sediments containing gas hydrate, free gas, and
2). BSR reflection coefficients can be obtained from BSR- fully water-saturated. As highlighted in the Shuey (1985)
to-seafloor amplitude ratios: approximation, the AVO character in the 0°–30° incidence
angle range is highly influenced by the change in Poisson’s
Rsf 1 1 2 R2sf 2 21,
Absr ratio across the boundary.
Rbsr 5 (6)
Asf In their models, Andreassen et al. (1995) estimated a
Poisson’s ratio of s 5 0.47 for fully water-saturated sedi-
where Asf and Absr are seafloor and BSR amplitudes, and
ments, a value obtained from the Castagna et al. (1985)
Rsf is the seafloor reflection coefficient, determined from
mudrock relation. For sediments with gas hydrate, they
the primary-to-multiple seafloor amplitude ratio (Warner,
1990). The factor 1 1 2 Rsf 2 accounts for transmission
2 21 obtained s 5 0.38 2 0.44, using the Gassmann (1951)
equations, and for sediments with free gas, a value of
loss at the seafloor (Yuan et al., 1999). Finally, to improve
s 5 0.2 2 0.3 was calculated from the equations of
the signal-to-noise ratio, adjacent CDPs can be grouped
Gregory (1977). In their modeling, the lower medium is
either fully water saturated 1 s 5 0.47 2 or contains free
into AVO supergathers, either by stacking common-offset
gas 1 s 5 0.2 2 0.3 2 . Such a large difference in Pois-
traces (Ostrander, 1984) or by simply taking a mean of cal-
culated BSR reflection coefficients at each common offset.
son’s ratio for those two cases leads to drastically different
synthetic AVO curves (Figure 2a). The data interpreted by
Comparison of reported results Andreassen et al. (1995) had a much better fit to synthetic
AVO curves generated from scenarios with free gas below
So far the general purpose of AVO in marine gas- the BSR, leading to their conclusion that BSRs are mainly
hydrate studies has been to characterize the nature of seis- caused by free gas. The validity of their result does how-
mic BSRs. Seismic BSRs are negative polarity reflections ever hinge on the accuracy of the parameters (most impor-
(relative to the seafloor reflection), indicating a decrease tantly s or VS) used in the modeling, that is, how does the
in P-wave velocity across the BSR. This velocity contrast gas-hydrate or free-gas occurrence affect sediment elastic
can be caused either by high-velocity gas hydrate above parameters?
the BSR, low-velocity free gas below, or some combina- In a follow-up study, Andreassen et al. (1997) applied
tion of both. Because near-vertical incidence BSR reflec- a similar technique to BSR AVO data from offshore Oregon
tion coefficients only provide information on the P-wave and again from the Beaufort Sea. The same relations be-
velocity contrast, they cannot be used alone to determine tween sediment elastic parameters (VP, s, and r) and gas-
what proportions of gas hydrate and free gas cause BSRs. hydrate/free-gas occurrence were used, but a different
Far offset reflection coefficients (and therefore AVO) approach was used in the choice of synthetic curves to be
provide additional information on contrasts in S-wave compared with the measured data. In this study, a simpler
velocities (or Poisson’s ratio), that could help gauge if half-space/half-space single interface was used to model
BSRs are caused mostly by gas hydrate or free gas. Note the BSR, and models with 0%–100% gas-hydrate pore-
that gas-hydrate drilling projects have confirmed the oc- space saturation above, and 0%–3% free-gas pore-space
currence of free gas beneath seismic BSRs (e.g., Tréhu saturation below were compared with the measured data.
et al., 2003; Riedel et al., 2006b). However, reported con- Again, they concluded that the AVO character suggests that
centrations are variable, so AVO could potentially be used at least some free gas should occur beneath BSRs but that
as a remote sensing tool to map the variability. AVO alone could not constrain the actual concentration.
The first BSR AVO studies (e.g., Hyndman and They also further stated that the gas-hydrate concentration
Spence, 1992; Andreassen et al., 1995) were done before was less than 10% of the pore space at both study loca-
drilling projects confirming the occurrence of free gas be- tions. The validity of the results of this study also hinge on
neath BSRs. They focused on determining whether BSRs the accuracy of the parameters used in the modeling.
were caused primarily by gas hydrate or free gas. Andreas- Yuan et al. (1999) also modeled the AVO response of
sen et al. (1995) analyzed AVO data from the Beaufort a BSR to determine if AVO could help distinguish between
Sea, north of Alaska, by comparing the measured data to gas-hydrate-only, free-gas-only, and gas-hydrate-and-free-
synthetic AVO curves generated for different gas-hydrate gas scenarios. The main difference from the Andreas-
scenarios. They tested models with different gas-hydrate sen et al. (1995) and Andreassen et al. (1997) studies is
and free-gas layer thicknesses and models with gradational in the Poisson’s ratio values used in the modeling. For a
variations in gas-hydrate and free-gas concentration. They fully water-saturated medium and a partially gas-hydrate-
found that only models incorporating free gas yielded a saturated medium, s is calculated from VP and the mudrock
reasonable fit with measured AVO data. The character of relation of Castagna et al. (1985), giving s 5 0.485 and
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 76 9/15/10 6:54:46 PM

s 5 0.459 2 0.473, respectively. For a partially free-

gas-saturated medium, Yuan et al. (1999) used Geertsma’s
(1961) formulation of Biot’s (1956) theory to estimate
sediment elastic parameters. Essentially, the presence of
free gas reduces VP with VS remaining (almost) unaffected.
Accordingly, Yuan et al (1999) used a VS of 290 m/s for
all sub-BSR sediments in their modeling (with and with-
out free gas). This gives s 5 0.477 2 0.482 for sub-BSR
sediments containing free gas. The effect on Poisson’s
ratio of replacing pore water with gas hydrate or free gas
is much less drastic in this case than in the modeling of
Andreassen et al. (1995). Again, examining Shuey’s ap-
proximation, a smaller contrast in Poisson’s ratio across
the boundary should result in less distinct AVO curves for
the different models (Figure 2b). In fact, Yuan et al. (1999)
argue that free-gas-only and gas-hydrate and free-gas sce-
narios would produce AVO data too similar to distinguish
between the two cases. They attribute the small change in
Poisson’s ratio at the BSR to the low VS generally observed
in unconsolidated sediments. Examination of equation 5
shows that Poisson’s ratio is less sensitive to changes in
VP if VS is small. Replacement of pore water with free gas
reduces VP while leaving VS almost unchanged, so smaller
changes in Poisson’s ratio should be expected for such a
replacement in formations with lower VS, such as the un-
consolidated sediments studied here.
Ecker et al. (1998) noted that the measured AVO of a
BSR at Blake Ridge showed increasingly negative ampli-
tudes with increasing offset. They stated that such an AVO
response could only have been produced by greater P-wave
velocities above the BSR and greater S-wave velocities be-
low the BSR and consequently concluded that gas hydrate
forms away from grain contacts and does not add stiffness Figure 2. Synthetic error-free BSR AVO data based on
to the sediment frame (i.e., greater S-wave velocities below modeling by (a) Andreassen et al. (1995) and (b) Yuan et al.
the BSR from loss in porosity with depth). However, we (1999). In (a), the synthetic AVO suggests that observed AVO
note that, contrary to the conclusion of Ecker et al. (1998), for a gas-hydrate-only case should be diagnostically different
increasingly negative BSR amplitudes with increasing off- from AVO for cases with free gas below the BSR. In (b), the
set do not require greater S-wave velocities below the BSR modeling suggests that gas-hydrate-only, free-gas-only, and
(for example, see the synthetic AVO curve shown later in gas-hydrate-and-free-gas scenarios give AVO curves that are
Figure 3, generated with the elastic parameters summarized too similar to distinguish between the three cases.
in Table 1). Therefore, gas hydrate can (and probably does)
add at least some stiffness to the sediment frame (e.g., Hel- Shortcomings
gerud, 2001). In fact, several studies (e.g., Lee et al., 1996;
Carcione and Tinivella, 2000) have suggested that increas- The most important shortcoming of most forward mod-
ingly negative BSR amplitudes with increasing offset are eling BSR AVO studies is that they do not rigorously con-
indicative of low gas-hydrate concentrations, whereas de- sider the uncertainties of the AVO problem, related to the
creasingly negative BSR amplitudes with increasing offset nonunique nature of the solution and the uncertainty in the
are indicative of high gas-hydrate concentrations. AVO data. The large uncertainties caused by nonuniqueness
The wide variety of conclusions obtained from BSR of AVO solutions were recognized by Yuan et al. (1999),
AVO studies suggest that data and model uncertainties who found that scenarios with high gas-hydrate concentra-
could have an important effect on study results (especially tion above the BSR and low free-gas concentration below
when inaccurately estimated). This suggests that BSR AVO could not be distinguished from scenarios with low gas-
studies should be subjected to more rigorous (quantitative) hydrate concentration above the BSR and high free-gas con-
error analysis. centration below. This finding highlights the need to include
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 77 9/15/10 6:54:47 PM

specific CDP gathers of interest to nonlinear AVO inver-

sion, in order to quantify uncertainties in model parameter
estimates and to gauge the true detection limit of an AVO
anomaly.
Marine Gas Hydrate:

A Bayesian Approach to
BSR–AVO Inversion
The desire to accurately characterize uncertainties in
BSR AVO interpretations has recently motivated the use
of inverse methods in a study by Chen et al. (2007). Their
Figure 3. Synthetic BSR–AVO data shown as reflection
objective was to determine to what extent AVO data from
coefficients R as a function of incidence angle u, with a
random Gaussian noise level of s 5 0.01. One-standard-
BSRs can be used to estimate associated gas-hydrate and
deviation error bars are shown, and the solid line is the error- free-gas concentrations. To this end, a nonlinear Bayesian
free AVO curve. These AVO data are generated from the true inversion is applied to BSR AVO data to obtain estimates
model summarized in Table 1. and uncertainties of formation physical parameters (P- and
S-wave velocities and densities), which are then used to es-
timate gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations. The Bayes-
Table 1. Physical parameters adopted for the 15% gas ian approach treats model parameters as random variables,
hydrate/1% free-gas model. giving their estimates in terms of probability distributions
(e.g., Sen and Stoffa, 1996; Riedel et al., 2003), thus quan-
VP (m/s) PVS (m/s) r (kg/m3) tifying model uncertainties. When Bayesian inversion
Upper medium 1768 421 1800 methods are properly applied, calculated model uncertainty
estimates can include contributions from data error, solu-
Lower medium 1481 350 1850
tion nonuniqueness, and prior information.
quantitative uncertainty analysis in AVO studies. To achieve

Bayesian inversion theory
this, an amplitude-preserving data processing scheme must Bayesian methods can be applied to geophysical inverse
be implemented and data uncertainties (such as measure- problems to provide quantitative uncertainty estimates and
ment of reflection coefficients and incidence angles) need to can include constraints from prior information (e.g., Tarantola,
be estimated quantitatively. The uncertainties related to so- 1987; Sen and Stoffa, 1996). The method used in the study of
lution nonuniqueness can be addressed by solving the AVO Chen et al. (2007) follows the approach of Riedel et al. (2003),
problem with an inversion approach that fully explores the who inverted seafloor AVO data for seabed properties.
solution space of the problem (i.e., the ensemble of all pos- Consider a vector of N observed AVO data Robs (i.e.,
sible solutions). As noted by Riedel et al. (2003), linearized P-wave reflection coefficients at the N angles of incidence),
inversion schemes implicitly assume Gaussian-distributed related to a model m 5 [VP , VS , r1, VP , VS , r2]T of physi-
1 1 2 2
model parameter uncertainties; an assumption that is often cal parameters by a function Robs 5 R(m) 1 n, where
not valid in strongly nonlinear problems such as AVO. For R represents the Zoeppritz equations (equation 1). For
most accurate treatments of data and model uncertainties, Gaussian-distributed errors n with data covariance matrix
a nonlinear inversion approach (e.g., Bayesian methods) CD, the likelihood function is
should be used.
L 1 Robs 0 m 2 5 1/2 exp e2 R m 2 R
3 1 2 4
Although nonlinear inversion schemes provide the 1 1
1 2p 2 0 CD 0
obs T
N/2
most accurate estimates of model parameter uncertainties, 2
they are computationally expensive (relative to intercept-
D 3R 1 m 2 2 R 4 f.
gradient methods, for example) and are generally designed 3 C21 obs
(7)
to solve the AVO problem one CDP gather (or supergather)
at a time (i.e., they cannot be easily applied to an entire In Bayesian inversion, the data and model vectors are con-
seismic section or used to detect AVO anomalies). One sidered random variables that obey Bayes’ rule, which can
possible way around this problem would be to apply an be written as
anomaly detection AVO approach (e.g., intercept-gradient
method) to an entire seismic section and then to subject P 1 m 0 Robs 2 ~ L 1 Robs 0 m 2 P 1 m 2 , (8)
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 78 9/15/10 6:54:50 PM

where P 1 m 0 Robs 2 represents the posterior probability distri- The efficiency of the sampling is greatly enhanced by
bution (PPD) and P(m) is the prior distribution representing rotating to a principal component system by diagonalizing
any available information about the model parameters that an estimate of the model covariance matrix CM. Initially,
is known independently of the data (e.g., Tarantola, 1987). a linearized estimate of CM is used; this is adaptively up-
For likelihood L 1 Robs 0 m 2 ~ exp 3 2E 1 m 2 4 , where the error dated as the sampling proceeds. Convergence is based on
function E(m) is the argument of the exponential function applying the MHS procedure in parallel to simultaneously
in equation 7, the normalized PPD may be written as collect two independent samples of models. When the
maximum difference between the cumulative MPDs for all
exp 3 2l 1 m 2 4
P 1 m 0 Robs 2 5
parameters is smaller than a preset threshold, the procedure
, (9)
e exp 3 2l 1 mr 2 4 dmr
has converged, and the final sample is taken to be the union
of the two independent samples (Dosso, 2002).
where l 1 m 2 5 E 1 m 2 2 ln P 1 m 2 , and the domain of inte-

Bayesian inversion requires an estimate of the data co-
variance matrix CD, including both measurement and theory
gration spans the model space.
From a Bayesian viewpoint, P 1 m 0 Robs 2 is the general
errors. Chen et al. (2007) assumed CD to be of the form:
solution of the inverse problem; however, interpretation of CD 5 ŝ 2 I 1 C0, (16)

the PPD for multidimensional problems requires the com-
putation of integral properties (moments) of the distribu- where ŝ is the standard deviation of the uncorrelated com-
tion, such as the posterior mean, model covariance matrix, ponent of the data errors, and C0 represents correlated
and MPD of parameter mi, defined respectively as errors arising from the data processing. The maximum-
8m9 5 e mrP 1 mr 0 Robs 2 dmr,

likelihood estimate for ŝ is given by
(10)
0 R 1 m̂ 2 2 Robs 0 2,
1
CM 5 e 1 mr 2 8m9 2 1 mr 2 8m9 2 T P 1 mr 0 Robs 2 dmr, (11) ŝ2 5
N2M
(17)
P 1 mi 0 Robs 2 5 e d 1 mri 2 mi 2 P 1 mr 0 Robs 2 dmr, (12) where M is the number of model parameters, and m̂ is the
maximum-likelihood model estimate, determined in this
where d is the Dirac delta function. Two-dimensional (joint) paper using a hybrid-optimization algorithm, which adap-
MPDs illustrate interrelationships between parameters and tively combines fast-simulated annealing with the local
are defined similarly to equation 12. equations 10–12 and downhill simplex method (Dosso et al., 2001).
can be written in the general form
I 5 e f 1 mr 2 P 1 mr 0 Robs 2 dmr. (13) Synthetic study
MPDs can also be used to calculate highest probability den- Model design
sity credibility intervals: the smallest interval in the model In their study, Chen et al. (2007) first applied the Bayes-
space containing a given percentage of the total probabil- ian inversion scheme to synthetically generated BSR–AVO
ity. To solve the integral of equation 12 for nonlinear prob- data, emulating measured data collected offshore Vancouver
lems, a Metropolis-Hastings sampling (MHS) approach is Island, Canada. The BSR is modeled as a planar interface be-
used (Dosso, 2002; Riedel et al., 2003). The model is per- tween two half-spaces, with model parameters VP , VS , r1, VP ,
turbed repeatedly, with perturbations accepted if a uniform 1 1 2
VS , and r2 (Figure 1). The interface represents the base of the

random number h on [0,1] satisfies 2
gas-hydrate stability field, with model parameters representa-

h # exp 3 2DE 4 .
tive of realistic gas-hydrate/free-gas-concentration scenarios.
(14)
P- and S-wave velocities for both media are based on the
Markov chain analysis (Gilks et al., 1996) verifies that, for gas-hydrate in-frame rock physics model of Helgerud (2001)
a large number of perturbations, the MHS equilibrium dis- for gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations in the upper and
tribution is equivalent to the PPD. Hence, the integral I can lower media, respectively. The rock physics model is an ef-
be estimated by means of f(m) as evaluated from the sam- fective medium theory that considers the gas hydrate to be a
ple of Q models collected by MHS (e.g., Sen and Stoffa, component of the load-bearing sediment matrix without grain
1996; Riedel et al., 2003): cementation. The model predicts that gas hydrate increases
both P- and S-wave velocity but less so than a gas-hydrate
cementation model (e.g., Dvorkin and Nur, 1993). The gas-
1 2
1 Q hydrate in-frame model is supported by downhole VSP data
I < a f mi . (15)
Q i51 from ODP Leg 164 hole 995 at the Blake-Bahama Ridge
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 79 9/15/10 6:54:52 PM

gas-hydrate site (Helgerud, 2001). A key feature of the rock should encompass all information known about the model
physics model is that whereas VS in the upper medium is sen- parameters independently of the data.
sitive to gas-hydrate occurrence, it is nearly unaffected in the Table 2 summarizes the prior information used in the
lower medium by the presence of free gas in the pore space inversion. Uniform prior bounds for r1 and r2 are set to
because the replacement of brine with gas does not affect the be 1800 6100 and 1850 6 100 kg/m3, respectively (the
sediment shear modulus (Gassmann, 1951). At higher gas occurrence of gas hydrate or of free gas in relatively low
concentrations, the fluid density change can significantly af- concentration has little effect on bulk density). The require-
fect the S-wave velocity; however, this is not a concern in this ment r1 # r2 is also imposed, forcing an increase in density
paper with free-gas concentrations on the order of 1% of the with depth, related to porosity loss and sediment compac-
pore space. Also, the base of the gas-hydrate stability field tion (e.g., Hamilton, 1976). A constraint is also imposed,
does not coincide with a lithologic boundary (e.g., Westbrook relating VS to VP through a linear relationship, based on
1 1
et al., 1994), so the physical parameter values derived from the gas-hydrate in-frame rock physics model given by Hel-
the rock physics model in the upper and lower media are gerud (2001), with deviations from this trend of no more
calculated for sediments of identical lithology. The densities than 6200 m/s allowed for VS 1
chosen for the model are consistent with downhole well-log

measurements from ODP Leg 146 (Westbrook et al., 1994), VS 5 (0.4004VP 2 292) 6 200. (18)
1 1
Leg 204 (Tréhu et al., 2003), and IODP Expedition 311 (Riedel
et al., 2006b), and reflect the increase of density with depth This relationship is similar to the mudrock relation of Cast-
caused by porosity loss (~50% porosity at BSR depths) re- agna et al. (1985), within the range of expected values. Fi-
lated to sediment compaction (e.g., Hamilton, 1976). Table 1 nally, constraints on P-wave velocities from a hypothetical
summarizes the physical parameters adopted for the true NMO velocity analysis are also included. Uncertainties in
model for a scenario with 15% gas-hydrate concentration NMO velocities are estimated by Yuan et al. (1994) to be
(defined as the volume fraction of the pore space occupied by 65% for carefully determined interval velocities, correspond-
gas hydrate) above the BSR and 1% free-gas concentration ing approximately to 6100 m/s at BSR depths. Conservative
below. These choices of gas-hydrate and free-gas concentra- uncertainty estimates of 6150 m/s and 6200 m/s for VP and 1
tions give values for VP and VP in agreement with velocities
1 2
VP are used here as uniform prior bounds with respect to true
2
from NMO analysis in northern Cascadia (Yuan et al., 1996). model values. The wider bounds for VP reflect the greater un-2
Synthetic AVO data are generated from the true model certainty in NMO velocities in the free-gas zone beneath the
parameters using the Zoeppritz equations (equation 1) with BSR.
data noise level and angular range that emulate typical AVO Application of the Bayesian inversion scheme to the
data (Figure 3). An angular range of 0º–80º is used, and ran- synthetic AVO data using the prior constraints described
dom independent Gaussian-distributed errors of standard previously gave the MPDs and selected joint MPDs shown
deviation 0.01 are included. These data represent the case in Figures 4 and 5, respectively. Note from Figure 4 that VP 1
VP > VP , giving negative reflection coefficients and no criti-
1 2
and VP are essentially unconstrained by the data because
2
cal angle. Using the Bayesian approach, the synthetic AVO these distributions are approximately flat within the prior
data are inverted to determine uncertainties in physical pa- bounds. This suggests that for determining P-wave veloci-
rameters and in gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations. ties, AVO is no more informative than NMO velocity anal-
ysis. The MPDs of r1 and r2 are also approximately flat
Inversion with prior information within the prior bounds, indicating that the AVO data are
not providing new information on these parameters either.
As discussed in the Bayesian inversion theory section, As previously discussed, AVO methods have the potential
prior information about model parameters can be used in to provide information on sediment shear-wave velocity
the inversion to constrain the solution. These prior con- (or Poisson’s ratio) that is otherwise unresolved by NMO
straints are usually in the form of parameter bounds or analysis or vertical incidence reflection coefficients. In this
specified parameter interrelationships. To obtain a final so- case though, the MPDs of VS and VS are not usefully con-
1 2
lution that is maximally constrained, the prior constraints strained by the data (Figure 4).
Table 2. True model physical parameters and prior bounds for the 15% gas hydrate/1% free-gas model.
Parameter VP (m/s)
1
VS (m/s)
1
r1 (kg/m3) VP (m/s)
2
VS (m/s) 2
r2 (kg/m3)
True value 1768 421 1800 1481 350 1850
Bounds 1768 6150 10 21000 1800 6100 1481 6200 10 21000 1850 6 100
Other VS [m/s] 5 (0.4004 VP – 291.9) 6 200; r1 # r2
1 1
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 80 9/15/10 6:54:55 PM

In this synthetic case, the interpretation of 1D MPDs

shows that BSR–AVO analysis provides little or no new
information on individual model parameters. However, the
goal of the analysis is to constrain gas-hydrate and free-gas
concentrations, which could potentially be achieved by ex-
amining relationships between model parameters. These in-
terrelations are explored by examining 2D MPDs of model
parameters (Figure 5). The most strongly correlated param-
eters are VP and VP , followed by VS and VS . The correlation
1 2 1 2
between P-wave velocities is a result of the data accurately

resolving the P-wave impedance contrast. P-wave veloci- Figure 4. Marginal probability distributions of model
ties (and densities) across the boundary must vary in a spe- parameters for the synthetic BSR–AVO case, normalized
cific way to fit the AVO data. A similar argument holds for so that the area of each distribution is unity. Dashed lines
indicate the true parameter values, and the dotted lines show
the prior bounds used in the inversion.
Figure 5. Joint marginal probability distributions of selected parameters from the synthetic BSR–AVO case. The colorbar scale
is normalized probability (P), and the cross indicates the true parameter values. (a) VP versus VP , (b) VS versus VS , (c) VS versus
2 1 2 1 1
VP , and (d) VS versus VP .

1 2 2
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 81 9/15/10 6:54:55 PM

the lower and upper media, and VP, VS, or r without a sub-
script indicates the mean value of the two media. For the
purposes of this paper, these new parameters are referred
to as parameter combinations, and DVP /VP, and DVS /VS
are referred to as P- and S-wave reflectivity. This param-
eterization is useful for AVO analysis because it highlights
relationships between the original parameters that are typi-
cally well resolved by reflection seismic data (i.e., seismic
reflections provide more information about the change in
physical parameters across the interface than about the pa-
rameters themselves). Also these three parameter combi-
nations highlight the strongest correlations observed in the
2D MPDs of the original parameters (Figure 5).
The inversion results are given in Figure 6 as (repa-
rameterized) MPDs of DVP/VP, DVS /VS, and 1 VS /VP 2 2. The
S-wave reflectivity is less well resolved than the P-wave
reflectivity, and 1 VS /VP 2 2 is poorly resolved. This again
confirms that the data provide more information about P-
wave velocity contrasts than S-wave velocity contrasts and
almost no information about the relation between S- and
P-wave velocities. The results clearly show the inability
of the data to provide information about the VP–VS rela-
tionship in each medium (Figures 5 and 6). This greatly
limits the ability of AVO to independently constrain gas-
hydrate and free-gas concentrations. The best resolved pa-
rameter (P-wave reflectivity) depends on VP and VP , so its
Figure 6. Marginal probability distributions of (a) P-wave 1 2
value does not depend uniquely on gas-hydrate or free-gas
reflectivity, (b) S-wave reflectivity, and (c) (VS /VP)2, from the concentration.
synthetic BSR–AVO case. Distributions are normalized so Of the individual MPDs obtained in the inversion,
that the area of each is unity, and dashed lines indicate the S- and P-wave reflectivity are the best-constrained pa-
true parameter values.
rameters and should therefore provide the most informa-
tion on gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations. A joint
MPD of these parameters is shown in Figure 7 as a con-
the correlation between VS and VS . In contrast, the VP –VS
1 2 1 1
tour plot with individual contours indicating different cred-
and VP –VS relations are not well constrained. This dem-
2 2
ibility levels. The MPD is overlain with a grid indicating
onstrates that the data provide more information about P- S- and P-wave reflectivity values for various gas-hydrate
wave velocity contrasts than S-wave velocity contrasts and and free-gas concentrations. The grid values are calculated
almost no information about the relation between S- and from the gas-hydrate in-frame rock physics model (Hel-
P-wave velocities. gerud, 2001) by forward modeling. Parameters VP , VS , VP ,
1 1 2
2
and VS are calculated for different gas-hydrate and free-
Result reparameterization gas concentrations and are then used to compute P- and S-
reflectivity. The grid translates inversion results, given in
The observed parameter interrelations in Fig- terms of physical parameters, into gas-hydrate and free-gas
ure 5 can potentially help constrain gas-hydrate and concentrations, via rock physics modeling. The intersection
free-gas concentrations if the inversion results are of the grid with a given credibility level contour of the MPD
reparameterized into new variables that highlight these cor- provides a quantitative range of gas hydrate/free-gas con-
relations. The use of reparameterizations recognizes that centration scenarios that are consistent with the synthetic
the goal of the analysis is not to determine individual model AVO data and prior information. For example, both a 0%
parameters but rather to estimate gas-hydrate and free-gas gas-hydrate/3% free-gas scenario and a 25% gas-
concentrations. Chen et al. (2007) reparameterized their hydrate/0% free-gas scenario satisfy the AVO data to a
inversion results in terms of (1) the fractional change in P- 90% credibility level. The poor S-wave reflectivity resolu-
wave velocity DVP /VP,Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
(2) the fractional change in S-wave tion does not allow high gas-hydrate/low free-gas concen-
velocity DVS /VS, and (3) the squared S- to P-wave velocity tration scenarios to be distinguished from low gas-hydrate/
ratio 1 VS /VP 2 2, where Δ represents the difference between high free-gas concentration scenarios.
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 82 9/15/10 6:55:08 PM

Figure 8. BSR–AVO data from MCS line 89-08, CDPs

3123–1326, near IODP site U1327, shown as reflection
coefficients R as a function of incidence angle u. Reflection
coefficients are derived from true-amplitude processed
data, and angles are BSR incidence angles obtained from
ray tracing. Estimated one-standard-deviation error bars are
shown, and the solid line is the predicted AVO for maximum-
likelihood model parameter estimates.
Figure 7. Joint marginal probability distribution of results (Figure 9) are slightly less well constrained than for
S- versus P-wave reflectivity for the synthetic BSR–AVO
the synthetic case, which is explained by the narrower an-
case. The distribution is shown as a contour plot with the 90%
gular range in the measured data.
credibility contour shaded in. From outermost to innermost,
As in the synthetic case, the only parameters that are
the contours represent 99%, 90%, 75%, and 50% credibility
intervals. Contours are overlain with a grid showing where
not well constrained from prior information are VS and 1
models with varying gas-hydrate/free-gas concentration 2

VS , but individual parameter MPDs (Figure 9a) show that
scenarios lie in S- versus P-wave reflectivity space. True the data do not usefully constrain them. Even though the
model parameter values are indicated by the white cross. Grid MPD of VS peaks at 385 m/s (10% gas-hydrate concentra-
1
nodes falling within the shaded contour represent gas-hydrate/ tion based on the rock physics model), the 90% credibility
free-gas concentration scenarios that could have produced interval for VS calculated from the MPD is 300–520 m/s
1
these AVO data at a 90% credibility level. (0%–30% gas-hydrate concentration). The limited S-wave
velocity information is also apparent in the joint MPD of
S- versus P-wave reflectivity (Figure 9b) in which the
S-wave reflectivity is particularly poorly constrained.
Inversion of a northern Cascadia The intersection of the joint MPD of S- versus P-wave re-
gas-hydrate BSR flectivity with the grid of gas-hydrate and free-gas con-
centrations provides a quantitative estimate of the range
Following their synthetic study, Chen et al. (2007) ap- of scenarios that satisfy the AVO data. The contour plot
plied the Bayesian inversion scheme to BSR–AVO data from indicates that at a 90% credibility level, gas-hydrate and
northern Cascadia, offshore Vancouver Island. The AVO data free-gas concentrations immediately above and below the
used in the inversion are shown in Figure 8. The processing BSR are only constrained to be 0%–23% and 0%–2%, re-
applied to their data approximately follows the Data process- spectively. The measured negative reflection coefficients
ing considerations section in this paper. For a more detailed of course require that there be either some amount of gas
account, please refer to their paper. hydrate or free gas.
To invert the processed AVO data, all the prior infor- To understand why AVO does not provide adequate
mation used in the synthetic case is applied. Constraints on constraints on gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations,
the density and the VP –VS relationship are used, and uni-
1
Chen et al. (2007) examine in more detail the relation-
1
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject toships between
SEG license P-Terms
or copyright; andofS-wave reflectivity and gas-hydrate
form prior bounds for VP and VP are chosen based on NMO
1 2
velocities for the upper and lower medium, estimated at and free-gas concentrations. Figure 9b shows that the
1795 6150 m/s and 1494 6200 m/s, respectively. Inversion P-wave reflectivity is well constrained by the inversion
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 83 9/15/10 6:55:12 PM

Figure 9. MPDs of inverted AVO data. (a) MPDs of

individual parameters with dotted lines indicating the prior
bounds used in the inversion. (b) Joint MPD of S- versus
P-wave reflectivity shown as a contour plot with the 90%
credibility contour shaded in. From outermost to innermost,
the contours represent 99%, 90%, 75%, and 50% credibility
intervals. Contours are overlain with a grid showing where
models with varying gas-hydrate/free-gas concentration
scenarios lie in S- versus P-wave reflectivity space. Grid
nodes falling within the shaded contour represent gas-
hydrate/free-gas concentration scenarios that could have
produced these AVO data at a 90% credibility level.
(between 20.09 and 20.05 at a 90% credibility level). good S-wave reflectivity resolution would provide valu-
However, even if it were perfectly constrained, P-wave able constraints on gas-hydrate concentration. However,
reflectivity would not provide a unique solution for gas- Figure 9b clearly shows that the AVO data do not provide
hydrate or free-gas concentration. For example, for P- nearly enough S-wave reflectivity resolution to constrain
wave reflectivity of 20.10, the gas-hydrate concentration gas-hydrate concentration. Because the data do not usefully
can range from 0% to 25% and free-gas concentration constrain S-wave velocity or S-wave reflectivity, the analy-
from 0% to 3%. This is because the P-wave reflectivity is sis shows that the AVO method applied to BSRs in marine
a measure of change in P-wave velocity across the BSR, gas-hydrate studies provides no additional information to
which can be caused by gas hydrate above, free gas be- the analysis of near offset reflection coefficients or NMO
low, or (most likely) some combination of the two (note velocity analysis in determining gas-hydrate and free-gas
that the 0% free-gas case can be excluded if VSP, sonic concentrations.
log, or NMO velocities shows clear P-wave velocity re-
duction relative to the no-gas reference velocity below the
BSR). Furthermore, the constraints on P-wave reflectivity Permafrost Gas Hydrate:
obtained from the AVO inversion could have simply been
determined from the near offset reflection coefficients, Bayesian AVO Inversion
without the use of AVO. For Sediments At The Mallik
Because the S-wave velocity in the lower medium does Well Site — A Synthetic Study
not change significantly with varying free-gas concentration,
the S-wave reflectivity is insensitive to free-gas occurrence. Seismic data appropriate for gas-hydrate-related AVO
The grid in Figure 9b shows that if the free-gas concentration analysis are difficult to acquire in permafrost environments
is varied while holding gas-hydrate concentration is fixed, caused by the complicated nature of the velocity field
S-wave reflectivity remains constant. A unique depen- within the permafrost section. Several surveys to acquire
dence of S-wave reflectivity on gas-hydrate concentration seismic data near the Mallik well site at the Mackenzie
is therefore implied by the rock physics model (at fixed po- Delta, Richards Island, NWT, to image the gas-hydrate res-
rosity and mineralogy). The grid in Figure 9b shows that ervoir were conducted, but did not yield high-quality data
an increase in gas-hydrate concentration
Downloaded of 5% will
25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. cause subjectuseful
Redistribution for AVO
to SEG license analyses
or copyright; (e.g.,
Terms of Use: Miller et al., 2005; Schmitt
http://segdl.org/
a decrease in S-wave reflectivity of ~0.03, illustrating that et al., 2005; Riedel et al., 2006a).
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 84 9/15/10 6:55:20 PM

However, high-quality downhole logging from the

Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Pro-
gram (Dallimore and Collett, 2005) does provide the nec-
essary information to model AVO for gas hydrate in the
permafrost setting (e.g., Xu and Chopra, 2003). The new
synthetic study presented in this section is undertaken to
determine if AVO would be a useful tool to investigate gas-
hydrate occurrences in the permafrost setting using the
same Bayesian inversion approach as used for the marine
BSR case described previously.
Model design
In the permafrost environment, gas hydrate is generally
concentrated in coarser-grained, sand, or gravel horizons.
Downhole logging from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Pro-
duction Research Well Program indicate three distinct types
of sharp boundaries related to gas-hydrate occurrence that
are potential candidates for AVO analysis (e.g., Brent et al., Figure 10. Downhole P- and S-wave velocities from the
2005; Bellefleur et al., 2006): (1) shale over gas-hydrate Mallik 5L-38 well as a function of gas-hydrate saturation
sand, (2) gas-hydrate sand over shale, and (3) gas-hydrate as calculated from the resistivity (Archie) analysis. The
sand over fully water-saturated sand (at the base of the gas- solid lines are polynomial fits to the data and are used in the
hydrate stability zone). These three types of boundaries of- modeling to relate gas-hydrate concentration to formation
ten correspond to changes in physical properties that are P- and S-wave velocity.
strong enough to be observed seismically (Bellefleur et al.,
2006; Riedel et al., 2006a). Table 3. True model physical parameters for the different
To build a synthetic model for these three cases, elastic formations used in the permafrost gas-hydrate models.
parameters (P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity, and density)
of various media (shale and sand with 0%, 20%, 40%, and Formation VP (m/s) VS (m/s) r (kg/m3)
80% gas-hydrate saturation) are estimated from the down- Shale 2240 860 2160
hole logging data. The relation between gas-hydrate satura- Sand – 0% Gas
tion and velocity is obtained by cross-plotting P- (and S-) Hydrate 2150 930 2110
wave log velocities with estimates of gas-hydrate saturation
Sand – 20% Gas
taken from the resistivity analysis (Figure 10). Because ve-
Hydrate 2330 990 2130
locities are also dependent on porosity, only measurements
corresponding to porosities between 28% and 38% are Sand – 40% Gas
used. Second order polynomials are then fit to the velocity Hydrate 2570 1110 2130
versus hydrate saturation data. These are used to determine Sand – 80% Gas
P- and S-wave velocities for the different gas-hydrate satu- Hydrate 3260 1570 2070
rations used in the model (Table 3). Densities are estimated
using the same technique. Gaussian noise of standard deviation 0.02 is also added to
the data. The synthetic data for each different gas-hydrate
Synthetic models saturation case are then inverted (Bayesian inversion) to
estimate the elastic parameters of both media. The prior
The AVO response of all interfaces (shale over gas- information used includes constraints from the downhole
hydrate sand, gas-hydrate sand over shale, gas-hydrate logging on all the parameters of the shale and on the den-
sand over water-saturated sand) are modeled by generat- sity in the gas-hydrate sand (summarized in Table 4). The
ing synthetic AVO data using the Zoeppritz equations for assumptions here are that the properties of the shale unit
cases with 0%, 20%, 40%, and 80% gas hydrate in the sand are to first order, laterally invariant, and that the density
unit. The data are comprised of reflection coefficients as is relatively insensitive to gas-hydrate concentrations. In-
a function of incidence angle taken every 2° from normal
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject toversion
SEG licenseresults are
or copyright; shown
Terms as selected 1D and 2D MPDs of
of Use: http://segdl.org/
incidence up to the critical angle (or a maximum of 80°). P- and S-wave velocities.
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 85 9/15/10 6:55:23 PM

Shale over gas-hydrate sand model The inversion results are shown in Figure 12 as selected
1D and 2D MPDs of P- and S-wave velocities for the
The synthetic AVO data generated with the Zoeppritz four different gas-hydrate concentration scenarios in the
equation for this model are shown in Figure 11a. With sand layer.
increasing gas-hydrate concentration in the sand layer,
the reflection coefficient is gradually increased, and the
Gas-hydrate sand over shale model
critical angle reduced. Note that for 0% gas-hydrate con-
centration, the shale-hydrate sand reflection would be The synthetic AVO data generated with the Zoeppritz
classified as a class-3 reflection with negative intercept equation for this model are shown in Figure 11b. Except
(vertical incidence reflection coefficient) and increasing for the gas-hydrate free case (0%) there is no critical angle
amplitudes with increase in offset, using standard cross- in the AVO function. Reflection coefficients are gradually
plotting terminology (Castagna and Swan, 1997). Over- increased (negative amplitude) with increasing gas-hydrate
all, the reflection of such an interface for gas-hydrate concentrations. If gas-hydrate concentrations approach
concentrations below 40% in the sand would be barely high saturation (above 40%), the AVO function shows a
visible in reflection seismograms as the reflection coeffi- characteristic trend to smaller reflection coefficient for a
cient remains near zero for angles of incidence up to 40°. mid-range in angle of incidence (20°–50°), characteristic
Table 4. Prior bounds used for parameters in the three permafrost gas-hydrate AVO models.
Formation VP (m/s) VS (m/s) r (kg/m3)
Model 1 Shale 2100–2400 700–1000 2050–2250

Sand – in gas-hydrate zone 1000–5000 300–3000 2000–2200
Model 2 Sand – in gas-hydrate zone 1000–5000 300–3000 2000–2200
Shale 2100–2400 700–1000 2050–2250
Model 3 Sand – in gas-hydrate zone 1000–5000 300–3000 2000–2200
Sand – water saturated 2000–2300 800–1100 2000–2200
Figure 11. Synthetic AVO

data for (a) model 1 (shale
over sand in the gas-hydrate
zone), (b) model 2 (sand
in the gas-hydrate zone
over shale), and (c) model
3 (sand in the gas-hydrate
zone over wet sand below
gas-hydrate zone), for cases
with 0%, 20%, 40%, and
80% gas hydrate, shown in
blue, green, red, and black,
respectively. The data have
random Gaussian errors of
standard deviation 0.02,
indicated by the error bars,
and the error-free AVO curve
is also shown.
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 86 9/15/10 6:55:25 PM

Figure 11.
(continued)
for high S-wave velocities in the gas-hydrate-bearing sand. A general result of this synthetic modeling is that the
The inversion results for this model are shown in Figure 13 already small reflection coefficient between shale and
as selected 1D and 2D MPDs of P- and S-wave velocities sand (gas-hydrate free) is even further reduced by small
for the four different gas-hydrate concentration scenarios amounts of gas hydrate (up to 20%), which could explain
in the sand layer. widespread seismic blanking or difficulties in mapping the
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 87 9/15/10 6:55:30 PM

Figure 12. 1D and 2D

marginal probability
distributions of selected
physical parameters from
model 1 for (a) 0%,
(b) 20%, (c) 40%, and
(d) 80% gas-hydrate cases.
In the 1D distributions, the
probability is normalized
so that the area of each
distribution is unity, and
the dashed lines indicate
the true parameter values.
In the 2D distributions,
the colorbar scale is
normalized probability (P),
and the crosses indicate
true parameter values. The
dashed and solid lines are
the expected trends for non-
gas-hydrate-bearing and gas-
hydrate-bearing sediments,
respectively, according to
Lee and Collett (2005).
top of gas hydrate at Mallik, where relatively low gas-hy- additional change in lithology and associated change in
drate concentrations were found from logging (Dallimore physical properties. The synthetic AVO data for this sand-
and Collett, 2005). sand model are shown in Figure 11c. Technically, the AVO
function for 0% gas-hydrate concentration should be zero
Gas-hydrate sand over for all angles of incidence, except for the superimposed
water-saturated sand noise, and thus an inversion of such data is meaningless
and inversion results shown in Figure 14a only represent
This type of reflection can be found at the base of the the noise level chosen. The trend in reflection coefficient
gas-hydrate stability field. At the Mallik 5L-38 well, the with increasing gas-hydrate concentration in the sand-sand
boundary between gas hydrate-bearing and water-saturated case is similar to that observed for the sand-over-shale: in-
sand is at 1107 m (Dallimore
Downloadedand
25 JunCollett, 2005). Redistribution
2012 to 95.28.162.50. It forms subjectcrease
in overall reflection strength and an additional dip
an interesting case as the seismic reflection is entirely the for angles of incidence between 20° and 50° caused by
result of a change in pore fluid, not superimposed by an high S-wave velocities.
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 88 9/15/10 6:55:41 PM


model 2 for (a) 0%, (b) 20%,
(c) 40%, and (d) 80% gas-
hydrate cases. In the 1D
distributions, the probability
is normalized so that the area
of each distribution is unity,
and the dashed lines indicate
colorbar scale is normalized
probability (P), and the crosses
indicate true parameter values.
The dashed and solid lines
are the expected trends for
non-gas-hydrate-bearing and
gas-hydrate-bearing sediments,
respectively, according to Lee
and Collett (2005).
Interpretation Effect of the gas-hydrate

concentration
Effect of the type of gas-hydrate
boundary The MPDs obtained from the three permafrost gas-
hydrate models generally indicate that for concentrations
The MPDs obtained from the three permafrost gas-hy- below ~40%, the P-wave velocity provides more infor-
drate models are generally similar, indicating that the type mation about gas-hydrate saturation than the S-wave ve-
of gas-hydrate-related reflection does not significantly af- locity. For such concentrations, the use of AVO does not
fect the level of constraint provided by AVO compared with add information to what can be determined from NMO
the gas-hydrate concentration itself. However, the sharpest velocity analyses and vertical incidence reflection coeffi-
boundaries observed in logs and the strongest reflections cients. However, at concentrations over ~40%, MPDs of
observed in seismic Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
correspond most often to the base of S-wave velocity are better constrained than P-wave veloc-
a gas-hydrate unit, so these types of boundaries are most ity MPDs, indicating that AVO does add constraining in-
likely to produce the highest quality AVO data. formation that would otherwise be unresolved. The exact
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 89 9/15/10 6:56:14 PM


model 3 for (a) 0%,
(b) 20%, (c) 40%, and
(d) 80% gas-hydrate cases.
probability is normalized
so that the area of each
distribution is unity, and
the dashed lines indicate
In the 2D distributions,
the colorbar scale is
normalized probability (P),
and the crosses indicate
true parameter values. The
dashed and solid lines are
the expected trends for
non-gas-hydrate-bearing
and gas-hydrate-bearing
sediments, respectively,
according to Lee and
Collett (2005).
threshold concentration at which AVO starts to provide Summary

new information will depend on the angular range and
noise level of the field data. This paper examined the applicability of AVO in es-
The 2D MPDs show S- versus P-wave velocity for the timating gas-hydrate concentrations from gas-hydrate-
different gas-hydrate concentrations. In those distributions, related seismic reflections. A comparison of published
the solid and dashed lines indicate where shale and gas-hy- results from various studies suggests that using a Bayes-
drate-bearing and gas-hydrate-free sediments are expected ian inversion approach is preferable to forward modeling
to occur, according to the Mallik downhole log analysis of schemes because the former allows for the consideration
Lee and Collett (2005). It appears that gas-hydrate occur- of uncertainties related to both data error and solution
rence does not affect the VP –VS relation enough to resolve nonuniqueness.
Inlicense
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG
the concentration and that simply interpreting 1D MPDs the ormarine setting,
copyright; Terms of Use:gas-hydrate
http://segdl.org/ AVO studies have
of P- or S-wave velocity should lead to better constrained focused on characterizing the nature of BSRs. Useful con-
estimates. straints on gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations at the
02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 90 9/15/10 6:56:40 PM

BSR interface do not require all parameters be individually (3) because in the permafrost setting, gas-hydrate-related
constrained; information about inter-parameter relationships reflections are not typically influenced by free-gas occur-
can be diagnostic. The inversion shows that P-wave reflec- rence, so only the gas-hydrate concentration is sought, and
tivity is the best resolved parameter, followed by S-wave the problem has fewer degrees of freedom than in the ma-
reflectivity with little information about the VP–VS relation- rine BSR case in which both gas-hydrate and free-gas con-
ship. From a physical point of view, parameters such as P- centrations are unknown.
and S-wave reflectivity (which depend on properties of both
media) are best resolved because of the nature of the data:
measured seismic reflections occur because of changes in Acknowledgments
physical properties across an impedance boundary. The lack
of information content of the data with respect to the VP –VS This is ESS contribution number 20090398.
relationship in either medium greatly limits independent de-
termination of gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations.
Inversion of AVO data from offshore Vancouver Island, References
Canada, is interpreted by Chen et al. (2007) as a joint MPD Aki, K., and P. G. Richards, 1980, Quantitative seismol-
of P- and S-wave reflectivity, overlain with a grid of P- and ogy: W. H. Freeman and Co.
S-wave reflectivity values for different gas hydrate/free-gas Andreassen, K., P. Hart, and A. Grantz, 1995, Seismic
concentration scenarios, determined from a rock physics studies of a bottom simulating reflection related to
model. This approach provides a means to interpret param- gas hydrate beneath the continental margin of the
eter MPDs in terms of gas-hydrate and free-gas concentra- Beaufort Sea: Journal of Geophysical Research, 100,
tion estimates. At a 90% credibility level, gas-hydrate and 12659–12673.
free-gas concentrations at the study location are poorly con- Andreassen, K., P. E. Hart, and M. MacKay, 1997, Am-
strained, that is, 0%–23% and 0%–2% immediately above plitude versus offset modeling of the bottom simulat-
and below the BSR. The lack of success of AVO in several ing reflection associated with submarine gas hydrates:
marine gas-hydrate BSR studies can be attributed to the Marine Geology, 137, 25–40.
fact that the BSR represents only a relatively small contrast Bellefleur, G., M. Riedel, and T. Brent, 2006, Seismic
in physical properties and that BSRs studied in this paper characterization and continuity analysis of gas-hydrate
occur in unconsolidated sediments of ~50% porosity with horizons near Mallik research wells, Mackenzie Delta,
low S-wave velocities. Fundamentally, AVO is an indirect Canada: The Leading Edge, 25, 599–604.
method of obtaining S-wave information, which is not sen- Biot, M. A., 1956, Theory of propagation of elastic waves
sitive enough to be useful in unconsolidated sediments. in a fluid-saturated porous solid: Journal of the Acous-
This paper further tested AVO inversion of synthetic tical Society of America, 28, 168–191.
data generated from various models emulating gas-hy- Brent, T. A., M. Riedel, M. Caddel, M. Clement, T. S. Col-
drate-related reflections in the permafrost setting. The lett, and S. R. Dallimore, 2005, Initial geophysical
results show that AVO can potentially provide additional and geological assessment of an industry 3-D seismic
constraint (not available from NMO velocity analysis or survey covering the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC et al. Mallik
vertical incidence reflection coefficients) if the gas-hydrate 5L-38 gas hydrate production research well, in S. R.
concentration is greater than ~40% of the pore space. Dallimore and T. S. Collett, eds., Scientific results from
the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research
Well Program, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories,
Conclusion Canada: Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 585.
Carcione, J. M., and U. Tinivella, 2000, Bottom-simulating
The success of AVO in gas-hydrate studies largely reflectors: Seismic velocities and AVO effects: Geo-
depends on the properties of the sediment sections. The physics, 65, 54–67.
improvement in resolution for the permafrost gas-hydrate Castagna, J. P., M. L. Batzle, and R. L. Eastwood, 1985,
models over the marine gas-hydrate study is attributed to Relationships between compressional-wave and shear-
the fact that in the permafrost setting (1) the formations wave velocities in clastic silicate rocks: Geophysics,
are consolidated sediments with greater P- and S-wave 50, 571–581.
velocities, allowing the relationship between VP and VS to Castagna, J. P., and H. W. Swan, 1997, Principles of AVO
be further constrained; (2) the high gas-hydrate concen- crossplotting: The Leading Edge, 16, 337–344.
trations (greater than ~40%) observed in sandy intervals Chen, M. P., M. Riedel, R. D. Hyndman, and S. E. Dosso,
cause contrasts in physical properties at sand-shale bound- 2007, AVO inversion of BSRs in marine gas hy-
aries to be greater, leading to a more diagnostic AVO curve drate studies: Geophysics, 72, no. 2, C31–C43, doi:
and more resolvable P- and S-wave velocity contrasts; and 10.1190/1.2435604.
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02181_SEG_GH_C05.indd 94 9/15/10 6:57:05 PM

Chapter 6
Analysis of Gas-hydrate Provinces by Ocean-bottom

Seismic Methods
T. A. Minshull1, K. E. Louden2, and S. M. Dean1
Abstract this effect depends strongly on the nature of the physical

interactions between particles of hydrate and surrounding
The presence of gas hydrate in marine sediments re- sediment grains. Theoretical analyses using a range of ef-
sults in a significant change in their elastic properties. fective medium approaches and assumptions about sedi-
Hence, in principle, gas-hydrate reserves may be located ment and hydrate microstructure have shown that the effect
and measured using seismic data. Ocean-bottom seis- can be complex and varied (e.g., Helgerud et al., 1999;
mic methods allow the seismic wavefield, including both Chand et al., 2004). As well as affecting the traveltimes of
P waves and mode-converted S waves, to be recorded over seismic waves through its effect on velocity, the presence
extended source-receiver offsets. Modern experiments on of hydrate may also affect their amplitude through its influ-
hydrate provinces typically involve sampling a hydrophone ence on the attenuation properties of hydrate-bearing sedi-
and three geophone channels at a frequency of 1 kHz or ments (e.g., Chand and Minshull, 2004). It is evident from
more and a spatial sample interval of hundreds of meters or the above considerations that seismic data from hydrate
less. Methods of analysis of the resulting data range from provinces contain information regarding the presence and
traveltime modeling and inversion to waveform modeling, distribution of hydrate within the sediment. This chapter
waveform inversion, and wide-angle migration. Often there describes methods to extract that information from ocean-
is a focus on determining S-wave as well as P-wave veloci- bottom seismic data.
ties. Such analyses provide stronger constraints on subsur-
face elastic properties, and hence hydrate content than is
typically available from seismic data acquired at the sea
Ocean-bottom Seismic Methods
surface. Seismic velocities may be determined in situ for ma-
rine sediments by three principal methods: (1) from bore-
hole seismic data; (2) from normal moveout, migration
Introduction velocity analysis, or waveform inversion of multichannel
seismic reflection data; and (3) from seafloor seismic data.
Elastic Properties of Hydrate-bearing Borehole seismic experiments give the most accurate and
Sediments highest resolution measurements of seismic velocity but
Pure gas hydrate has a P-wave seismic velocity of obviously are restricted to sampling a small region around
3.65 km/s and an S-wave velocity of 1.89 km/s (Waite et a borehole. Multichannel seismic reflection data, particu-
al., 2000). Saline pore fluid typically has a P-wave veloc- larly if acquired with a long streamer to obtain large angles
ity of 1.5 km/s and an S-wave velocity of zero. Therefore, of incidence, can be used to obtain very detailed informa-
we may expect the presence of hydrates replacing saline tion about velocity variation both in the vertical direction
water in the pore space of sedimentary rocks to have a sig- (e.g., Singh et al., 1993) and in the horizontal direction
nificant effect on their elastic properties. The magnitude of (e.g., Yuan et al., 1999). However, acquisition of data with
very long streamers (>6 km) is expensive and logistically
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject tocomplex,
SEG license orand shorter
copyright; streamers
Terms of do not sample large enough
1
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, U. K. angles of incidence to constrain reliably long-wavelength
2
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada vertical variations in velocity. Thus, analysis of spatially
95
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 95 9/9/10 4:56:45 AM

adjacent data sets by different methods can give quite dif- contain significant S-wave energy from the hydrate stabil-
ferent results (e.g., Singh et al., 1993; Yuan et al., 1999). ity zone because such signals must undergo a double mode
In addition, seismic reflection studies of hydrate provinces conversion, from P to S and back to P again, and only a
typically involve the acquisition of large numbers of rela- small proportion of incident energy undergoes such con-
tively short profiles in a small region, and the use of long version at a typical sedimentary interface. However, geo-
streamers for such acquisition is highly inefficient due to phones deployed on the seafloor, particularly horizontal
the time lost in turns. Therefore, ocean-bottom seismic geophones, can record a rich variety of signals that have
methods, in which angles of incidence up to and beyond passed through the hydrate stability field as S waves (Fig-
the critical angle are readily sampled, are best suited to the ure 2). Therefore, ocean-bottom seismic methods have sev-
determination of elastic properties within hydrate-bearing eral advantages in gas hydrate exploration.
regions. Such methods are normally carried out in conjunc-
tion with seismic reflection methods providing powerful
tools for observing and characterizing subseafloor hydrate
occurrences.
Experiment Design
Within the hydrate stability zone, commonly extending OBS Versus OBC
a few hundred meters below the seafloor, P-wave velocity
gradients are typically rather high with velocities increas- Many gas-hydrate provinces lie in water depths of less
ing from close to 1.5 km/s at the seabed to ~1.8–1.9 km/s at than 2 km, and hence within reach of ocean-bottom cable
the base of the stability zone (the bottom simulating reflec- (OBC) technology. With their dense spatial sampling of
tor [BSR]) with a gradient exceeding 0.1/s. The result of hydrophone and three orthogonal geophone components,
such gradients is that, following Snell’s law, seismic energy four-component OBC data offer the potential for advanced
turns sharply within this region. Hence, even at relatively processing and analysis including, for example, shear wave
short source-receiver ranges, seafloor seismic data contain imaging (e.g., Andreassen et al., 2003; Bünz and Mienert,
both refracted and reflected signals (Figure 1). Analysis of 2004). However, such data are normally limited to short
multichannel seismic data typically is limited to analysis of single profiles, and there are very few published OBC data
reflected arrivals. Analysis of seismic data from the ocean from hydrate provinces. The majority of ocean-bottom
floor can, however, take advantage of both types of signals, seismic surveys of hydrate provinces have instead used au-
and the turning energy contains valuable information re- tonomously recording ocean-bottom hydrophones (OBH)
garding long-wavelength vertical variations in velocity for or seismometers (OBS) (e.g., Katzman et al., 1994; Hobro
the region they sample. Hydrophone streamer data rarely et al., 2005; LeBlanc et al., 2007).
Sources and Receivers

Early ocean-bottom seismic stud-
ies of hydrate provinces used single-
component OBHs that were widely
spaced (a few kilometers apart) and rel-
atively low-frequency (<100 Hz), single
air-gun sources (e.g., Katzman et al.,
1994; Spence et al., 1995). The hydro-
phones (pressure sensors) are designed
for use in deep water and have a flat
response from DC to several kilohertz.
Typically, such data allow reliable trav-
eltime picking of only two phases: the
direct arrival and the BSR. Signals from
intermediate reflectors are obscured by
Figure 1. Example record sections from OBHs deployed in hydrate provinces. the long source wavelet, and resolu-
Left panel shows data acquired offshore western Canada (Hobro et al., 2005). The tion and signal penetration beneath the
source was a single 120 in3 (1.97 l) air gun, and the sample rate was 256 Hz. BSR are poor (Figure 1a). Such OBH
For display, data are time-shifted so that the direct arrival time is constant. surveys have the advantage of larger
Refracted arrivals emerge before the direct arrival, but few clear reflected arrivals source-receiver offsets, and hence an-
may be distinguished in these low-frequency data. Right panel shows data acquired gles of incidence, than surface seismic
recently off eastern Canada. Here, the source was two 210 in3 (3.45 l) GI guns, and surveys, but they do not make full use
the sample rate was 558 Hz. of the seafloor receiver location.
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 96 9/9/10 4:56:45 AM

Chapter 6: Analysis of Gas-hydrate Provinces by Ocean-bottom Seismic Methods 97
Figure 2. Example record

section from an ocean-bottom
seismometer deployed off
eastern Canada. These data were
recorded at a site in Haddock
Channel (southwest slope
of Grand Banks off eastern
Canada) at a seafloor depth of
approximately 1800 m, where a
strong BSR is observed (Mosher
et al., 2005). Acquisition
parameters are the same as
for Figure 1b. The vertical
component (top right panel) has
been f-k filtered to attenuate
steeply dipping P-wave arrivals
and to enhance S-wave arrivals
(bottom left panel). The
horizontal components have
been combined to compute
ground velocity in the shot-
receiver plane (bottom right
panel).
More recent experiments

have used higher-frequency,
more impulsive sources, and
four-component receivers
sampling at frequencies of
1 kHz or more (e.g., West-
brook et al., 2005; Figures
1b and 2). These four com-
ponents comprise a hydro-
phone and three orthogonal
geophones that sense ground
velocity. Normally, one geo-
phone is close to vertical
and the other two lie close
to horizontal. The geophones
have flat responses from low
frequencies (typically 2 or
4.5 Hz) to high frequencies
of several hundred hertz.
Most recent instruments in-
clude the geophones in a
separate, smaller and low-
profile pressure case, which
is deployed onto the seafloor
away from the large instru-
mentation package. Typi-
cally, the source is one or more sleeve guns or generator/ Such sources give adequate signal penetration to reach
injector (GI) guns with a total volume ranging from 40 to typical BSR depths of 200–300 m below the seabed. Still
50 in3 (0.65–0.8l) to several hundred cube inches (several higher frequencies (250–1000 Hz) are available from deep-
liters) and significant energy above 100 Hz (Figure 3). towed, swept-frequency transducer sources, such as the
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 97 9/9/10 4:56:46 AM

be modified accordingly. If
only traveltime analysis is en-
visaged, a relatively wide shot
spacing of 25–50 m may be
adequate. However, to mini-
mize spatial aliasing and there-
fore maximize the potential for
using OBS data for imaging
and inversion, the shot spacing
ideally should be somewhat
smaller. For example, for a
shot spacing of 10 m and sig-
nals arriving with an apparent
velocity of 1500 m/s, such as
the seafloor reflection at long
ranges, frequencies above
75 Hz are spatially aliased. The
shot interval is constrained by
the speed of the vessel while
towing seismic equipment, the
required recording time (de-
pendent on water depth), and
the supply of compressed air,
and in practice, shot intervals
of much less than 10 m are
rarely realized although per-
haps desirable.
The steep velocity gradi-
ent within the hydrate stabil-
ity field means that the BSR
is sampled by OBS data only
within ~1 km or less of the
OBS location (Figure 4). For
good constraints on P-wave
Figure 3. Normalized amplitude spectrum for data in Figure 1a (upper panel) and Figure 1b velocity in which it varies
(lower panel). laterally (for example be-
cause of lateral variations in
hydrate saturation), crossing
U. S. Naval Laboratories DTAGS system (Wood et al., raypaths are required. Therefore, the spacing of OBSs on
2003). This system offers enhanced resolution of fine-struc- the seafloor should be much shorter than is traditional in
ture above the BSR (e.g., small-scale faults and fluid or larger-scale OBS experiments. The spacing should be nor-
gas channels) and improved velocity analysis from move- mally no more than 1 km and may need to be shorter still if
out of near-subbottom reflections and refractions along its the BSR is shallow. The S-wave velocity in the hydrate sta-
deep-towed array (Wood and Gettrust, 2001). Uses of this bility zone is typically very low — a few hundred meters
system with arrays of OBS for detailed imaging of hydrate per second or less. Therefore, S-waves formed by mode
structures have some potential, but they have yet to be conversion have near-vertical paths (Figure 4), and good
realized. sampling of lateral variations in S-wave velocity requires
even closer OBS spacing of typically less than a few hun-
dred meters.
Spatial Sampling In some areas such as regions of active fluid flow
through the seafloor, the hydrate content and hence seismic
The frequencies used in OBS surveys in hydrate prov- velocity could vary laterally on even shorter length scales
inces are significantly higher than those used in conven- (e.g., Riedel et al., 2006). In such cases, it may be desir-
tional OBS experiments, and the experiment design must able to reduce the distance between OBSs to 100 m or less.
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 98 9/9/10 4:56:48 AM

In this case, the conventional

OBS deployment method, in-
volving free fall from a sur-
face deployment position, is
not appropriate. In typical
water depths of 1–3 km and
in the presence of ocean cur-
rents, the seafloor position of
an OBS deployed in this way
may be hundreds of meters
from its deployment position.
Therefore, alternative meth-
ods are required that release
the OBS close to the seabed
using remotely operated ve-
hicles, for example.
Layout of Shooting
Tracks
The BSR depth below
the seabed is normally less
than 25% of the water depth;
thus, most of the seismic ray-
path is in the water column
rather than in the seafloor Figure 4. Plots of raypaths for selected phases from the
sediments. Signals that turn base of the hydrate stability zone (BHSZ) above the BSR,
within the hydrate stability based on traveltime fits to the data shown in Figure 2. The
zone or are reflected at large dark shaded zone indicates the region sampled by each phase:
angles of incidence must P = diving P-wave refraction, PP = reflection of P wave off
come from shots typically the BSR, PS = P-to-S conversion at the BSR. Dotted lines
at a source-receiver range of indicate velocity boundaries within the sediment, SF =
seafloor, and * = OBS location.
several kilometers (Figure 4).
Therefore, whereas OBS po-
sitions may be concentrated
in a very small region of seafloor, the shot pattern must properties of hydrate-bearing sediments but also may al-
be spread over a rather broader region. To obtain a well- low easier correlation of individual wide-angle reflections
constrained 3D tomographic velocity model, shots must in over long distances because the time separation between
addition be fired at a range of azimuths. Therefore, a typical reflectors varies little; and therefore, waveforms vary little
tomographic study will require a dense grid of lines in sev- (Figure 6).
eral different directions (Figure 5).
Valuable additional information for OBS studies
comes from measurements of normal incidence reflection Navigation
traveltime for key reflectors, so typically conventional re-
flection data are acquired simultaneously from a short (up A critical factor affecting the value of an OBS data set
to a few hundred meters) surface streamer. The acquisi- is the accuracy of shot and receiver positions. Differential
tion of such a data set requires a few days of surveying, global positioning system (DGPS) navigation typically al-
so that a full experiment, including OBS deployment and lows vessel positions to be determined with an accuracy of
recovery, can be carried out in a period of about a week. a few meters. Unless a DGPS receiver is installed close to
Although perhaps more challenging for vessel navigation the air guns themselves, significant additional uncertainty
systems, it may be useful to complement such a grid of in shot locations comes from unknown azimuth of the cable
lines with some circular survey tracks. Circular profiles towing the air gun or guns. The overall uncertainty in hori-
provide valuable information on the anisotropic elastic zontal coordinates may then reach 5–10 m. There is also an
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 99 9/9/10 4:56:49 AM

traveltimes. The high degree of redundancy in these data

means that the effects on calculated receiver positions of
uncertainties in individual shot locations or in the velocity
structure of the water column are small. A potential second
step is to use these traveltimes and the relocated receiver
positions to determine the location of each shot. Such a
step may result in significant improvements if the original
navigation data are poor (e.g., Hobro et al., 2005). How-
ever, shot relocation may be less successful if the water
column velocity structure is complex, poorly known, and/
or variable laterally or with time.
Coupling and Shear Waves

The main reason for using four-component receivers
is to be able to record both P and S waves. S waves are
produced by mode conversion of P waves (PS phase) at a
reflecting boundary. Analysis of shear velocity (VS) should
help to distinguish between models of how the hydrate af-
Figure 5. The layout of a typical tomographic survey fects the rigidity of the sediment matrix. For instance, a
involving OBSs. OBS instruments (circles) are spaced 400 m model in which hydrate forms only within the sediment
apart, and the shooting profiles (black lines) are nominally pore spaces would not affect the rigidity, thus producing
spaced at 200 m. The experiment is described in more detail little or no increase in VS with increasing hydrate concen-
by Westbrook et al. (2005). tration; whereas a model in which the hydrate adds to the
solid matrix would significantly increase the rigidity (and
VS) (e.g., Yun et al., 2005; Sava and Hardage, 2006). The
contrast in S-wave velocities at the BSR is a particularly
useful observation because if the contrast is small (e.g.,
Westbrook et al., 2005), any hydrate that is present can-
not be cementing significantly the sediment grains. Com-
parison of VS and VP can also help identify the presence
of free gas beneath the hydrate stability zone because gas
dissolved in the pores will reduce VP but not VS.
Because the PS phase returns to the seabed at close to
vertical angles, most of its particle motion is contained in
the horizontal (radial) direction between shot and receiver.
A major problem is then posed by poor coupling of the
geophones (and particularly their horizontal components)
to the low-rigidity sediment at the seabed (Duennebier
Figure 6. OBS record section from an unconventional shot and Sutton, 1995). Having a separately deployed, low-
geometry. Here, the shooting track is approximately circular, profile geophone package may help reduce cross coupling
but the OBS is offset slightly from the center of the circle. caused by rotational motion. However, even without rota-
tion, the horizontal components still have lower response
at frequencies higher than about 10–20 Hz (Osler and
Chapman, 1998) because of decoupling between the weak
uncertainty in the vertical coordinate due to ocean waves sediment layer and the overlying water. Coupling of the
and tides. This uncertainty is commonly ignored in large- vertical component is better, but higher frequencies can
scale, lower-frequency OBS studies but may be significant still be attenuated if the sediment has very low VS (Sutton
in high-resolution studies of hydrate provinces because and Duennebier, 1987). Improved fidelity of recording the
traveltime variations of up to a few milliseconds might be ground motion would require burying the geophone pack-
introduced. Receiver location uncertainties are typically age into the sediment; but in this case, release of the OBS
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectfrom
to SEG the
licenseseafloor is made
or copyright; Terms much more difficult without
significantly larger. However, in regions of smooth seafloor
topography, it is relatively straightforward to determine the costly use of a deep-sea ROV or the alternate use of a
accurate receiver positions from picks of direct wave seabed cable system. In the future, miniaturization of the
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 100 9/9/10 4:56:50 AM

geophone package might allow it to be implanted into the Traveltime Inversion

sediment and then cut free when the OBS is released.
An example of P and PS arrivals is shown in Figure 2. The quality of velocity models derived by traveltime
In this case, a frequency-wavenumber (f-k) filter has been analysis of OBS data depends on several factors. The accu-
used to enhance shear arrivals on the vertical geophone be- racy of the model will depend on the accuracy of the trav-
cause they are still clearer than those observed on the radial eltime picks on which it is based and on the accuracy of
component. This example shows that some shear motion shot and receiver locations. Accuracy and resolution will
will still be present on the vertical geophone because the vary across the model according to the distribution of shots
incident angle of the upgoing PS wave deviates from ver- and receivers. Given a reasonably impulsive source with
tical. Careful filtering of vertical geophones might, there- significant energy at frequencies greater than 100 Hz, a
fore, be an alternative to observing PS waves if horizontal sample rate sufficient to capture all the source energy (typi-
components are absent or have poor response. cally 500 Hz to 1 kHz) and a high signal-to-noise ratio,
it may be possible to pick traveltimes with an uncertainty
of 1 ms or less. Traveltime picking of weaker reflected or
refracted signals depends significantly on an ability to cor-
Methods of Data Analysis
relate signals from trace to trace. Phase identification and
Data Processing manual picking are easier in record sections that have a
static shift applied such that the direct arrival appears at a
Standard OBS data processing may include DC re- constant time (e.g., Spence et al., 1995; Figures 1 and 2).
moval and band-pass filtering. The former may be required Artifacts of the source waveform, such as bubble signals,
because of poor grounding of hydrophone or geophone also then appear horizontal, whereas P-wave reflections
signals, whereas the latter may be required to remove curve gently upward away from zero offset, and S-wave
low-frequency noise generated by ocean waves or by reflections appear as later, lower frequency, flatter events
the interaction of the OBS with bottom currents or high- (Figure 2). Normally, reflector picks are made at amplitude
frequency acoustic noise traveling within the water column. peaks and then corrected back to the zero crossing, corre-
If the data are to be used for traveltime analysis, the choice sponding to the start of the reflector.
of filter must be made alongside the choice of approach For 2D data sets, a combination of forward modeling
to traveltime picking. Ideally, first onset of a seismic sig- and inversion is commonly used (e.g., Katzman et al., 1994;
nal should be picked. In this case, a minimum phase filter Spence et al., 1995; Jaiswal et al., 2006). In the widely used
should be used to preserve that onset time. However, often approach of Zelt and Smith (1992), P-wave velocities are
data are too noisy for the signal onset to be picked reliably, parameterized at the upper and lower boundaries of layers
and instead it is necessary to pick an amplitude peak and within which the velocity varies smoothly, and the depths
apply a correction to determine the onset time. In this case, of these boundaries are allowed also to vary. Velocity and
a minimum phase filter will introduce a spurious time de- depth node spacing can be variable, but typically it is dif-
lay, and instead, a zero-phase filter should be used. ficult to justify a node spacing that is significantly less than
Other commonly used processes include deconvolu- the OBS spacing. Following an initial forward modeling
tion, f-k filtering, and coherency filtering. Deconvolution stage in which velocity and depth nodes are adjusted man-
can in principle deal effectively with ringy source wave- ually to achieve a reasonable match between observed and
lets that result in large uncertainties in traveltime picks. predicted traveltimes, further model adjustments are made
However, OBS data sets may not have sufficient signal by inverting parameters singly or in small groups to reduce
levels over sufficiently long-time windows for statistical the traveltime misfit to approximately the uncertainty of
deconvolution methods to be successful, and deterministic the picks. Picks of normal incidence reflections are readily
deconvolution methods require a good knowledge of the incorporated into such a scheme. The degree to which each
OBS system response as well as of the source wavelet. parameter is constrained by the data may be assessed by
A further problem with deconvolution is that the spec- simple ray diagrams (Figure 4) or by a formal resolution
tral content of arrivals may change with source-receiver parameter that is a product of the traveltime inversion (Zelt
offset. f-k filtering may be used to remove strong signals and Smith, 1992).
such as the direct water wave that masks weaker signals For 3D data sets, forward modeling is not viable except
beneath. However, f-k filtering performs poorly if data are as an aid to initial phase identification, and tomographic
spatially aliased, which is commonly the case for OBS inversion methods must be used. Tomographic algorithms
data. Coherency filters, which enhance signals that are typically parameterize the velocity model on a regular grid
similar in groups of Downloaded
adjacent25traces,
Jun 2012 tomight be very
95.28.162.50. effec-
Redistribution subject toand minimize
SEG license a misfit
or copyright; Terms offunction that includes a term penaliz-
tive in some cases but need to be carefully tailored to the ing model roughness so that the end result is the smoothest
data set involved. model, which satisfies the data within their uncertainties.
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 101 9/9/10 4:56:52 AM

Such methods may be divided into three classes: those that inverse of VP is slowness, and this is the parameter that is
use refracted signals only, such as the widely used the first normally averaged in tomographic models. Slowness does
arrival seismic tomography algorithm of Zelt and Barton not vary linearly with hydrate content (e.g., Chand et al.,
(1998); those that use reflected signals only; and those that 2004). Over a small range of hydrate saturations, the be-
use both types of signal. The first approach is clearly in- havior will be approximately linear, but where hydrate dis-
appropriate for obtaining detailed velocity information in tribution is highly heterogeneous, the hydrate saturation
the hydrate stability zone because it discards the detailed corresponding to the mean slowness may deviate systemat-
information contained in reflection traveltimes. The second ically from the mean hydrate saturation. Fortunately, how-
approach has been applied successfully to hydrate-bearing ever, this deviation is likely to be smaller than the other
sediments (e.g., Carcione et al., 2005) and does not discard uncertainties arising from poor knowledge of lithology and
any information if there are no clear refracted signals from porosity and from differences between predictions of dif-
the hydrate stability zone. The third approach is clearly the ferent models.
most appropriate if significant refracted energy is present; The previous discussion focused primarily on analysis
several such algorithms are available (e.g., Zelt et al., 1999; for hydrate content. Traveltime inversion has been applied
Hobro et al., 2003). less frequently to the region of free gas that commonly lies
The application of a joint reflection/refraction ap- beneath the BSR, although such application is possible
proach requires that signals are identified as either re- (e.g., Carcione et al., 2005). The presence of gas results
flected or refracted arrivals and are linked with a particular in a velocity inversion, so generally there are no refracted
layer in the model. The BSR poses a particular challenge signals from this region, but there may be clearly defined
for such an approach because it normally represents a sig- reflections from within or beneath it. The variation of
nificant velocity contrast, yet it crosscuts the sedimentary P-wave velocity with gas content is highly nonlinear (e.g.,
reflectors that might naturally form model layer bound- Domenico, 1974). Therefore, quantitative estimates of gas
aries. A further challenge comes from the steep velocity content derived from traveltime inversion of OBS data must
gradient that is commonly present in the hydrate stabil- be treated with some caution unless there is independent
ity zone. In these circumstances, a small perturbation in information available regarding the pore-scale distribution
the velocity model can have a large effect on wavefront of the gas.
shapes and hence on whether a particular phase is present
or absent at a given source-receiver offset. Because picks
for which there is no predicted traveltime do not contribute S-wave Analysis
to the misfit function, the misfit can be reduced by succes-
sive changes to the velocity model that result in fewer and Converted S waves appear in OBS data as weak,
fewer picks being matched. This type of instability is not low-frequency reflections with an apparent velocity very
unique to the application of tomographic algorithms to hy- similar to that of the direct arrival (Figure 2). Converted
drate provinces but is a particular problem in this setting. S waves contain rich information regarding seismic anisot-
Both 2D and 3D traveltime inversions can be con- ropy (Haacke and Westbrook, 2006); here, we focus on
ducted either with a layer-stripping approach, in which their use in traveltime analysis. S-wave traveltime analy-
the uppermost layer is modeled first and then the prop- sis faces two significant problems. First, each S-wave re-
erties of successively deeper layers are determined while flection must be identified with a specific horizon prior
fixing the properties of the overlying layers or by a simul- to modeling or inversion, and there may be trade-offs
taneous inversion for the properties of all layers. The for- between incorrect phase identification and incorrect ve-
mer approach is more stable and less computer-intensive locities. Second, the near-vertical raypaths of converted
but can lead to increased errors in the properties of the S-waves mean that most of the variation in their trav-
deeper layers. The latter approach takes full account of all eltime is caused by variations in traveltime of the incident
of the information contained in signals passing through P wave prior to mode conversion. Both of these problems
each layer but is generally less stable. Normally, the water mean that S-wave traveltime analysis can be conducted
layer is treated as fixed in velocity and thickness, as the successfully only after a detailed and accurate P-wave
water depth is constrained better by swath bathymetric velocity model has been obtained. Once such an analy-
methods than by coincident seismic reflection data. sis has been completed, S-wave picks may be used in the
The result of such tomographic analysis is a volume of same way as P-wave picks for forward modeling and to-
P-wave velocities (Figure 7); most algorithms also generate mographic inversion. However, a further limitation from
a formal measure of model resolution and/or uncertainty. the near-vertical raypaths is that vertical velocity gradi-
Interpretations of velocities in terms of hydrate content ents within layers are poorly constrained, so a detailed
need to take full account of resolution and uncertainty. The picture of the depth variation of S-wave velocities can be
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 102 9/9/10 4:56:52 AM

Figure 7. Tomographic
velocity model from a gas
hydrate-bearing region offshore
Vancouver Island. The model is
presented in horizontal slices at
fixed depth below the seafloor
with an additional slice shown
at the depth of the BSR. The
contours mark estimates of
relative velocity error; regions
of the model within the 0.5
contour have well-resolved
velocities. Squares and triangles
mark OBH positions (Hobro
et al., 2005).
derived only if a large number

of layer boundaries are incor-
porated into the model.
Waveform Analysis
The processing of data for
waveform analysis differs sig-
nificantly to that for traveltime
modeling in that the waveform
of the arrivals to be modeled
must be preserved at each
step. Thus, conventional processing steps such as band- effects. The effects of spatial aliasing may be reduced by
pass filtering are avoided. Instead, the main focus of pro- use of the Hankel transform for larger slownesses and by
cessing is to aid the transformation of the t-x data into the data interpolation (Singh et al., 1989), although this proce-
frequency-slowness (v-p) domain in which the 1D wave- dure requires knowledge of the velocity model (e.g., from
form inversion is performed. Artifacts can be generated by a previous traveltime analysis). Other important issues for
this transformation because of several causes (Korenaga et waveform modeling are estimation of the source wavelet
al., 1997): (1) spatial aliasing due to sparse shot-receiver from the data at near normal incidence and scaling of the
spacing; (2) data missing at near-zero offset where the sur- data to fit the estimated impedance contrast at the seafloor
vey ship passes close to the OBS but not directly over the (Korenaga et al., 1997). This scaling is a particular prob-
OBS; and (3) data missing beyond the maximum offset. lem for OBS data because the initial arrival is dominated
At short offsets, a partial normal moveout correction can by the direct phase.
be applied to fill anyDownloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
gap in data (Figure 8). At longer off- Results of waveform modeling and inversion have
sets, tapering the amplitudes to zero alleviates truncation been reported using OBS/OBH and surface multichannel
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 103 9/9/10 4:56:52 AM

Figure 8. Vertical geophone

data from an OBS (left panel)
exhibits noise in the form of
a DC (0 Hz noise) offset and
shows a geometry issue, where
the instrument lay ~90 m off the
survey profile. If unresolved,
the lack of data at near-normal
incidence will cause artifacts
if transformed into the tau-p
domain used for waveform
inversion. After DC removal
and a partial NMO correction
(right panel), the data are
suitable for a tau-p transform.
data, and they are compatible given the expected variabil- dense shot spacings; and it may become a powerful tool for
ity within the areas of study (e.g. Korenaga et al., 1997; determinations of velocity models in the future.
Gorman et al., 2002). OBS data offer particularly large ap-
erture (i.e., shot-receiver offsets), whereas midpoint stacks Imaging
of the multichannel seismic data offer a smaller footprint
of the subsurface reflection points. Waveform inversion of If seafloor receivers are sufficiently closely spaced,
reflected phases only may still have limited sensitivity to the resulting data may be used not only for determining
longer-wavelength velocity variations. For example, wave- the elastic properties of the subsurface but also for imaging
form models did not predict the thick low velocity region directly the subsurface geometry of reflectors. Where the
of free gas below the BSR at the Blake Ridge ODP Sites OBS spacing is sufficiently close and a good velocity model
994-997 (Korenaga et al., 1997) as subsequently deter- has been determined, the resulting data may be migrated to
mined by VSP (Holbrook et al., 1996). Subsequent wave- obtain such images (e.g., Zillmer et al., 2005). The spacing
form models showed that the waveform inversion could required to obtain a continuous image is determined by the
be made consistent with the vertical seismic profile result source-receiver range at which energy from a given reflec-
by explicitly including a low-velocity zone in the starting tor interferes excessively with adjacent reflectors, which
model (Holbrook, 2001). is typically a few hundred meters or less within the hy-
One approach to using waveform models to improve drate stability field. This condition may be relaxed if free-
the long-wavelength variations in velocity is to include surface multiples contribute to the image (e.g., Holbrook
analysis of the refracted phases at larger offsets (Figures 1 et al., 1992). The resulting image may be significantly
and 2). In Figure 9 (LeBlanc et al., 2007), we show that the clearer than the corresponding surface seismic image be-
refracted phase from the layer above the BSR is particu- cause of the reduced noise levels on the ocean floor.
larly sensitive to its velocity gradient, whereas subsequent OBS data are not well suited to S-wave imaging be-
refractions (including second arrivals) are sensitive to the cause reflection points are all too close to OBS locations
velocity model for the layers beneath the BSR. Because the (Figure 4). Therefore, a much greater potential for imag-
raypaths for these refracted phases travel long horizontal ing comes from OBC data, in which the receiver interval
distances through the layers (Figure 4), their arrival times may be 25 m or less. S-wave images derived from such
and amplitudes are very sensitive to the average velocity data have better vertical resolution than the corresponding
structure. On the other hand, for the same reason, such P-wave images because the S waves have lower velocities
models should allow for 2D variations in the velocity field. and hence shorter wavelengths (Figure 10). In addition,
Waveform modeling in 2D has the potential to resolve S-wave images indicate clearly where significant mode
complex velocity variations (e.g., Hole et al., 2005), par- conversions occur and therefore where there are contrasts
ticularly when using a large number of OBS receivers and in physical properties (such as shear modulus) sufficient
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 104 9/9/10 4:56:53 AM

Figure 9. Comparison of
observed OBS data and
synthetic seismograms for
constraints on a low-velocity
zone (LVZ) beneath the BSR:
(a) deconvolved OBS data
with a lowpass frequency
filter applied to emphasize
refracted phases and an f-k
filter to reduce reverberations
parallel to the direct wave,
(b) synthetic data from
best-fitting velocity model,
(c) synthetic data for a
model with no LVZ, (d)
synthetic data for a model
with lower velocities in the
LVZ consistent with BSR
reflectivity, and
(e) synthetic data for a model
with a high velocity gradient
above the BSR (After LeBlanc
et al., 2007). Used by
to cause such conversions.

Similar to the absence of an
S-wave velocity contrast, the
absence of a BSR in con-
verted S-wave images could
be used as evidence that any
hydrate that is present cannot
be cementing significantly
the sediment grains.
Future
Developments
There remain rather
few OBS studies of hydrate
provinces reported in the
literature, although they are
becoming more common.
The evolution of OBS stud-
ies has been toward higher
and higher resolution, as
understanding has devel-
oped of the highly heteroge-
neous, 3D nature of hydrate provinces (e.g., Tréhu et al., deployment logistics because deployment methods other
2004). This trend is likely to continue as OBS technol- than the traditional free-fall approach are time-consum-
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject toing and ortherefore
SEG license expensive.
copyright; Terms Further improvements in
ogy develops toward larger and larger numbers of com-
pact and routinely deployable instruments (e.g., Auffret resolution are obtainable with OBC surveys but with high
et al., 2004). However, such studies are limited by financial costs. There may be much unpublished data of
02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 105 9/9/10 4:56:54 AM

Figure 10. P-wave (a) and

converted S-wave (b) stacks
derived from OBC data on the
Norwegian margin. Note that
the BSR (marked in red) is
marked by an abrupt change in
P-wave reflectivity, but there is
no change in converted S-wave
reflectivity (after Andreassen
et al., 2003). Used by
this type from hydrocarbon industry OBC surveys in of the Geological Survey of Canada under the leadership of
deeper water. The few published studies of such data have D. Mosher. The models shown in Figure 4 were developed
shown that valuable information about the hydrate stabil- with assistance by C. LeBlanc. KEL acknowledges support
ity zone can be extracted (Andreassen et al., 2003; Bünz from the Geological Survey of Canada and the Natural Sci-
and Mienert, 2004). In particular, such data might lend ences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
themselves to a more sophisticated approach than those
described above such as 2D waveform inversion, which
builds on tomographic velocity models to generate high- References
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higher-resolution studies of hydrate provinces. hydrate investigation offshore Norway: Jour-
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Singh, S. C., G. F. West, and C. H. Chapman, 1989, On Wood, W. T., and J. F. Gettrust, 2001, Deep-towed seismic
plane-wave decomposition: Alias removal: Geophys- investigations of methane hydrates, in C. K. Paull and
ics, 54, 1339–1343. W. P. Dillon, eds., Natural gas hydrates: Occurrence,
Spence, G. D., T. A. Minshull, and C. Fink, 1995, Seismic distribution, and dynamics: Eos, Transactions, American
studies of methane gas hydrate, offshore Vancouver Geophysical Union: AGU Monograph 124, 165–178.
Island, in B. Carson, G. K. Westbrook, R. J. Musgrave, Wood, W. T., J. F. Gettrust, and S. E. Spychalski, 2003, A
and E. Suess, eds., Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling new deep-towed, multi-channel seismic system: Sea
Program: Science Results, 146, 163–174. Technology, 44, no. 9, 44–49.
Sutton, G. H., and F. K. Duennebier, 1987, Optimum de- Yuan, T., G. D. Spence, R. D. Hyndman, T. A. Minshull,
sign of ocean bottom seismometers: Marine Geophysi- and S. C. Singh, 1999, Seismic velocity studies of a
cal Researches, 9, 47–65. gas hydrate bottom-simulating reflector on the north-
Tréhu, A. M., G. Bohrmann, F. R. Rack, T. S. Collett, D. ern Cascadia continental margin: Amplitude modeling
S. Goldberg, P. E. Long, A. V. Milkov, M. Riedel, P. and full waveform inversion: Journal of Geophysical
Schultheiss, M. E. Torres, N. L. Bangs, S. R. Barr, W. S. Research, 104, 1179–1191.
Borowski, G. E. Claypool, M. E. Delwiche, G.R. Dick- Yun, T. S., F. M. Francisca, J. C. Santamarina, and C.
ens, E. Gracia, G. Guerin, M. Holland, J. E. Johnson, Ruppel, 2005, Compressional and shear wave ve-
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Vanneste, M. Watanabe, and J. L. Weinberger, 2004, drate: Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L10609, doi:
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southern Hydrate Ridge: Constraints from ODP Leg Zelt, C. A., and R. B. Smith, 1992, Seismic travel-time in-
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Waite, W. F., M. B. Helgerud, A. Nur, J. C. Pinkston, L. A. Journal International, 108, 16–34.
Stern, S. H. Kirby, and W. B. Durham, 2000, Labora- Zelt, C. A., and P. J. Barton, 1998, Three-dimensional seis-
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02181_SEG_GH_C06.indd 108 9/9/10 4:56:56 AM

Chapter 7
Inversion of Seismic Data for Elastic Parameters:

A Tool for Gas-hydrate Characterization
M. Riedel1, M. W. Lee2, and G. Bellefleur3
Abstract properties, notably P- and S-wave velocity (Dvorkin, 2010;

Carcione et al., 2010). Independent of the physical location
This paper reviews various seismic inversion tech- of gas hydrate in the sediments, P-wave velocity (and thus
niques (amplitude-versus-offset [AVO], acoustic and elas- P-wave impedance) is strongly increased. S-wave veloc-
tic impedance, prestack waveform inversion) for assessing ity and impedance are especially increased if gas hydrate
elastic parameters of sediments and more specifically hy- forms such that it stiffens the overall sediment matrix.
drate-bearing sediments. Several theoretical approaches However, there are too few examples of S-wave data sets to
are described, and examples of the application of the inver- fully assess the ability of S-impedance inversion to delin-
sion schemes to assess gas-hydrate deposits in three differ- eate gas-hydrate occurrences. The presence of gas hydrate
ent geologic environments are compared. The first example or a few percent of free gas below the gas-hydrate stabil-
is from a permafrost-related gas-hydrate deposit at Mallik, ity field produces no measurable density effects on seis-
the second example is from the Blake Ridge offshore Caro- mic data. With empirically derived or theoretical relations
lina (location of Ocean Drilling Program Leg 164), and the between gas-hydrate concentration and elastic parameters,
third example is from the Gulf of Mexico (Atwater Valley measurements of seismic velocities can be used to quantify
and Keathley Canyon). The techniques used in these areas gas-hydrate concentrations in sediments.
are band-limited acoustic impedance inversion (Mallik), Well-log information provides a direct means to obtain
poststack elastic impedance inversion (Blake Ridge), and gas-hydrate concentrations by measuring P- and S-wave
a hybrid inversion scheme, utilizing prestack waveform in- velocity and other related physical properties (see Gold-
version with poststack AVO inversion (Gulf of Mexico). berg et al., 2010). However, the challenge is to extrapolate
the well-log information away from the borehole using
seismic data to achieve a complete assessment of a gas-
Introduction hydrate deposit. In this paper, we review several techniques
that can be used to determine elastic parameters such as
The presence of gas hydrate in sediments is frequently P- and S-wave velocity to quantify gas-hydrate concentra-
inferred or identified on seismic records by the presence tions. These inversion techniques can be applied to either
of a bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) (e.g., Spence et al., poststack or prestack data to determine acoustic impedance
2010). It should be noted that the absence of a BSR does (AI) or elastic impedance (EI).
not automatically exclude the presence of gas hydrate (e.g., Techniques to compute AI from stacked seismic data
Yuan and Edwards, 2000; Dasgupta et al., 2006), indicating for hydrocarbon assessments were originally developed in
that additional information is required to locate and quan- the 1970s (e.g., Lavergne and Willm, 1977; Lindseth, 1976,
tify gas-hydrate concentrations. Generally, the presence of 1979; Becquey et al., 1979). Several recent studies used
gas hydrate in sediments has a large effect on the elastic AI to characterize gas-hydrate environments: Grevemeyer
et al. (2000) used single-channel seismic data and ocean-
1
Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada–Pacific, bottom-hydrophone (OBH) recordings to calculate pseudo-
2
U. S. Geological Survey
impedance logs for an area of the convergent margin off
3
Natural Resources Canada – Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Pakistan (Gulf of Oman) and concluded that the BSR is as-
Ontario. E-mail: gbellefl@nrcan.gc.ca sociated with a velocity decrease of approximately 200 m/s
109
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 109 9/9/10 5:08:26 AM

below the BSR. Wang et al (2006) determined AI for seis- (FWI). Several different methodologies were proposed
mic data from the northern continental margin of the South and applied to gas-hydrate environments (Korenaga et al.,
China Sea and determined gas-hydrate concentrations of 1997; Yuan et al., 1999; Mallick et al., 2000; Holbrook,
about 10%–20% of the pore space with the highest value 2001). Details of the FWI technique are given in Minshull
of 50%. They also identified free-gas saturation of about et al. (2010).
2%–3% of the pore space below the BSR. Both of these Following, we provide a summary of the inversion
studies were carried out without additional well-log infor- techniques to estimate AI and EI and associated theoretical
mation constraining the results. In contrast, Lu and Mc- background. Three examples from different geologic ar-
Mechan (2002) utilized well-log information from Ocean eas are shown to demonstrate the use of different inversion
Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 164, Site 995 at the Blake methods to assess gas-hydrate concentrations: The first ex-
Ridge to calculate AI and estimated gas-hydrate concen- ample is from the Mallik site (Bellefleur et al., 2006; Rie-
trations of 3%–8% of the pore space. Using regional 3D del et al., 2006); the second example shows results from
seismic data and well-log information from the Mallik well the Blake Ridge (Lu and McMechan, 2004); and the third
2L-38 and 5L-38 sites, Bellefleur et al. (2006) calculated example is from the Gulf of Mexico (Mallick et al., 2000;
AI to map the lateral extent of two intervals of hydrate- Dai et al., 2004).
bearing sediments at Mallik.
All above AI inversions are based on band-limited seis-
mic data and thus are inherently limited in the ability to cor- Poststack Acoustic Impedance
rectly map the acoustic properties of the subsurface (e.g., Inversion
Ghosh, 2000). Elastic parameters can also be determined
from angle data using the variation of seismic amplitude AI, the product of seismic velocity and density, is a ba-
with offset, also referred to as AVO method (Castagna and sic physical property of sediments that can be exploited in
Backus, 1993). The AVO response of seismic data is used to hydrocarbon assessment. The concept of computing acoustic
calculate P- and S-wave reflectivity data and related P- and impedance from stacked seismic data was originally devel-
S-wave impedance sections. Goodway et al. (1997) intro- oped in the 1970s (e.g., Lavergne and Willm, 1977; Lind-
duced a method that allows the determination of the elastic seth, 1976, 1979; Becquey et al., 1979; Oldenburg et al.,
Lamé parameters λ and m from AVO data. AVO has been 1983). All these techniques are based on deconvolution to
used to characterize the BSR in many marine areas (see transform the seismic data into pseudo reflection-coefficient
Chen et al., 2010), but this method fails to correctly quan- series. Specifically, the sparse-spike deconvolution tech-
tify S-wave reflectivity in most cases because of the overall nique has been utilized by several authors: Grevemeyer
small S-wave velocities encountered in the shallow marine et al. (2000) used sparse-spike train deconvolution based
sediments. AVO may provide better quantitative estimates on the method of Levy and Fullagar (1981) to calculate the
of gas-hydrate concentration in permafrost regions where reflectivity series of single-channel seismic data offshore
S-wave velocities of hydrate-bearing sediments are sig- Pakistan. The constrained sparse-spike inversion (CSSI)
nificantly higher than those typical to marine environment technique defined by Torres-Verdín et al. (1999) and Helge-
(Xu and Chopra, 2003; Chen et al., 2010). It should also be sen et al. (2000) was utilized by Lu and McMechan (2002)
noted that the AVO technique likely works well for layered for data at the Blake Ridge and Wang et al. (2006) for data
gas-hydrate occurrences but is inadequate for patchy distri- from the South China Sea. A prerequisite for these decon-
butions and gas hydrates in fractured reservoirs. volution methods is the determination of a representative
The original concepts of AI and AVO were combined source wavelet. This source-wavelet estimate has to be rea-
by Connolly (1999) and led to the introduction of EI. EI was sonably accurate over the spectral bandwidth of the seismic
utilized for gas-hydrate concentration by several authors data. The presence of noise in the seismic data strongly lim-
(Mallick et al., 2000; Mallick, 2001; Lu and McMechan, its the accuracy of the technique and the spectral bandwidth
2004; Dai et al., 2004). EI inversion generally assumes a (i.e., spatial resolution) has to be traded off with the noise
constant VP/VS ratio (Mallick et al., 2000; Mallick, 2001), tolerance (Grevemeyer et al., 2000).
but Lu and McMechan (2004) used a variable VP/VS ratio An inherent problem in all these techniques is that
on the basis of empirical approximations. Lee (2006b) de- the low-frequency component of the acoustic impedance
veloped a method of EI inversion especially for sediments is absent in the seismic traces. Several methods include
with small S-wave velocities, which can be found in shal- this low-frequency component in the inversion. Becquey
low marine environments or where gas hydrate is not in- et al. (1979) used standard velocity analyses (moveout
creasing S-wave velocity significantly. correction) to define a background velocity-depth func-
A completely different method to estimate elastic pa- tion. A known velocity-density relationship can then be
rameters is the use of prestack full waveform inversion used to convert this velocity function into a low-frequency
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 110 9/9/10 5:08:27 AM

Chapter 7: Inversion of Seismic Data for Elastic Parameters: A Tool for Gas-hydrate Characterization 111
impedance depth profile. A different approach was devel-

oped by Grevemeyer et al. (2000), who used results from
traveltime inversion of OBH data and known density rela-
tions. Where borehole information is available, the low-fre-
quency trend is typically estimated from the well-log data
(e.g., Lu and McMechan, 2002; Bellefleur et al., 2006).
An additional way of improving results of band-limited
acoustic impedance inversion is to use stratigraphic informa-
tion to extrapolate the low-frequency borehole impedance
data. Lu and McMechan (2002) calculated the low-frequency
borehole impedance from well logs at the Ocean Drilling
Program Leg 164, Site 995 at Blake Ridge and defined sev-
eral stratigraphic horizons (seafloor, top of gas hydrate zone,
and the bottom-simulating reflector). These log-defined ho-
rizons are extrapolated laterally using the seismic data. This
type of acoustic impedance inversion is also referred to as
model-based acoustic impedance inversion.
Example of band-limited AI inversion

of Mallik 3D seismic data
This example is from the Mallik site in the Mackenzie
Delta, Northwest Territories, where 3D seismic data and
well-log information from Mallik 2L-38 and 5L-38 were
used for band-limited AI inversion (Bellefleur et al., 2006).
Well-log analyses and core studies at Mallik show that Figure 1. Acoustic impedance determined at Mallik 5L-38.
high P- and S-wave velocities characterize sediments with Shown in black is the low-frequency trend (<10 Hz). The
high concentration of gas hydrates (Dallimore and Collett, blue curve is the original acoustic impedance calculated
2005). Despite the high-velocity contrast with host sedi- from P-wave velocity and density, and the red curve is the
ments, the gas-hydrate deposit lacks the diagnostic BSR inverted acoustic impedance. Note that gas-hydrate zones B
observed in many marine seismic data, which indicates the and C are relatively well represented, but that at zone A an
absence of free gas at the base of the gas-hydrate stability anticorrelation is obtained (for details see text).
zone. The area covered by the Mallik 3D data includes four
gas-hydrate targeted wells (2L-38, 3L-38, 4L-38, and 5L- concentration in pore space using an empirical velocity-
38) and four industry wells drilled by Imperial Oil in the saturation relation derived from electrical resistivity data
1970s. Sonic and density logs acquired in 2L-38 and 5L- to independently estimate gas hydrate saturations for the
38 were used to assess seismic ties at well locations. Log depth points of sonic-log measurements. In general, a very
data suggest that gas hydrate occurs in three major zones good correlation between the Mallik 5L-38 P-wave veloc-
(referred to as A, B, and C) with zone C located at the base ity log and the inverted P-wave section is found for zones
of the gas-hydrate stability field (Dallimore and Collett, B and C (Figure 1). The section of the inverted P-wave
2005). Strong correlation at the well is fundamental to the velocity for inline 618 and crossline 520 is shown in Figure
evaluation of the spatial extent of the gas-hydrate horizons 2. The top of the gas hydrate occurrence (zone A) is not
around the Mallik wells from seismic data. represented at all in the inverted seismic section because of
Seismic inversion was used to generate an acoustic complex interference patterns of the highly variable stratig-
impedance data set within an area about 1.2 km2 around raphy and inappropriate seismic imaging. Zone B appears
Mallik 5L-38 by matching a reflectivity model to the seis- as a discontinuous interval with slightly lower velocities.
mic data. The low-frequency component was defined from Although zone B can be imaged with some confidence, it
the well-logs (Figure 1). P-wave velocities were extracted is laterally less well-defined than zone C (Figure 3). Zone
from the impedances, assuming no lateral variability in C shows P-wave velocities exceeding 3000 m/s over a dis-
the density of the sediments. Densities are relatively con- tance of approximately 400 m.
stant throughout the entire gas-hydrate interval and average This AI inversion would allow lateral gas-hydrate con-
2100 kg/m3. P-wave velocity was converted to gas-hydrate centration estimates and a total volume of gas calculations
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 111 9/9/10 5:08:27 AM

a) a)
7705400 7705600 7705800 7706000 7706200

NE 5L-38 SW Zone B
8
Xline: 500.0 510.0 520.0 530.0
61
XI
52
I
In
0
P.wave
Sh velocity
(% p.s.) (m/s)
0.65 0.650 75 3200
Two-way traveltime (s)
65 3000
Zone B
55 2800
North (m)
0.70 0.700 40 2600 4L
Free water 30 2400
5L 2L
3L
15 2200
0.75 0.750 L
0 2000
gas hydrates
1800
Zone C
0.80 0.800
Free water
300 m
0.85 0.850
N
b) Inl
640 630 620 610 600
5L P-wave 512800 513000 513200 513400 513600 513800 514000
TWT (s)
Sh velocity
(% p.s.) [m/s] East (m)
0.65 75 3200
300 m 65 3000 b)
7705400 7705600 7705800 7706000 7706200

Zone C
0.70 55 2800
8
Zone B
61
XI
40 2600
52
I
In
Free water
0
0.75 30 2400 P.wave
Sh velocity
(% p.s.) (m/s)
Zone C 15 2200 75 3200
65 3000
0.80
0 2000 55 2800
North (m)
Free water
1800
4L 40 2600
5L 2L
2000 m/s
3500 m/s
30 2400
0.85 3L
15 2200
NW SE L
0 2000
1800
Figure 2. (a) Inverted P-wave velocity section of inline 618
and (b) inverted P-wave velocity section of crossline 520 v
from 3D seismic data at Mallik (after Riedel et al., 2006).
Color code on right hand panels shows P-wave velocity in N
m/s and gas-hydrate concentration in percent of pore space
512800 513000 513200 513400 513600 513800 514000
(p.s.) as estimated from log data. The Mallik 5L-38 P-wave
East (m)
log (in black) shows excellent correlation between the
inverted P-wave velocity and the sonic log for zones B and C. Figure 3. Map showing the extent of the gas hydrate zone
The uppermost gas-hydrate zone is not resolved because of B (a) and zone C (b). Color code shows inverted P-wave
complicated interference patterns of the variable stratigraphy velocity in m/s and gas-hydrate concentration in percent
or inappropriate seismic imaging (after Bellefleur et al., of pore space (p.s.) as estimated from log data. Zone C is
2006). Used by permission. structurally complex with a center area of highest P-wave
velocity and related gas-hydrate concentration underneath the
Mallik well sites. Zone C is mostly continuous in the north–
for the Mallik deposit. However, some recent analyses show south direction (500 m). Zone B extends over a much smaller
that the high attenuation (low Q) of permafrost and gas hy- area than zone C and is distributed along a north–south axis
drate has a significant impact on the surface seismic reflec- (after Bellefleur et al., 2006). Used by permission.
tion data (Bellefleur et al., 2006; Riedel et al., 2006). The
effect of attenuation of gas hydrates had been observed in higher) than that of the water-saturated sediments and thus
sonic log measurements (Guerin and Goldberg, 2002) and in attenuation may not play an important role in impedance in-
crosshole tomographic studies (Pratt et al., 2005). Q-factor version and gas-hydrate concentration assessments.
estimates using the exiting Mallik 2L-38 VSP data confirm
that Q has similar effects in those much lower-frequency
data (Bellefleur et al., 2006) and should be taken into ac- AVO Intercept-gradient Method
count or incorporated in an impedance inversion scheme to
obtain more accurate resource estimates. However, other AVO is an established indicator of hydrocarbons
recent analyses by Matsushima (2006) and Lee and Waite since the classic paper by Ostrander (1984) defining the
(2007) point out that at low seismic frequencies, attenua- AVO response of gas-bearing sand. Since then, AVO has
tion of gas-hydrate-bearing sediment is smaller (i.e., Q is been successfully applied to a variety of environments to
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 112 9/9/10 5:08:28 AM

detect hydrocarbons, including gas-hydrate environments Here, the Δ denotes differences across the interface in
(see Chen et al., 2010). Several approximations to the the individual properties. In most cases, the third term pro-
original AVO equations defined by Zoeppritz (1919) ex- portional to Δr is dropped if the VP/VS ratio is ~2, and only
ist, and the most widely used is the two-term approxima- small angles of incidence are considered. Having extracted
tion by Shuey (1985), also known as the intercept-gradient P- and S-wave reflectivity sections, IP and IS (and subse-
approximation: quently λr and mr) are obtained by inversion. It should
be noted that this method of extracting elastic parameters
R(u) = I + G sin2 u (1a) is only valid for the range of applicability of the AVO
approximation used.
I5 a
r b
1 DVP Dr
1 (1b)
2 VP
Elastic Impedance Inversion
VS 2 DVS VS 2 Dr
b 2 2a b
DVP Definition of EI
G5 2 4a (1c)
2VP VP VS VP r
Impedance is generally defined as a product of P-wave
The bars indicate average values across the interface, velocity and density and is related to a zero-offset reflec-
and Δ denotes the difference. The intercept I is mainly sen- tion seismogram. However, this definition is inacurate for
sitive to P-reflectivity, whereas the gradient term G also far-offset data. In order to generalize the normal-incidence
carries S-wave velocity information. impedance concept, Connolly (1999) derived an expression
A standard procedure to estimate elastic parameters for EI starting from the linear three-term Shuey approxima-
from AVO intercept-gradient analyses is to calculate the tion (1985) of the Zoeppritz equation (1919):
AVO I/G attributes from prestack seismic data (2D or 3D)
and define sections of P-wave reflectivity and pseudo-S- R(u) = A + B sin2 u + C sin2 u tan2 u (6a)
wave reflectivity. P- and S-wave impedances can then be
with
calculated by integration.
A5I5 a b,
AVO analyses were further modified to calculate the 1 DVP Dr
1 (6b)
Lamé parameters λ and m (Goodway et al., 1997; Gray 2 VP r
et al., 1999). Goodway’s method calculates λr from the
squares of the P impedance (IP) and the S impedance (IS) VS 2 DVS VS 2 Dr
b 2 2a b
DVP
using subtraction. P- and S-wave velocities are related to B5G5 2 4a (6c)
2VP VP VS VP r
the elastic Lamé parameters as follows:
and
VP2 = (λ+2m)/r, VS2 = m/r, (2)
1 DVP
and P- and S-wave impedance (IP = VP·r, IS = VS·r) are C5
2 VP
. (6d)
related to the Lamé parameters accordingly:
The bars indicate average values across the interface, and
IP2 = (λ+2m) · r, IS2 = m·r. (3) Δ denotes the difference. This linearization is valid for
small changes in the elastic properties of the rocks across
The Lamé parameters λr and mr can be extracted from an interface as well as for subcritical angles of incidence.
seismic data using AVO analysis: The reflection coefficient as a function of angle can also be
written as
λr = IP2 − 2IS2, mr = IS2. (4)
R(u) = ½ΔEI / EI = ½ Δln(EI). (7)
The three-term AVO equation as approximation to the full
Zoeppritz equation can be written in terms of impedances Combining equations 6 and 7 yields the following expres-
as follows (e.g., Gidlow et al., 1992; Fatti et al., 1994): sion for EI (Connolly, 1999):
EI 1 u 2 5 VP111tan u2 VS128Ksin u2r1124Ksin u2 (8)

2 2 2
R 1 u 2 5 1 1 1 tan u 2
VS 2 2 DIS
2 8a b sin u
2
DIP
IP Jun 2012 toV95.28.162.50.
P 2IS
Downloaded 25 Redistribution
where K is (VS/VP)2,ofand
subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms Use: http://segdl.org/
K is treated as a constant. The
2
2 a tan u 2 2a b sin ub
1 2 VS 2
Dr dimensionality of EI depends on the angle of incidence.
(5)
2 VP r In order to remove the variable dimensionality from EI,
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 113 9/9/10 5:08:31 AM

Whitcombe (2002) introduced a normalized EI, which is ln 1 EI 1 u 2 2 < 1 1 1 sin2 u 2 ln 1 rVP 2 28k sin2 uln 1 rVS 2
defined as 1 1 4k sin2 u 2 sin2 u 2 ln 1 r 2 (12)
EI 1 u 2 5 VP0 r0
If 1 4k sin2 u 2 sin2 u 2 ln 1 r 2 can be approximated as a func-
VP 111tan u2 VS 1 28K sin u2 r 1124K sin u2
2 2 2
tion of angle and known K, only two-angle stack data are
3 ca b a b a b d, required to estimate the impedances (rVp and rVs). On the
VP0 VS0 r0
basis of data at the Blake Ridge, Lu and McMechan (2004)
(9)
proposed the following empirical approximation:
1 4k sin2 u 2 sin2 u 2 ln 1 r 2 < 26K 1 0.25 2 K 2

where VP0, VS0, and r0 are constants. These constants can
have real meaning such as the average velocities and densi-
3a 2 bsin2 u.
ties in a given area. However, to make the dimensionality 1 K
(13)
of EI constant, VP0, VS0, and r0 can be arbitrarily set. aK b
Here, the coefficients are set to a = 8.0 and b = 0.5 for

EI-inversion schemes values of K less than 0.25 and a = 3.0 and b = 3.0 for
Algorithm 1 K larger than 0.25. This algorithm requires the knowledge
of two independent angle data sets to recover rVP and r
Elastic impedance inversion can be implemented by re- V S. Although the approximation shown in equation 13
arranging equation 8 as follows (Lu and McMechan, 2004; works better for shallow sediments than the conventional
Lee, 2006a): method of assuming K = 0.25, as demonstrated in Lu and
McMechan (2004), the accuracy of this approximation
ln(EI(u)) = (1 + tan2 u) ln(VP)+ (28K sin2 u) ln(VS) should be assessed if applied at other localities.
+ (1 – 4K sin2 u) ln(r). (10)
Algorithm 3
The unknowns in this equation are VP, VS, and r. Therefore,
if three EIs at different angles of incidence are known, Another approach is based on using sequential inver-
these unknowns can be calculated by solving the matrix sion of AI and EI (e.g. Lu and McMechan, 2004; Lee,
equation (Lee, 2006a; Lu and McMechan, 2004): 2006a), in which P impedance is estimated from AI inver-
sion using EI at zero offset and the shear-wave velocity is
1 1 tan2 u 1 2 8K sin2 u 1 1 2 4K sin2 u 1 estimated from EI 1 u 2 as follows:
£ 1 1 tan2 u 2 2 8K sin2 u 2 1 2 4K sin2 u 2 §
1 1 tan2 u 3 2 8K sin2 u 3 1 2 4K sin2 u 3 ln 1 rVS 2
11 1 sin2 u 2 ln 1 rVP 2 2 ln 1 EI 1 u 2 2 1 1 4k sin2 u 2 sin2 u 2 ln 1 r 2
ln 1VP2 ln 1 EI 1 u 12 2 5 .
5 £ ln 1Vs2 § 5 £ ln 1 EI 1 u 22 2 §
8k sin2 u
(11)
ln 1 r2 ln 1 EI 1 u 32 2 (14)
The parameter K has to be known in solving equation 11. Like algorithm 2, if 1 4k sin2 u 2 sin2 u 2 ln 1 r 2 can be ap-
However, K is a function of unknown VP and VS, so the proximated as a function of angle and known K, only one
inversion algorithm shown in equation 11 poses a problem. finite-angle data point is required to estimate rVS. One ap-
The accuracy of inversion strongly depends on the assumed proach to solve equation 14 is to use calculated K, derived
K, and there exists various approximations to estimate K from the estimated VP from AI inversion and predicted S-
as shown later. Mallick et al. (2000) demonstrated that this wave velocity, and some empirical relationship between VP
algorithm is also very sensitive to noise. In their synthetic and r as shown in Lee (2006a). Another approach is to use
study, Mallick et al. (2000) showed that in the presence of approximation relationships such as those shown in equa-
only 2% random noise, the algorithm did not recover the tion 13. Equations 13 and 14 combined yield:
original density and velocity values but was able to recover
the product rVP and rVS. ln 1 rVP 2 1 1 1 sin2 u 2 2 ln 1 EI 1 u 2 2
ln 1 rVS 2 <
8K sin2 u
Algorithm 2 Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
1 0.25 2 K 2 a 2 b.
Using the small angle approximation tan2 u < sin2 u, 3 1 k
2 (15)
equation 10 becomes 4 aK b
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 114 9/9/10 5:08:33 AM

Also, the conventional approach with K = 0.25 can be Table 1. Values of the parameter K* in the EI-inversion
used (Mallick et al., 2000), but it is not accurate for shallow algorithm defined by Lee (2006b).
unconsolidated sediments where gas hydrate accumulates. K* VSL
0.1 <200 m/s
EI inversion in the presence of low
S-wave velocity 0.15 <400 m/s
1.0 >1500 m/s
EI inversion generally requires a good knowledge of
the parameter K, that is, the VP 2 VS ratio, and is particularly
important for low S-wave velocities (below 600 m/s), often The parameter K* in equation (19) needs to be estimated
encountered at shallow depths of marine gas-hydrate areas. to yield accurate S-wave velocities, which can be achieved
An error estimate for EI inversion for incorrect estimates by using well-log information. Lee (2006b) defined a set
of K has been derived by Lee (2006a). To overcome the of K* values for varying low-frequency S-wave velocities
particular problem of small K values, Lee (2006b) derived (Table 1).
an alternative formulation of EI inversion based on the
decomposition of S-wave velocities into a high- and low-
frequency part. The low-frequency component is an input Poststack EI-inversion — Blake Ridge
obtained from well logs. The new formulation of EI inver- This example is from the Blake Ridge offshore the
sion is, however, restricted to K values less than 0.22, that southeastern U. S. continental margin, a well-known gas-
is, sediments with moderate to high gas-hydrate saturations hydrate province and the location of ODP Leg 164 (Paull et
(Lee, 2006b). In this algorithm, EI is decomposed into a al., 1996). The sediments of the Blake Ridge area are mainly
low (L) and high (H) frequency component as follows: Neogene and Quarternary hemipelagic silt-rich and clay-
ln(EI) = ln(EI (u)) + ln (1 + d) = (1 + tan u) [lnVP
L 2 L rich deposits. BSRs are well developed and cover an area of
+ ln(1+ a)] – . . . 26,000 km2 (Matsumoto, 2000). Drilling and logging results
suggest that gas hydrate occurs as pore-filling material, oc-
. . . 8K sin2 u [lnVSL+ ln (1 + b)] cupying about 5%–10% of the porosity (Paull et al., 1996).
+ (1 – 4K sin2 u) ln(r), (16) In their EI inversion study, Lu and McMechan (2004) used
multichannel seismic data acquired by the U. S. Geological
where a = (VP / VP ), b = VS / VS , and d = EI / EI .
H L H L H L
Survey (USGS) in 1974 (Lee et al., 1993, 1994). Their true-
The low-frequency component of EI caused by the low-
amplitude reprocessing resulted in time-migrated common-
frequency part of VS can be written as
angle aperture (CAA) sections as input into the EI inversion.
ln(EI (u)) = (1 + tan u) ln(VP) – 8K sin u ln(VS )
L 2 L 2 L Well-log information was taken from ODP Sites 995 and
997. The seismic data was rearranged into four sections cor-
+ (1 2 4KL sin2 u) ln(r), (17a)
responding to angle ranges from (a) 0˚–8˚, (b) 8˚–16˚, (c)
where KL is defined as 16˚–24˚, and (d) 24˚–32˚. The EI inversion scheme first de-
termines a low-frequency component of EI from the well-log
KL = (VSL / VP)2. (17b) information. A controlled-sparse-spike inversion is then ap-
plied to the seismic data (originally designed for AI inversion;
Subtracting this low-frequency component from the total Lu and McMechan, 2002) to determine the high-frequency
EI as defined in equation (16), yields component of EI. The total EI is obtained by combining the
ln 1 1 1 b 2
two components. Results for the four different angle ranges
are shown in Figure 4. Individual sections for P-impedance
2 ln 1 11 d 2 2 8 1 K2K 2 sin u ln 1 VS 2 24 1 K2K 2 sin u ln 1 r 2
L 2 L L 2 (rVP), S-impedance (rVS), VP/VS ratio, Poisson’s ratio,
< 2
, λr, and λ/m were also generated. The inverted elastic param-
8K sin u
(18) eters were related to gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations
using empirical relations between P-impedance and water-
which can be approximated to filled porosity and Archie’s relation (Lu and McMechan,
2002). The resulting gas-hydrate and free-gas concentrations
1 1 1 tan2 u 2 ln 1 1 1 a 2 2ln 1 1 1 d 2
ln 1 1 1 b 2 <
are shown in Figure 5. In summary, the EI inversion by Lu
2 . (19) and McMechan (2004) shows that the gas-hydrate concen-
8K* sin u
tration along the seismic line used varies between 3% and
The purpose of this algorithm is to mitigate the error as- 5.5% by volume and the free-gas concentration below the
sociated with small S-wave velocities (small values of K). BSR varies between 1% and 8% by volume.
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 115 9/9/10 5:08:47 AM

The FWI component of the hybrid inversion approach

was introduced by Mallick (1999), who used a genetic algo-
rithm (GA) approach to obtain P-wave velocity, Poisson’s
ratio, and density for gas-bearing sediments. Random pop-
ulations of the elastic parameters are defined, and synthetic
seismic data are generated using the reflectivity method as
defined in Fuchs and Müller (1971). The synthetic seismic
data are matched with the original data in the t-p domain.
Based on the match between observed and synthetic data,
random models of elastic parameters are modified using
the GA algorithm, and fitness values are defined for each
model. This method offers the possibility to define approx-
imates of the marginal posteriori probability density func-
tion to fully explore the model space and define the best-fit
elastic parameters.
A specific hybrid inversion algorithm was developed
by Mallick et al. (2000), combining prestack FWI with
poststack EI inversion. The prestack inversion uses a ge-
netic algorithm to invert data at specified control points
along a seismic line to determine the low-frequency com-
ponent of EI. Common AVO processing is used to gener-
ate common angle stacks from the prestack data, and each
angle stack is poststack inverted to calculate EI. Once the
EI values for a range of angle of incidence are obtained, a
linear fit is used to the logarithm of the EI values to calcu-
Figure 4. Inverted EI obtained from the EI inversion of the late values of P- and S-wave velocity and density.
CAA data of the USGS seismic line BT-1 at the Blake Ridge.
Mallick et al. (2000) originally used this technique to
(a) 0˚–8˚, (b) 8˚–16˚, (c) 16˚–24˚, and (d) 24˚–32˚. L1 and
determine EI for seismic data in the Andaman Sea, where
L2 are two low-EI layers; H1 and H2 are two high-EI layers
a prominent BSR was observed. The same technique was
(after Lu and McMechan, 2004). Used by permission.
successfully applied in the Gulf of Mexico by Dai et al.
(2004) at the Keathley Canyon and Atwater Valley area.
Dai et al. (2004) further used the rock-physics model de-
scribed by Dvorkin et al. (2003) to convert the inverted EI
values to gas-hydrate concentrations.
Full Waveform Prestack In the Keathley Canyon area, a BSR is identifiable that
Inversion cuts regular stratigraphic reflections at about 500 ms below
the seafloor. The BSR is defined by the upper termination
Prestack full waveform inversion (FWI) offers a of bright reflections in sand layers indicated by the oppo-
unique opportunity to define elastic properties of the sub- site-to-seafloor reflection phase, caused by the presence of
surface. However, FWI is computationally expensive, and free gas in the pore space. In the same area a prominent
optimized techniques for the generation of synthetic seis- gas-hydrate seafloor mound is identified, which is adjacent
mograms need to be used for this technique to be efficient. to one of the major faults, representing a conduit for up-
Detailed aspects of the FWI approach using multichan- ward migrating gas.
nel seismic and ocean-bottom seismometer data to define The Atwater Valley study area is within the Mississippi
P-wave velocity structures in hydrate-bearing sediments Valley channel complex. It is characterized by a thick clastic
are discussed in Minshull et al. (2010). FWI has also been sediment section overlying salt. No regional BSR is seen in
applied for crosshole tomography studies as discussed in the Atwater Valley area; however, several seafloor mounds
Pratt et al. (2005). In this section, we only briefly intro- are present typically associated with deep-penetrating am-
duce FWI because it has been utilized as part of a hybrid plitude wipe-outs. Estimates of thermal gradients in the
inversion approach in combination with poststack AVO in- area suggest a deep base of the gas-hydrate stability zone
version. This specific FWI technique has been successfully of > 500 mbsf.
applied to several gas-hydrate
Downloadedenvironments (Mallick
25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. et al., subject to SEG
Redistribution license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
Prestack FWI was conducted at several locations
2000; Mallick, 2001; Dai et al., 2004), and examples of us- along seismic sections in both Keathley Canyon and At-
ing this hybrid inversion are shown below. water Valley study areas to obtain high-resolution VP, VS,
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 116 9/9/10 5:08:50 AM

Figure 5. (a) Water-filled porosity, (b) gas-hydrate and free-

gas concentration, (c) gas-hydrate concentration, and (d) free-
Figure 7. (a) P-wave impedance and gas-hydrate
gas concentration for the seismic data of USGS line BT-1 at
concentrations from hybrid EI inversion in the Gulf of
the Blake Ridge using the results of EI inversion seen in Figure
Mexico, Keathley Canyon (KC) area, (b) P-wave impedance
4 (after Lu and McMechan, (2004). Used by permission.
and gas-hydrate concentrations from hybrid EI inversion in
the Gulf of Mexico, Atwater Valley (AV) area (after Dai et al.,
and density profiles. An example of the FWI at Keathley 2004). This method is utilizing a hybrid inversion algorithm
Canyon is shown in Figure 6. These FWI inversion results using prestack FWI to define a low-frequency background
are then combined with standard linear prestack inversion trend inserted in the poststack inversion algorithm. Used by
as outlined by Mallick et al. (2000). The results from in- permission.
version of data at Keathley Canyon and Atwater Valley are
shown in Figure 7. Gas-hydrate concentrations range from
0% to a maximum of 30% of the pore space in both exam-
ples. High impedance values in the Keathley Canyon area
that are above the regionally seen BSR are stratigraphi-
cally bound in sand-rich strata. In the Atwater Valley ex-
ample, high-impedance values are seen associated with the
seafloor mound and are interpreted to represent significant
gas hydrate. Deeper impedance anomalies are more dif-
ficult to relate to gas hydrate because of the lack of a re-
gional BSR marking the base of gas-hydrate stability.
Figure 6. Results of FWI inversion (blue curve) at two sites

of the Keathley Canyon area (after Dai et al., 2004). The start
model of P-wave velocity based on standard stacking velocity
analyses is shown in red. The green curve shows velocity
derived from spatiallyDownloaded
continuous25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
velocity analyses (SCVA).
These high-resolution P-wave profiles are used as control
points in the hybrid EI inversion. Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 117 9/9/10 5:08:53 AM

Summary and Conclusions BP Canada Energy Company, Chevron Canada Resources,

and Burlington Resources Canada. This is ESS contribu-
Inversion of seismic data to obtain elastic param- tion number 20090382.
eters such as P- and S-wave velocity is an essential tool
in gas-hydrate assessment. Various techniques have been
developed to achieve this task and include (1) poststack References
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to determine reflection coefficient series that are combined Bellefleur, G., M. Riedel, and T. Brent, 2006, Seismic
with low-frequency trends obtained from either well-log characterization and continuity analysis of gas-hydrate
data or seismic velocity analyses, (2) AVO analyses to de- horizons near Mallik research wells, Mackenzie Delta,
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elastic impedance parameters (even λ and m), (3) direct Becquey, M., M. Lavergne, and C. Willm, 1979, Acoustic
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the computational limitations or in the absence of prestack reflectivity – Theory and practice of AVO analysis:
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well site can be linked with stratigraphic interpretations by logical Survey of Canada Bulletin 585.
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from the seismic data or by using additional a priori infor- and estimation of gas hydrates using rock physics and
mation to stabilize the results. It should also be noted that seismic inversion: Examples from the northern deep-
all the techniques in this paper are based on a purely elastic water Gulf of Mexico: The Leading Edge, 23, 60–66.
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Dvorkin, J., 2010, Rock physics of a gas hydrate reservoir:
We acknowledge the international partnership that un- this volume.
dertook the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Fatti, J. L., G. C. Smith, P. J. Vail, P. J. Strauss, and P. R.
Well Program: the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Levitt, 1994, Detection of gas in sandstone reservoirs
Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC), Geo-Forschungs using AVO analysis: A 3-D seismic case history using
Zentrum Potsdam (GFZ), U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Geostack technique: Geophysics, 59, 1362–1376.
India Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG), Fuchs, K., and G. Müller, 1971, Computation of synthetic
BP/ChevronTexaco/Burlington joint venture parties, and seismograms with the reflectivity method and com-
the U. S. Department of Energy (USDOE). The first 2 s parison with observations: Geophysical Journal of the
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of a 3D seismic reflection survey shot in the Mallik field license Astrological Society,
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program through partnership with the joint venture parties, band-limited reflection data: Geophysics, 65, 951–957.
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02181_SEG_GH_C07.indd 120 9/9/10 5:09:01 AM

Chapter 8
Vertical Seismic Profiles through Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediments

Ingo A. Pecher1, Bernd Milkereit2, Akio Sakai3, Mrinal K. Sen4, Nathan L. Bangs4, and Jun-Wei Huang2,5
Abstract particularly offshore due to the proximity of gas hydrates to

the seafloor. Conventional VSPs have now matured to be
Vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) are commonly used for a standard tool for gas-hydrate wells. The recent rapid de-
linking borehole information with surface-seismic surveys. velopments of VSP technology, both on the acquisition and
Since Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 146 offshore Cas- evaluation side, enable us to make new and exciting insights
cadia, VSP surveys have been conducted in all major gas- into natural gas hydrates.
hydrate drilling campaigns, both offshore and onshore. We
have compiled results from VSPs during ODP Legs 146
(1993, Cascadia margin), 164 (1995, Blake Ridge), 204 Introduction
(2002, Hydrate Ridge), the onshore Mallik campaigns in
1998 and 2002, as well as the Nankai Trough exploratory Vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) with seismic sources
wells. We also give a brief overview of other recent VSP op- on the surface and receivers in boreholes are commonly
erations conducted to investigate gas hydrates. All of these used in oil and gas exploration to improve the analysis
campaigns included zero-offset VSPs, including a shear- of surface-seismic reflection data using information from
wave VSP at the Mallik sites. Zero-offset VSPs proved in- boreholes. To our knowledge, the first VSP through known
valuable for tying seismic surveys to borehole data and also gas-hydrate-bearing sediments was acquired during Ocean
for interpolating data gaps in sonic logs. Compressional-to- Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 146 on the Cascadia margin
shear conversion was observed in both constant-offset and in 1992. All known subsequent drilling campaigns for gas
walkaway VSPs allowing measurement of shear-wave veloc- hydrates comprised VSPs.
ity offshore. Seismic anisotropy determined from walkaway
VSPs indicated a preferential alignment of clay platelets Methodology
within the Blake Ridge and gas-hydrate-bearing veins on
Hydrate Ridge. Finally, a unique approach, resonance scat- Seismic sources used for VSPs are similar to those for
tering, emerges as a promising tool to quantify the lateral surface-seismic data operating at main frequencies typically
heterogeneity of gas-hydrate deposits. Some challenges still in the 30–100 Hz range. Sonic data, for which both receiv-
remain for VSP operations in gas-hydrate-bearing sediments, ers and sources are operated in the borehole, usually oper-
ate in the kilohertz range yielding velocity profiles at much
higher resolution than VSPs, which then require averaging
(up-scaling) to be used for time-to-depth conversion of seis-
1
Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, mic reflection profiles. Additional complications for use of
Riccarton Campus, Edinburgh, Scotland, U. K. E-mail: sonic velocity profiles in conjunction with surface-seismic
ingo.pecher@pet.hw.ac.uk and GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New
Zealand, E-mail: i.pecher@gns.cri.nz
data are the possible frequency-dependency of seismic ve-
2
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, locities and the need to fill gaps in which the sonic profiles
Canada did not allow velocity determination (shown later in this
3
Exploration Division, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (Japex), chapter).
Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
4
Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, The
Three setups are commonly used VSPs (e.g., Hinds
University of Texas atDownloaded
Austin, Austin, Texas et al., 1996; Figure 1): zero-offset, constant-offset, and
25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
5
Presently at Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, walkaway VSPs. For zero-offset VSPs, a receiver or a
Ottawa, Canada string of receivers is moved in the borehole while shooting
121
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 121 9/23/10 6:51:19 PM

common-reflection-points
similar to common depth
points in surface data, fa-
cilitating the correlation of
events between both types
of data. These images also
enable events to be traced
away from the borehole at
higher lateral resolution
than in surface-data because
seismic lateral resolution in-
creases significantly if the
receivers are close to the re-
flectors. The oblique angle
of incidence of P waves may
lead to P-to-S conversion,
both upon transmission of
the downgoing wave and
upon reflection of upgoing
waves. Converted S-waves,
recorded with multicom-
ponent geophones, allow
the study of VS for offshore
Figure 1. Principal geometries, ray diagrams, and traveltime diagrams of VSPs. PP: constant-offset VSPs.
Reflected P-wave. PS-t: PS-wave, converted upon transmission; PS-r: converted upon
For walkaway VSPs,
reflection. Traveltime diagrams for zero- and constant-offset VSPs (c, f) assume constant
the source is towed across
velocity within layer, velocity increase across interface – bending of the arrival curve in the
the borehole while the
constant-offset VSP is a geometric effect. Reflected arrivals in constant-offset and walkaway
receiver(s) remain(s) at a
VSPs (e, h) can be sorted for common-depth points similar to those in surface-seismic
surveys.
constant depth. Cables with
several closely spaced re-
ceivers are usually deployed in industry surveys for dense
above the borehole, usually from the drillship at sea. The coverage of reflection points for imaging. On the other
traveltime of the direct wave from source to receiver gives hand, academic VSPs, at least offshore, have usually only
a traveltime-depth function that can be used to convert two- used single-VSP receivers, and spacing between individ-
way-traveltime sections from surface-reflection profiles to ual depth stations is relatively coarse precluding common-
depth, and thus tie events in the reflection data to informa- reflection-point imaging. In that case, walkaway-VSP
tion from the borehole. This traveltime-depth function can records are similar to those from sparsely spaced ocean-
readily be converted to a velocity-depth profile. VSP re- bottom seismometers (OBSs), albeit with a receiver buried
ceivers record both the direct, downgoing wave and the up- in the borehole. Multicomponent walkaway VSPs can re-
going waves reflected from below. The latter can be used to cord converted waves. The known receiver depth and large
further constrain the velocity function and to enhance the spread of azimuths also make walkaway VSPs well suited
correlation of events between VSP and surface data. De- to study seismic anisotropy (e.g., Kaderali et al., 2007).
ployment of sources in the water usually limits zero-offset VSP technology has undergone significant develop-
VSPs offshore to recording compressional (P-) waves and ment in recent years, especially with enhanced imaging
hence, offshore zero-offset VSPs usually only yield P-wave capabilities (see Hornby and Herron, 2007, and references
velocity (VP). Onshore, it is possible to use shear- (S-) wave therein). Modern VSP surveys in the hydrocarbon indus-
sources on the surface together with multicomponent geo- try often use 3D shooting patterns around long strings of
phones in the borehole for acquisition of S-wave VSPs and receivers in sometimes deviated boreholes, blurring the
determination of S-wave velocity (VS). boundaries between types of VSPs. The resulting dense
Constant-offset VSPs (sometimes simply referred to as coverage of raypaths and reflection points often allow more
offset VSPs) place the source at a constant offset away from accurate analyses than with the conventional VSP types
Downloaded
the borehole. In the marine 25 Junthis
case, 2012 to 95.28.162.50.
requires a Redistribution
separate subjectlisted
above. Other survey setups are being used occasion-
shooting vessel. Reflected waves cover a range of reflection ally; for example, reverse VSPs are sometimes acquired
points away from the borehole. This allows imaging with by the industry with shots generated in the borehole.
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 122 9/23/10 6:51:19 PM

Chapter 8: Vertical Seismic Profiles through Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediments 123
VSPs for gas hydrates challenges and possible future developments for the use of
VSPs to study gas-hydrate-bearing sediments.
Compared to conventional hydrocarbon reservoirs, off-
shore gas-hydrate deposits usually occur relatively close to
the seafloor. Often, the unconsolidated sediments at these
depths make acquisition of VSPs for gas-hydrate studies Ocean Drilling Program
challenging and require some modification of their design.
Boreholes for gas-hydrate studies typically are not cased ODP Leg 146
with cement and may collapse. Clamping of VSP receiv-
Zero-offset VSPs were acquired during ODP Leg 146
ers is usually achieved by pushing out arms against the
at Sites 889 (off Vancouver Island) and 892 (off Oregon).
borehole wall. These arms could penetrate soft sediments,
A P-wave velocity drop at bottom simulating reflections
and it might be difficult to pull the arm back in. Likewise,
(BSRs) from 1700–1900 m/s to 1520 m/s at Site 889 and
coupling (the seismic connection between the sediments
1250 m/s at Site 892 was attributed to the presence of free
and the receiver) is not optimal in soft sediments. VSPs
gas (MacKay et al., 1994). This was the second confirma-
for offshore surveys have been used for correlating seis-
tion from drilling that BSRs were caused by gas at the base
mic reflection data. They have shown to be particularly
of gas-hydrate stability, the first being from sonic logs off
successful for studying the presence of free gas beneath
Chile (Bangs et al., 1993). VSPs proved superior to sonic
the gas-hydrate stability zone based on velocity profiles.
logs for measuring VP in the free-gas zone because of the
It is also simpler to study seismic attenuation with VSPs
poor quality of the sonic signals in gassy sediments, a bias
than with surface towed data, which may be of particular
of usable sonic data toward higher velocities, and possible
interest because of recent observations of high attenuation
sonic wave transmission through drilling mud.
in gas-hydrate-bearing sediments (Guerin and Goldberg,
2002). Many academic surveys for gas hydrates use OBSs.
For such wide-angle data with near-horizontal rays, knowl-
ODP Leg 164, Blake Ridge
edge of anisotropy is particularly important (Holbrook,
2001), a task that can be achieved with VSPs because re- Zero-offset VSPs
ceiver depth and vertical velocity are well constrained. Fi-
nally, multicomponent constant-offset and walkaway VSPs Leg 164 on the Blake Ridge off South Carolina in late
hold promise for better converted wave identification in 1995 was the first ODP campaign dedicated to gas hydrates
OBSs, in particular, to identify the conversion horizon, a (Paull et al., 1996). Zero-offset VSPs were the key for de-
notoriously difficult task when analyzing converted waves termining the thickness of the free-gas layer beneath the
in sparsely spaced OBSs. hydrate stability zone and investigating the cause of ampli-
Thus far, onshore VSPs have mainly targeted subper- tude blanking. A perceived reduction of reflectivity above
mafrost hydrates. The permafrost layer poses difficulties BSRs in seismic reflection data from the study area led to
for seismic imaging further below because it constitutes the hypothesis that gas hydrates may cause a reduction of
a significant, highly variable (permafrost sediments are seismic reflection coefficients (Lee et al., 1993). Zero-offset
not simply uniformly frozen, i.e., cemented by ice) seis- VSPs were acquired in three boreholes (Table 1) along a
mic high-velocity layer (e.g., Miller et al., 2000). Gas transect across the ridge crest (Paull et al., 1996). A pro-
hydrate-bearing sediments seem to be more consolidated nounced decrease of VP from ~1800 m/s to ~1500 m/s at
than in many offshore cases, and VSP operations are there- the base of the gas-hydrate stability zone was interpreted as
fore more similar to those for deeper hydrocarbon targets. an effect of free gas (Holbrook et al., 1996). The free-gas-
Probably for this reason, the VSP surveys for permafrost zone is at least 250 m thick, much thicker than other ex-
hydrates presented here show a higher degree of sophisti- amples such as the 8-m-thin gas layer detected with sonic
cation than at least the academic offshore VSPs with regard logs on the Chile margin (Bangs et al., 1993). The gas zone
to receiver spacing, shot coverage, and general data qual- coincides with high amplitude reflections in seismic reflec-
ity, allowing imaging around the borehole and other novel tion data (Figure 2). Velocity contrasts, and hence reflec-
analysis techniques. Onshore seismic surveys in perma- tion coefficients, may be enhanced in the gas zone because
frost regions are usually conducted in the winter because VP is very sensitive to slight variations of gas saturation at
the frozen ground facilitates seismic operations. low gas concentrations (Domenico, 1977). Low reflectance
Here, we summarize the results from ODP drilling up in the hydrate zone was caused by a uniform sediment li-
to Leg 204 on Hydrate Ridge in 2002, from two onshore thology, not by hydrate. Therefore, the perceived amplitude
campaigns at the Mallik field25in
Downloaded Jun1998 and 2002,Redistribution
2012 to 95.28.162.50. and from subject toblanking
SEG license orresulted from
copyright; Terms anhttp://segdl.org/
of Use: amplitude increase in the gas
the Nankai Trough exploratory well. We also give a brief zone rather than an amplitude reduction in hydrate-bearing
overview on other recent VSPs. Finally, we discuss current sediments. (In a later reflection survey on the Blake Ridge,
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 123 9/23/10 6:51:38 PM

Table 1. Key acquisition parameters for VSPs during ODP Legs 164, 204, the Mallik Campaigns, and the Nankai Trough
exploratory well
VSP program Acquisition parameters Comments
ODP Leg 164 Source:
Zero-offset (Sites 994, 400 in3 Bolt air gun,
995, 997) 400 in3 pneumatic water gun
Receivers: Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution 3-C VSP tool 1 receiver per station
Normal station spacing: 8m
Walkaway (Sites 995, 997) Shooting vessel: R/V Cape Hatteras
Source: 105/105 in3 GI gun
Receivers: (as for zero-offset)
Maximum offset 7 km
Number of stations site 994: 2 One station: only southwest
(1 profile per station): site 995: 5 branch
3 additional stations unusable
due to noise
ODP Leg 204
Zero-offset (Sites 1244, source: Single GI gun
1247, 1250)
Shot repetition: 5-15
Receivers: WST-3 (1244, 1247) 1 receiver per station
VSI (1250)
Constant-offset (Sites Shooting vessel: R/V Maurice Ewing
1244, 1247, 1250, 1251)
Source: 2 105/105 in3 GI guns
Offset from drillship: 700 m (1244, 1247, 1250) No dynamic positioning
1000 m (1251) → drifting
Shot repetition: 5–15 Alternating with zero-offset
VSPs
Receivers: WST-3 (1244, 1247, 1251) 1 receiver per station
VSI (1250)
Walkaway (Sites 1244, Shooting vessel: R/V Maurice Ewing
1250, 1251)
Source: 2 105/105 in3 GI guns
Maximum offset: 3.5 km
Number of stations site 1244: 2
(2 crossing profiles per site 1250: 3
station): site 1251: 1
Receivers: WST-3 (1244, 1251) 1 receiver per station
VSI (1250)
a small area was detected in which a reduction of ampli- (Wood et al., 2000). As expected, QP was found to be very
tudes could unambiguously be attributed to gas hydrates low in the gas zone, down to QP 5 6. QP in the hydrate
(Holbrook et al., 2002)Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectzone,
to SEG license
on the or copyright;
other Terms of Use:
hand, was http://segdl.org/
in the normal range for un-
The inverse of attenuation for P waves, QP, was deter- consolidated marine sediments (90–600) indicating that (at
mined from the zero-offset VSP at Site 995 with single- seismic frequencies) low gas-hydrate concentrations do not
channel reflection data by inverting frequency spectra significantly affect attenuation (Wood et al., 2000).
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 124 9/23/10 6:51:38 PM

Table 1. Continued
VSP program Acquisition parameters Comments

Mallik 2L-38
Zero-offset Source: IVI mini vibrators (horizontal
and vertical excitation)
Offset from wellhead: 33.9 m
Sweep: 12 s 3 s listening time
Sweep frequency: 10–200 Hz (vertical)
50–10 Hz (horizontal) Down-sweep mode
Receivers: Schlumberger Combinable
Seismic Imager (3-C) cable
Receiver spacing: 5 m (vertical source)
15 m (horizontal)
Receiver depth range: 1145–500 m
IVI mini vibrators
Constant-offset Source: (vertical only)
Offset from wellhead: 400.7 m
Sweep: (as for zero-offset)
Sweep frequency: 10–100 Hz
Receivers: (as for zero-offset)
Receiver spacing: 5m
Both Sampling rate: 1 ms
Low-pass: 300 Hz
Mallik 3L-38
Multioffset Source: Vertical-force vibroseis, Mertz
model 18
Offsets: -22–316 m (12 stations)
Sweep frequency: 8-180 Hz (linear)
Receivers: Schlumberger Array Seismic 5-receiver cable
Imager
Receiver spacing: 15 m
Nankai Trough
Exploration Well
Zero-offset (Main well Source: 105/105 in3 GI gun
and post-survey Wells 1
and 3)
Receiver spacing: 2.5–5 m 2.5 m for target zones
Walkaway VSPs five stations at Site 995. Converted waves were only ac-
curately identifiable at Site 994 (Pecher et al., 1997). The
The main objectives for walkaway VSPs during Leg high noise level resulting from bad weather only allowed
164 were to record converted
Downloaded 25waves and
Jun 2012 to to study
95.28.162.50. possible
Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
analysis of downgoing direct P arrivals at the other stations.
anisotropy. Because of problems with clamping the tool The converted-wave data from this single station provided
to the borehole and adverse weather, usable profiles were only an ambiguous location of the conversion within the
only acquired at two receiver stations at Site 994 and at sediment column.
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 125 9/23/10 6:51:39 PM

should be expected). At further offsets, direct waves ar-

rived earlier than predicted with isotropic modeling. This
observation qualitatively agrees with findings that velocity
profiles from zero-offset VSPs between BSR and seafloor
were ~6% lower than those obtained from wide-angle OBS
data (Korenaga et al., 1997; Holbrook, 2001).
The mismatch between predicted and modeled arrivals in
the walkaway VSPs was symmetrical across the borehole in-
dicating vertical transverse isotropy (TI) (Figure 3). TI is the
simplest form of seismic anisotropy. Seismic velocity is only
lowered along one axis (in this case, vertical). Vertical TI in
Figure 2. (a) Seismic soft sediments is often caused by subhorizontal thin layering
reflection profile across (compared to seismic wavelengths) and by preferential align-
ODP Leg 164 sites. Note the ment of clay particles. Weak TI is often approximated by the
relatively low reflectivity Thomsen parameters (Thomsen, 1986) e and d. In the case of
above the BSR.(b) Vertical vertical TI, e is a measure of the ratio of horizontal and verti-
VP from zero-offset VSP at cal VP (e 5 (Vhorizontal 2 Vvertical)/Vvertical, for P-waves), whereas
Site 995, sketch of sediment d mostly affects rays at an incidence angle around ~45°. e is
column related to gas/gas by definition >0; d can also be <0. The often used assumption
hydrates and to lithology. A,
of elliptic anisotropy (d 5 e, for which the velocity as a func-
C, and E are walkaway-VSP
tion of ray incidence angle falls on an ellipse with horizontal
(w-VSP) stations used in
velocity being the long and vertical velocity being the short
Figure 3. km-bsf: kilometers
axis) does not have any physical meaning.
below the seafloor.
An analysis of Thomsen parameters from anisotropic
ray tracing (Gajewski and Psencik, 1989) showed that the
uppermost 132-m-thick, moderately reflective sediment
package (Figure 2) were iso-
tropic. Pecher et al. (2003)
determined Thomsen pa-
rameters of e 5 0.05 6 0.02,
d 5 0.04 6 0.06 in the low-
reflectivity zone below
132 m beneath the seafloor
(mbsf), increasing to e 5
0.16 6 0.04, d 5 0.19 6
0.12 in the free-gas zone.
Because the anisotropic
low-reflectivity layer ap-
proximately coincided with
the zone of gas-hydrate
occurrence, rock physics
modeling (Backus, 1962;
Helgerud et al., 1999) was
applied to test whether thin
Figure 3. Observed and predicted traveltimes (isotropic raytracing using vertical
horizontally aligned hydrate
VP from zero-offset VSP) at ODP Leg 164, Site 995, hyperbolic traveltime reduction
layers could cause such TI.
(tred 5 t 2 "x 1 z /v 1 z/v, where tred: reduced time, t: unreduced time, x: offset, z: depth,
2 2
The positive values for d,
v: velocity); see Figure 2b for station depths. At stations C and E at larger offsets, the direct
wave arrives considerably earlier than predicted. Discrepancies are symmetric, indicating
however, were difficult to ob-
vertical TI. tain with realistic thin-layer
models in this environment.
Direct arrivals in walkaway VSPs Site 995 provided On the other hand, the anisotropic unit consisted predomi-
data for anisotropy analysis. Predicted and observed trav- nantly of clays. Thomsen parameters were well within the
eltimes in the walkaway VSP records using VP from zero- range for sediments with preferentially aligned clay parti-
offset VSPs matched precisely at close offsets (which cles. TI in hydrate-bearing clay has been primarily attributed
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 126 9/23/10 6:51:39 PM

to preferential alignment of clay particles using effective

media models (Jakobsen et al., 2000) in which sediment
is filled with elongated, preferentially aligned pore space.
Therefore, it was concluded that preferential alignment of
clay particles is the most likely cause of the observed TI on
the Blake Ridge. An increase in TI across the gas-hydrate/
free-gas interface may reflect an increase in the velocity
contrast between the clay matrix and the pore fill. Note that
e 5 0.05 6 0.02 in the hydrate-bearing layer is similar to the
observed discrepancy of 6% between vertical velocities from
zero-offset VSPs and OBSs, which are largely dominated by Figure 4. Reflectivity modeling (Kennett and Kerry, 1979)
horizontal velocities (Holbrook, 2001). of a PS-wave converted on transmission at the seafloor (PS-t,
assuming a gas-hydrate layer right beneath the seafloor),
geometry adjusted for ODP Leg 204, Site 1250. (a) velocity/
ODP Leg 204, Hydrate Ridge
density model (QP 5 200 and QS 5 25 throughout the
Hydrate Ridge off Oregon was drilled in 2002 to study sediment column). (b) x-component, amplitudes (top, relative
gas hydrates on accretionary margins (Tréhu et al., 2003). to direct zero-offset arrival in z-component) and synthetic
Sites were located close to the southern ridge crest, where seismogram. For offsets between 0.5 and 1.5 km, reliable,
massive hydrates had been discovered on the seafloor (Suess strong, PS waves are predicted. P-t: direct (transmitted) P
wave, PP: reflected P wave. Similar results were found for
et al., 2001), and in a small basin on the eastern flank of the
other receiver depths and for PS conversion on reflection at
ridge crest. A combination of zero-offset, constant-offset
the BSR. Hence, the choice of offset for the constant-offset
and walkaway VSPs was conducted during ODP Leg 204.
VSP was fairly robust (0.7 km was chosen at this site).
Planning and operations

Constant-offset VSPs were designed to provide PS- regional thick free-gas zone was detected from the zero-offset
arrivals, converted upon transmission or reflection, which VSPs in contrast to the Blake Ridge (Tréhu et al., 2006).
allowed an analysis of near-vertical VS similar to VP-profiles
from zero-offset VSPs. Precruise modeling focused on ob- Results from constant-offset VSPs
taining a reliable offset for P-to-S conversion, not knowing
exactly where in the sediment column it would take place. The observation of several P-to-S conversion horizons
For realistic scenarios, significant conversion was predicted and their relation with gas hydrates was one of the main
over a large range of offsets, and the choice for offset was results of VSP operations during Leg 204. The constant-
flexible (Figure 4). offset VSPs recorded on the well seismic tools (WSTs)
The R/V Maurice Ewing was used as the shooting vessel were too noisy to be able to identify S-wave arrivals in the
for constant-offset and walkaway VSPs. The vessel did not constant-offset VSPs. Shear waves could only be analyzed
have dynamic positioning capabilities, which posed a chal- from data recorded with the Versatile Seismic Imager (VSI,
lenge for the constant-offset VSPs. A series of shots, 5–15, ®trademark of Schlumberger) tool at Sites 1247 and 1250.
were fired alternately from their respective sources for zero- Three conversion horizons between the seafloor and the
offset VSPs and then for constant-offset VSPs. Walkaway- BSR were identified by the PS-arrivals on the constant-off-
VSPs were conducted as separate VSP tool runs, usually set VSP at Site 1247. Whereas only one of them produced
shooting two perpendicular, 7-km-long profiles per station. a strong arrival at each of the vertical stations, each of them
Table 1 summarizes VSP operations in Leg 204 boreholes. produced shear velocities that were consistent with the VS
wireline logs, and they appeared to be real events. The shal-
Results from zero-offset VSPs lowest conversion horizon lies at ~45 m sub-seafloor close
to the base of the hydrate reduction zone, where hydrate
The results from zero-offset VSPs corroborate previous is commonly first encountered in adjacent drill cores. The
VP data that suggests that the total hydrate concentrations are remaining two conversion horizons lie near the BSR where
generally low, and hydrate and free gas coexist in isolated hydrate concentrations are typically highest as indicated
areas beneath the southern summit of Hydrate Ridge. Dis- by wireline logs and drill cores. One of these arrivals cor-
tinctive low-velocity zones beneath the BSR are interpreted responds directly with a seismic reflection in 3D seismic
to be the result of free gas within thin and stratigraphically site survey data ~25 m above and parallel to the BSR, but
controlled layers. These layers are the main gas migration it is not regionally extensive, extending only several tens
conduits feeding the southern summit of Hydrate Ridge. No of meters laterally from Site 1247. Whereas the conversion
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 127 9/23/10 6:51:43 PM

horizons indicated hydrate layers, no increase in VS was done in a layer stripping fashion, which started from the
observed in the layers to indicate substantial increase in top. This was followed by a very fast simulated annealing
shear modulus as is expected from high concentrations of algorithm (Sen and Stoffa, 1995) based traveltime inver-
hydrate. The P-to-S conversions probably occurred because sion to estimate realistic heterogeneous model parameters.
of hydrate within pore space and within thin layers, which Kumar et al. (2006) found that the southern summit of
did not significantly affect bulk shear properties. Hydrate Ridge is anisotropic, whereas the basin east of the
summit is isotropic (Figure 5). The vertical velocity beneath
the summit is higher than the east–west horizontal veloc-
Results from walkaway VSPs
ity (horizontal TI) in contrast to the usual observation of
Kumar et al. (2006) analyzed the walkaway VSPs slower vertical velocity than horizontal velocity in flat ly-
at Sites 1250 and 1251 together with data from an OBS ing sedimentary sequences. This is interpreted to be a result
transect between both sites. They observed a traveltime er- of vertical fractures. Fractures are observed throughout the
ror for isotropic modeling based on vertical velocities, thus hydrate stability zone beneath the summit. These fractures
indicating anisotropy. Analysis of this traveltime error was appear to be pathways for methane to the seafloor (Suess
et al., 2001; Tréhu et al., 2004).
Kumar et al. (2006) suggest
that hydrates either fill already
existing fractures or create
them during hydrate growth.
This results in gas hydrate vein
filling and hence, thin, verti-
cally aligned high-velocity
layers that cause anisotropy on
seismic wavelengths.
Mallik –
Permafrost
Gas Hydrate
The Mallik gas-hydrate
Figure 5. VP and Thomsen parameter e for south-to-north (left-to-right) profiles at ODP campaigns in the Macken-
Leg 204, Site 1250. Walkaway VSPs were recorded at two receiver stations (dots). A, B, zie Delta, Canada, drilled in
and C mark different sediment units. 1998 and 2002, were the first
boreholes dedicated to study-
ing permafrost gas hydrates (Figure 6). VSPs during those
campaigns took advantage of the availability of cables of
densely spaced receivers allowing well-proximal imaging
and of the possibility to generate S-waves on the surface
for measurement of VS of gas-hydrate-bearing layers with
good quality.
Mallik 2L-38 (1998)

The JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 gas-hydrate
research well was drilled in February to March 1998. A
number of gas-hydrate-bearing cores were recovered with
saturations estimated to be up to 70% of pore space in a
sampled depth interval of 886–952 m. Wireline logging
data indicated gas-hydrate-bearing layers at a depth inter-
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectval oflicense
to SEG 897–1110 m.
or copyright; VSPs
Terms of Use:at this site (Figure 6) were ac-
http://segdl.org/
Figure 6. Mallik 2L-38 and 3L-38: Schematic map of survey
geometries. The source for constant-offset VSP at 2L-38 was quired to estimate VP and VS, which were correlated with
located 400 m to the east-northeast of the borehole. sonic log data and surface seismic data. VP and VS were
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 128 9/23/10 6:51:45 PM

first estimated by traveltime inversion for both zero-offset separated, and the upgoing wavefield was deconvolved
and constant-offset VSPs. Resolution of the velocity model by zero-phase deconvolution designed by the downgoing
was increased by parametric inversion under the assump- wavefield. For the vibrating motion of the shear source, the
tion of linear superposition of P- and S-wave modes at the transverse motion was presumed to be dominant, and hori-
receiver site for the offset VSP. Nonlinear waveform inver- zontal motions were separated into both radial and trans-
sion was performed to maximize resolution of the zero- versal directions. For offset data, the horizontal components
offset vertical-source VSP (Ji et al., 2000). were reoriented to radial and transverse components using
polarization analysis of the first motion of the compres-
Data acquisition sional wave. The observed wavetrain was modeled by the
linear superposition of four types of locally planar waves,
VSPs were acquired with two mini vibrators. For zero- that is, downgoing and upgoing P and S waves for paramet-
offset VSPs, one mini vibrator was operated in vertical mo- ric inversion. Polarization angles and apparent slownesses
tion for generation of P waves whereas the other was in with frequency spectra of the elementary wave at any given
transverse motion for S waves. A three-component (3-C) depth level were determined by minimizing the mean square
cable was used for the receiver. Receiver spacing was 5 m error between model and observation over some depth levels
for the vertical source and 15 m for the horizontal source. (Devaney and Oristaglio, 1986; Esmersoy, 1988). An initial
Receiver depths ranged between 1145 and 500 m, and the velocity model for inversion was constructed from coarsely
source offset was 33.9 m from the wellhead. For the offset picked apparent traveltime readings in the zero-offset VSP
VSP, two mini-vibrators were operated in vertical motion at in sections of the borehole above target depth and from ve-
400.7 m offset from the wellhead, with a 3-C receiver cable locity analysis of seismic data in deeper sections. The num-
and with a 5-m depth interval between depths of 1145 and ber of traces in the inversion governs the resolution. Five
240 m. Every vibroseis sweep was monitored during the traces were used after trials. Velocities from the inversion
survey. Statistical analysis of all the sweeps showed a high are displayed in Figure 7 together with results from wire-
level of performance in the operation. For the zero-offset line logging data (Sakai, 1999b). VP from the offset VSP is
survey, vertical and horizontal sources alternated at the
same receiver level for operational efficiency. See Table 1
for a summary of acquisition parameters.
Electric power generators at the site were found to be a
major source of noise. Some generators were subsequently
switched off during the VSP survey, which enhanced data
quality. The steady strong wind on the rig caused low-fre-
quency noise on the VSP records. Geophone coupling could
be determined from the difference between the velocity
measured by the geophone and the velocity of the forma-
tion without the geophone. Good locking mechanisms of
the borehole geophone decrease this difference. If the bore-
hole diameter is larger than the geophone locking arm due
to washouts, anomalous resonance peaks not existing in the
signal are present in the observed frequency band. Tool cou-
pling in an open-hole interval of the borehole could be pre-
dicted from caliper and gamma ray logs acquired prior to
and during the survey. Field testing of operation and record-
ing parameters was essential for success in the VSP opera-
tion. Rig costs permitting, extensive field testing should be
done in any VSP survey. The original specifications of the
Mallik 2L-38 survey were substantially modified after field
testing. In the cased hole above approximately 250 m, data
deterioration was caused by cavities in the cement filling.
Data analysis Figure 7. Mallik 2L-38: VP estimated from parametric

inversion for offset VSP, traveltime inversion of zero-offset
Three-component VSP data
Downloaded 25 Junprovide VP andRedistribution
2012 to 95.28.162.50. VS as well subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
VSP and monopole Dipole Sonic Imager, ®Schlumberger
as high-resolution reflection images close to the well. (DSI) sonic velocities, and VS estimated from parametric
For zero-offset data, upgoing and downgoing waves were inversion for offset VSP and DSI shear sonic velocities.
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 129 9/23/10 6:51:49 PM

consistent with VP estimated from zero-offset VSPs, which inferred that the QP in the hydrate zone appears larger (i.e.,
suggests that the VP is laterally homogeneous at seismic attenuation was lower) than in the hydrate-free zone, al-
wavelengths equivalent to the offset range. though there remain difficulties in their analysis caused by
Acoustic transit-time logs from the wireline data interbed multiples. Their results were contrasted with those
were integrated and compared with those from the VSPs. of the well data analysis done later. High P-wave attenuation
Integrated transit times from the wireline sonic logs were in gas-hydrate layers was found from an analysis of sonic
smaller than traveltimes from the VSPs. The drift in the data (Guerin and Goldberg, 2002). Elevated attenuation of
depth range between 669 and 889 m and 889 and 1132 m gas-hydrate-bearing sediments is being incorporated into
was 35.13 μs/ft (115.26 μs/m) and 7.76 μs/ft (25.46 μs/m), rock physics models for which laboratory studies will be re-
respectively, for S waves but only 0.69 μs/ft (2.26 μs/m) and quired in addition to field observations (e.g., Dvorkin and
3.38 μs/ft (11.09 μs/m), respectively, for P waves (see Fig- Uden, 2004).
ure 8 for S waves, Sakai, 1998a). The wireline log transit
times were subsequently corrected for this drift. The drift Indication of anisotropy of the shear
between VSP and wireline sonic data suggests attenuation
in the gas-hydrate zone with velocity dispersion. Note there
source mode zero-offset VSP
were no prominent indications of dispersion of P waves and The transverse component of the shear wave is faster
the zone with gas hydrate saturation coincided with S-wave than the radial component in the depth zone above approxi-
dispersion. mately 680 m; however, it is slower in the depth zone be-
A direct estimate of attenuation from VSP data is chal- low that level (see Figure 9; Sakai, 1999b). This suggests
lenging. Only a few such studies have been conducted for different types of anisotropy at these two depth zones. One
the Mallik 2L-38 (Mi et al., 1999). They examined P-wave possible mechanism for this birefringence is a change in
attenuation (inverse of QP) in the hydrate-free and the hy- fracture orientation between the two zones. Fracture orien-
drate zone using the amplitude spectral ratio method and tation in the shallower zone is predicted to be aligned with
the polarization of the transverse component of the shear
waves, whereas it is perpendicular to that in the deeper
zone. The base of permafrost is approximately 640-m-deep.
The mechanical boundary formed by ice-bonding layers
might play a role as a possible origin of the anisotropy and/
Figure 8. Mallik 2L-38: One-way traveltime of transverse

S waves in the zero-offset VSP (red dotted line) and
computed by integration of DSI shear transit time calibrated
at 530 m depth as a function of depth below mean sea level Figure 9. Mallik 2L-38: VSP records of horizontal
(blue line). A prominent drift is observed between them. source mode that shows an indication of anisotropy of
For reference, observed one-way traveltimes of the less different modes in zone 1 and zone 2. The left record is the
significant radial S waves is overlain (green dotted line); transversely polarized, the right record the radially polarized
traveltimes coincide at 530 m with those of transverse horizontal component. Time intervals in the figure are 0.1 s
S waves. (with an arbitrary origin).
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 130 9/23/10 6:51:53 PM

or major gas-hydrate-bearing zones might lead to selective inversion method was also successfully applied to zero-
fracture alignment. Such a specific direction of anisotropy offset VSP data in wells of the first Ministry of Interna-
would be related to regional tectonism. tional Trade and Industry (MITI) Nankai Trough drilling
campaign (Sakai, 2000b; Sakai, 2003).
Velocity estimate by full waveform
inversion of zero-offset VSP Mallik 3L-38 (2002)
Several studies of BSRs using waveform inversion in The Mallik 2002 gas hydrate research program was
the intercept-time/slowness domain have been conducted launched in the Northwest Territories of Canada with one
on seismic reflection and OBS data (e.g., Singh et al., main borehole, 5L-38, and two observation holes 50 m
1993; Korenaga et al., 1997). Waveform inversion consists
of retrieving velocity from observed data by minimizing
the misfit that is defined by a sample-by-sample compari-
son. In the case of VSPs, the horizontal sampling is very
sparse, and the method is modified to analyze data in the
frequency-depth domain. Because the horizontal com-
ponents were very small, only the vertical component of
the upgoing wavefield was inverted after wavefield sepa-
ration. Synthetic data were calculated by the reflectivity
method (Kennett and Kerry, 1979), and the misfit with
observed data was optimized by conjugate gradient local
search (Kormendi and Dietrich, 1991). VSPs can predict
the velocity structure below the total depth of the well.
The reflection matching was good, indicating the predic-
tion capability of this approach. As illustrated in Figures 10
and 11, very high-resolution estimates of VP were derived,
and major gas-hydrate saturation layers were identified (Ji
et al., 2000). Gas-hydrate saturations could then be esti-
mated from VP using rock physics models (Dvorkin et al.,
1999; Sakai, 1999a, b; Sakai, 2000a). This full waveform
Figure 11. (a) Processed upgoing wavefield of vertical

Figure 10. Mallik 2L-38: Results from waveform inversion. component of zero offset data, Mallik 2L-38. (b) Difference
Solid line is the inverted VP model and dashed line is from the between processed and synthetic seismogram computed
sonic log (calibrated using VSP traveltimes). using the inverted velocity model.
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 131 9/23/10 6:51:57 PM

away (3L-38 and 4L-38). A multioffset VSP survey was vertical seismic source did not generate any shear waves;
conducted in Mallik 3L-38 (Figure 6) as part of the Mallik however, based on converted waves at far offsets, aver-
2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program (Dal- age VS in the hydrate zone was 1100 m/s (Milkereit et al.,
limore and Collett, 2005) to study the vertical and lateral 2005).
variations of gas-hydrate distribution. Gas-hydrate-bearing P-wave reflectivity and VSP common depth point
lithologies are located at approximately 900–1100-m- (CDP) gathers show three distinct arrivals (Figure 13). The
depth. Vibroseis source signals for offsets up to almost 400 arrival from zone A, which is interpreted as the top of the
m were recorded using a 3-C, five-level tool. The shallow- hydrate zone, could not be resolved in surface data. Zones
est VSP station was at 560 m, which was below the base of B, which may be a reflection from a coal seam (Milkereit
the permafrost. Seven-fold vertical stacking provides high et al., 2005), and C (interpreted as the base of gas hydrate)
signal-to-noise final VSP recordings for true amplitude were also identified in a surface 3D volume after tying the
processing, first-break traveltime picks, velocity analysis, impedance-inverted data into sonic logs (Bellefleur et al.,
and wavefield separation. 2006). The surface data suggest that zone B only extends
more than several hundreds of meters, underlining the need
VSP data for techniques to assess the lateral heterogeneity of the gas-
hydrate deposits. Zone C, likely the base of gas hydrates,
Sonic logs in the Mallik wells show strong velocity also generated a prominent converted shear arrival in the
contrasts across gas-hydrate-bearing layers. Synthetic seis- offset-VSP sections (Figure 13).
mograms derived from these logs and petrophysical data
predict strong reflections from gas-hydrate-bearing sedi-
ments. However, conventional surface seismic data only Analysis of resonance scattering to
show a weak reflection related to the top of gas-hydrate study lateral heterogeneity
zones and reveal ambiguous lateral continuity, even after
optimizing the resolution of the seismic images by imped- A recipe was developed to assess the lateral homoge-
ance inversion (Bellefleur et al., 2006). 3-C offset VSP in neity of the target zone using the resonance spectrum of
2D or 3D is one of the common methods to assess lateral three-component VSP data (Milkereit et al., 2003). At each
continuity of subsurface formations. depth interval, the three components are rotated into the ray
Figure 12 shows the data recorded by the offset-VSP coordinate system so that the radial component points into
survey. The direct downgoing wavefield exhibits clear first- the direction of the incident P wave. The first arrival is win-
break energy, no noise contamination, and stable waveforms dowed, whereby the same time window must be applied to
(left-handed set of five panels for source offsets ranging the three components. A resonance spectrum is obtained by
from 83 to 316 m). Prominent reflected energy from the dividing the amplitude spectra of transverse and the radial
gas-hydrate zone is shown in the right-handed set of five components at each depth interval. Zero amplitude in a res-
panels after wavefield separation and amplitude scaling. onance spectrum indicates definite polarization of the direct
P-wave velocities beneath the permafrost and above P wave into the ray direction, which is expected for only
the gas-hydrate-bearing section averaged 2040 m/s, reach- very weak lateral heterogeneity along the path of the direct
ing an average VP of 2470 m/s in the zone in which gas- wave. High amplitudes in a resonance spectrum, however,
hydrate-bearing layers were present (~900–1100 m). The are observed if energy of the direct wave is observed on the
Figure 12. Mallik 3L-38:

Offset vertical-seismic-
profiling recordings (vertical
component) from the gas-
hydrate zone in the well: The
five panels on the left show
the downgoing wavefield, and
the five panels on the right
show the reflected, upgoing
wavefield (Milkereit et al.,
2005). Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 132 9/23/10 6:52:01 PM

Figure 13. (a) Compressional-wave reflectivity from zero-offset VSP recording, Mallik 3L-38. Abbreviations: A, reflection
from top of gas hydrate zone; B, reflection from within gas hydrate zone (coal seam); C, reflection from base of gas hydrate
zone. (b) Shear-wave reflectivity from offset VSP recording (horizontal component). Abbreviation: C, converted shear
wave from base of gas hydrate zone (estimated shear-wave velocity in gas hydrate zone is 1100 m/s) (from Milkereit
et al., 2005).
horizontal components due to scattering at small-scale lat- evidence of resonance scattering. However, for short hori-
eral heterogeneities near the receiver. The peak frequency zontal scales, prominent resonance peaks are observed in
may provide information on the composition and shape of the spectra.
the scattering structure (Milkereit et al., 2003). Figure 15 shows the resonance scattering response
The suitability of this method to detect heterogeneities measured in the Mallik 3L-38 data. The top of the gas hy-
at subwavelength scales is demonstrated with a synthetic drate zone at ~900 m coincides with a pronounced increase
example in Figure 14, which shows petrophysical models in resonance scattering, which suggests strong lateral het-
for a heterogeneous reservoir composed of random me- erogeneity at this depth. This observation is consistent, al-
dia generated with specified correlation lengths. Informa- beit at a much smaller scale, with significant well-to-well
tion about short wavelength horizontal scale parameters is variability between wells L-38, 2L-38, and 5L-38 of the
contained in the resonance spectra of the forward scattered thickness of gas-hydrate-bearing zones and hydrate con-
wavefield recorded in VSP geometry. The vertical scale centration derived from resistivity (Dallimore and Collett,
length for all models is 50 m, and the models can be tied to 2005). We suggest that the lack of strong, coherent arrivals
an existing borehole log; the horizontal scale of the reser- from this depth level in surface data, despite showing strong
voir model has correlation lengths of 2000, 500, and 50 m. velocity contrasts in the borehole, is likely to be linked to
The resonance spectra are computed for seismic frequen- the small lateral scale of velocity heterogeneities. Further
cies from 20 to 120 Hz. As expected, seismic waveform analyses are being conducted to constrain the scales of the
data for models with large horizontal scale lengths show no heterogeneities.
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 133 9/23/10 6:52:03 PM

Figure 14.
(a) Petrophysical
reservoir models
for different lateral
correlation length
axes. (b) Resonance
spectrum amplitude
for reservoir models
with different lateral
scale length. Seismic
frequencies range
from 20 to 120 Hz
corresponding to
wavelength 120–20
m (from Milkereit
et al., 2003).
small-scale heterogeneities. Mallik 2L-38 well logs

indicated three gas-hydrate-bearing zones: 896–928,
950–1030, and 1074–1112 m (the equivalent intervals
in Mallik 5L-38 are 892–930, 942–993, and 1070–1107
m; these intervals were identified from resistivity logs,
which were not acquired in Mallik 3L-38, the VSP hole
[Dallimore and Collett, 2005]). Certain scales were as-
signed to the second gas-hydrate layer and 2D elastic
models are constructed (Figure 16a). Receivers to cap-
ture transmitted energy were located horizontally at a
depth of 1400 m, above the added reference reflector at
a depth of 1600 m. The downgoing incident spherical
waves with a primary frequency of 50 Hz were generated
at the free surface.
High-velocity patchy zones represented gas-hydrate-
Figure 15. Resonance-scattering response measured in bearing sediments (80% of pore space), whereas low ve-
the inline and crossline directions (horizontal component locities simulate background velocities of sediments with
pointing toward surface source) for the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC
lower gas-hydrate saturation (40% of pore space). They
Mallik et al. 3L-38 well; top of the gas hydrate zone in well
were connected by short transition zones (e.g., 50 m) with
3L-38 shows evidence of pronounced lateral heterogeneity,
constant thickness. The relationship between hydrate con-
particularly in the northwest-southeast crossline direction
(from Milkereit et al., 2005).
centration and velocities can be found by using rock phys-
ics, for example, weighted equations or effective medium
theory (Lee, 2002).
Hypothesis of patchy distributions Strong forward scattering is observed in the snap-
of gas hydrates Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectshots from the explosive source (Figure 16b). The back-
ward scattering is weaker than reflections occurring at
Based on the results from resonance scattering anal- layer interfaces. Strong reflections are observed at the
ysis, a patchy structure was tested as a specific case of top and base of the gas-hydrate-bearing sediment layer.
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 134 9/23/10 6:52:05 PM

Figure 16. (a) 2D

P-wave velocity patchy
model, 1600-m-wide and
2100-m-deep, from the
Mallik 2L-38 well logs.
The patchy layer is located
between 950 m and 1030 m.
The reference reflector is at
1600 m. Yellow solid dots
schematically represent the
receivers. Explosive source
location is represented by a
red dot. The traces along line
A-B-C are combined in (c).
1–3: Gas-hydrate-bearing
zones. (b) The snapshot with
surface source. Upgoing
waves carrying heterogeneity
information are weaker than
reflections from the layers
above and below. (c) Merged
vertical components of
reflection seismogram (A-B)
and vertical seismic profiling
(B-C) using an explosive
source. The dotted arrows mark the top and
bottom layers of gas hydrate sediments.
The lateral variations of amplitude due to
heterogeneity of gas hydrate distribution
can be observed between 0.65 s and 0.80
s in the zoom-in box. A 100 ms window
automatic gain control was applied.
Horizontal discontinuities on the surface

seismic profile (gas-hydrate expressions
on Figure 16c) are observed but ambigu-
ous. The vertical component surface seis-
mograms reveal weak reflections from
the gas-hydrate zone; the true amplitude
ratio of target reflections to first break
arrivals is ~40 dB. Lateral variations of
reflected and transmitted P-wave am-
plitude (not shown) indicate the lateral
scales of gas-hydrate zones. Other nu-
merical simulations (Huang et al., 2006)
also showed that the limited lateral scale
of strong contrasts of both P- and S-wave
velocity can generate strong P-to-S con-
verted energy, which provides a way to
estimate both P-wave and S-wave veloc-
ity contrasts because of gas-hydrate oc-
currence and thus the hydrate deposition
mechanism (Ecker et al., 1997).
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 135 9/23/10 6:52:19 PM

have been suspended to fully evaluate the resource poten-

tial in the future.
In the first drilling campaign, six wells including one
pilot well and one logging-while-drilling well were drilled
without a riser by M. G. Hulmes Jr. from November 1999
through February 2000 (Sakai, 2000b; Takahashi et al.,
2001; Figure 17). VSPs were gathered in three wells: the
main well and two additional wells (post survey Well 1 and
postsurvey Well 3; postsurvey Well 2 was for coring oper-
ations). The main well and the postsurvey Well 3 were lo-
cated along a high resolution seismic survey line. 2D high
resolution surveys in conjunction with other surveys such
as Deep Towed Acoustic/Geophysics System (DTAGS) of
the U. S. Naval Research Laboratory and broadband seis-
mic data revealed a discontinuous or patchy nature of BSR
distribution in the Nankai Trough (Sakai, 1998b). Because
of poor cementing in the irregularly enlarged shallower
part of the main well, data quality of the wireline survey
was very poor, and it was difficult to quantitatively ana-
lyze those data. The irregularity was caused by alternat-
ing layers of unconsolidated sediment and hydrate-bearing
sediment. In wireline surveys of the postsurvey wells,
experiences from the main well suggested that wireline
logging should follow immediately after drilling, before
borehole wall deterioration caused increased hole irregu-
larity. VSPs in the other two postsurvey wells were zero-
offset VSPs that used 105/105 in3 generator-injector (GI)
Figure 17. Schematic well location map of the first MITI guns with depth ranges 1005 –1300 m in Well 1 and 1005
Nankai Trough drilling campaign. –1299 m in Well 3 and with 5 m depth sampling. In the
target depth range of the postsurvey Well 1, depth sam-
pling was 2.5 m.
Major gas-hydrates zones were identified from wire-
Other Recent Surveys
line data at 1139–1145, 1150–1155, 1182–1190, and
Nankai Trough Exploratory Well 1203–1212 m depth intervals for the postsurvey Well 1. At
this site, VP could not be constrained from Schlumberger’s
In late 1999 to early 2000, the Ministry of Interna- monopole data of the dipole sonic imager (DSI) because of
tional Trade and Industry (MITI) (now renamed the Min- high attenuation of the first breaks at depth ranges 1208–
istry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, METI), undertook 1210, 1215–1217, 1219–1220, and 1239–1242 m (Figure 18).
a drilling campaign for gas-hydrate exploration to study Such high-attenuation zones were also identified in the
the gas-hydrate reservoir in the Nankai Trough. BSRs postsurvey Well 3. S-wave velocity was estimated without
have been broadly observed in multichannel seismic sur- any difficulty from DSI records. VSP data were used to fill
veys around the Japanese islands since the late 1970s, gaps in the sonic velocity profiles. Traveltime inversion of
including in the Nankai Trough. Since 1995, intensive the first-break picking and full waveform inversion, similar
studies for gas hydrates as future natural resources have to Mallik 2L-38, was conducted for the postsurvey Well 1
been conducted as part of collaborative research and de- (Sakai, 2000b; Sakai, 2003). P-wave velocity in the zones
velopment programs of the Japanese government and the with missing data in postsurvey Well 3 were successfully
private sector. These programs have coordinated almost constrained by comparing VSP first-breaks and integrated
all gas-hydrate exploratory campaigns in Japan since then transit times from DSI data and then optimizing VP in those
(Arai and Ohara, 2000). METI launched another program zones in a blocky-shaped model to match the drift between
in 2001, Methane Hydrate Exploitation Program (MH21). both data sets. For postsurvey Well 1, however, drift correc-
The second drilling campaign in the Nankai Trough began tions alone were not sufficient to constrain VP in the zones
in 2004 with plans to Downloaded
acquire 25a Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
suite of wireline logging with missing data as these zones were thin (Sakai, 2000b;
(including VSPs) and core sampling in 33 wells drilled Takayama et al., 2004). Weak dispersion possibly in the
with the D/V JOIDES Resolution. Scientific publications gas-hydrate-saturated zones seems to be partly responsible
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 136 9/23/10 6:52:57 PM

Figure 18. Nankai Trough: P-wave sonic velocity could not Figure 19. Nankai Trough: Missing data in monopole
be constrained from the measurement of dipole sonic imager P-wave sonic log (blue dots with lines) were estimated
in four depth zones due to high attenuation of the first breaks. by full waveform inversion of zero-offset VSP (green
dots). Assuming that in these zones gas is distributed
homogeneously in the pore fluid, sediment velocities were
for the drift. Under the assumption that the gaps in the sonic computed from a rock physics model (compaction model of
data were caused by gas saturation, the amount of gas was 33% porosity with probable compositions estimated from
estimated to be 2%–5% of pore space using a rock physics logging data) with 2% methane saturation in pores (red lines
model (compaction model) to match results from full wave- with dots). The dipole S-wave velocity log is illustrated in
form inversion of the zero-offset VSP for postsurvey Well black dots with lines. Higher elastic wave velocity marks gas-
1. Assuming 2% gas saturation with probable compositions hydrate saturated zones (Sakai, 2000b).
estimated by logging data incorporated, the missing P-wave
sonic logs were interpolated as in Figure 19 (Sakai, 2000b).
The existence of even such small amounts of gas above the Minshull (2004). The relation between hydrate saturation
actual hydrate-saturated zone was controversial. It is now in- and QP was also studied in Mallik 2L-38 and other wells
terpreted as a double BSR (Foucher et al., 2002). The lower using sonic logs and crosswell tomography (Guerin and
low-velocity zone is thought to be a relic BSR. Tectonic up- Goldberg, 2002; Pratt et al., 2003).
lift may have caused a new BGHS (Sakai, 2000b; Matsu-
moto et al., 2004). Gulf of Mexico Joint Industry Program
Several studies of P-wave attenuation (inverse of QP)
were conducted using wireline logging data and VSP data. A VSP was acquired at the Keathley Canyon 151-3 well
High attenuation in hydrate-saturated layers was detected in the Gulf of Mexico. The BSR at the Keathley Canyon
from sonic data (Matsushima, 2005). Estimates of QP from 151-3 well is estimated to exist at ~1727 m (~392 mbsf),
VSPs (Matsushima, 2006), however, did not show any re- and the VSP data acquisition stopped 30 m above the BSR.
solved significant anomalies in thinner target layers (see Although the frequency content of VSP data above the
Figure 20). It was difficult to separate intrinsic and other BSR is lower than that of the 3D seismic profiles crossing
attenuation mechanisms from VSP data acquired from sec- this well, the VSP data agree quite well with 3D seismic
tions with such finely layered intervals. Some layers dis- reflections from the BSR and gas-charged sediments be-
played nonphysical negative attenuation, which may be low the BSR. The average interval velocity from the VSP
caused by 3D scattering effects (1D scattering was taken data is about 4% higher than that calculated from the well
into account in the analysis). The discrepancy between QP log. Interval velocities were observed to be slightly higher
at sonic (8–50 kHz) and VSP-seismic (30–110 Hz) fre- in gas-hydrate-bearing zones relative to hydrate-free inter-
quencies suggests that QP in gas-hydrate-bearing
Downloaded sediments
25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject tovals (M.W.
SEG license Lee, Terms
or copyright; personal communication, 2006; see also
is frequency dependent, which may support the Biot-squirt the Joint Industry Program’s (JIP) Web site organized by
flow mechanism proposed, for example, by Chand and Chevron, https://cpln-www1.chevron.com/cvx/gasjip.nsf).
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 137 9/23/10 6:52:58 PM

Hot Ice
The Hot Ice Number 1 well was drilled in
2003 and 2004 in a partnership between Maurer
Technology, Anadarko Petroleum, Noble Cor-
poration, and the U. S. Department of Energy
(Williams et al., 2005). A high-resolution 3D
VSP was acquired around the well with 1185
surface source points and 80 levels of 3-C geo-
phones at 25 ft (7.62 m) spacing. No gas hydrate
was found in this well; however, the signature
of reflections only a few hundred feet updip of
the well is consistent with a presence of gas hy-
drates (McGuire et al., 2005).
Discussion and Conclusion

Figure 20. Nankai Trough: Intrinsic attenuation-depth profiles
estimated by amplitude spectral ratio method at the post survey Well 3 VSPs have been acquired successfully for
with different spatial averaging length: (a) 15 m trace separations, studying gas hydrate-related targets in a similar
(b) 25 m trace separations. Solid circle (three traces averaging), open fashion as those for deeper conventional hydro-
circle (five traces averaging), and asterisk (seven traces averaging). carbon reservoirs. VSPs during ODP and IODP
Hydrate layers are marked as light gray, and gas layers are as dark gray surveys provided vertical VP at seismic frequen-
(after Matsushima, 2006). Used by permission. cies allowing ties between seismic reflection
data and borehole data. TI was detected with a
vertical symmetry axis probably caused by alignment of
IODP Expedition 311 clay platelets (Blake Ridge) and with a horizontal symme-
try axis, which was probably caused by near-vertical hy-
During Leg 311 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Pro- drate-filled veins (Hydrate Ridge). The former is important
gram (IODP, ODP’s successor) offshore Cascadia (Riedel for ongoing studies of converted waves observed in OBS
et al., 2006), partly in the ODP Leg 146 study area, zero- data whereas the latter provides information on the forma-
offset VSPs were collected successfully in two holes. Re- tion of gas hydrates and their association with faults. Con-
sults at Hole U1327D show a drop of VP from an average of verted waves were successfully recorded with offset VSPs,
1843 m/s in a ~60 m interval above what is interpreted as which could become a standard technique for future IODP
a free gas zone to an average of 1281 m/s in a ~30 m thick to study VP at seismic frequencies through gas-hydrate-
free gas interval (no data acquired deeper in the hole). This bearing sediments.
low VP measurement is significantly lower than observed The Mallik VSPs are superior to ODP/IODP VSPs
at ODP Leg 146 Site 889, 500 m to the west (Guerin mainly because the use of receiver cables led to a dense
et al., 2006). Sonic logs clearly showed a velocity transition spacing of receivers. Dense reflection coverage allowed
at Hole U1327E, only 15 m away; however, this transition VSP-CDP imaging of gas-hydrate-bearing layers in the
appears to be several meters shallower than that determined proximity of the well. Results from these images also of-
with VSP data at Hole U1327D. These observations indi- fer an explanation for a lack of strong reflections from
cate small-scale lateral variability of free-gas/gas-hydrate gas hydrate layers in the surface-seismic data even though
systems similar to results from the Mallik boreholes. borehole sonic data show strong velocity contrasts across
VSPs at Hole U1328C were also acquired at the Bulls- these layers. Analysis of resonance scattering suggests that
eye vent, where it crosses a weak BSR at ~220 mbsf. Bulls- strong forward seismic scattering and P-to-S conversion
eye is a prominent vent site within a 2 3 4 km large vent probably caused by patchy gas-hydrate distribution can ex-
field, interpreted as an area with active, focused fluid flow. plain the weak reflectivity from gas-hydrate layers on the
Considerable amounts of gas hydrates have been found in surface seismic profiles. Gas hydrates seem to cause small-
the shallower parts of the sediments; however, gas hydrates scale heterogeneities that are detected by borehole mea-
seemed largely absent in the VSP interval except around surements but are below the resolution of surface-seismic
the BSR level. Leg 311 data are still being analyzed, and data. As lateral resolution of surface-seismic data decreases
more definite conclusions from these findings are expected with increasing depth of investigation, borehole-based seis-
in the next few years. mic techniques such as offset VSP and crosswell surveys
02181_SEG_GH_C08.indd 138 9/23/10 6:53:02 PM

must be employed to assess the lateral continuity of forma- of surface data (Brandsberg-Dahl et al., 2007). It will be
tions, reservoirs, and target zones of interest. Resonance- exciting to apply some of these and other new techniques
scattering analysis of 3-C VSP data offers an opportunity to gas-hydrate deposits.
to detect heterogeneities and constrain their scales close to
the borehole, thereby closing the existing resolution gap
between surface-seismic methods (hundreds of meters) and Acknowledgments
conventional well logs (decimeters).
Some challenges remain, however, especially for the We have compiled results from numerous projects
IODP community. Standard industry tools are designed for funded by a variety of sources. In particular, we would like
operation in fairly consolidated sediments. These tools are to thank the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and Integrated
not necessarily suited for the soft sediments that often host Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), which are funded by the
oceanic gas hydrates. The clamping mechanism in particu- U. S. National Science Foundation and participating coun-
lar will need to be adjusted for open holes in soft sediments. tries. The Mallik 1998 (2L-38) and Nankai projects were
Many tools deploy arms that push against the borehole. funded by the Ministry of International Trade, and Industry
These arms seem to penetrate into soft sediments rather (MITI), renamed as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
than clamping to the borehole wall, which leads to poor Industry (METI), Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC)
seismic coupling. Even worse, sometimes the arms cannot organized as Japan Oil, Gas, and Metals National Corpora-
be retrieved and the tool needs to be pulled out by force, tion (JOGMEC), and 10 organizations of the R&D Con-
damaging the clamping mechanism. The requirement for sortium for Methane Hydrates of Japan. We would like to
high resolution may have been underestimated during parts thank these organizations and the current Methane Hydrate
of the ODP Leg 204 campaign. Higher-frequency sources Exploitation Program (MH21) of METI for permission to
will need to be used for studying shallow gas hydrates. publish this work. Mallik 2002 was conducted as a project
The use of receiver cables, as for the onshore cam- of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program
paigns, would be highly desirable to allow well-proximal with collaborations of Japan, Canada, the United States,
imaging and novel techniques like resonance scattering. Germany, and India. The Mallik 2002 VSP program was
This is particularly important now that it is becoming ob- also supported by a University of Toronto start-up grant
vious that gas hydrate reservoirs are very heterogeneous. and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Coun-
Receiver strings have been used for the Nankai exploratory cil of Canada. We would like to thank Tim Collett, Myung
well and the Gulf of Mexico drilling, and we are therefore Lee (USGS Denver), and Gilles Guerin (Lamont-Doherty
optimistic that they will become part of IODP’s main- Earth Observatory) for providing us with insight into the
stream facilities. results from the latest drilling campaigns.
Many of the experiences gained during the ODP/IODP
surveys described in this chapter have been taken on board
for recent drilling of the Gulf of Mexico JIP boreholes in References
2005 and offshore India (NGHP Expedition-01) in 2006.
Results from these campaigns (M. Y. Lee, personal com- Arai, Y., and T. Ohara, eds., 2000, Annual Report of
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2006) show that VSP designs for gas hydrates studies are Hydrates of Japan: Annual Report of Research and De-
now mature. VSPs through gas-hydrate-bearing sediments velopment Consortium for Methane Hydrates of Japan
are invaluable for providing accurate velocity models for for 1995–2000, JNOC, 2000.
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Section 2
Geophysical Imaging
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Chapter 9
Introduction to Geophysical Imaging

Eleanor C. Willoughby1, Michael Riedel2, and Satinder Chopra3
As we have seen from the preceeding chapters, it has marine sediments. Yuan and Edwards (2000) presented their
become widely accepted that straightforward gas-hydrate deep-towed controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM)
assessment remains an outstanding issue. Researchers no electric dipole-dipole system for gas-hydrate assessment,
longer attempt to gauge marine gas-hydrate concentrations which gave early evidence that marine gas hydrates might
from seismic reflectivity maps of the bottom-simulating be occurring beyond regions mapped by BSR occurrence.
reflections (BSRs), and rarely can a land-based equivalent Schwalenberg et al. (2005) showed that the same methodol-
to a marine BSR be clearly identified because of the geo- ogy was effective at elucidating the nature of seismic blank
logic complexity of the permafrost gas-hydrate environ- zones as gas-hydrate-rich cold vents. Both studies were in
ment. In fact, there is increasing evidence that gas-hydrate northern Cascadia. Weitemeyer et al. (2006) employed a
deposits in the marine environment are very heterogeneous deep-towed seafloor transmitter and stationary seafloor re-
in nature, especially from the last major scientific drilling ceivers to map resistivities, using both CSEM methods and
expeditions (e.g., Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expe- magnetotellurics (which employ naturally occurring varia-
dition 311, Riedel et al., 2006; India National Gas Hydrate tions in geomagnetic fields as a source field and requires the
Expedition 01, Collett et al., 2008). measurement of the transfer function between the magnetic
Considerable strides have been made to develop more and telluric electric response), in southern Cascadia. Ellis
sophisticated geophysical experimental methodologies, in- et al. (2008) employed a magnetic dipole-dipole system in
versions, and gas-hydrate assessment methods. The need to the Gulf of Mexico and revealed some of the limitations of
employ other geophysical imaging techniques has become the method in the presence of other complicating resistive
more and more evident. or conductive anomalies. CSEM methods have also success-
Where gas-hydrate deposits occur, they affect several fully been used offshore Chile and New Zealand (Schwalen-
physical properties of the sedimentary section. In both the berg et al., 2010). These methods are regularly employed in
marine and permafrost environment, gas hydrates can dis- the oil and gas industry for resource assessment and can be
place fluids, which otherwise would fill pore spaces between used, if properly applied, for drilling hazard assessment by
grains. Gas hydrates are known to be electrically insulating, helping to delineate the presence of near-surface resistive
and their occurrence increases the electrical resistivity of the gas-hydrate deposits. Edwards et al. (2010) present an expla-
subsection. In the marine environment, this change has been nation of the fundamental physics, the techniques employed,
exploited for assessing gas-hydrate deposits with the applica- and a review of the literature, focusing on the first report of
tion of electromagnetic methods. Generally, electromagnetic resistivity anomalies directly tied to massive gas-hydrate de-
fields propagate through ionic conduction through sedi- posits (Schwalenberg et al., 2005).
ments. The presence of a resistive target can be readily de- Electromagnetic methods could be employed onshore
tected by the manner it deflects these fields. Edwards (1997) in the permafrost environment. Because of the logistical
first modeled the electromagnetic response of hydrated difficulties of working in the Arctic (or Antarctic), there
is a dearth of studies of this nature (Craven et al., 2009).
1
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Scholl (2010) presents a numeric study of opportunities for
E-mail: willough@physics.utoronto.ca employing time-domain electromagnetic methods to assess
2
Natural Resources Canada, Geological
Downloaded Survey
25 Jun 2012 of Canada–Pacific,
to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
subpermafrost gas hydrates. The use of downhole resistiv-
3
Arcis Corporation, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. E-mail: schopra@ ity imaging technology will also be discussed in the subse-
arcis.com quent section.
145
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Seismic methods detect gas hydrates because of the numerical methods have made it possible to gather more
manner in which they affect seismic velocities and cause data, more efficiently and perhaps most important, to inter-
acoustical impedance contrasts. Although they have a small pret data sets in terms of 2D and 3D models, more reflective
effect on density when gas hydrate displaces pore fluids, of heterogeneous gas-hydrate deposits themselves.
they have a significant effect on Lamé parameters, the bulk
modulus (hence the change in compressional wave speed in
seismic studies), and particularly the shear modulus (which References
affects shear velocity — a much more logistically difficult
parameter to measure). Hence, Willoughby and Edwards Collett, T. S., M. Riedel, J. Cochran, R. Boswell, J. Pres-
(1997) suggested the seafloor compliance method, which ley, P. Kumar, A.V. Sathe, A. Sethi, M. Lall, V. Sibal,
is most sensitive to changes in shear modulus of the ma- and the NGHP Expedition 01 scientists, 2008, Indian
rine subsection. Several seafloor compliance data sets have continental margin gas hydrate prospects: Results of
since been gathered over gas-hydrate deposits in northern the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP)
Cascadia. Willoughby et al. (2010) present an explanation Expedition: 01, Proceedings of the 6th International
of the method and a review of existing studies. Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2008), Vancou-
Gas hydrates can also be associated with changes in the ver, British Columbia, Canada, http://www.netl.doe.
pore-water and solid state geochemistry (to be discussed gov/technologies/oilgas/publications/2008_ICGH/
further in the next section), and some of these changes in ICGH_5365_42496.pdf, accessed 25 June 2010.
mineralogy can be readily detected using magnetic meth- Craven, J. A., B. J. Roberts, G. Bellefleur, J. Spratt, J. Cin-
ods. Novosel et al. (2005) originally detected a drastic de- gel, and P. Fernberg, 2009, Recent magnetotelluric
crease in magnetic susceptibility in sediments recovered in measurements at the Mallik gas hydrate production
and around a prominent cold vent offshore Vancouver Island research well site, Northwest Territories, Geological
(referred to as Bullseye vent). Subsequently, Enkin et al. Survey of Canada: Current Research, Report 2009-5,
(2007) have employed this technique at the Mallik research http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2009/nrcan/
site (Richards Island, Northwest Territory, Canada). Esteban M44-2009-5E-eng.pdf, accessed 25 June 2010.
et al. (2010) review these magnetic methods, the relevant Edwards, R. N., 1997, On the resource evaluation of
parameters and studies to date and compare the permafrost marine gas hydrate deposits using sea-floor transient
setting at Mallik with the marine environment offshore electric dipole-dipole method: Geophysics, 62, 63–74,
Vancouver Island. doi:10.1190/1.1444146.
Infrared (IR) imaging of recovered cores, first tested Edwards, R. N., K. Schwalenberg, E. C. Willoughby, R.
for gas-hydrate detection during ODP Leg 204 (Tréhu Mir, and C. Scholl, 2010, Marine controlled-source
et al., 2003; Long et al., 2004), has now become a rou- electromagnetics and the assessment of seafloor gas
tine element of gas-hydrate research coring and was since hydrate: this volume.
employed on all subsequent research drilling expeditions Ellis, M., R. Evans, D. Hutchinson, P. Hart, J. Gardner, and
(IODP Expedition 311, India NGHP Expedition 01, as well R. Hagen, 2008, Electromagnetic surveying of seafloor
as Korea UBGH Expedition 01). The endothermic reaction mounds in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Marine and
of gas-hydrate dissociation makes it relatively simple to de- Petroleum Geology, 25, 960–968.
tect even small amounts of gas hydrate visible in the core Enkin, R. J., J. Baker, D. Nourgaliev, D. Iassonov, and T. S.
and thus readily available for subsequent sampling and Hamilton, 2007, Magnetic hysteresis parameters and
analyses. Long et al. (2010) review the current techniques day-plot analysis to characterize diagenetic alteration
employed and also detail future developments, which will in gas-hydrate bearing sediment: Journal of Geophysi-
help to further develop this IR technique for gas-hydrate cal Research, 112, doi: 10.1029/2006JB004638.
studies. Esteban, L., T. S. Hamilton, R. J. Enkin, C. Lowe, and I.
In the near future, it is expected that geophysical imaging Novosel, 2010, Gas hydrates and magnetism: Survey-
techniques can advance our knowledge of natural gas-hydrate ing and diagenetic analysis: this volume.
systems through long-term monitoring, for instance, in ca- Long, P. E., W. Ussler III, J. L. Weinberger, M. Riedel, and
bled seafloor observatories such as the NEPTUNE Canada A. M. Tréhu, 2004, Quantification of gas hydrate abun-
array, as discussed by Edwards et al. (2010) and Willoughby dance from infrared imaging of sub-seafloor cores:
et al. (2010). Furthermore, the trend in research is mov- Hedberg Conference, AAPG: Search and Discov-
ing toward multicomponent surveys (e.g., magnetotelluric ery, abstract 90035, http://www.searchanddiscovery.
[MT] Collett et al., 2008, and CSEM, as described by Weit- com/documents/abstracts/2004hedberg_vancouver/
extended/long/long.htm,
emeyer et al. (2006), or ocean-bottom seismometer [OBS]/ accessed 25 June 2010.
license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
CSEM studies) with joint inversions of data sets. Ongoing, Long, P., M. Holland, P. Schultheiss, M. Riedel, J. Wein-
continuous advances in instrumentation, and, in particular, berger, A. Tréhu, and H. Schaef, 2010, Infrared (IR)
02181_SEG_GH_C09_PP3.indd 146 9/9/10 11:26:07 PM

Chapter 9: Introduction to Geophysical Imaging 147
Imaging of Gas Hydrate-bearing Cores: State-of-the- their correlation with seismic blank zones: First Break,
art and Future Prospects: this volume. 23, 57–63.
Novosel, I., G. D. Spence, and R. D. Hyndman, 2005, Tréhu, A. M., G. Bohrman, F. R. Rack, and M. E. Torres,
Reduced magnetization produced by increased meth- 2003, Proceedings of the ODP, Initial reports, 204,
ane flux at gas hydrate vent: Marine Geology, 216, (Ocean Drilling Program), doi: 10.2973/odp.proc.
265–274. ir.204.2003.
Riedel, M., T. S. Collett, M. J. Malone, and the Expedition Weitemeyer, K. A., S. C. Constable, K. W. Key, and J. P.
311 Scientists, 2006, Proceedings of the IODP, 311: Behrens, 2006, First results from a marine controlled-
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management Inter- source electromagnetic survey to detect gas hydrates
national, Inc., doi: 10.2204/iodp.proc.311.2006, http:// offshore Oregon: Geophysical Research Letters, 33,
publications.iodp.org/proceedings/311/311title.htm, doi: 10.1029/2005GL024896.
accessed 28 June 2010. Willoughby, E. C., and R. N. Edwards, 1997, On the re-
Scholl, C., 2010, Resolving an onshore gas hydrate layer source evaluation of marine gas hydrate deposits using
with long-offset transient electromagnetics (LOTEM): seafloor compliance methods: Geophysical Journal
this volume. International, 131, 751–766.
Schwalenberg, K., M. Haeckel, J. Poort, and M. Jegen, Willoughby, E. C., K. Latychev, R. N. Edwards, K.
2010, Evaluation of gas hydrate deposits in an active Schwalenberg, and R. D. Hyndman, 2010, Seafloor
seep area using marine controlled source electromag- compliance imaging of marine gas hydrate deposits:
netics: Results from Opouawe Bank, Hikurangi Mar- this volume.
gin, New Zealand: Marine Geology, 272, no. 1–4, 79– Yuan, J., and R. N. Edwards, 2000, The assessment of ma-
88, doi: 10.1016/j.margeo/2009.07.006. rine gas hydrate through electrical remote sounding:
Schwalenberg, K., E. Willoughby, R. Mir, and R. Edwards, Hydrate without a BSR? Geophysical Research Let-
2005, Marine gas hydrate signatures in Cascadia and ters, 27, 2397–2400.
02181_SEG_GH_C09_PP3.indd 147 9/9/10 11:26:07 PM

02181_SEG_GH_C09_PP3.indd 148 9/9/10 11:26:07 PM

Chapter 10
Marine Controlled-source Electromagnetics

and the Assessment of Seafloor Gas Hydrate
R. N. Edwards1, K. Schwalenberg2, Eleanor C. Willoughby1, R. Mir1, and C. Scholl3
Abstract Introduction
Marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) Controlled-source electromagnetics —
methods have become an important and valuable tool in the The rationale
detection of offshore hydrocarbon targets. The formation
resistivity of a sediment layer depends on conductive flu- A gas-hydrate deposit is generally identified in a seis-
ids in interconnected pore spaces. Hydrocarbons increase mic section by the occurrence of a bottom simulating re-
the formation resistivity of a sediment layer if they form in flector (BSR), marking the base of the gas hydrate stability
sufficient quantity to block the pores. CSEM has been used field (Spence et al., 2010). The depth of the BSR is temper-
for gas-hydrate evaluation for more than a decade. The ature and pressure controlled and depends on water depth
common published work contains descriptions of theory, and on the ambient geothermal gradient. Above it, there are
apparatus, data analysis, inverse methods, and interpreta- gas-hydrate-bearing sediments; below it, there are free gas
tion. Here, the fundamentals of time-domain electromag- and water. The BSR itself is no real measure of gas-hydrate
netics are explained using classical dimensional analysis content throughout the gas-hydrate stability zone. The re-
and are illustrated with a simple approach using data from duction in seismic impedance might be caused simply by
the northern Cascadia margin, to the west of Vancouver Is- underlying free gas trapped by what may be only minute
land, British Columbia, where gas hydrates have been ex- amounts of gas hydrate directly above the interface. Fur-
tensively studied. Analyses of CSEM data collected from ther, gas hydrate may be present where no BSR has been
1996 to 2005 demonstrated the strong correlation between observed (Yuan and Edwards, 2000). Because gas hydrates
CSEM resistivities, other geophysical imaging data, and are electrically resistive and displace conductive seawater
subseafloor hydrocarbons. in sediment pore space, enhancing the bulk resistivity of
The analysis is consistent with other intensive stud- the seafloor to controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM)
ies, including a full gamut of seismic and other geo- methods, which are sensitive to the changes induced in
physical experiments, as well as ground truth from direct electrical resistivity, are an apt tool for bulk assessment and
sampling and the analyses of cores and logs collected complementary to seismic techniques.
by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP Leg 146) and its
successor, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP
Expedition 311).
Controlled-source EM Methods
CSEM — An approach from
dimensional analysis
1
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto Ontario, CSEM methods depend on a simple concept of phys-
Canada. E-mail: willough@physics.utoronto.ca
2 ics. If a time varying electromagnetic (EM) field is gener-
Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR),
Hannover, Germany Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject toated at oror near
SEG license theTerms
copyright; seafloor, then eddy currents are induced
3
Fugro Electro Magnetic GmbH, Berlin, Germany in the sea water and subjacent crust in accordance with
149
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 149 9/21/10 7:00:08 PM

Faraday’s law. The outward progress of the currents with There results
time depends on range and electrical conductivity of the
surroundings. In particular, the apparent speed in the sea- 'E e '2E
water will be slower than that in the less conductive crustal 2= 3 = 3 E 5 1 . (3)
't ms2L2 't2
zones. Measurements at a remote location of the electric
and magnetic fields associated with the eddy currents could
be inverted for the crustal resistivity structure. The concept The second term in equations 1 and 3 can be neglected
is easily verified theoretically through an examination of in comparison with the first term and the physics simplified
the governing differential equations. The Maxwell interre- to a diffusive process if the scale of the CSEM experiment
lationships between the electric field E and the magnetic is large with respect to (e / ms)1/2 or (1 / 377 s), true for
field B in an isotropic, homogeneous material may be com- common values of conductivity in the marine gas hydrate
bined as the damped wave equation, environment. A feel for the time taken for an EM distur-
bance to diffuse through a uniform medium might be gained
'E '2E
2= 3 = 3 E 5 ms 1 me 2 , (1) by evaluating the characteristic time T for a few typical
't 't cases. If the scale L is set to 1 km and the parameter m
where s, m, and e are the conductivity, permeability, and takes its free space value, then T has value 3.8 s for seawater,
permittivity of the material, respectively. A similar equa- typical conductivity 3 s/m, and 1.2, 0.42, 0.12, 0.042 s for
tion may be written for the magnetic field vector B. Equa- crustal resistivities of 1, 3, 10, and 30 Ωm, respectively. The
tion 1 may be rationalized by measuring length and time in characteristic times are approximate and should be treated
units of characteristic length L and characteristic time T, as upper limits on actual traveltimes by as much as a factor
of 10.
3 T 4 , 3 msL2 4 (2) A straightforward, simple illustration of how time-do-
main EM systems would respond to a resistive gas-hydrate
deposit is presented in Fig-
ure 1. Electromagnetic fields
are generated by a seafloor
transmitter (Tx) and detected
later at a receiver (Rx). The
deposit illustrated in this
schematic diagram is mod-
eled on a cold vent like those
seen in Cascadia. Within the
roughly cylindrical region,
we suppose some distribu-
tion of sediments, pore fluids
and gas hydrates, which in
an average sense have bulk
resistivities different from
the environment. It has been
shown (Everett et al., 1988)
that the total traveltime t
taken for signals to propa-
gate from transmitter to re-
ceiver comes from the sum
of the traveltimes for three
regions: fore of the vent, in-
side the vent, and aft of the
Figure 1. A schematic diagram illustrates how the traveltime (t) is a sum of the three
vent. We have
traveltimes in underlying regions beneath a sensing array (Tx and Rx): t1, t2, and t3.
Specifically, regions 1 and 3 have background resistivity, whereas a cylindrical volume
in region 2 has a resistive anomaly. When interpreting the Bullseye vent data, the anomaly t 5 t1 1 t2 1 t3. (4)
is assumed to have average properties comparable to the IODP Expedition 311 Resistivity
at the Bit (RAB) borehole data, illustrated on the right (where whiter areas are more resistive The slower traveltime
and indicative of gas hydrate and depths are in meters) alongside the water saturation from through the seawater is des-
borehole resistivities. ignated t 0 on Figure 1. It is
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 150 9/21/10 7:00:09 PM

Chapter 10: Marine Controlled-source Electromagnetics and the Assessment of Seafloor Gas Hydrate 151
interesting to note that the

characteristic time and hence
the proportional traveltime
is weighted as the conduc-
tivity or the inverse of resis-
tivity (consider equation 2).
Consequently, whenever
measurements are made
straddling a resistive anom-
aly and the background re-
gion, the conductive region
outside the anomaly will
bias any estimated resistiv-
ity. Everett et al. (1998) also
showed that the summation
in equation 4 is not influ-
Figure 2. A schematic diagram of the deployment of a deep-towed electric dipole-dipole
enced by 3D structure out- system. An EM transmitter on the research vessel produces a signal that is carried by coaxial
side the zone between the cable to a transmitter dipole on the seafloor. The signal travels through the underlying
Tx and Rx. sediments to two in-line receiver dipoles, which record the electric field using silver-silver
chloride electrodes, at Tx-Rx separations of r1 and r2, respectively. The resistivity anomalies
can be related to gas-hydrate content within the subsection. A pig is used as a depressor at
Electric dipole — the front of the array. Used by permission (after Schwalenberg et al., 2005).
dipole methods
A common survey method is to tow an inline electric The curves have three characteristics from which the
dipole-dipole system to reveal the resistivity structure of the conductivity of the crust may be obtained. There is late-time
seafloor. The theory of the ship-towed system is developed variation in amplitude (Label 1), which is less sensitive
in a number of papers from Edwards and Chave (1986) with increasing conductivity contrast. There is an early time
through to Edwards (1997) following earlier work by Chave change in amplitude that depends on the seafloor conductiv-
and Cox (1982). Edwards (1997) demonstrated that time- ity (Label 2). The location in time of this initial change is a
domain electromagnetics can be applied to gas-hydrate re- strong function of seafloor conductivity (Label 3).
source evaluation. Subsequently, a CSEM survey system It is well known that the late time amplitude variation
was built designed to image gas hydrates (Figure 2) and can be converted to an apparent resistivity, which forms the
present instrument developments are ongoing at several uni- basis of the DC resistivity method. An alternative, more ro-
versity and government institutions. The system was used bust estimate can be obtained from the shape and location
to evaluate gas hydrates in Cascadia (Yuan and Edwards, of the response at early time. One could identify the time at
2000; Schwalenberg et al., 2005), Chile (Schwalenberg which the step response curve passes through ~25% of its
et al., 2004), and on the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand maximum value, or equivalently, the maximum in the linear
(Schwalenberg et al., 2010a; Schwalenberg et al., 2010b). time derivative of the step response. The apparent resistivity
Other CSEM systems have been used to study the gas hy- formula is then a rearrangement of equation 2. We have
drate distribution at Hydrate Ridge (Weitemeyer et al.,
2006), and in the Gulf of Mexico (Ellis et al., 2008; Weit- mL2 mL2
ra 5 5 . (5)
emeyer and Constable, 2009). T Ct
The simplest logical model for which there is a closed
form solution for the response of a dipole-dipole system is In accordance with geophysical convention, the appar-
that of a double half-space, as illustrated in Figure 3. The ent resistivity formula, the right-handed side of equation 5,
upper half-space is assigned a uniform seawater conductiv- depends only on field measurements and not on any as-
ity of 3 S/m, while the lower half-space has crustal consumed resistivity model. The exception is the value of
ductivities of 3, 1, 0.1, and 0.3 S/m, respectively. Figure 3 C, which is determined for a land survey so that correct
shows the inline step-on responses derived for these differ- results are obtained for a uniform half-space. A single
ent models. The vertical axis has been scaled to yield the half-space model is not appropriate for a seafloor system;
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject tothe
SEG license
wateror copyright;
and the Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
subjacent target exist and have differ-
DC apparent resistivity at late time. The horizontal axis is
in logarithmic time for a transmitter–receiver separation L ing conductivities. Consequently, to get our value of C,
of 260 m. we have to assume a double half-space model and obtain
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 151 9/21/10 7:00:18 PM

measured bulk resistivities to

porosity estimates for a simple
two-phase system that consists
of the resistive grain matrix
and the conductive pore fluid.
Archie’s law is an empirical
relation, which works well
for heterogeneous materials in
which the scale of gas hydrate
inclusions is small compared
with the Tx-Rx separation. In
a general form, it is
rf 5 arwF2m, (6)
where rf is the measured for-

mation resistivity, r w is the
resistivity of seawater, F is
the sediment porosity, a is a
constant, and m is the cementa-
tion factor that increases as the
grains become less spherical
with depth. The latter two pa-
rameters can be derived from
Figure 3. The figure illustrates the normalized step-on responses calculated on the interface laboratory measurements of
between two half-spaces to the in-line electric dipole-dipole system. The conductivity of the core samples and vary typi-
upper half-space is 3 s/m (typical of saltwater), for the lower half-space conductivities of cally between 0.5 < a < 2.5 and
0.3, 0.1, 1 and 3 s/m have been assigned. The separation between Tx and Rx is 260 m. For 1.5 < m < 3. To get an estimate
a conductivity contrast between seawater and subjacent crust larger than 10, the arrival of of the hydrate concentration of
the signal through the seawater at later times can be clearly separated from the earlier arrival a deposit, the above formula
through the crust. In addition, three different effects are noticeable: (1) Amplitude variations can be modified to extract the
at late times depend on the conductivity contrast, but are mainly due to current flow through amount of pore space now
the seawater; (2) amplitude variations at earlier times depend on the seafloor conductivity; filled with hydrate from the
and (3) the location in time to the initial change is a function of the seafloor conductivity. overall porosity. The modified
Used by permission (after Edwards and Chave, 1986). formula is
it numerically from the closed form equation given in rf 5 arwF2mS2n

w . (7)
Edwards (1997). From the derivative of the step-on re-
sponse with respect to linear time (which gives the im- The parameter Sw is now the pore water saturation factor,
pulse response), making the approximation that water n the saturation coefficient, and Sh 5 (12Sw) is the gas-
conductivity is much greater than seafloor conductivity, hydrate saturation. A useful description of methods to derive
an analytical value for C can be found as C 5 9 + !41 Archie’s law coefficients is in Collett and Ladd (2000).
_ 15.4. This value is the upper bound of C. For the range
of conductivities of seafloor that we encounter, numeri-
CSEM study in northern Cascadia
cally evaluated values lie in the range 13.5 < C < 14.5.
Incidentally, the same information may be gleaned from The target area is located on the accretionary prism of the
amplitude and phase curves in the frequency domain, us- northern Cascadia margin in close vicinity of ODP Leg 146,
ing a somewhat different technique. Sites 889 and 890, and IODP Expedition 311, Sites U1327
and U1328, as shown in Figure 4. The Juan de Fuca plate is
Resistivity and Archie’s law subducted below the North American plate creating a thick ac-
cretionary prism. The presence of gas hydrates on the Cascadia
Gas hydrate evaluation is based on the concept of an margin were deduced from the BSRs seen on seismic sections
increased resistivity in gas hydrate-rich zones. Archie’s law acquired in 1985 and the analyses of logs and cores at Site 889,
(Archie, 1942) can be used as a first order proxy to relate ODP Leg 146 (Hyndman and Davis, 1992; Westbrook et al.,
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 152 9/21/10 7:00:22 PM

1994). In the following years,

the research effort was intensi-
fied in the area and involved
single and multichannel seis-
mic surveys (Yuan et al., 1996;
Fink and Spence, 1999; Riedel
et al., 2002), ocean-bottom seis-
mometers (Spence et al., 1995;
Hobro et al., 1998), seafloor
compliance (Willoughby and
Edwards, 2000), electrical re-
sistivity studies (Yuan and Ed-
wards, 2000; Schwalenberg
et al., 2005), and more drilling
during IODP Expedition 311
(Riedel et al., 2006a). Several
seismic blank zones with diame-
ters between 80 and 400 m were
first observed in deep-towed
high-resolution seismic data
(Wood et al., 2000) and later on
a 3D multichannel seismic sec-
tion (Riedel et al., 2002). Gas
hydrate was found with a piston
corer at different locations within
the largest of the blank zones.
Bullseye Vent, which is the
name of the largest blank zone
with a diameter of about 400 m Figure 4. Bathymetry map of the target area on the Cascadia margin. The inset map shows
on the seafloor, was drilled dur- the regional tectonics. The vent field is located on a bench between two topographic highs
ing IODP Expedition 311 (Rie- in vicinity of ODP Leg 146 Sites 889/890. CSEM measurements were conducted along the
del et al., 2006a). Useful reviews profile crossing the Bullseye Vent, the largest of four vent sites, which was drilled during
of gas-hydrate studies in this IODP Expedition 311. Location of vent sites used by permission (after Riedel et al., 2002),
region are given by Hyndman et location of IODP Exp. 311 used by permission (after Riedel et al., 2006a). Lines A, B, and C
al. (2001), Spence et al. (2000), are CSEM profiles used by permission (after Yuan and Edwards, 2000).
Riedel et al. (2006b), and the
Reports of IODP Expedition 311
(Riedel et al., 2006a). Oceanography by C. S. Cox and S. C. Constable (Constable
and Cox, 1996; Constable and Srnka, 2007) and Cambridge/
Southampton (Sinha et al., 1990) and has been used to study
Experimental apparatus and oceanic crust, hot spots, and hydrothermal system at mid-
ocean ridges (see Baba, 2005 and Edwards, 2005 for recent re-
methodology
views of case studies). It is used by ExxonMobil and by many
A description of the experimental apparatus and method geophysical contractors, including Schlumberger, Ohm, and
used to collect the data presented from Cascadia is contained in EMGS, for deep sea petroleum exploration as shown in Figure
Yuan (2003), Yuan and Edwards (2000), and Schwalenberg et 5 (Srnka, 1986; Constable and Srnka, 2007). It consists of a
al. (2005, 2010a). The methodology is dated, and the equipment horizontal electric dipole transmitter towed behind a ship over
is now no longer in use. We have chosen to give a more general an array of electric field receiver dipoles, which are dropped
introduction to common methodologies, and we will try to con- individually to the seafloor and subsequently recovered.
vey the progress in design philosophy to look at the shallow The stationary Rx with towed Tx system works very
seafloor section relevant for gas hydrates common to all groups well indeed and there are dozens of successful industrial
together with the specific example of our own system. surveys, few of which have been formally published in
The most common system for CSEM exploration of the the academic literature. There are limitations to this sys-
seafloor was developed by groups at the Scripps Institution of tem, recognized by the proponents, and some of them are
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 153 9/21/10 7:00:29 PM

completed only at the begin-

ning of the survey.
The towed system did
overcome a number of limita-
tions of the separate transmitter
receiver array system described
above it. The geometry of the
TX and the RX dipole array
was known accurately and was
invariant over the survey. The
deployment and recovery of
the system was rapid and rela-
tively straightforward.
There were however four
major problems that needed to
be addressed. There was still a
Figure 5. Set-up of the general CSEM system used for reservoir characterization. need to synchronize the clocks
at each RX with the TX clock,
and clock drift was still an in-
particularly problematic when conducting a small scale herent problem. Tx current was monitored on the vessel,
survey over gas-hydrate deposits that can be limited in not at the seafloor dipole, consequently, any current leakage
scale to a few hundred meters. Rx and Tx deployment and from the cable system may not be recognized, nor any time
recovery is a time-consuming process. Data are available delay due to the impedance of the cable. Rx data were still
only after recovery of the receivers. Consider the field pa- collected at the seafloor and could only be downloaded at
rameters needed to compute the apparent resistivity given the end of the survey. The power available at the seafloor
in equation 2. The estimates of the time of travel T of an was limited by the transmitter design and the gauge of cop-
electromagnetic signal, typically the order of a few milli- per in the tow cable. The electronic technology was dated.
seconds, or equivalently the phase of a single transmitted The analog electronics in the RXs had limited dynamic
frequency are limited by the stability of clocks. Each instru- range, and low cut analog filters were needed to acquire
ment has to have its own clock that, although synchronized data in the presence of noise, particularly streaming po-
at deployment, is prone to drifting as the survey proceeds tentials. Data collection was only possible if the array was
through the day introducing an error in relative time. The stopped periodically by a process of paying out tow cable
distance L between the Tx and an Rx has to be obtained by from the winch at an observation site and then recovering
active acoustical systems with limited resolution. the extra cable length before the ship arrived at the next site.
The towed system introduced by Yuan et al. (1998) Further, the DC limit of the commutated signal was never
(see Yuan and Edwards, 2000 for details) had one or more reached at the RX, and this limited the style of interpreta-
self-contained receivers, capable of measuring small variation of the data.
tions in the electric field, which were linked in-line with a A new system is currently being developed at the Uni-
remote transmitter, as shown in Figure 2. versity of Toronto to overcome some of the limitations of
The array was towed in contact with the relatively flat, Yuan et al. (1998). There is a patent pending (Edwards et al,
sedimented seafloor. It could have been towed above the 2008). A block diagram of the system is shown in Figure 6.
seafloor using depressor technology, but this introduces a A similar towed system is currently being developed at the
time delay in the seawater added to traveltime through the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources
crust. The distance from the seafloor of all elements of the (BGR), Hannover, Germany, and there may be others.
array would have to be monitored very accurately to correct The apparatus consists of a multikilowatt power sup-
for the offset. The Tx dipole was energized by a commutated ply. Current flows through the slip rings of the winch into
current of up to 50 A limited by the wire gauge or more cor- the main tow cable C1. Also connected to the front end
rectly the resistance of the towing cable. Each receiver con- of the tow cable at the winch is the communication/data
sisted of an electronic package, which slips inside a 4-inch recovery computer. Communications are by copper wire
pressure case. The receiver amplified the potential differ- twisted pair converted after the slip rings to fiber optics for
ence between the silver-silver chloride electrodes located transmission to the seafloor.
in a rubber hose and used a datalogger to process, stack, The cable C1 can be several kilometers long. At the
and store the data. Synchronization between the transmit- lower end it is attached to a heavy sled and plugged into
ter and the receivers was achieved from precision clocks at the Tx electronics. There are power connections to the
the transmitter and each receiver. The synchronization was main unit and communications fibers to the Tx driver. The
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 154 9/21/10 7:00:34 PM

operation of the Tx is controlled from the ship using an Although the new University of Toronto system is de-
Ethernet protocol. Also in the sled is a Rx driver that designed to survey gas hydrate deposits, at the time of writing,
rives power from the Tx, talks independently to the ship, no such survey has been attempted. A field experiment was
and monitors voltage signals from the receivers and the completed with the system in October 2008. The transmit-
corresponding transmitter current simultaneously in real ter waveform, a simple square wave, and received signals
time. The receiver array is modular. It may be assembled at one receiver, are displayed in Figure 7, and of particular
in sections each of a different length to build up, for ex- relevance is the comparative quality of the filtered, stacked
ample, a logarithmically spaced array. Each section has a data shown in Figure 7 for measurements made when the
main Cable 4 complete with power and communication Rx was stationary and those in Figure 7 collected when the
lines. The Rx electronics are in a small light pressure ves- array was moving at 2-4 knots.
sel. The remaining parts of the system consist of Tx and Rx In the new system the communication link between the
electrodes on Cable 2 and 3 (typically 5 and 100 m), and seafloor and the computer on the ship enables real-time in-
Cable 5 and 6, (2 and 12 m), respectively. terpretation to a simple model of the seafloor. The WHOI
In practice, the whole system is assembled by plugging magnetic dipole-dipole system (discussed below) has a simi-
together individual receiver sections to form a streamer up lar capability.
to several kilometers long. The streamer is deployed over
the stern of the ship, then the sled, and finally the tow cable.
The heavy sled acts as a depressor, enabling the array to be
towed in direct contact with the seafloor. There are two op-
tions for completing the survey. The first method involves
collecting data at a set of waypoints. At the waypoint the
array is stationary — a state achieved by paying out cable
from the moving ship. The cable is reeled in following a
measurement. In a recent development, we have succeeded
in gathering data continuously. The advance that enables
continuous collection is the 24 bit dynamic range of the
Rx amplifier. The high dynamic range means that small
signals can be recorded linearly in the presence of stream-
ing potential noise. The signal may then be recovered from
noise by a simple stacking process. The Rx amplifier con- Figure 6. The new CSEM system which is the subject of the
tains no analog filters so the DC limit is recorded correctly, patent application.
improving interpretation us-
ing conventional resistivity
methods. The transmitted
current and received voltages
are digitized simultaneously
in the Rx controller so that
timing errors are minimal.
The transmitter is a type of
class D analog amplifier. It is
capable of transmitting virtu-
ally any waveform — sinu-
soids, square waves, PRBS,
etc. Both the Tx and Rx array
are fully controllable from
the surface. The system may
be deployed for many days
at a time. The Tx electrodes
are designed with water tight
connectors which prevent ex-
posure of the ends of cables
2 and 3 to seawaterDownloaded
obviat-25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
ing corrosion. The design of
the Rx electrodes minimizes Figure 7. Transmitter current signal and receiver data for a stationary receiver with offset
streaming potentials. of 400 m are contrasted with the same gathered while the array was moving.
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 155 9/21/10 7:00:37 PM

−6 Step-on response, Rx2, with spline fits the array is entirely over normal
x 10
8 sediment, the half-space model
WP 13: Bullseye Vent should give the background re-
6 WP 17: Background
Voltage (V)
sistivity. We hasten to point out

that the resistivity measured
4
is not indicative of a constant
2 homogeneous resistivity but
is the bulk resistivity of a het-
0 erogeneous material. When the
0 1
array is in an intermediate posi-
10 10 tion, for example over a lateral
Time (ms) contact between two dissimilar
x 10
−7 Step-on response derivative, Rx2 materials, it is impossible theo-
8 retically to fit the broadband
data with any 1D structure. It is
6 possible to fit the late time data
or the early time data, sepa-
4 rately, to a 1D model, but not
both simultaneously. So, why
2
is there a strong agreement
0 between the apparent resistiv-
ity and the resistivity obtained
0 1
10 10 from the half-space inversion?
Figure 8. The upper panel shows the step-on response over the Bullseye Vent, way- Schwalenberg et al. (2005) had
point 13 (blue circles with spline fit) and away from the vent, way-point 17 (red squares to apply a lowcut filter to the
with spline fit). The lower panel shows the time derivative of the spline fits with the data for experimental reasons,
characteristic times selected as the position, in time, of the peaks. so they removed the late time
and their half-space models
Data interpretation were essentially determined by
the early time data, making the inversion entirely consis-
Returning to Cascadia, two representative examples tent with the apparent resistivity calculation.
of the step-on response curves are shown in the up- Can we predict the effects of lateral variations on the re-
per panel of Figure 8, for the background region away sistivity curves? As demonstrated previously, when the CSEM
from the vents and over the Bullseye Vent, respectively. array straddles a vertical contact, the apparent resistivity is bi-
Compare this figure with Figure 3. The strong resistiv- ased by the conductive side. Consequently, the breadth of the
ity anomaly is evident. The lower panel shows the linear apparent resistivity anomaly underestimates the width of any
time derivative of these two response curves. The char- resistive target. Thus, our anomaly gives a minimum diameter
acteristic time is defined as the position of the peak in for the gas-hydrate-rich cold vent volume.
the time derivative of the response curve. We then ap-
ply equation 4 to determine the apparent resistivity, Assessment of gas hydrate
shown in Figure 9. A negative constant time correction
of 1.6 ms is applied to account for the effect of a high- Yuan and Edwards (2000) were the first to attempt to as-
cut filter in the analog receiver circuits. The anomalous sess the amount of gas hydrate present in Cascadia using the
peaks in apparent resistivity are spatially correlative CSEM method. Their approach was to tow the CSEM array
with the four prominent blank zones and can be ob- in three distinct regions. One had a strong BSR, the second
served in the vent field over an area of roughly 1 km by no BSR, and the third was the transition between these zones.
3 km, as shown in Figure 4 (Riedel et al., 2002). Apparent resistivities derived from the data collected on the
Schwalenberg et al. (2005) went further and fit the three lines (A, B, and C on Figure 4) showed that the resis-
data to a double half-space model, an entirely reasonable tivity of the seafloor is remarkably uniform over the whole
approach as it is the simplest possible model that might survey area. Yet many of the resistivity values were higher
explain the data. Certainly, when the array is entirely over than one would expect for a gas-hydrate-free region. In or-
the anomalous zone, the half-space model should give the der to interpret their results, they had to introduce a gas-hy-
resistivity of the zone provided there are no major features drate distribution, based on early ODP electrical logs from
outside the zone between the Tx and Rx. Likewise when Sites 888 and 889, for a region extending from the seafloor
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 156 9/21/10 7:00:46 PM

to the base of gas hydrate stability

(Hyndman et al., 1999). Using a
differential method they then es-
timated the gas hydrate content
with respect to a gas hydrate-free
background region of the whole
volume from their limited data
set. The average gas hydrate con-
centration deduced was about
17–26% of pore space (9–13%
of sediment volume) in the 100
m interval above the BSR. The
values are consistent with but
slightly higher as those obtained
by other analyses (e.g., Spence
et al., 2000). Further, the presence
of gas hydrate was predicted in
a region to the east of Site 889B
where there is no visible BSR.
The total solid hydrate volume
estimated within the 10 km sur-
vey area was 1.3 3 108 m3.
Estimates from more recent
surveys are possibly more reli-
able because of the more pro- Figure 9. The upper panel shows the apparent resistivities calculated from the
nounced variations in apparent characteristic times of the step-on response according to equation 4 versus the distance
resistivity along the survey lines. along the Profile 1 as well as the fitted half-space response values for resistivity (after
The resolution of the CSEM Schwalenberg et al., 2005) with the typical background 1 ohm-m dashed line drawn for
method does not permit a de- reference and the lower panel shows the reflection seismic data with the four blank zones
tailed analysis of the distribution (BZ1–BZ4). Used by permission.
of the resistive elements within
the blank zones but it does pro-
vide an integrated value. Depth
resolution in CSEM surveys is
difficult because of the lateral
moving nature of the fields. As-
suming that the increase in re-
sistivity is due to a higher gas
hydrate concentration, the latter
may be converted to total mass
of gas hydrate and then to total
available methane. A rough esti-
mate can be made for the Bulls-
eye Vent assuming a cylindrical
volume, with diameter and depth Figure 10. Gas-hydrate concentrations derived from Archie’s law using two
of 400 and 200 m, respectively. different sets of Archie coefficients. The first set (a 5 1.4, m 5 1.76, n 5 m) is based
By using a second differential on core data from ODP Leg 146 (Hyndman et al., 1999). A reevaluation of these
method, Schwalenberg et al. log data yielded a different set of parameters (a 5 1, m 5 2.8, n 5 1.94) (Riedel
(2005) were able to estimate the et al., 2005). Blue and red lines and symbols correspond to TX-RX1 and TX-RX2
porosity filled by gas hydrate in separations, respectively. In this figure, a regional gas hydrate concentration profile
the anomalous zones. A base- derived from the baseline resistivities in Figure 5b has been subtracted from the total
line concentration derived from gas-hydrate concentrations. Thus, the profiles represent the additional amount of gas
the background resistivities was hydrate and are coincident for both sets of Archie coefficients (after Schwalenberg
subtracted from the respective et al., 2005). The zero dashed line is drawn for reference. Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 157 9/21/10 7:00:47 PM

profiles, and they found the additional amount of gas hydrate inversion of the data (Weitemeyer, 2008), namely: a resis-
required to explain the anomalous resistivities appeared to tive layer at the BSR depth, suggesting the presence of
be relatively insensitive to the set of coefficients used, as gas hydrate and free gas; a shallow resistor that may cor-
shown in Figure 10. They found the additional concentration respond to a seismic horizon; another deeper resistor corre-
was more than 50% at maximum and about 25% on aver- sponding with a gas-charged horizon; a conductive basin at
age of the available pore space at the Bullseye Vent. Twenty- the eastern rim possibly indicating low gas hydrate content
five percent of the available pore space corresponds to 3.8 and/or the presence of brines; and a deeper resistor below
million cubic meters. With a solid to gas ratio of hydrate of an anticline which they interpret as indicating a change in
1:164, the related methane gas volume at STP is 0.62 bil- lithology.
lion (US) cubic meters. Because of the argument presented
above, about the breadth of resistive anomalies sensed by
CSEM methods, this may in fact be underestimating the size Northern Gulf of Mexico
of the gas hydrate-rich zone.
There have been two different CSEM surveys dedi-
cated to gas hydrate targets in the Gulf of Mexico.
Overview of CSEM gas hydrate Rob Evans’s group at the Woods Hole Institution of
characterization worldwide Oceanography and colleagues at the Geological Survey
of Canada built a small scale coaxial, deep-towed, three-
The number of applications of CSEM methods for char-
receiver magnetic dipole–dipole, frequency domain sys-
acterizing marine gas hydrate deposits is still small. Here we
tem which is a major improvement of systems described
provide a brief overview of existing studies. The reader is
by Cheesman et al. (1987), and Webb and Edwards (1995).
directed to the literature cited for more thorough analysis.
The three receivers, at Tx-Rx offsets of 4, 13, and 40 m re-
spectively, resolve the uppermost 20 meters below seafloor
Chilean margin (mbsf). They are linked through optical cables and allow
real-time monitoring on the ship. Each receiver measures
The University of Toronto CSEM array described the inline component of the magnetic field amplitudes and
above was also used to search for possible gas hydrate ac- phases at three different frequencies ranging from 200 Hz
cumulations over observed BSRs on the Chilean margin. to 200 kHz. Data from each one can be inverted to give an
CSEM data were collected in three target areas, and the apparent porosity. The system was used to investigate the
data were interpreted with half-space models. Though the electrical signature of two mud volcanoes in the Atwater
data were of high quality, no significant anomalies were Valley, Gulf of Mexico, one of them being part of the Joint
found which could indicate possible gas hydrate deposits Industry Project (JIP) drilling program (Evans, 2007; Ellis
(Schwalenberg et al., 2004). et al., 2008). The mounds, located in about 1300 m of wa-
ter, show bright seismic amplitude and acoustic reflections
Hydrate Ridge, southern Cascadia suggesting hard bottom conditions, possibly due to car-
margin bonates and/or gas hydrates. While higher resistivities and
accordingly lower apparent porosities were expected, the
Weitemeyer et al. (2006) conducted a CSEM survey apparent porosities were lower than the surroundings, and
on Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon, the target of ODP Leg the electrical structure at the tops of the mounds seems to
204 and geophysical surveys, including seismic, acoustic be dominated by saline fluids and high temperature effects
bathymetry mapping, and ROV-based observations. They (Ellis et al., 2008).
employed 25 stationary EM receivers at a 600 m site spac- The Scripps Marine EM Lab conducted a survey in the
ing to record the horizontal components of the electric northern Gulf of Mexico. The target areas were proposed
and magnetic field of a horizontal, electric dipole source, JIP drill sites (AC 818, WR 313, GC 955) and the location
towed at above the seafloor. This CSEM profile is colo- of a designated gas hydrate observatory (MC 118) (Weit-
cated with a seismic line (230) and crosses four ODP sites emeyer and Constable, 2009). The instrumental set-up
(1245, 1246, 1244, and 1252). The transmitted signal had a included seafloor electromagnetic receivers recording all
single frequency of 5 Hz, and data were processed for the three components of the electric field, and two horizontal
fundamental and the first odd harmonic (15 Hz). components of the magnetic field, a horizontal electric di-
Weitemeyer et al. (2006) and Weitemeyer and Consta- pole source towed at a height between 70–100 m above the
ble (personal communication 2010) derived a CSEM ap- seafloor, and a new, three-axis electric field recorder called
parent resistivity pseudo-section by2012
Downloaded 25 Jun converting electric subjectVULCAN
theRedistribution
to 95.28.162.50. that
to SEG license or wasTerms
copyright; towed athttp://segdl.org/
of Use: a distance of about 250 m be-
field data into half-space resistivities. The pseudo-section hind the rear transmitter electrode. While the seafloor re-
shows several features which were later confirmed by 2.5D ceivers are in general sensitive to BSR depth and below,
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 158 9/21/10 7:00:56 PM

VULCAN collected CSEM data sensitive to the uppermost seismic data (Schwalenberg et al., 2010b). 1D inversion of
100 mbsf. The data analysis of these extensive data sets is the data reveals clearly anomalous resistivities at two seep
ongoing, and initial results are promising (Constable, per- sites, moderately elevated at a third site, and normal back-
sonnal communication, 2009). ground resistivities away from the seeps. The high resistivi-
ties are attributed to gas hydrate layers at intermediate depths
Hikurangi margin, New Zealand beneath the seeps with a possible gas hydrate concentration
of as much as 25% of the total sediment volume within a 50
The University of Toronto CSEM system (described m thick layer (Schwalenberg et al., 2010b).
above) was used to identify gas hydrate deposits on the Another CSEM target area on the margin was Poran-
Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. The margin is characterized gahau Ridge located in water depths of 1900–2000 m. A
by widespread BSRs, seep structures, and active methane and high amplitude reflection zone extending from the BSR
fluid venting suggesting the presence of gas hydrate. CSEM around 700 mbsf toward the seafloor has been observed
data were collected along profiles in three target areas. at the western flank of the ridge, attributed to local shoal-
Opouawe Bank is one of the ridge and basin systems ing at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone caused by
on the accretionary wedge located off the Wairarapa coast at upward migrating warm fluids. CSEM data were recorded
water depths of 1000–1100 m. Several seafloor seeps were along the same seismic line with offsets extended to 386
identified from individual gas plumes in hydro-acoustic data and 705 m, respectively, and the transmitter dipole moment
and video observations. Seismic reflection data subsequently was increased to 1 kAm, due to the depth of the seismic
identified more than 25 new seep structures. Two intersect- anomaly. Even though the signal to noise ratio was low,
ing CSEM profiles have been surveyed at a site spacing of particularly for the second receiver, a pronounced resistiv-
150 m across previously known seep sites with Tx-Rx off- ity anomaly was detected at the western rim, suggesting a
sets of 172 and 275 m respectively. Figure 11 shows the ap- shallow layer of concentrated gas hydrate above the reflec-
parent resistivity anomaly coincident with high reflectivity tion zone, consistent with the advective heat flow, and mas-
sive gas and fluid transport deduced from heat flow and
geochemistry (Schwalenberg
et al., 2010a).
Conclusions
In the last decade, ma-
rine controlled-source elec-
tromagnetic (CSEM) surveys
have shown their utility for
the characterization of marine
gas hydrate targets. The un-
derlying fundamentals of the
physics has been described us-
ing dimensional analysis. An
apparent resistivity formula
was introduced, suitable for
the display of field data. It is
hoped that this presentation
will indicate that the method
is more straightforward than
may at first be supposed. The
northern Cascadia area, off-
Figure 11. CSEM data taken across Porangahau Ridge, Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. shore British Columbia, was
Each point of the apparent resistivity profile refers to the average bulk resistivity around the selected to demonstrate both
respective site. Bottom: Seismic section along line TAN0607-02. The vertical scale bar of the towed CSEM system and
the seismic section assumes a sub-seafloor velocity of 1600 m/s, thus 0.2 s of the two-way- the information that can be
traveltime (TWT) 5 160 m. CSEM results show a resistivity anomaly at site 5 attributed to a gleaned from a towed survey.
zone of concentrated gas hydrate above a high amplitude reflection band upwarbing from the We have not dwelt at length on
local BSR. Used by permission (after Schwalenberg et al., 2010b). numerical methods — suffice
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 159 9/21/10 7:00:56 PM

it to mention there are 1D, 2D, and 3D software available in C. K. Paull, R. Matsumoto, P. J. Wallace, and W.
for analysis of multi-receiver CSEM data. CSEM should P. Dillon, eds., Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Pro-
be used in conjunction with other methods. It usually gives gram, Scientific Results, 164, 179–191.
complimentary results, as in the case of the Bullseye Vent Constable, S., and C. S. Cox, 1996, Marine controlled
structure and the resistive anomaly outlined, and occasion- source electromagnetic sounding: 2. The PEGASUS
ally it can demonstrate unexpected results, like the pres- experiment: Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, no.
ence of gas hydrate in the absence of a BSR. While gas B3, 5519–5530, doi:10.1029/95JB03738.
hydrate appears much as expected, as a resistive anomaly, Constable, S., and L. J. Srnka, 2007, An introduction to
on occasions, salinity effects can be more significant. marine controlled-source electromagnetic methods for
Where do we go from here? Towing a single line across hydrocarbon exploration: Geophysics, 72, no. 2, WA3–
3D targets can hardly be considered sufficient, yet the WA12, doi:10.1190/1.2432483.
cost of doing more is often prohibitive for the academic. Edwards, R. N., 1997, On the resource evaluation of ma-
Obviously, one needs multiple lines, multiple receivers, rine gas hydrate deposits using sea-floor transient
and the analytical ability to jointly invert data with other electric dipole-dipole method: Geophysics, 62, 63–74,
geophysical and geochemical information in complex ter- doi:10.1190/1.1444146.
ranes. From our own perspective, we have been looking at Edwards, R. N., and A. D. Chave, 1986, A transient electric
monitoring gas hydrate deposits for long periods of time, dipole-dipole method for mapping the conductivity of
using sub-sea observatories, and adding Tx-Rx arrays in the seafloor: Geophysics, 51, 204–217.
boreholes. Edwards, R. N., 2005, Marine controlled source electro-
magnetics: Principles, methodologies, future commer-
cial applications: Surveys in Geophysics, 26, 675–700,
Acknowledgments doi:10.1007/s10712-005-1830-3
Edwards, R. N., E. C. Willoughby, C. Scholl, and R. Mir,
We thank Roy Hyndman and Michael Riedel for their 2008, A continuously towed seafloor electromagnetic
reviews. The research is supported by the Natural Sciences prospecting systemen: U. S. Provisional Patent Appli-
and Engineering Research Council of Canada and indication 61/122,489, filed 15 December 2008.
rectly, by the Shell International Exploration and Produc- Ellis, M., R. L. Evans, D. Hutchinson, P. Hart, J. Gard-
tion Inc. who funded us through its Gamechanger program. ner, and R. Hagen, 2008, Electromagnetic surveying
We would like to thank our scientific advisor Johannes of seafloor mounds in the northern Gulf of Mexico:
Singer for his continuing support. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 25, no. 9, 960–968,
doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2007.12.006.
Evans, R. L., 2007, Using CSEM techniques to map the
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2010b, Preliminary interpretation of electromagnetic, use of physical models: Eos, Transactions, American
heat flow, seismic, and geochemical data for gas hy- Geophysical Union, 81, no. 48, F639.
drate distribution across the Porangahau Ridge, New Yuan, T., R. D. Hyndman, G. S. Spence, and B. Des-
Zealand: MarineDownloaded
Geology,25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
272, Issues 1–4, 89–98, doi: mons, 1996, Seismic velocity increase and deep-sea
10.1016/j.margeo/2009.10.024. gas hydrate concentration above a bottom-simulating
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reflector on the northern Cascadia continental slope: on the Cascadia Margin: Eos, Transactions, American
Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, no. B6, 13655– Geophysical Union, 79, fall meeting supplement, ab-
13671, doi:10.1029/96JB00102. stract GP22A-08
Yuan, J., 2003, Electromagnetic assessment of offshore Yuan, J., and R. N. Edwards, 2000, The assessment of
methane hydrate deposits on the northern Cascadia marine hydrates through electrical remote sounding:
Margin: Ph.D. thesis, University of Toronto. Hydrate without a BSR: Geophysical Research Letters,
Yuan, J., G. Cairns, and R. N. Edwards, 1998, Electromag- 27, no. 16, 2397–2400, doi:10.1029/2000GL011585.
netic assessment of offshore methane hydrate deposits
02181_SEG_GH_C10.indd 162 9/21/10 7:01:02 PM

Chapter 11
Resolving an Onshore Gas-hydrate Layer with Long-offset

Transient Electromagnetics (LOTEM)
Carsten Scholl1
Abstract those methods was not sufficient and second because thin
resistors are difficult targets for inductive EM methods.
Although electromagnetic (EM) methods have been used The long-offset transient electromagnetics (LOTEM)
successfully to detect marine gas hydrates, no EM surveys to method (Strack, 1992) is the land-based equivalent of marine
detect onshore gas hydrates have been reported. The applica- EM methods. Developed to detect resistive hydrocarbons,
tion of the long-offset transient EM (LOTEM) method to the which typically form deep seated, thin resistors, it has the po-
detection of gas hydrates is discussed. Model calculations as- tential to resolve permafrost gas hydrates. This chapter exam-
suming a resistivity setting similar to that found in the Mallik ines the possibility of using the method in the setting of the
gas hydrate test site, Northwest Territory, Canada, show that Mallik test site, NWT, Canada (Dallimore and Collett, 2005).
LOTEM potentially can detect the gas hydrate at a depth of
approximately 900 m. The finer structure of the gas-hydrate
(small-scale inhomogeneities as found in borehole logs) is
The Geological Setting at Mallik
less likely to be resolved with a surface EM method. Figure 1 shows the location of the Mallik test site, be-
tween the Mackenzie Delta and Kugmallit Bay, Northwest
Introduction Territory (NWT), Canada.
Electromagnetic (EM) methods are used for

geologic and hydrogeologic mapping, mineral ex-
ploration, and engineering geophysics. They also
can be used for the exploration of gas hydrates
because of their resistivity signature (Edwards,
1997; Collett and Lee, 2005). In a marine environ-
ment, gas hydrates have been detected success-
fully with EM methods (Yuan and Edwards, 2000;
Schwalenberg et al., 2005; Weitemeyer et al.,
2006). However, there are no published surficial
EM surveys for onshore permafrost gas hydrates.
Several authors report the application of EM
methods in a permafrost environment (Hoekstra
et al., 1975; Hoekstra, 1978; Sinha and Stephens,
1983; Palacky and Stephens, 1992; Todd and Dal-
limore, 1998), in which gas hydrate potentially
could be found. In most cases, however, the target
was the permafrost layer. Gas hydrates were not
detected, first because the depth of exploration of
1
Fugro Electro Magnetic GmbH, Berlin, Germany. Figure 1. Location of the Mallik test site; the arrow on the inset
E-mail: C.Scholl@fugro.de points to the location of the larger map section.
163
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 163 9/23/10 6:09:50 PM

The area is covered with a thick sequence of sedi-

ments. The gas hydrate was found beneath 300 to 700 m of
permafrost within unconsolidated or poorly consolidated
sediments of Tertiary age (Figure 2).
The dominant factors controlling the resistivity of sedi-
mentary rocks are the fracture of the pore space and the re-
sistivity of the material within the pores (Archie, 1942). In
this area, high resistivities below the vadose zone are likely
to be produced by ice, gas hydrate, or free methane, which
occupy the pore space and impede the movement of ions.
The report by Dallimore and Collett (2005) provides
resistivity logs for depths between 810 and 1152 m. Above
and below the hydrate-bearing zone (between approxi-
mately 890 and 1140 m), the resistivity logs show rather
uniform values of a few ohm meters. Within the layer,
the resistivity is in general about one order of magnitude
higher, with maximal values of about 120 Vm (Collett and
Lee, 2005). The log exhibits a lot of spikes within the hy-
drate layer, indicating a heterogeneous distribution of gas
hydrate (Figure 2).
For the first sensitivity studies, a 1D resistivity model
was used. This is a good first order approximation because
the governing factors for the resistivity in this area, ice and
gas hydrate, will form according to pressure and tempera-
ture, which can be constant over geological boundaries.
The host rock is only relevant in terms of the porosity. For
the first model, the hydrate zone was represented with a
single, uniform layer. More complex resistivity structures
representing the heterogeneity of the hydrate distribution
will be discussed later.
The shallow resistivity structure cannot be derived
from the logs. We will use typical values for the perma-
frost layer in the area as measured by Todd and Dallimore
(1998). Their results and the well-log combined in one
model yield the resistivity model shown in Figure 3. Todd
and Dallimore interpret the resistive layers as ice-bonded
sediments and the conductive parts as non-ice-bonded with
the pore space filled with water.
Figure 2. Stratigraphic
column showing Tertiary
stratigraphy and gas The LOTEM Method
hydrate occurrences (A-C)
In electromagnetic methods, the magnetic or electri-
in the Mackenzie–Beaufort
cal fields are measured in time or frequency domain. Many
region (after Collett et al.,
different configurations of electric and EM systems are in
2005). Permafrost, cored
interval, and gas hydrate
use. They differ in their choice of sensors, sources of exci-
occurrences in the JAPEX/ tation, the source to receiver geometry, and the frequency
KNOC/GSC et al. Mallik band/time range.
5L-38 well are shown The time-domain method LOTEM was developed for
schematically but not to the exploration of oil and gas at depths up to a few kilome-
scale. Resistivity logs at ters (Strack, 1992) but has not received a lot of attention.
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectRecent successes
to SEG license or copyright;of theof marine
Terms controlled-source electro-
the Mallik test well (after
Collett and Lee, 2005. magnetic (CSEM) experiments, which basically use the
Used by permission). same setup, sparked new commercial interest in the method
(Wright et al., 2002).
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 164 9/23/10 6:09:53 PM

Chapter 11: Resolving an Onshore Gas-hydrate Layer with Long-offset Transient Electromagnetics 165
Figure 4 shows typical survey layouts for LOTEM. times after change of state in the TX are required. Typi-
Commonly, a grounded electric dipole with a dipole length cal time ranges for LOTEM are a few milliseconds to
of approximately 1 km is used as a transmitter (TX). The some seconds or even tens of seconds, which for typi-
x-direction is defined parallel to the transmitter. Receiver cal values of r, corresponds to diffusion depths of some
(RX) sites are set up along a spread in a manner similar hundred to a few kilometers depth. zd does not depend on
to seismic methods. At each receiver site, multiple electric the offset between the TX and the RX. Nevertheless, the
and/or magnetic field components are measured. In most amplitude of a signal at a certain time or frequency does
cases, induction coils are used as sensors for the magnetic depend on this offset. Thus, given that data are available
field. Thus, the time derivatives of the magnetic compo- in the relevant time range, the effective exploration depth
nents are recorded. depends on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the offset
The LOTEM method does not strictly require an inline (Spies, 1989). In general, the optimal offset will increase
or broadside layout. However, there are some geometrical with the target depth.
advantages of these setups. In abroadside configuration The choice of the transmitter and receiver type is rel-
(Figure 4a), the Ey- and Hx-components are ; 0 for a lay- evant because of the different electric current systems in-
ered earth. In inline configuration (Figure 4b), this addi- volved. Magnetic dipole transmitters on the surface produce
tionally is true for the Hz-component. Any signal in these only horizontal current systems in a layered subsurface,
components is an indication for multidimensional resistiv-
ity structures and can be used in the analysis of the sub- 0
surface structure (Caldwell and Bibby, 1998; Hördt and Ice
Scholl, 2004). In this study, the electric field parallel to the Water
TX-dipole (Ex) in inline and broadside configuration and 200
the time derivative of the vertical magnetic component Hz
in broadside configuration will be considered. For the rest
of the chapter, when discussing the magnetic component, 400
Ice
the time derivative is implied.
At t 5 0 s, the state of the current is changed in the
LOTEM-TX. This means, for example, the current in 600
Depth (m)
the transmitter is switched off or on or the polarity of the

current is changed. This change induces current systems
Water
in the subsurface according to Lenz’s law. With time, the 800
current systems diffuse down and outward. The magnetic
and electric field components of this diffusive process are
recorded at the RXs. 1000
Gas hydrate
The depth of the maximum of induced current system in
a homogenous half-space with resistivity r and the vacuum
magnetic permeability m0 is given by the diffusion depth, 1200
Water
2rt
zd 5 < 1262"rt, (1) 1400
Å 0
pm 1 10 100 1000
Resistivity (Ωm)
where t is the time after changing the state in the TX,
and zd is in meters. Hence, to probe greater depths, later Figure 3. Resistivity model at Mallik.
Figure 4. Schematical setups a) b)

Broadside configuration Inline configuration
for LOTEM.
EY1 HY2 TX
Ex1 Ex1 Ex2
TX
HZ1 HX2 HY1 HY2
Electric field sensor Coil measuring HZ Coil measuring HX/Y
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 165 9/23/10 6:10:00 PM

whereas grounded dipole transmitters produce current sys- configuration. The TX has a length of 1 km. Current is
tems with horizontal and vertical components. Magnetic switched on to 60 A (Figure 5a,c,e) or off from 60 A (Fig-
receivers on the other hand are only sensitive to horizontal ure 5b,d). The curves are calculated for the model with gas
current systems at the surface, whereas the electric are sen- hydrate (Figure 3) and for the same model without gas hy-
sitive to the total current system. drate, where r5 is set to the background resistivity 3 Vm.
The vertical current components are affected by resis- The switch-on transients exhibit differences starting
tive layers because the current has to flow through the re- at approximately 30 ms. With increasing offset, the signal
sistor. The EM field is distorted in the process. In contrast, strength decreases, but the relative difference between the
changes in horizontal current systems propagate inductively curves increases, in particular in the electrical fields. Sig-
to deeper layers and thus can jump over resistive layers. nal levels are higher than the noise level given above. The
Hence, they are less affected by a resistive layer (Strack optimal offset is that at which resistivity changes in the tar-
et al., 1989). get depth produce large absolute and relative changes in
The most relevant difference of LOTEM to most other the transients. For this model, this is the case for offsets
land-based EM methods is that it includes electric dipoles between 2 and 3 km. For the following curves, we consider
as TX and RX. Therefore, it is more sensitive to resistive LOTEM RXs at an offset of 3 km.
targets than other methods. Figure 6 demonstrates the sensitivity of the different
The hydrates at Mallik are a resistive target at a depth components to different gas-hydrate concentration, that is,
of roughly 1 km (Figure 3). Therefore, LOTEM seems a to a variation of the resistivity in the target layer. In the
reasonable method to apply to this target. The aim of this diagram, r5 is varied from 3 (no hydrate) to 100 Vm (high-
study is to examine if a hydrate layer could, in fact, be re- hydrate concentration). There is an obvious difference
solved using the method. between the Hz on the one hand and the electrical compo-
In this study, switch-on and switch-off fields are used, nents on the other. For Hz, the curves differ significantly
that is, fields produced by switching the current on or off. when r5 is initially increased. The differences are small
For any LOTEM component, the relation between the mea- when r5 is increased beyond 30 Vm. Because of the sen-
sured switch-on voltage Uon (t) and the switch-off voltage sitivity to vertical current systems, the curves for higher
Uoff (t) is resistivities can only be discriminated in the electric field
components. Taken together, it can be concluded that the
Uon (t) 5 UDC 2 Uoff (t), (2) magnetic field components can be used to detect a general
increase of the resistivity in the target layer, but the mag-
where UDC is the direct current (DC) value at steady state nitude of the increase cannot be resolved easily without
as in geoelectrics (Telford et al., 1990; Binley and Kemna, electric field components.
2005). For any component measuring the time derivative That a change in resistivity of the target layer gives a
(i.e., Hz), UDC is zero, so the only difference between Uon measurable difference in the fields does not mean that this
(t) and Uoff (t) is the sign. layer is resolved by the data. As in many other methods in
Note for practical considerations that switch-on field geophysics, noisy and incomplete LOTEM data sets suffer
can easily be converted to a switch-off field and vice versa a certain degree of ambiguity, that is, different models can
in the processing by shifting the DC value of the measured be found that fit the data equally well. This will be dem-
time series. The type of signal becomes relevant in the inter- onstrated by means of a nonlinear inverse algorithm (e.g.,
pretation because the transient part of the signal is weighted Meju, 1994).
differently in an inversion for switch-on and switch-off Nonlinear inverse algorithms are commonly used
fields. This will be demonstrated in the next section. to interpret LOTEM data. In these algorithms, a resistiv-
ity model is assumed and the resulting forward curves are
compared to measured curves. In the next step, the algo-
Resolution of the 1D model rithm changes the model in order to fit the measured curves
better than with the previous model. The result of this
For a resolution study, certain SNR has to be assumed. process typically is nonunique and depends on the initial
Typical noise levels for LOTEM are 10210 V/m2 and model, the model discretization, and potentially additional
1028 V/m for magnetic and electric components, respec- penalty terms like smoothness, which are imposed to sta-
tively, after stacking around 1000 transients and treating bilize the inversion and favor special model classes (Con-
the data with sophisticated processing routines. This as- stable et al., 1987).
sumes a low ambient noise level because of the remoteness Figure 7 shows the results of inversions to further
of the area. demonstrate the different resolution properties. Prior to
Figure 5 shows transients for the Ex - and the inversion, Gaussian noise was added to the data with a
Hz-component for different offsets in broadside and inline standard deviation of a typical noise floor of either 0.5%
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 166 9/23/10 6:10:02 PM

Figure 5. Response curves for LOTEM Ex and Hz

components for the model displayed in Figure 3 for different
TX-RX offsets: (a) broadside-Ex, switch-on; (b) broadside-Ex,
switch-off; (c) inline- Ex, switch-on; (d) inline-Ex, switch-off;
and (e) broadside-Hz; black: hydrate 1 r5 5 30 Vm 2 , gray: no
hydrate 1 r5 5 3 Vm 2 , solid: positive, dashed: negative.
or 10210 V/m2 (for Hz) or 1028 V/m (for Ex), whichever is model was the model shown in Figure 3 in which each
larger. Error estimates are set accordingly (Figure 8). of the 11 parameters of the six layer model (six resistivi-
Several 1D Marquardt-type inversions were carried ties and five thicknesses) was changed in turn in 12 steps
out (Marquardt, 1963; Jupp and Vozoff, 1975). The initial over three orders of magnitude. The other parameters
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 167 9/23/10 6:10:03 PM

Figure 6. Response curves for the Mallik

model in Figure 3 with different resistivity
values for the resistivity of the hydrate
layer r5; (a) broadside-Ex, switch-on;
(b) broadside-Ex, switch-off; (c) inline-Ex,
switch-on; (d) inline-Ex, switch-off; and
(e) broadside-Hz .
were changed randomly by 20%. The Marquardt inversion a histogram of the resistivity in the target layer. The true
stopped when a weighted rms # 1 was achieved, that is, value is marked with the black line. Relevant is mainly the
the forward curve for the model fits the data on average resistivity range found at the target depth, marked with the
within the error estimates. The resulting models are plot- hatched square. Note that the histogram is biased toward
ted with gray lines. The black lines denote the original the true value as most inversions were started with a r5
model as comparison. value close to the true value.
The gray lines in Figure 7 indicate the range in which The results for the Hz-component (Figure 7c) shows
the different parameters can be changed without degrading the limitations of the magnetic field components in resolv-
the data fit. The depth to the fifth layer or its thickness and ing resistive targets. In all three resistive zones, equivalent
resistivity varies so much that in some cases it is not clear models were found with high resistivities of 500 Vm and
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectmore. Theorhistogram
to SEG license copyright; Termsshows that the range of resistivity
whether a resistive layer has to exist at all. To clarify this,
a second panel right of the depth/resistivity section shows values for the target layer (hatched) is between 3 Vm (no
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 168 9/23/10 6:10:09 PM

Figure 7. Results of Marquardt inversions of data

calculated for the Mallik model (Figure 3, and black
line in plots) including histograms of r5; data used
in the inversion are shown in Figure 9; inversions are
calculated for different starting models. The gray lines
depict resulting models with a weighted RMS # 1%.
(a) Broadside Ex, switch on; and (b) broadside Ex,
switch off (c) Hz.
hydrate) to around 600 Vm. The boundary at 609 m, how- (hatched area in histograms) is small and centered around
ever, is better resolved than for any other component. the true value. The results are particularly good using the
The results for the LOTEM Ex -component are not inline Ex (Figure 8d). Note, however, that this combination
as good as might be expected (Figure 7a). The results requires the use of two perpendicular transmitters because
show significant ambiguity over the whole depth range, the Hz vanishes in inline configuration.
although the resistivity range for r5 is not as big as for
the magnetic component. Inversion of the switch-off
fields instead of the switch-on fields (Figure 7b) results More Complex Resistivity
in a better resolution of the shallower structure, but the Distributions
resolution of the target layer is not improved. The results
for the inline component (not shown here) are similar in The discussion of layered models is useful to deter-
resolution. mine relevant survey parameters and general resolution
The resolution can be improved when the different properties. Of course, in reality, the subsurface does not
resolution properties of individual data sets are combined consist of homogenous, strictly horizontal layers. Brent
in a joint inversion (Vozoff and Jupp, 1975; Hördt et al., et al. (2005) detected fault lines and an anticlinal struc-
1992b). Figure 8 shows the results for joint inversions of ture at Mallik by means of a 3D seismic survey. In addi-
Hz and each one of the Ex data sets. The overall resolution, borehole logs (Sun and Goldberg, 2005) and seismic
tion is increased in all cases. The resolution of the target crosswell tomography (Bauer et al., 2005; Pratt et al.,
layer is best if the magnetic component is combined with a 2005) indicate a subdivision of the hydrate layer into sev-
switch-off Ex data set (Figure 8b,d). Here the range for r5 eral heterogeneous units.
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 169 9/23/10 6:10:21 PM

Figure 8. Results of joint Marquardt inversions of data calculated for the Mallik model (Figure 3, and black line in plots)
including histograms of r5; inversions are calculated for different starting models. The gray lines depict resulting models with
a weighted rms # 1%. (a) Hz and broadside Ex, switch on; (b) Hz and broadside Ex, switch off; (c) Hz and inline Ex, switch on;
and (d) Hz and inline Ex, switch off.
A heterogeneous hydrate layer sand and clay layers are finely stratified because the clay
typically is less resistive than the sand. The resulting layer
Collett et al. (2005) found that the hydrate zone can exhibits different lateral and vertical resistivities.
be separated in two to three hydrate bearing layers. The Although the process forming the anisotropic struc-
well logs indicate that these hydrate layers are very het- ture in the gas hydrate layer is likely to be different, some
erogeneous. This is consistent with results that Riedel et indications for this type of anisotropy were found (Collett
al. (2006) obtained for marine gas hydrate. The small scale et al., 2005). The vertical resistivity often is up to 10 times
heterogeneity is not resolvable by surface EM methods due higher than the horizontal resistivity. From all the EM data
to the diffusive fields involved. Instead, the layer can be sets, only the LOTEM Ex component is sensitive to this
represented by its bulk resistivity. type of anisotropy (Hördt et al., 1993).
This changes if the heterogeneity has a certain geom- Figure 10 shows inversion results obtained by the
etry producing different resistivities in different directions, same scheme as used in Figure 7 from a model where
that is, an anisotropic resistivity. In sedimentary environ- the hydrate layer is subdivided into two resistive zones
ments, an anisotropy often is produced when, for example, (black lines). Nevertheless, it was possible to find six layer
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 170 9/23/10 6:10:25 PM

models yielding misfits # 1. Therefore, it is unlikely that

the finer structure within the hydrate-bearing zone can be
resolved with surface EM methods, even for a combination
of LOTEM magnetic and electric field data sets.
Large scale resistivity structures

The Beaufort sea close to the site forms a large con-
ductive body (seawater resistivities are typically around
0.3 Vm) and therefore might influence EM data recorded
in the area. In winter, however, this effect might be dimin-
ished due to freeze up. Additionally, the fault lines and an-
ticlines detected with a 3D seismic survey potentially also
form large scale resistivity anomalies.
For transient electromagnetics (TEM), multidimen-
sional forward calculations are computationally expen-
sive. Depending on the complexity of the problem and
the algorithm, they take anything from several minutes to
several hours. Therefore, standard interpretation of TEM
data sets typically relies on 1D inversion and multidimen-
sional modeling. The sensitivity of the method is largest
close to the TX and RX (Hördt, 1998), but in general, the
data are influenced by the resistivity distribution between
the TX and RX and even away from the setup. Thus, the
effects of multidimensional resistivity structures cannot
be neglected, even if only in the vicinity of the respective
EM site.
As the TX-RX distance is large by definition for LOTEM,
a larger area of several tens of square kilometers has to be near
1D in order to justify a 1D interpretation. The effects of mul-
tidimensional structures on 1D inversions are demonstrated in
Scholl (2005).
Although the general use of 1D interpretation schemes
in multidimensional settings should not be encouraged,
it is possible to derive reasonable representations of the
subsurface in near 1D situations. To illustrate some of the
effects of multidimensional structures on LOTEM, data
for a 2D model is calculated with a 3D time-domain for-
ward modeling code by Druskin and Knizhnerman (1988).
The code is based on the spectral Lanczos decomposition
method to solve the diffusion equation using a finite differ-
ences approach (Druskin and Knizhnerman, 1988; Hördt
et al., 1992a; Druskin and Knizhnerman, 1994; Druskin
et al., 1999).
Data are calculated for the model shown in the top
panel of Figure 11. In the x-directed dipole TXs with a
length of 1 km, a current of 60 A is shut off at t 5 0 s. As-
signing data or 1D inversion results for the extended setup
to a certain position is not straightforward. Here, they are
plotted at the midpoint between the TX and the RX, even
though the transients are more sensitive to the material
close to the TX and RX position and only to second order Figure 9. Data used in the inversions shown in Figure 7.
to the material between the TX and RX (Hördt, 1998). (a) switch-on Ex, (b) switch-off Ex, (c) Hz.
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 171 9/23/10 6:10:34 PM

Figure 10. Results of joint Marquardt inversions of data

calculated for the model marked with a black line. Inversions
are calculated for different six layer starting models. The gray
lines depict resulting models with a weighted rms # 1%. (a)
Hz and broadside Ex, switch off; (b) Hz and inline Ex, switch
on; and (c) Hz and inline Ex, switch off.
Data are calculated for an inline-Ex at a distance of

close to 2.9 km from the midpoint of the TX for time points
between 1 ms and 1 s. The TX-RX setup is moved across
the structure with a spacing of 1 km.
The second panel shows the derivative of the elec-
tric field with respect to the logarithmic time d dE dE
log t 5 t dt ,
which has the dimension of an electric field. Note that
even for a homogenous half-space, there would be a pat-
tern. This pattern depends not only on the model but also
on the TX-RX offset. Comparisons, therefore, only can
be made relative to curves at other sites with the same
TX-RX offset.
Obviously, the deeper resistor representing the gas hy-
drate produces a positive anomaly at around 100 ms, which
does not appear at sites on the right. The increase in resis-
tivity in the target layer between 22 and 0 km produces a
larger anomaly. The general structure of the target can be
inferred from this plot.
To get qualitative results, inversions are required. The
third panel shows the results of 1D Marquardt inversions
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 172 9/23/10 6:10:36 PM

of the Ex-data. Prior to the in- 0.0

version, Gaussian noise was
Depth (km)
added to the switch-off sig- 0.5
nals with a standard deviation
of either 0.5% or 10 nV/m,
1.0
whichever is larger. Let us as-
sume that an initial resistivity
model of the subsurface ex- 1.5
ists by means of a borehole at 100
x 5 26 km.
Marquardt inversions Time (ms)
101
were carried out. Because the
result of a Marquardt inver-
102
sion depends significantly on
the initial model, three initial
models were used: one repre- 103
senting the model at the bore- 0.0
hole with gas hydrate (Figure
Depth (km)
3), one the same model with 0.5

r5 set to the background value
of 3 Vm, and finally a model
1.0
without a layer at the depth
of the target. The latter two
represent models where no 1.5
gas hydrate is present but 10
with different number of free
Misfit
parameters. For the plots in 1

Figure 12, the result of the in-
version run yielding the low-
0.1
est misfit is used.
The results are shown −6 −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
in the last two panels of Figure x (km)
11. Again, the individual 1D
results and the corresponding Resistivity (Ωm) Electric field (⬀V/m)
misfits are displayed below the
midpoint between TX and RX. 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Even though there are discrep-
ancies caused by either multi-
dimensional effects or model Figure 11. Results for a 2D model; from top to bottom: Resistivity model; the data for
ambiguity, the resistivity struc- TX-RX-separation, plotted as derivative of the electric field with respect to log time;
ture is very well reconstructed 1D inversion results; misfit of the final inversion model.
with fairly low misfits.
Figure 12 shows the The examples used here show a best case scenario,
result for a slightly different model. The difference to the mainly because of the assumption that a good initial
previous model is that the permafrost layer also exhibits model is known for the inverse algorithm and because no
lateral changes, namely an increase in resistivity from 70 3D structures are present. In general, multidimensional ef-
to 100 Vm and slight variations in depth and thickness. fects can distort EM data to a point where it is not possible
The higher resistance of the permafrost layer causes ob- to explain the data with 1D models or worse, a 1D ap-
vious changes in the responses at around 10 ms (second proach leads to completely wrong interpretations (Strack,
panel of Figure 12). Nevertheless, the hydrate layer and its 1992; Scholl, 2005). These cases require manual 3D mod-
variations are still visible, although the effect of the varia- eling or the application of 3D inverse algorithms, which
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SEG expensive
license or copyright; com
Terms of Use: putationally. Recently, prog-
http://segdl.org/
tions (the green patch at around 100 m) can be mistaken as
being produced by the variations in the permafrost layer. ress with 3D inversion of TEM data has been reported by
The 1D inversion results (third and fourth panel) again are several authors (Newman and Commer, 2005; Oldenburg
a good representation of the subsurface. et al., 2005; Martin et al., 2006; Haber et al., 2007).
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 173 9/23/10 6:10:39 PM

The biggest problem

might be to set up the TX elec-
trodes. Here, low contact re-
sistances are required in order
to achieve high transmitting
currents. A solution might be
to set up the TX dipoles close
to the Arctic Sea to the north.
The more expensive solution
is to drill holes deep enough
to achieve contact resistances
of a few Ohm. Note that for
a multidimensional interpre-
tation, having more than one
transmitter position is crucial.
In the best case, two perpen-
dicular transmitter dipoles are
set up at each TX position.
The inversions shown
in the multidimensional ex-
amples (Figures 11 and 12)
would be possible using only a
few TX positions with an RX
spread. Plotting the data like
in the second panel of these
plots, however, would be less
helpful because the geometri-
cal effect of the increasing
TX-RX-offset makes it hard to
identify differences caused by
lateral changes in resistivity.
It seems feasible to use
abandoned well cases as TX
electrodes. This, however
limits the choices of TX and
RX geometries. In addition,
modifications of the forward
Figure 12. Results for a 2D model; from top to bottom: Resistivity model; the data for codes used for the interpreta-
TX-RX-separation, plotted as derivative of the electric field with respect to logtime; 1D tions might be necessary due
inversion results; misfit of the final inversion model. to the elongated electrodes,
that is, the current is not in-
jected at discrete points.
Survey Considerations If the surveys can be car-
ried out in summer, none of the problems regarding contact
Surveys in arctic environment are typically carried out resistances applies. In fact, the supposed swampy topsoil
in winter because it is easier to access the area if the soil would make it easy to achieve low contact resistances. The
is frozen and not swampy. This is problematic because the biggest problem is to get the equipment to the individual
electrodes have to be coupled galvanically to the ground. RX and TX locations (apart from some trouble for the op-
High contact resistances at the receiver electrodes of ap- erators caused by the local fauna). The receiver equipment
proximately 1 MΩ can be expected, and the electrodes and does not pose a problem. Weighing a few tens of kilograms
receiver equipment have to be changed accordingly. Wan- with a volume of approximately one cubic meter per site,
namaker et al. (2004) presented a solution that worked at the equipment can even be carried by one or two persons.
the South Pole. This is not the case for the TX equipment. The powerful
02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 174 9/23/10 6:10:40 PM

motor generators, transmitter boxes, and the grounding Binley, A., and A. Kemna, 2005, DC resistivity and induced
material weigh several hundred kilograms. polarization methods, in Y. Rubin and S. S. Hubbard
Before starting an expensive EM survey, it might be eds., Hydrogeophysics: Springer, 129–156.
advisable to do some simple test measurements. Things Brent, T. A., M. Riedel, M. Caddel, M. Clement, T. S. Col-
that should be investigated include ambient noise condi- lett, and S. R. Dallimore, 2005, Initial geophysical
tions, testing of receiver modifications for high sensor im- and geological assessment of an industry 3-D seismic
pedances, and testing for grounding TX electrodes. survey covering the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC et al. Mal-
lik 5L-38 gas hydrate production research well, in
S. R. Dallimore and T. S. Collett, eds., Scientific results
Conclusions and Summary from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research
Well Program, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories,
The model calculations showed that LOTEM is sensi- Canada: Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 585.
tive to the hydrate layer and thus can be used to map the Caldwell, T. G., and H. M. Bibby, 1998, The instantaneous
lateral extensions of the hydrate. The electric field compo- apparent resistivity tensor: A visualization scheme for
nents show the best resolution of the resistivities of the hy- LOTEM electric field measurements: Geophysical Re-
drate zone, which correlates with the hydrate content. search Letters, 135, 817–834.
The complex geological settings might require a full Collett, T. S., and M. W. Lee, 2005, Electrical-resistivity
3D survey with multiple TX dipoles in case LOTEM and a well-log analysis of gas hydrate saturations in the
grid of receiver locations are used. The logistical complex- JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 5L-38 gas hydrate produc-
ity, at least for a LOTEM 3D setup, is comparable to a 3D tion research well, in S. R. Dallimore and T. S. Collett,
seismic survey. eds., Scientific results from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hy-
The resolution of a 2D or 3D interpretation will not drate Production Research Well Program, Mackenzie
be as good as the resolution in the 1D examples shown in Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada: Geological Sur-
this paper. However, the resolution can be improved sig- vey of Canada Bulletin 585.
nificantly if information from other methods like seismic Collett, T. S., R. E. Lewis, and S. R. Dallimore, 2005, Mallik
data is used in combination with EM data (Strack, 1992; 5L-38 gas hydrate production research well downhole
Jones, 1998; Gallardo and Meju, 2007). well-log and core montages, in S. R. Dallimore and
T. S. Collett, eds., Scientific results from the Mallik
2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program,
Acknowledgments Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada:
I thank Ele Willoughby and Jim Craven for their useful Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 585.
comments. The experimental marine electromagnetic group Constable, S. C., R. L. Parker, and C. G. Constable,
at the University of Toronto is supported by grants from 1987, Occam’s inversion — A practical algorithm
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of for generating smooth models from electromag-
Canada. netic sounding data: Geophysics, 52, 289–300,
doi:10.1190/1.1442303.
Dallimore, S. R., and T. S. Collett, 2005, Summary and
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Bauer, K., C. Haberland, R. Pratt, F. Hou, B. E. Medioli, Druskin, V. L., and L. A. Knizhnerman, 1988, A spectral
and M. H. Weber, 2005, Ray-based cross-well tomog- semi-discrete method for the numerical solution of
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modeling in arbitrary 3-D geometry: Geophysics, 64, Martin, R., S. L. Helwig, and B. Tezkan, 2006, 3D TEM
701–706, doi:10.1190/1.1444579. inversion scheme using adjoint Green’s Function ap-
Edwards, R. N., 1997, On the resource evaluation of ma- proach in time domain: 18th International Workshop
rine gas hydrate deposits using sea-floor transient elec- on the Electromagnetic Induction in the Earth, Work-
tric dipole-dipole methods: Geophysics, 62, 63–74, shop Proceedings, S3–17.
doi:10.1190/1.1444146. Meju, M. A., 1994, Geophysical data analysis: Understand-
Gallardo, L. A., and M. A. Meju, 2007, Joint two-dimen- ing inverse problem theory and practice: SEG Course
sional cross-gradient imaging of magnetotelluric and Notes.
seismic traveltime data for structural and lithologi- Newman, G. A., and M. Commer, 2005, New advances in
cal classification: Geophysical Research Letters, 169, three dimensional transient electromagnetic inversion:
1261–1272. Geophysical Research Letters, 160, 5–32.
Haber, E., D. W. Oldenburg, and R. Shekhtman, 2007, Inver- Oldenburg, D. W., R. Eso, S. Napier, and E. Haber, 2005,
sion of time domain three-dimensional electromagnetic Controlled source electromagnetic inversion for re-
data: Geophysical Research Letters, 171, 550–564. source exploration: First Break, 23, 41–48.
Hoekstra, P., 1978, Electromagnetic methods for map- Palacky, G. J., and L. E. Stephens, 1992, Detection of sub-
ping shallow permafrost: Geophysics, 43, 782–787, bottom ice-bonded permafrost on the Canadian Beau-
doi:10.1190/1.1440853. fort shelf by ground electromagnetic measurements:
Hoekstra, P., P. V. Sellman, and A. Delaney, 1975, Geophysics, 57, 1419–1427, doi:10.1190/1.1443209.
Ground and airborne resistivity surveys of permafrost Pratt, R. G., F. Hou, K. Bauer, and M. Weber, 2005, Wave-
near Fairbanks Alaska: Geophysics, 40, 641–656, form tomography images of velocity and inelastic
doi:10.1190/1.1440555. attenuation from Mallik 2002 crosshole seismic
Hördt, A., 1998, Calculation of electromagnetic sensitivi- surveys, in S. R. Dallimore and T. S. Collett, eds.,
ties in the time domain: Geophysical Research Letters, Scientific results from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate
133, 713–720. Production Research Well Program, Mackenzie Delta,
Hördt, A., V. L. Druskin, L. Knizhnerman, and K. M. Northwest Territories, Canada: Geological Survey of
Strack, 1992a, Interpretation of 3-D effects in long- Canada Bulletin 585.
offset transient electromagnetic (LoTeM) soundings Riedel, M., T. S. Collett, M. J. Malone, and the Expdedi-
in the Munsterland area, Germany: Geophysics, 57, tion 311 Scientists, 2006, Expedition 311 summary:
1127–1137. Erratum in GEO-58-10-1551. in Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Pro-
Hördt, A., K. M. Strack, K. Vozoff, and P. A. Wolfgram, gram, 311, IODP Management International, Inc. doi:
1992b, Resolving resistive layers using joint inver- 10.2204/iodp.proc.311.101.2006.
sion of LOTEM and MT data, in A. Vogel, R. Gore- Scholl, C., 2005, The influence of multidimensional struc-
nflo, B. Kummer, and C. O. Ofoegbu, eds., Theory tures on the interpretation of LOTEM data with one-
and practice of geophysical data inversion, 147–158, dimensional models and the application to data from
Vieweg. Israel: Ph.D. thesis, University of Cologne, Institute
Hördt, A., and C. Scholl, 2004, The effect of local distor- for Geophysics and Meteorology, http://kups.ub.uni-
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Geophysics, 69, 87–96, doi:10.1190/1.1649378. Schwalenberg, K., E. Willoughby, R. Mir, and R. N. Ed-
Hördt, A., K. M. Strack, K. Vozoff, and A. Ziolkowski, wards, 2005, Marine gas hydrate electromagnetic sig-
1993, Resolving electrical anisotropy using long-off- natures in cascadia and their correlation with seismic
set transient electromagnetics: 55th Meeting, Session blank zones: First Break, 23, 47–63.
D021, EAEG, Extended Abstract. Sinha, A. K., and L. E. Stephens, 1983, Permafrost map-
Jones, A. G., 1998, Waves of the future: Superior infer- ping over a drained lake by electromagnetic induction
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experiments: Tectonophysics, 286, no. 1-4, 273–298, cal Survey of Canada Bulletin 585.
doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(97)00270-9. Spies, B. R., 1989, Depth of investigation in electromag-
Jupp, D. L. B., and K. Vozoff, 1975, Stable iterative meth- netic sounding methods: Geophysics, 54, 872–888.
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957–976. tromagnetics: Methods in Geochemistry and Geophys-
Marquardt, D. W., 1963, An algorithm for least-squares ics, 30, Elsevier.
estimation of non-linear parameters: SIAM Journal of Strack, K. M., T. Hanstein, K. LeBrocq, D. C. Moss,
Scientific and Statistical Computing, 11, 431–441. K. Vozoff, and P. A. Wolfgram, 1989, Case histories
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of LOTEM surveys in hydrocarbon prospective area: Wannamaker, P. E., J. A. Stodt, L. Pellerin, S. L. Olsen,
First Break, 7, 467–477. and D. B. Hall, 2004, Structure and thermal regime
Sun, Y. F., and D. Goldberg, 2005, analysis of electromagnetic beneath the South Pole region, east Antartica, from
propagation tool response in gas-hydrate-bearing forma- magnetotelluric measurements: Geophysical Research
tions, in S. R. Dallimore and T. S. Collett, eds., Scientific Letters, 157, 36–54.
results from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Weitemeyer, K., S. Constable, and K. Key, 2006, Ma-
Research Well Program, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest rine EM techniques for gas-hydrate detection and
Territories, Canada: Geological Survey of Canada. hazard mitigation: The Leading Edge, 25, 629–632,
Telford, W. M., L. P. Geldart, and R. E. Sheriff, 1990, Ap- doi:10.1190/1.2202668.
plied geophysics: Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed. Wright, D., A. Ziolkowski, and B. Hobbs, 2002, Hydrocar-
Todd, B. J., and S. R. Dallimore, 1998, Electromagnetic and bon detection and monitoring with a multicomponent
geological transect across permafrost terrain, Macken- transient electromagnetic (MTEM) survey: The Lead-
zie River Delta, Canada: Geophysics, 63, 1914–1924, ing Edge, 21, 852–864, doi:10.1190/1.1508954.
doi:10.1190/1.1444484. Yuan, J., and R. N. Edwards, 2000, The assessment of ma-
Vozoff, K., and D. L. B. Jupp, 1975, Joint inversion of geo- rine gas hydrate through electrical remote sounding:
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02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 177 9/23/10 6:10:44 PM

02181_SEG_GH_C11.indd 178 9/23/10 6:10:44 PM

Chapter 12
Seafloor Compliance Imaging of Marine Gas-hydrate Deposits

E. C. Willoughby1, K. Latychev1, R. N. Edwards1, K. Schwalenberg2, and R. D. Hyndman3
Abstract (IODP) Expedition 311. Data have been gathered at many

sites with a high-sensitivity recording gravimeter and a
Marine gas-hydrate deposits can cause certain bulk differential pressure gauge lowered to the seafloor, which
physical properties of marine sediments to be anomalous; record compliance time series. Here, we present a review
geophysical imaging methods sensitive to these properties of the underlying theory along with data sets, which show
are thus useful diagnostic tools. Elastic parameters, in par- that compliance is apt for hydrate assessment, complemen-
ticular, are affected by the displacement of pore fluids by tary to seismic and electrical methods.
an icelike solid. Seismic methods are sensitive to elastic
parameters; however, estimation of gas-hydrate content in
marine sediments using seismic methods alone is difficult. Introduction
Seafloor compliance, the transfer function between pres-
Naturally occurring wind and coastline-excited ocean
sure induced by surface gravity waves and the associated
surface gravity and infragravity waves induce a measure-
deformation, is most sensitive to the mean shear modulus
able, time-varying pressure field on the seafloor over a band
of volumes of underlying subseafloor material; hence it can
of wavelengths centered on the depth of the sea. Though the
be used to infer gas-hydrate content. The variation of com-
waves are evanescent, the seafloor deforms under this load
pliance with frequency or source wavelength provides in-
with measurable displacement in the sediment on the order
formation on elastic structure as a function of depth. Thus
of a few microns to depths on the order of their wavelength.
depth profiles of elastic moduli and density, or conversely,
Figure 1 illustrates the vector displacement field in an un-
the more familiar seismic velocities can be calculated from
derlying half-space, induced by a sinusoidal forcing pres-
these data. The method is sensitive to smeared out volumes
sure wave. Seafloor compliance is defined as the transfer
of underlying material, so it is more useful for estimating
function between the pressure and the associated displace-
bulk properties of the subsection. It has the advantage of
ment of the seafloor because of these waves. Seafloor com-
a naturally occurring source, relative logistical simplicity,
pliance data as a function of frequency can be modeled in
low cost, and unlike seismic data, is largely insensitive to,
terms of the elastic properties of the subsection as a function
and hence unhampered by, the presence of free gas. Further,
of depth: the density and Lamé parameters, in particular the
results from full 3D finite difference modeling indicate that
shear modulus. When pore fluids in marine sediment are re-
these data are sensitive to mean properties of gas-hydrate-
placed by solid gas hydrate, there can be a substantial effect
bearing marine sediment, regardless of the heterogeneous
on the shear modulus, and hence, seafloor compliance rep-
nature of gas-hydrate distribution. The method has been
resents an apt, independent technique for estimating hydrate
used to address outstanding questions about the nature of
concentration. It is one of the very few methods capable of
seismic blank zones, such as the cold vent field offshore
direct estimation of shear modulus. A conventional seismic
Vancouver Island, near Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)
shear source would be problematic to use on soft, mushy
Site 889 and the recent Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
sediments in which porosities near the seafloor can reach up
to 70% (Webb and Edwards, 1995). We record time series of
1
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, acceleration and pressure with a gravimeter and a precision
E-mail: willough@physics.utoronto differential pressure gauge, both located at the seafloor. The
2
Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 (BGR),
to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject totwo timeorseries
SEG license copyright;are transformed
Terms into the frequency domain
Hannover
3
Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Pacific, and a transfer function between two (the compliance) as a
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada function of frequency is estimated. Finally, the normalized
179
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 179 9/17/10 8:02:06 PM

compliance function is written as a function of wavelength, dip with a minimum at a frequency related to the depth
using the well-known dispersion relationship for gravity of the hydrate stability zone. Given a compliance mea-
waves and inverted to an elastic earth model. The compli- surement accurate to e%, the total mass of hydrate can be
ance response is tuned to a specific depth for a given wave- estimated to an accuracy of better than 3e% for a typical
length or corresponding frequency. The concept resembles exploration scenario with available seismic data. Later,
magnetotellurics in which natural electromagnetic fields are Willoughby and Edwards (2000) measured compliance at
used to image structures with depth. eight sites in Cascadia near ODP 889B and showed that
Typically, gravity waves can sense structures to several the addition of the known gas-hydrate deposit in the upper
kilometers below the seafloor using a gravity wave spec- 250 m to a normal logarithmic velocity model improves
trum from 0.001 to 0.1 Hz. the least-squares fit to the data. Willoughby (2003) showed
The method was first used in shallow water by Yama- that these data are most sensitive to the product of layer
moto and Torii (1986), who used laterally homogeneous, thickness and shear modulus rather than the shear modulus
layered seafloor models to fit compliance data. Crawford itself. This does not hinder the estimation of the total mass
et al. (1991) adapted the method for deep water. In or- of a hydrate deposit because total mass is a function of the
der to investigate the effect of laterally varying structure thickness shear modulus product.
in 2D crustal models, Crawford et al. (1998) developed The seafloor compliance method has been applied in
a 2D numerical code, which they applied to modeling a number of different environments to image a number
decreased shear moduli at mid-crustal, partial-melt low of different targets. The method has been proposed as a
velocity zones. They found that compliance is significantly means to image or monitor gas-hydrate deposits in re-
modified by lateral variations in crustal elastic properties gions beyond that of its first application in northern Cas-
while retaining the basic characteristics pertinent to lay- cadia. For instance, a year-long data set from a network
ered models. For a simple layered structure, Willoughby of ocean bottom seismometers, with colocated differen-
and Edwards (1997) showed variations in compliance are tial pressure gauges, was mined to calculate a reference
related to changes in the methane hydrate concentration. gas-hydrate-free background compliance function for
They compared the compliance function for a gas-hydrate- a proposed study of a nearby gas-hydrate site offshore
bearing subsection and a non-gas-hydrate-bearing sub- Taiwan (Wang et al., 2010). Currently, published studies
section. Over a band-pass of frequencies, the gas-hydrate of seafloor compliance imaging of gas hydrates are all in
models gave lower seafloor compliance results than in the northern Cascadia. We thus focus on northern Cascadia in
reference gas-hydrate-free model, forming a characteristic this review.
It is now clear that gas-
hydrate-bearing marine sedi-
ments can rarely be adequately
described by layered models.
The IODP Expedition 311
found great lateral variability
in hydrate concentration, vis-
ible on both large and small
scales (10 m–several km).
Therefore, Latychev and Ed-
wards (2003) extended the
direct connection established
by Willoughby and Edwards
(1997) between compliance
and gas-hydrate content from
one to three dimensions. They
introduced a finite-difference
numerical algorithm for stiff-
ness (the inverse of compli-
ance) and used it to find the
response of quasi-layered
hydrate structures heteroge-
Figure 1. The upper panel shows a sinusoidal surface gravity wave in terms of its stress neous on scales both large and
induced in Pascals on the seafloor and the associated vector displacement field; an underlying small compared with a wave-
half-space is shown in the lower panel (after Latychev and Edwards, 2003) Used by permission. length. Further, they showed
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 180 9/17/10 8:02:06 PM

Chapter 12: Seafloor Compliance Imaging of Marine Gas-hydrate Deposits 181
that the quasi-static, elastic limit is a completely satisfac- gimbaled micro-g Lacoste gPhone gravity meter. The ex-
tory approximation for the low-frequency problem posed. periment is the first opportunity we have to continuously
Their results indicate that regardless of the distribution of monitor the behavior of a gas-hydrate-associate cold vent
gas hydrates within sediments, the compliance anomaly on the seafloor. With ultra-long time series data of the or-
over such structures has the signature and resolution not der of months or years, rather than days, we will be able to
unlike the corresponding gravity anomaly. Lateral varia- achieve a significant signal-to-noise ratio and establish the
tions in compliance correlate with the characteristic size of seafloor compliance spectrum and inferred shear moduli
the inhomogeneities in the deposit. The average response profiles with precision. Sporadically observed evidence of
over heterogeneous structures is sensitive to the bulk hy- bubbles in echo-sounder records, coming from the seafloor
drate content but not the detailed connectivity pattern. Con- in this area, and minor variations in the geometry of seis-
sequently, assessments made using layered models can be mic blanking in yearly reflection seismic surveys (Riedel,
valid even if the structure is a 3D, random, heterogeneous 2007) suggest this system has some measurable variations
medium on a small scale compared with a wavelength. from year to year. The goal of this experiment is to moni-
Gravity waves with different polarizations crossing mark- tor the evolution of the Bullseye Vent system in real time.
edly anisotropic structures produce statistically the same The instrument is safely installed and outputting data to the
average stiffness value. To obtain an accurate assessment NEPTUNE Canada network.
over an extended structure, it is sufficient to collect data at
just a few well-chosen locations, including the center and
margins of the deposit. Theory of Seafloor Compliance
In instances where the structure is clearly 3D in na-
ture, such as gas-hydrate rich cold vents, the full 3D finite The theory behind the method was first laid out by Sor-
difference code has been successfully used by Willoughby rels and Goforth (1973) who proposed atmospheric gravity
et al. (2008a) to differentiate between competing structure waves as a source. Crawford et al. (1991) described the use
models. It is specifically in such high concentration gas- of the method in deep water, in the pseudo-static limit. In
hydrate environments in which the addition of seafloor general, seafloor compliance is the transfer function be-
compliance data can be most useful. The Cascadia cold tween displacement and its forcing pressure variation at the
vent field was first identified by seismic blank zones. The seafloor
nature of these anomalies was ambiguous and had been at-
uz uz
tributed to either free gas or gas hydrate. The Bullseye Vent jr 5 5 ’ (1)
had been interpreted as a gas chimney with very little gas tzz 'ux 'uz 'uz
l¢ 1 ≤ 1 2m
hydrate or as a hydrate-rich veined structure (Zühlsdorff 'x 'z 'z
and Spieß, 2004; Riedel et al., 2002). Controlled-source
electromagnetic (CSEM) data strongly suggested that mas- where uz is the vertical displacement and tzz is the vertical
sive gas hydrate would be necessary to explain the sub- stress. Normalized compliance j is defined as the transfer
stantial resistivity anomalies (Schwalenberg et al., 2005). function between vertical deformation and stress multi-
However, both free gas and gas hydrate are electrically in- plied by the wavenumber of the source, (j 5 k 1 w 2 jr) to
sulating, thus these data were not without some ambiguity. remove the filtering effect of the ocean layer. Assuming a
When seafloor compliance data were gathered on, adjacent rigid seafloor, there is a well-known dispersion relation for
to, and just outside the cold vent field, the results showed gravity waves allowing us to calculate k 1v 2 from the wa-
a strong anomaly over the Bullseye Vent, trailing off with ter depth h and the frequency v, namely v 2 5 kg tanh 1kh 2 ,
distance. The substantial anomalies within the frequency where g is acceleration caused by gravity. The normalized
band associated with the gas-hydrate stability zone were compliance of a half-space is a constant:
best fit with a 3D model that included a gas-hydrate-rich
cylindrical intrusion. These results were consistent with l 1 2m
2m 1 l 1 m 2
the CSEM and IODP 311 drilling results, which showed a j 5 . (2)
40 m thick gas-hydrate layer at the surface at the Bullseye
Vent. Thus, the method proved highly complementary to It was first obtained by Sorrels and Goforth (1973) in this
other geophysical imaging methods. form (with a number of typographical errors). The absence
Recently a seafloor compliance apparatus was in- of any direct dependence on frequency v suggests that the
stalled as part of the permanent seafloor observatory on half-space response may be derived directly from Hooke’s
the Bullseye Vent, which is part of the NEPTUNE Canada law. This is in fact the case, and an elegant derivation can be
cabled seafloor observatory network. The NEPTUNE Can- found in Latychev and Edwards (2003). For earth models
ada array provides power and continuous communications wherein elastic parameters have a depth dependence, the
with a differential pressure gauge interfaced to a modified compliance has a corresponding frequency dependence.
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 181 9/17/10 8:02:13 PM

In the literature, “normalized compliance” is generally Instrumentation and Experiments

used. We likewise introduce its reciprocal normalized stiffness
z. For the half-space, the normalized stiffness is given by Compliance measurements can be made at the seafloor
using a precision differential pressure gauge (DPG) to
2m 1 l 1 m 2 measure pressure variations and a very high precision self-
1 l 1 2m 2
z5 . (3) leveling gravimeter or ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS)
to sense acceleration, which is proportional to displace-
In the limit l .. m, z is directly proportional to the shear ment. The frequency or load wavelength dependence gives
modulus. Differentiating expression A-35 with respect to depth information. Data presented in the following review
m and l, and taking the ratio, we find that stiffness of the were gathered with an apparatus consisting of a modified
half-space is much more sensitive to changes in m than Scintrex Ltd. self-leveling CG-3 gravimeter, the SeaGrav,
those in l: a Scripps DPG (Cox et al., 1984), battery packs, analogue
filters, and an Onset Computer Tattle Tale 8 (TT8) 12-bit
'z multichannel data logger. The DPG and gravimeter were
'm 2 both carefully calibrated over the range of useful frequen-
5 a b 1 2 1 3.
l l
(4) cies by inputting a known sinusoidal signal (Willoughby,
'z m m
2003). The gravimeter self-levels to a few arc-seconds upon
'l receiving a signal from the data logger, accommodates tilts
of its frame of up to 30 degrees from horizontal, and mea-
The ratio is at least 6, for l equal to m, and may be signifi- sures acceleration to better than 0.01 mm/s2/(Hz)1/2. At 0.1
cantly greater. Hz this corresponds to a displacement of about 25 nm. The
The simple dispersion relation makes gravity waves deployment geometry for these ship-based studies is illus-
an ideal energy source. Furthermore, they provide a virtu- trated in Figure 2. The deployment package, containing the
ally noise-free waveband in appropriate water depths. The DPG and the gravimeter, batteries, and circuits in pressure
main source of noise in these experiments is microseismic vessels, is linked by a neutrally buoyant 200-m spectron
noise, which is confined to frequencies above 0.1 Hz (e.g., rope to a 500-kg weight (or pig), which is tethered to the
Cox et al., 1984; Crawford et al., 1991). The maximum ship throughout deployment. A swivel is used between the
frequency of waves to exert pressure on the seafloor have pig and the winch cable to prevent tangling. The ship holds
wavelengths between one-half to two times the water depth station above the weight, offset from the instrument itself, to
and k 5 2p /nh where n is a constant such that 0.5 < n < 2. avoid tangling cables and dragging the sensitive apparatus.
For ocean depths of 1.3 km, typical of the region studied, Recording at each station was for a minimum of 12 hours.
the gravity wave cut-off is between 0.024 and 0.049 Hz, A free fall and command recovery system was attempted
well below the microseismic band. Latychev and Edwards earlier, but it proved unreliable because the instrument needs
(2003) tackled the general problem, including the correc- to be landed carefully. If the instrument is tilted more than
tion to the well-known gravity wave dispersion relation for 30 degrees from the horizontal, it cannot level itself reliably.
a nonrigid seafloor, which is given by Thus, subsequent measurements were made employing a
tethered system.
sinh 1 kh 2 A permanent seafloor compliance installation was
cosh 1 kh 2 2 G
2
v 5 gk , (5)
deployed in September 2009 over the Bullseye Vent gas-
hydrate site and connected to the NEPTUNE Canada seafloor
where G 5 rgj/cosh 1 kh 2 and j 5 l 1 2m/2m 1 l 1 m 2 cabled observatory. This system employs a DGP interfaced to
is precisely the normalized compliance of a half-space as a micro g-Lacoste gPhone gravimeter, which has even higher
given above! This correction Γ is less than a percent for resolution in the gravity wave band. This experiment will be
water depths of order of a kilometer and elastic moduli of detailed in the section Ongoing Work.
the order of 109 Pa. Therefore, using the standard disper- Compliance data have been gathered during fieldwork
sion relation for our studies on the continental northern over the last decade, in the vicinity of ODP Site 889 at a se-
Cascadia margin is a justifiable approximation. ries of 18 drop sites (see Figures 3 and 4), selected primarily
Latychev and Edwards (2003) further found the analytic based on BSR reflectivity maps (Fink and Spence, 1999).
solution for the vector displacement field in a half-space Earlier results showed the viability of the method, giving
given a periodic pressure forcing. This is shown in Figure 1 hydrate concentrations consistent with those from other
to give an intuitive sense of how the compliance method geophysical methods. As with data from a complementary
works. Detailed derivations of the general seafloor com- CSEM study (Yuan and Edwards, 2000), compliance data
pliance problem following their approach with some small gathered at drop sites selected both over regions with high
changes in nomenclature can be found in the Appendix. BSR reflectivity and those with low reflectivity did not show
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 182 9/17/10 8:02:14 PM

the variation initially expected

for what were believed to be gas-
hydrate-bearing and non-gas-
hydrate-bearing sediments. These
results indicated that seismic
reflection data alone are insuf-
ficient to map hydrate concen-
trations because deposits occur
where no BSR is observed (e.g.,
on the Blake Ridge, ODP Leg
164, Paull et. al, 2000). It is desir-
able to calibrate the compliance
data to hydrate concentrations by
comparison with data in a similar
geological environment without
gas hydrate. Such a reference,
hydrate-free site in this region has
proved elusive because hydrate
appears to be far more pervasive
here than previously recognized.
There is only one demonstrably Figure 2. Deployment methodology and a schematic diagram of the use of seafloor
hydrate-free site, which is land- compliance for resource estimation of marine gas hydrate. The precision gravimeter/
accelerometer is placed in a pressure vessel and deployed in a package with data logger
ward, in water depths too shallow
and differential pressure gauge. These are battery operated. This is connected via rope to
for gas hydrate stability.
a pig or anchor, which in turn is connected to a vessel. The ocean gravity waves palpitate
the seafloor; deformation as a function of frequency under this load is indicative of shear
modulus as a function of depth. This can be related to gas-hydrate content.
Data Analysis
The normalized compliance North
function, for sites typical of re- American
Plate
gional background trend and Ex
plo
sites in the cold vent field, are Pl re
ate r
shown in the upper panel of Fig- Pa
ures 5 and 6. Sites 1998-4 and Pl cific
ate
1998-5 yield the highest of qual- Juan de 1998-4
Fuca 1998-2
ity data, representative of the re- Plate
gional trend. Site 2004-1 is over 1998-5
BZ1/Bullseye Vent. Site 2005-3 2004-3
is over BZ4. Site 2005-1 is be-
tween BZ1 and BZ2. The co-
herence function, illustrated for
2005-1
each site in the respective lower 2004-1
panel, is used to place a signifi-
cance level on the estimates of
the compliance. If coherence g
2
is greater than 4/n, where n is
the degrees of freedom or the
number of records used to esti- Blank zones
mate coherence, the estimate of
the value of the transfer function
is valid (Munk and MacDonald, Figure 3. Site map for seafloor compliance gas-hydrate deployment locations
1960). Typically, several tens of (stars), offshore Vancouver Island. The regional tectonics are shown in the inset. Other
high-quality records were used to geophysical studies are also shown, including ODP sites (triangles) and IODP sites
estimate the transfer function at (squares). Used by permission (after Willoughby et al., 2008a).
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 183 9/17/10 8:02:15 PM

0.02 Hz was related to a low velocity zone at a depth of ap-

proximately 1.5 km, located at the boundary between the
upper turbidite and lower hemipelagic sediment sections
(Yuan et al., 1994). A dip in the data above 0.02 Hz was
related to gas hydrates cementing the sediment grains and
increasing seismic velocities. The final 1998 model (solid
line, Figure 4) included increasing velocities to a maximum
at the BSR depth and a low velocity zone at greater depth,
superimposed on the general depth trend. Compliance data
gathered at many other sites in the region (see Figure 1)
gave very similar results, but most with somewhat lower co-
herence, largely caused by weather conditions. In high seas,
the power in the microseismic band can be several orders
of magnitude larger than in the gravity wave band, causing
noise even in the gravity wave band, which decreases the
coherence of gravity and pressure time series.
Willoughby et al. (2008a) showed that though 2004
and 2005 compliance data over the vent structures are of
the same order of magnitude as previous data from the re-
gion, the compliance functions for both the Bullseye Vent/
BZ1 and BZ4 have an obviously different form. The lowest
and highest frequency data have higher values than previ-
ous measurements, but over the wave band of the highest
coherence there is a significant dip with respect to 1998
data and models. Forward models were created by varying
the final 1998 model to best fit the new data. The result is
shown as a solid line on the upper panel of Figure 6 and in
the right side panel velocity profiles. Interestingly, like pre-
vious data, the 2004 data required features at similar depths
as the 1998 data, but these features differ significantly.
Figure 4. The upper panel shows the resistivity results First, at depths comparable to the boundary between the
from Schwalenberg et al. (2005), and the lower panel upper turbidite and lower hemipelagic sections 1500 mbsf
shows the seismic reflection data over the same area from (Yuan et al., 1994), there is a high, rather than low, veloc-
Riedel et al. (2002). The stars in the upper panel mark the ity zone. Second, velocity increase in the hydrate stability
position of compliance drop sites. As can be seen, there are
zone is much more significant than previously observed.
massive resistivity anomalies recorded with two different
The maximum shear velocity within the hydrate stability
transmitter–receiver separations coincident with areas of
zone increases by a factor of ~3.5.
seismic blanking, called Blank zones 1 (or Bullseye Vent)
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, data were also gath-
through 4. Used by permission.
ered at site 2005-1 within the cold vent field but where no
each drop site. As the range of the cut-off frequency is ap- blanking or surface vent expression is observed. The data,
proached the coherence decreases. The coherence is great- as can be seen on Figure 6, are quite comparable to those
est for frequencies below 0.027 Hz, for all sites. Coherence gathered over the cold vents, within the bandwidth of 0.008
is also limited at the lowest frequencies by the finite length to 0.0215 Hz. However, above 0.0235 Hz, the data rise up
of the time series data. Thus, the goal for forward models to the level of the 1998 data and continue to rise with fre-
was to fit the compliance response particularly in the frequency. This suggests that the deep structure at site 2005-1
quency range 0.007 to 0.027 Hz. is comparable to the cold vent sites, but that the shallow
Willoughby and Edwards (2000) fit the compliance structure within the uppermost few hundred meters and the
data from sites 1998-4 and 1998-5 by first finding a gen- gas-hydrate stability zone, have lower shear moduli. This is
eral trend (a model in which density increases linearly with consistent with the interpretation that the cold vents have
depth and VP and VS, which were linked by the Castagna much more gas hydrate than surrounding areas. To create
et al. (1985) relation, increase logarithmically with depth). a 1D model, we began with the vent 1D model and varied
They then modified this model to fit misfits from the data the velocities until the calculated compliance response fit
in two depth ranges. There were two regions of misfit from the data. This required low shear velocities in the upper-
the general trend. A bump in the data between 0.007 to most layers, intermediate velocities (between those used
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 184 9/17/10 8:02:28 PM

VS profiles
Figure 5. The upper panel
shows normalized compliance
data for Site 1998-4 (blue
Normalized compliance (1/Pa)
crosses), Site 1998-5 (green

stars) with the 1D model for
the general regional trend
(solid red line) and the same
Depth (kmbsf)
model calculated using 3D
finite difference code (dotted
line with circles at frequencies/
wavelengths used). The shear
velocity depth profile for
the regional trend model is
illustrated on the right side
panel. The bottom panel shows
Frequency (Hz) the coherence between pressure
and acceleration as a function
Coherence
of frequency for both drop sites.

Data above the dashed line are
significant (g2 > 4/n). Used by
permission (after Willoughby
Frequency (Hz) Velocity (km/s)
et al., 2008a).
VS profiles
U
H
Normalized compliance (1/Pa)
D
Depth (kmbsf)
Uppermost
Hydrate
Deeper structure
Frequency (Hz)
Coherence
Frequency (Hz) Velocity (km/s)
Figure 6. The upper panel shows normalized compliance data for Site 2005-1 (magenta circles), Site 2004-1 (pale green
diamonds), Site 2004-3 (turquoise stars) with the 1D model for the vent (solid line), the 1D for the near-vent (dashed pink line),
and the vent model calculated using 3D finite difference code (dotted black line with squares). The shear velocity depth profile
for the regional trend model is illustrated on the right side panel with uppermost, gas-hydrate-bearing and deeper sediments
designated U, H, and D, respectively, in gray. The near vent (dashed pink lines) and vent (solid black lines) are also shown. The
bottom panel shows the coherence between pressure and acceleration as a function of frequency for both drop sites. Data above
the dashed line are significant (g2 > 4/n). Used by permission (after Willoughby et al., 2008a).
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 185 9/17/10 8:02:46 PM

for the regional trend and those for the cold vents) above anomalies over the vent sites are caused by gas hydrate or
the BSR and a small increase velocities from 3 to 3.5 km free gas or a combination thereof. Nonetheless, resistive
below the seafloor, as shown by the dashed dark gray lines free gas bubbles would be unlikely to clog pore space be-
in Figure 6. cause the lack of velocity anomaly indicates that free gas
concentration cannot be very high. It would therefore be
difficult, if not impossible, to explain the resistivity anoma-
lies by free gas alone, and we infer from the CSEM data
Discussion that the cold vent structures contain a significant amount of
Seismic reflection studies, resistivity surveys, and hydrate (Schwalenberg et al., 2005).
compliance data have different averaging properties of the Compliance data are mainly sensitive to shear modulus
rock fabric and can provide complementary information contrasts. The anomalous compliance results over the two
about gas-hydrate-bearing sediments, particularly in the vent sites indicate a large increase in shear moduli in the
presence of seismic blanking. Seismic data, and compres- gas-hydrate stability zone, particularly near the base of the
sional velocities in particular, are strongly affected by both zone. This suggests these vents are indeed associated with
hydrate and free gas, and seismic reflection studies are more massive hydrate than the pervasive lower concentra-
the initial tool of choice for detecting marine gas-hydrate tions in the region. With respect to the regional background
deposits. Much less gas is required than hydrate for a sig- 1998 data, there is no observed increase in shear moduli
nificant effect. Free gas and even gas hydrate itself lead to at the top of the sediment section just below the seafloor;
seismic blank zones, which hinder estimation of velocity within the vent field, however, the sensitivity of the data
and hence the inference of gas hydrate concentrations. The to the uppermost sediments is limited by the gravity wave
lack of reflectors within the cold vents made it difficult cut-off frequency.
to calculate reliable velocities and no anomalies were re- Willoughby et al. (2008a) interpreted the compliance
solved with exception of a small, shallow velocity pull-up data by converting shear moduli data to hydrate concentra-
attributed to a gas-hydrate cap at the Bullseye Vent, accord- tions. There are many sources of uncertainty, due in par-
ing to Riedel et al. (2006a). They further note that veloc- ticular to the necessity of employing empirical relations
ity pull-ups caused by gas-hydrate may be masked by the between elastic parameters and hydrate content of sedi-
presence of free gas. Electrical resistivity (CSEM) data are ments. Also, as stated above, the models selected to fit the
mainly affected by the porosity of sediments, which is ef- compliance data are not unique. We can nonetheless pro-
fectively reduced when brine is displaced by solid gas hy- vide a rough estimate of the amount of hydrate necessary
drate. These data can also be influenced by the presence of to produce the type of anomaly observed over the vents.
other resistive elements, such as free gas, but large amounts We will assume the sediments are a mixture of rock matrix,
of free gas within the gas-hydrate stability zone would be pore space filled with seawater and gas hydrate. If we set VS
difficult to explain, especially in the absence of any signifi- to the values that produce the best compliance fit, we can
cant velocity anomaly. Compliance data are more than five calculate VP by the Castagna et al. (1985) relation. If we as-
times as sensitive to shear modulus than to bulk modulus or sume porosity has a typical value of 0.5 at the seafloor and
density (Crawford et al., 1991). Gas hydrates are expected decreases by 1% for every 30 m depth, we can employ the
to have a significant effect on elastic moduli and a more weighted mean of the Wood and Wyllie equations (e.g. Lee
modest effect on density. Free gas, if it replaces brine in et al., 1993; Willoughby and Edwards, 1997) to calculate
pore space, will not affect the shear moduli (Willoughby the proportion of the pore space filled with gas hydrate.
and Edwards, 1997). Therefore compliance data are We make the simplifying assumption that the rock matrix
strongly affected by the presence of gas hydrate whereas is quartz with a compressional velocity of 6.019 km/s, gas
free gas has a negligible effect on these data. hydrate has a compressional velocity of 3.650 km/s, and
Yuan and Edwards (2000) found widespread high re- brine has a compressional velocity of 1.556 km/s (Ecker
sistivities associated with pervasive hydrate deposits, even et al., 2000; Waite et al., 2000). The volume of gas hydrate at
the Bullseye Vent would then be V 5 pr2 e0 s 1 d 2 f 1 d 2 dd,
200
in the absence of high BSR amplitudes. Schwalenberg et al.
(2005) used the same deep-towed controlled-source elec- where r is the radius, set at 200 m; d is the depth of the
tromagnetic technique along a line over the Bullseye/BZ1 roughly cylindrical volume, also set at 200 m; f 1 d 2 is the
and proximal to BZ4. They found very significant resis- porosity; and s 1 d 2 is the proportion of pore space as a func-
tive anomalies over the Bullseye Vent and next to the BZ4, tion of depth filled by hydrate. Values for s as a function of
nearly four times what was previously observed. These re- depth that best fit the model velocities are in the range of
sults are consistent with the compliance studies presented 65% to 95%, though because compliance is more sensitive
here. Because it is possible to have free gas bubbles, which to the velocity-thickness product (Willoughby, 2003) than
are also electrically insulating, within the gas-hydrate sta- the velocity itself, it is quite possible that the concentrations
bility zone, there is some ambiguity in whether the resistive are lower, but spread over a greater thickness. Our rough
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 186 9/17/10 8:02:47 PM

estimate for the total volume of gas hydrate at the

Bullseye Vent would be 9 3 106 m3, which is the same
order of magnitude as was found by Schwalenberg
et al. (2005) based on CSEM data. There are no seis-
mic estimates of shear velocities in the literature for
our study region with which to compare the shear
velocity anomalies required by the compliance data.
It should be noted that factors that contribute to
determining the seismic velocities at the Bullseye
Vent also include mineralogy, grain size, compaction,
clay content, and the possibility that gas hydrate in a
sporadically active vent may form a cement. These
properties of the sediment are not well known, and
we prefer to make a minimum of assumptions about
the nature of the cold vent. We note that velocities
at the Mallik gas-hydrate research well were well-
behaved and that there was no evidence of cement-
ing even in the presence of large concentrations of
gas hydrate (i.e., Dallimore and Collett, 2005). We Figure 7. 3D vent model with shear velocities from the 1D regional
make no assumptions about gas-hydrate distribution, trend as background and inset cylinder from the 1D vent model
beyond the assumption that the weighted mean equa- is shown in the lower panel. Note that only the boundary of the
tion accurately describes velocities. cylinder is illustrated. Velocities within the cylinder are identical
IODP Expedition 311 recently drilled the Bulls- to those shown on the circumference. The upper panel shows the
eye Vent. Pertinent results include that massive gas associated stiffness response. Used by permission (after Willoughby
hydrate was intersected and that the system appears et al., 2008a).
very heterogeneous, with different results in drill
holes spaced at 15 m separation (Riedel et al., 2006b). It velocity depth profiles are set to the 1998 general trend
seems that modeling such heterogeneous sediments in de- model, and the vent velocity depth profiles are identical to
tail is not practical. It might be most reasonable to employ those fit to the 2004 data.
geophysical imaging methods sensitive to bulk physical The program calculates the compliance at a given
properties, like the seafloor compliance method, to deter- wavelength (or frequency) over a finite rectilinear numeri-
mine the average properties over a certain volume. cal domain. Solutions calculated at a series of wavelengths
can be combined to provide the compliance spectrum at any
3D numerical finite-difference models point on the seafloor within the domain, both over the vent
structure and at some distance removed from the anomaly.
The seismic blank zones are roughly cylindrical. The As can be seen in Figures 5 and 6, the results of 3D model-
interpretation of the cause of the blank zones has been sub- ing for wavelengths of 9, 7.3, 6, 5, 4.5, 4, 3, and 2.5 km fit
ject of dispute, but clearly, the geometry of the hydrate de- the background 1998 trend model and associated data as
posit at these sites cannot be described by a layered earth well as the 2004 vent model and associated data quite well.
or random distribution model. Three-dimensional effects Because an increase in shear modulus results in a dip in the
may hinder effective conclusions being drawn from the compliance function, we plot a map of the inverse of com-
1D forward model described above. Therefore, we employ pliance — the stiffness, for a given wavelength, in Figures
the findings from 1D modeling to develop a full 3D finite- 7 and 8. As can be seen in Figure 7, the stiffness response
difference model of the vent structures. is at a maximum over the center of the vent, and it decays
Willoughby et al. (2008), for instance, used 3D model- gently to the background value.
ing to compare compliance field data to two existing mod- Contrast the stiffness response of this vent model
els of the nature of the Bullseye Vent: as gas chimney with with that of the gas chimney model, which explained
little to no gas-hydrate content, except in an surrounding seismic blanking and the geophysical data available (Wood
annular volume (Wood et al., 2002) or a cylindrical intru- et al., 2002). The gas chimney itself would have no shear
sion with significant gas-hydrate content (i.e., Riedel et modulus or compliance anomalies (because the hydrate
al., 2002). Let us first consider the 3D cylindrical intrusion above the perturbed BSR would be too shallow to be clearly
vent model. The intrusion is 0.4 km in diameter, with ve- imaged); however, Wood et al. (2002) also postulate that the
locities that are enhanced within the hydrate stability zone, region adjacent to the increased gas flow would contain an
as shown in the bottom panel of Figure 7. The background increased hydrate concentration. To model this description
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 187 9/17/10 8:02:48 PM

Fuca plate, offshore Vancouver Island, with six nodes

at sites of scientific interest, which will support a
wide variety of long-term instrument deployments,
with real time data and control from shore. The node
called ODP889 is connected to a Junction Box near
the Bullseye Vent, a natural venue for gas hydrate
laboratory. In addition to the data sets discussed here,
sporadic venting and variations in blanking in yearly
single-channel seismic surveys suggest the system
is evolving in time (Riedel, 2007; Willougby et al.,
2008b). Ultra-long time series imaging data will
be gathered where previous work was restricted to,
at best, yearly geophysical surveys. The increased
signal-to-noise ratio is expected to result in much
higher data quality and long-term monitoring will al-
low us to directly measure time scales of evolution of
this system. In September 2009, monitoring devices
Figure 8. Stiffness response to a 10 m thick, 400 m in outer were installed on Bullseye including a CSEM array
diameter gas-hydrate-bearing annulus inset the 1D region regional and a compliance apparatus, with planned future
trend. Used by permission (after Willoughby et al., 2008a). nearby sector-scanning sonar device to search the wa-
ter column for sporadic gas venting. The CSEM ar-
ray should become operational in 2010. The seafloor
of the blank zones, we retain the background density and compliance experiment is now recording and reporting
velocity profiles and replace the cylindrical intrusion with data in real-time. Initial pressure and acceleration data sets
an annular intrusion with the enhanced velocity. The in- are comparable to previous compliance data sets. These ex-
ner radius of the annulus was 190 m, and the outer radius periments are designed not only to assess the extent of the
was 200 m, as used for the vent model above. Wood et al. gas-hydrate deposit, but also for long-term monitoring of
(2002) do not explicitly specify what they mean by a thin the gas-hydrate/free gas system. The layout of experiments
hydrate zone. at the Junction Box can be seen in Figure 9.
The gas chimney model stiffness response (in this Our seafloor compliance studies of gas-hydrate depos-
case, at a wavelength of 2.8 km) is shown in Figure 8. As its have been made employing a Scintrex CG-3 because it
expected, the maximum stiffness is above the annular gas is superior for these measurements in terms of both band-
hydrate intrusion, and the stiffness decreases gently away width (which extends lower than broadband seismometers)
from the annular intrusion, both toward the center and out- and resolution. Though, displacements or accelerations
ward radially. Over the gas chimney itself, the stiffness of the seafloor can also be measured with a broadband
response is higher than the background response. This sug- seismometer, and hence these have been used to gather
gests that the effect of elevated shear velocities surround- seafloor compliance data (e.g., Crawford et al., 1991).
ing these features could be mistaken for elevated velocities For the NEPTUNE installation, we have adapted a Micro
within these blank zones. However, if the annulus is thin, g-Lacoste gPhone PET meter. Like the Scintrex CG-3, its
the magnitude of the anomaly is much reduced. To produce sensor is based on a zero-length spring. It has even higher
a sufficiently large anomaly to fit the data, the thickness of resolution (0.1 microgal or 1029 m/s2) and as it was de-
the annulus would have to be increased until the volume signed to record earth tides, it automatically outputs at an
of the intrusion was comparable to that of the cylindrical appropriate 1 Hz sampling rate. The PET is interfaced with
vent model. Willoughby et al. (2008a) thus argue that the a DPG, using its internal analogue-to-digital converter for
compliance data are thus more consistent with the gas- data collection and continuous data is being uploaded to
hydrate cylindrical inclusion model than with the gas chim- the NEPTUNE network.
ney model. The compliance experiment has been positioned away
from the center of the Bullseye Vent in which seismic data
indicates that the hydrate cap is dipping deeper (He, 2007).
Ongoing Work This was intentional because the seafloor compliance data
are not sensitive to the uppermost sediments. The goal when
NEPTUNE CanadaDownloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
is the world’s largest cable-linked using seafloor compliance imaging is to target subseafloor
seafloor observatory. It has an 800 km ring of power and structure that is within the depths of highest sensitivity. The
fiber optic cable laid on the northern part of the Juan de data gathered will thus be most sensitive to the gas-hydrate
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 188 9/17/10 8:03:01 PM

Figure 10. Example of gas plume observer near the

Bullseye Vent in 12 kHz sounder data (image courtesy of
S. Taylor, Geological Survey of Canada). The nearest gas
plume to the Bullseye Vent will be monitored by the sector-
scanning sonar experiment. Used by permission (after
Willoughby et al., 2008b).
suggest the volume subject to seismic blanking, interpreted

as indicating the presence of scatterers of acoustic energy
like free gas or, more likely, gas hydrate varies from year
Figure 9. Basemap of NEPTUNE Canada gas hydrate to year (Riedel, 2007). Further, during a research cruise in
monitoring observatory instrument layout at the Bullseye 2006, we observed active venting of gas plumes in 12 kHz
Vent Junction Box. The Junction Box is marked JB. The sounder data, as shown in Figure 10; the plumes rose to
compliance apparatus is situated over the hydrate cap, but off a depth of ~500 m, suggesting that, as has been observed
to the northwest, where the cap dips lower below the seafloor. elsewhere (e.g., Heeschen et al., 2003), they likely consist
The connection to the CSEM Tx box is 70 m from the JB. of methane bubbles with a thin methane hydrate film that
The CSEM array is aligned with the DTAGS-09 seismic line. loses stability above ~500 m and hence is no longer visible.
The Tx dipole is to the north-northeast of the Tx box and the Though this region is one of the most actively surveyed
five receiver array is to the south-southwest. It should come marine gas-hydrate sites, such gas plumes have not previ-
online in 2010. There is a broadband seismometer ously been observed, suggesting they are sporadic in na-
installation, and a sector-scanning sonar device to monitor ture. Both variations in seismic reflections seen in repeated
methane venting into the water column is planned. surveys and the observation of sporadic methane venting
suggest that there are small, but observable variations in
this system on the time scale of years. Detecting such min-
deposit and below, to well below the base of gas-hydrate ute variations with campaign geophysics is extremely dif-
stability. This will allow monitoring of both the gas hydrate ficult at sea due to variations in positioning, particularly
and the underlying plumbing of the system. Further, at the with towed seismic and CSEM arrays. For the first time,
Junction Box there is an earthquake seismology monitoring we will gain direct observational evidence of how such
experiment, which contains both a broadband seismometer gas-hydrate systems behave over time with these station-
and a DPG. We will be able to “mine” the seismic and pres- ary, long-term time series experiments. The nature of the
sure time series for compliance data, allowing us a built-in large-scale NEPTUNE observatory, with interconnected
second site off the anomalous zone, but within a few hun- experiments over a variety of sites, will help enable us to
dred meters, adjacent to the Bullseye Vent. investigate hypotheses about connections between differ-
This will be the first time that such a gas-hydrate ent types of data sets. We can monitor the time evolution
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be subject toto 95.28.162.50.
long term, Redistribution
continu- subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
of the cold vent system, distribution of free gas and gas hy-
ous investigation, and data will be available online. Re- drate. These may be related to other physical phenomena,
peated single-channel seismic surveys at 25 m line-spacing including seismicity.
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 189 9/17/10 8:03:17 PM

Conclusions on compliance (Willoughby and Edwards, 1997), the large

compliance and resistivity anomalies over the cold vents
Compliance data, the transfer function between require significant gas hydrate concentrations. To estimate
seafloor displacement or equivalently acceleration and its the concentrations of marine gas hydrate, particularly in
forcing pressure variations, can be gathered with an ocean- the presence of seismic blank zones associated with cold
bottom gravimeter and differential pressure gauge. Com- vents, supplementing reflection seismic data with resistiv-
pliance is strongly sensitive to shear modulus as a function ity and compliance data can be invaluable.
of depth and thus can be related to the amount of hydrate These cold vent features have been variously inter-
present when in sufficient abundance to cement grains to- preted based on seismic studies as (1) gas chimneys with
gether. Although compliance data do not provide a highly an upward-perturbed BSR, overlain by merely a very thin
resolved image of the shear modulus structure of marine gas-hydrate layer, but perhaps surrounded by a region with
sediments, being sensitive to a smeared out volume, un- enhanced gas hydrate concentrations; and (2) a filigree net-
like seismic data, these data are not hampered by either work of sub-vertical fractures filled with gas hydrate and
free gas or heterogeneities. Both free gas and heterogene- trapped free gas intersected by turbidite layers which may
ities are likely present in gas-hydrate systems and both can also contain gas hydrate (Wood et al., 2002; Riedel et al.,
cause seismic blanking. The compliance “anomaly” over 2002, 2006a; Zühlsdorff and Spieß, 2004). We investigated
a massive gas hydrate structure, such as the Bullseye Vent these different models through full 3D finite difference
gas-hydrate associated cold vent, has the signature and res- modeling of the compliance response of both an annular
olution not unlike the corresponding gravity anomaly. Laty- and cylindrical intrusions of enhanced shear velocity gas-
chev and Edwards (2003) showed that lateral variations hydrate-bearing material to see if they could fit the compli-
in compliance correlate with the characteristic size of the ance data.
inhomogeneities in the deposit. Thus seafloor compliance The 3D finite-difference code accurately simulated the
data, like electrical resistivity data, provide invaluable, in- background regional trend compliance response, and the
dependent information about subseafloor structure that can embedded cylinder representing a gas hydrate-rich vent
help assess gas-hydrate deposits. Further, where both free produced results that match the vent data well. The 3D
gas and gas hydrate can cause resistivity anomalies, only gas chimney model with increased velocities in an annu-
gas hydrate will cause a shear modulus or seafloor compli- lar intrusion at the circumference of the vent could not fit
ance anomaly. So, seafloor compliance data are a useful the compliance data unless the inner radius became quite
complement to CSEM data as well. small and the volume of the intrusion approached that of
These data have been gathered at a series of 18 drop the cylindrical vent model. Therefore, the compliance
sites in northern Cascadia gas hydrate research area near data are most consistent with massive, approximately cy-
the ODP Site 889 and the 2005 IODP Leg 311, in the lindrical features with enhanced shear moduli, caused by
bandwidth from 0.007 to 0.027 Hz. Willoughby and Ed- the presence of high concentrations of gas hydrate. The
wards (2000) showed that data gathered to the north of vertical distribution of hydrate is not well resolved, but the
the study area, near ODP Site 889, were consistent with data require that it extend for a considerable depth interval
other geophysical imaging techniques and revealed a per- above the bottom-simulating reflectors (BSR).
vasively gas-hydrate-bearing region, with elevated shear Ongoing continuous time series of acceleration and pres-
moduli, and hence elevated shear velocities within the gas- sure are being gathered at the Bullseye Vent by a seafloor
hydrate stability zone. Recent compliance data gathered compliance experiment attached to the NEPTUNE Canada
over gas-hydrate-related cold vent features, identified by cabled seafloor observatory. This will allow us to monitor the
areas of seismic blanking, revealed far more pronounced shear modulus structure and its temporal variations within
shear moduli anomalies. Previous seismic studies did not and below the gas-hydrate stability zone over many years.
detect any compressional velocity anomalies, suggesting
that the velocity enhancing effect of gas hydrate might be
counteracted by the presence of free gas bubbles that cause Acknowledgments
the seismic blanking (Riedel et al., 2006a). This is con-
sistent with the results of the complementary controlled- We would like to thank the captains and crews of the
source electromagnetic survey (CSEM) (Schwalenberg C.C.G.S. Tully and science teams from the Universities of
et al., 2005), which revealed significant resistivity anomalies Toronto and Victoria and the Pacific Geoscience Centre for
correlated with the position of the cold vents, interpreted as invaluable help in the field. We thank George Mihajlovic
indicative of massive gas hydrate. The compliance data can (Scintrex Ltd.) for his help preparing the gravimeter for de-
help alleviate the ambiguity in the nature of the resistor. ployment at sea. We thank Chris Nind (Scintrex Ltd.), Tim
Because replacing pore water with free gas can have no ef- Niebauer, and Stuart Laswell of Micro-g Lacoste for their
fect on shear modulus and has an entirely negligible effect help with the gPhone. We thank Michael Riedel and Kelin
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 190 9/17/10 8:04:04 PM

Wang for helpful comments and suggestions. This research or, in vector notation,
is supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and En-
'2u
5 1 l 1 m 2 = 1 = # u 2 1 m=2u
gineering Research Council (NSERC) and NEPTUNE
r
Canada. 't2
5 1 l 1 2m 2 = 1 = # u 2 2 m= 3 1 = 3 u 2 , (A-5)
Appendix – The Theory of Seafloor because =2u 5 = 1 = # u 2 2 = 3 1 = 3 u 2 . The decompo-

Compliance sition of u into its scalar and vector Helmholtz potentials
=w 1 = 3 c, yields the compressional and shear wave
Latychev and Edwards (2003) tackled the general equations
seafloor compliance problem, including the correction
'2 w
5 1 l 1 2m 2 =2w,
to the well-known gravity wave dispersion relation. We
follow their approach here with some small changes in r (A-6)
't2
nomenclature.
and
Basic Theory '2c

r 5 m=2w, (A-7)
't2
The general equations of motion
for a solid respectively in which the squared phase velocities VP2 and
The notation is as follows: the Cartesian coordinate VS2 are given by 1 l 1 2m 2 /r and m/r.
vector x has a general component xr , where r ranges from
1 to 3 and specific components (x, y, z). The corresponding The uniform liquid
forms for the displacement u are ur and (u, v, w). Newton’s
law for an elastic solid is Newton’s law for a water layer is
'2ur 'trs '2u

r 5 , (A-1) rw 5 2=p, (A-8)
't2 'xs 't2
where trs is the stress tensor and r is the bulk density of the where p is the isotropic pressure variation and rw is the
medium. Hooke’s law relates the applied stress to the ma- water density. The pressure variation and the dilatation are
terial strain. If the medium is at least piecewise isotropic connected through the bulk modulus k by
and linear, it reduces to (Prager, 1961)
2p
k5 (A-9)
trs 5 ledrs 1 2m, (A-2) =#u
If we write u as the gradient of a scalar potential w, we
'ur
where the dilatation ε is the summation , the element ers obtain an expression for p:
'xr
1
is , l and m are the Lamé parameters, and p 5 2k=2w, (A-10)
'ur 'urs
2a 1 b
'xs 'xr and the wave equation
drs is the Kronecker delta. Substitution of trs from the con-
stitutive equation into Newton’s law (1) results in '2w
rw 5 k=2w, (A-11)
'2ur ' 1 le 2 ' 1 2mers 2 't2
r 2 5 1 . (A-3)
't 'ur 'us
where the phase velocity Vw is given by Vw2 5 k/rw.
The wave equations for a uniform solid

If the parameters λ and m are constant, equation A-3
Gravity Waves
can be simplified to The dispersion relationship
'2ur 'e ' 'ur
r 1
2 5 l 1 m
2 1 m a b, (A-4) Gravity waves have a well-known dispersion rela-
't 'ur 'us 'us tion, which can be derived without loss of generality by
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 191 9/17/10 8:04:04 PM

considering the 2D case of gravity wave over a sedimentary We may also write an expression for the pressure anywhere
half-space. The wave displacement u is a function of x , z, and in the water using equations A-10 and A-11 and equations
time t and is the gradient of only a scalar potential w because A-16 and A-17, respectively. It is
the fluid supports no shear. For convenience, we transform
from (x, z, t) space to (k, z, v) space by means of a 2D Fou- p 1 k, h, v 2 5 2rwgw 1 k, 0, v 2
rier transform. The operators '/'x, '/'z, and ' /'t in (x, z, t)
3 ccos h 1 qh 2 1 a b sin h 1 qh 2 d .
B
are replaced by ik, dz, and 2iv, and respectively, in (k, z, v). (A-19)
A
Then, the differential equation for the transformation of the
potential w(k, z, w) is Finally, an expression for the ratio of the pressure to the
displacement at the seafloor designated the stiffness ζ is
d2w v2
2
a b bw 5 0,
c1 1 a b tanh 1 qh 2 d
2ak 2 (A-12) B
dz2 Vw2
p 1 k, h, v 2
ba b
grw B A
w 1 k, h, v 2
5 z 5 2a .
c a b 1 tanh 1 qh 2 d
where Vw is the P-wave velocity in the water. Solutions to k A B
the equation are of the form A
w 5 A cosh 1 qz 2 1 B sinh 1 qz 2 , (A-13) (A-20)

2 2 2
where q 5 k 2 v / Vw2.
For long-period gravity waves,
the wavenumber k is large compared with v /Vw. The waves If the lower half-space is rigid, there can be no displace-
are evanescent, decaying exponentially with distance from ment at its surface by definition and B 5 2A tanh 1 qh 2 ,
a source. We may compute from w the vertical displace- giving the well-known result for the phase velocity
ment w as
5 2 tanh 1 qh 2 < tanh 1 kh 2 .
v2 gq g
c2 5 (A-21)
5 q 3 A sinh 1 qz 2 1 B cosh 1 qz 24 .
dw k2 k k
w5 (A-14)
dz
The pressure on the seafloor to the same degree of approxi-
The characteristics of the gravity wave itself, our source of mation is
energy, provide a second equation for the vertical displace-
ment w. Locally, the gravity wave increases the pressure in 2rwgw 1 k, 0, v 2 2rwgw 1 k, 0, v 2
p 1 k, h, v 2 5 <
cosh 1 qh 2 cosh 1 kh 2
the medium, and this is related to the displacement poten- , (A-22)
tial at the surface of the sea through Bernoulli’s equation
for incompressible flow (Prager, 1961). We write it in Fou- where we have used cosh2 1 qh 2 2 sinh2 1 qh 2 5 1.
rier domain for a streamline just below the sea surface as
v 2 k 2 w2
c2v 2w 1 1 d`
p The static approximation
5 0. (A-15)
2 r w z50
The minimum wavelength of a gravity wave that can
The variation in pressure, p, from hydrostatic equilibrium, exert pressure on the seafloor is comparable to the water
on the streamline is depth so that a maximum wavenumber is 2p /h. It follows
that the maximum frequency is approximately "g/2ph. For
p 5 2rwgw 0 z50. (A-16)
a water depth of a 1000 m, this frequency is about 0.04 Hz.
There is a leading negative sign because to create an excess The corresponding phase velocity c is 40 m/s, very much
smaller than VP and, to a lesser degree, VS, in the earth. The
approximation assumes 3 k2 2 1 v 2 /V 2# 2 4 < k2, where
of pressure, the vertical displacement w must be above the
equilibrium seafloor level, that is, it must be negative. static
Now, the second term in equation A-15 is small in compari- V # is any seismic wave velocity. Latychev and Edwards
son with the others by definition of a gravity wave so that (2003) compare the response of the earth to a gravity wave
under this approximation to the response of a country road-
2v 2w 1 k, 0, v 2 5 gw 1 k, 0, v 2 . (A-17) bed to an automobile moving over it. The car has motion,
but the response of the earth is sufficiently fast that the
If we combine equations A-17 and A-14 evaluated on
time-varying load can be considered as the superposition
z = 0, we obtain an expression for the wave phase velocity
of a sequence of static events. This is equivalent to neglect-
c = v / k as Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
ing the term in Newton’s law involving second temporal
c2 5 2 1 qg/k2 2 1 B/A 2 . (A-18) derivatives so that equation A-3 becomes
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 192 9/17/10 8:04:06 PM

' 1 le 2 ' 1 2mers 2 The vertical displacement w in the Fourier domain on the
1 5 0. (A-23) seafloor is
'ur 'us
a 1 ikcb ` ,
dw
(A-30)
Interaction with a lower half-space dz z50
Suppose the lower half-space has density r and elas- or, using equation A-29,
tic moduli λ and m. Two kinds of waves can exist there,
P and SV. Let the associated body wave velocities be VP 2a 3 r 1 k2 1 s2 2 22rk2 4
w 1 k, 0, v 2 5 2ra 2 kb 5
1 k2 1 s2 2
and VS, respectively. The wave equations in the Fourier do- . (A-31)
main are
The normal component of stress at the seafloor in Fourier
d2w v2
2 2 ak 2 bw 5 0
2
(A-24) domain is given by
dz VP2
tzz 1 k, 0, v 2 5 3 2mbks 1 1 l 1 2m 2 ar2 2 k2la 4 , (A-32)
and
or
d2 c v2
2 ak 2
2 bc 5 0. (A-25)
dz2 VS2 tzz 1 k, 0, v 2
a 3 2lk2 1 k2 1 s2 2 1 1 l 1 2m 2 r2 1 k2 1 s2 2 2 4mk2rs 4
1 k2 1 s2 2
The potential c is here a scalar, the y-component of the 5 .
vector potential C.
We may write trivial analytic solutions for the wave equa- (A-33)
tions within the half-space as decaying exponentials
The ratio a b`
tzz
w 5 a exp 12rz 2
5 2z, is
(A-26) w z50
3 2lk2 1 k2 1 s2 2 1 1 l 1 2m 2 r2 1 k2 1 s2 2 2 4mk2rs 4
3 2rk2 2 r 1 k2 1 s2 2 4
and 2z 5 .
c 5 ib exp 12sz 2 , (A-27) (A-34)
We may substitute for r, s and use the definitions of VP and

where we introduce the imaginary operator, i, entirely
VS to obtain a value for the ratio. We can examine the static
for mathematical convenience and r and s are given by
approximation, that is, where VP and VS are both large com-
r2 5 k2 2 v 2 /Vp2 and s2 5 k2 2 v 2 /Vs2 , respectively. We
pared with the phase velocity of the gravity wave. Note that
have selected the level z = 0 to be at the seafloor to sim-
both the numerator and the denominator vanish for zero or-
plify the equations.
der in v when r 5 s 5 k. The function is not defined for
We now wish to find an impedance at the surface of
this approximation. To obtain the ratio of second-order
the half-space (the seafloor) that matches the expression 26
terms, we must expand the sr-product
for ζ obtained in the water. The ratio of vertical stress to
sr < k2 1 1 2 v 2 / 1 2V2P k2 2 2 1 1 2 v 2 / 1 2VS2 k2 2 2
the vertical displacement satisfies this requirement and is
just 2ζ (note the change of sign) from the boundary condi-
tions. The tangential stress at the seafloor is zero so that in
the Fourier domain and notice the ratio is independent of the density r. It sim-
plifies to
a2ik
dw d2 c
2 2 2 k2cb ` 5 0. (A-28) 2km 1 l 1 m 2
1 l 1 2m 2
dz dz z50
2z 5 . (A-35)
Substituting for w and c from expressions A-26 and The half-space compliance function j is defined as the
A-27 gives reciprocal of the ratio and is given by
22kra 1 l http://segdl.org/
2Use:
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of 1 2m 2
1k 1 s 2 2km 1 l 1 m 2
b5 2 2 . (A-29) j5 . (A-36)
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 193 9/17/10 8:04:09 PM

The dispersion relationship respectively. Wang and Davis (1996) relate S to the elastic
on a compliant seafloor moduli and the porosity of the medium. From expression
A-39, they calculate that for a typical marine sediment,
If we combine the two expressions for the parameter having k = 10215 m2, g = 0.5, and a loading period of
j, equations A-35 and A-20, we obtain the transcendental 12 h caused by tides, the dimensionless depth of unity cor-
equation in 1 B/A 2 : responds to the true depth z1 of 10 m. At such a depth, the
ratio of the diffusive response to elastic response ampli-
tudes is 1 1 2 g 2 e 2p@g from formula (A-38). If g is about
a b 1 B/A 2 1 3 1 1 1 B/A 2 tanh 1 qh 2 4 2
grw
2m 1 l 1 m 2 k 0.5, then this ratio is approximately 0.043, and the diffu-
1 l 1 2m 2 3 1 B/A 2 1 tanh 1 qh 2 4
5 . sive effects are essentially negligible. Now, from formu-
lae A-38 and A-39, z1 is a function of "k @v . It is about
(A-37)
20 m for a highly permeable, soft seafloor with k = 10-11
m2 and a typical compliance frequency of 0.05 Hz. Below
The equation may be solved iteratively for the gen-
this depth, or for compliance data below 0.05 Hz, in a uni-
eral case, but we can deduce by inspection the condi-
tion under which the approximation B 5 2A tanh 1 kh 2
form poroelastic half-space, the seafloor may be treated as
an elastic solid, and the effects of pore fluid flow can be
corresponding to a rigid seafloor is valid. The term neglected. However, according to Wang et al. (1998) any
22km 1 l 1 m 2 / c 1 l 1 2m 2 a b 1 B/A 2d must be large
grw
internal boundary of elastic properties and porosity con-
k trasts acts like a loading boundary similar to the seafloor,
in comparison with unity. The term is approximately generating a diffusion wave. So, more generally, two pen-
1 2V2c /c2 2 1 r /rw 2 , w h e r e Vc2 5 m 1 l 1 m 2 3 r 1 l 1 2m 2 4 , etration lengths away from such boundaries, the medium
which is indeed large at the static limit described earlier. can be treated as an elastic solid. Of course, the presence
of hydrate, free gas, or both would create precisely these
sorts of boundaries, and this effect should be regarded as a
Effects of pore fluid flow source of uncertainty.
Clearly, oceanic crust, the host of these marine gas

hydrates, is a porous medium. Surface loading because References
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rine Geophysical Researches, 28, no. 4, 355–371, doi: Willoughby, E. C., K. Latychev, R. N. Edwards, K.
10.1007/s11001-007-9037-2. Schwalenberg, and R. D. Hyndman, 2008a, Seafloor
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 195 9/17/10 8:04:15 PM

compliance imaging of marine gas hydrate deposits and bottom motion: Geophysical Journal of the Royal As-
cold vent structures: Journal of Geophysical Research, tronomical Society, 85, no. 2, 413-431.
113, no. B7, B07107, doi: 10.1029/2005JB004136. Yuan, J., and R. N. Edwards, 2000, The assessment of ma-
Willoughby, E. C., R. Mir, C. Scholl, and R. N. Edwards, rine gas hydrate through electrical remote sounding:
2008b, NEPTUNE-Canada based geophysical imaging of Hydrate with a BSR? Geophysical Research Letters,
gas hydrate in the Bullseye Vent: Proceedings of the 6th 27, no. 16, 2397–2400, doi: 10.1029/2000GL011585.
International Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2008), Yuan, T., G. D. Spence, and R. D. Hyndman, 1994, Seis-
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 6–10 July 2008. mic velocities and inferred porosities in the accretion-
Wood, W. T., J. F. Gettrust, N. R. Chapman, G. S. Spence, ary wedge sediments at the Cascadia margin: Journal
and R. D. Hyndman, 2002, Decreased stability of of Geophysical Research, 99, no. B3, 4413–4427, doi:
methane hydrates in marine sediments owing to phase- 10.1029/93JB03203.
boundary roughness: Nature, 420, no. 6916, 656–660, Zühlsdorff, L., and V. Spieß, 2004, Three-dimensional
doi: 10.1038/nature01263. seismic characterization of a venting site reveals com-
Yamamoto, T., and T. Torii, 1986, Seabed shear modulus pro- pelling indications of natural hydraulic fracturing:
file inversion using surface gravity (water) wave-induced Geology, 32, no. 2, 101–104, doi: 10.1130/G19993.1.
02181_SEG_GH_C12.indd 196 9/17/10 8:04:15 PM

Chapter 13
Gas Hydrates and Magnetism: Surveying and

Diagenetic Analysis
L. Esteban1*, T. S. Hamilton2, R. J. Enkin1, C. Lowe1, and I. Novosel3
Abstract Thus, magnetic surveying techniques can help delineate

anomalies related to gas-hydrate deposits, and magnetic
Geochemical processes associated with gas-hydrate logging of wells and core samples provide information on
formation lead to the growth of iron sulphides, which have the original lithology and diagenesis caused by gas-hydrate
a geophysically measurable magnetic signature. Detailed formation.
magnetic investigation and complementary petrological
observations were undertaken on cores from the permafrost
setting Mackenzie Delta Mallik region (Northwest Territo- Introduction
ries) and the marine setting IODP Expedition 311 cores
from the Cascadia margin off Vancouver Island. These Geophysical methods are necessary to locate, map, and
magnetic measurements provide stratigraphic profiles, quantify natural gas-hydrate deposits in order to produce an
which reveal fine scale variations in lithology, magnetic inventory of this resource and to assess potential climate im-
grain size, and pore fluid geochemistry. The highest mag- pacts and local hazard risks. Although seismic methods are
netic susceptibility values are observed in strata preserve generally the most powerful, complementary methods need
high initial concentrations of detrital magnetite, such as to be developed to refine sensitivity and reduce ambiguity of
glacial deposits. The lowest values of magnetic susceptibil- seismic interpretations. Magnetic methods are advantageous
ity are observed in which iron has been reduced to para- because data acquisition is inexpensive and rapid, allowing
magnetic pyrite, formed in settings with high methane and a broad preliminary survey before focusing on more costly
sulphate flux such as at methane vents. Enhanced values methods. Multiproxy surveys can lead to a better resolution
of magnetic susceptibility characterize the introduction of of gas-hydrate deposits before drilling is undertaken.
the ferrimagnetic iron sulphide minerals greigite (Skinner Magnetic surveys image the distributions of ferrimag-
et al., 1964) and smythite (Erd et al., 1957). These magnetic netic iron oxide and sulphide minerals. These minerals have
minerals are mostly found immediately adjacent to the sed- highly variable concentrations depending on the geologic
imentary horizons, which host the gas hydrate, and their setting and history. In sedimentary sequences, the most com-
textures and compositions indicate rapid disequilibrium mon ferrimagnetic oxide minerals are magnetite and hema-
crystallization. These observations result from the unique tite. Greigite and smythite (Hoffmann et al., 1993) comprise
physical and geochemical properties of the environment the common ferrimagnetic sulphides (Krs et al., 1992),
in which gas hydrates form; methane is available to fuel whereas pyrite is nonmagnetic (paramagnetic). The geo-
microbiological activity and pore water solutes concentrate logic setting of a sedimentary deposit, its mineralogy, dep-
during gas-hydrate formation. In these conditions, iron ositional fabric, grain size variation, porosity, permeability
sulphides bacterially precipitate from solute rich brines. and thermal/fluid history, including gas-hydrate formation,
all contribute to the exact nature of the diagenetic changes
and in particular the iron mineralogy, which is sensed using
1
Geological Survey of Canada-Pacific, Sidney, British Columbia, magnetic methods. Previous studies on magnetic properties
Canada of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments (Housen and Musgrave,
2
Camosun College, Victoria, British
Downloaded Columbia,
25 Jun Canada Redistribution subject to1996;
2012 to 95.28.162.50. Musgrave
SEG license and ofHiroki,
or copyright; Terms 2000; Lowe et al., 2005; No-
3
Shell International Exploration and Production Inc., Houston, Texas
*Presently at CSIRO, Petroleum Resources, ARRC, Kensington, WA, vosel et al., 2005; Horng and Chen, 2006; Enkin et al.,
Perth, Australia. E-mail: Lionel.Esteban@csiro.au 2007; Larrasoana et al., 2006; Larrasoana et al., 2007) have
197
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 197 9/17/10 8:11:33 PM

revealed profound magnetic mineral diagenesis related to magnitude. The paragenesis and formation mechanisms for
the occurrence of gas hydrates or methane flux. environmental iron sulphide minerals have been investigated
In this paper, we present results of magnetic surveys in both natural and synthetic conditions by a number of re-
that have a spatial correlation to gas hydrates or methane searchers to elucidate their stability fields (Fleet, 1971, 1975)
seeps and the results from magnetic, petrologic, and geo- and significance to topics ranging from sediment magnetism,
chemical studies of cores obtained from arctic permafrost to gas pipeline corrosion, to the sequestration or release of
and deep marine settings. The observed mineral diagenesis environmental metals, and even to the chemosynthetic ori-
is profound and leads to measurable magnetic susceptibil- gin of life (e.g., Goldhaber and Kaplan, 1974; Froelich et al.,
ity contrasts, which can be detected via magnetic surveys. 1979; Boetius et al., 2000; Garming et al., 2005).
Furthermore, the comparison of magnetic results from con- Unconsolidated sediments that are rich in organics or
trasting geologic settings helps to construct a preliminary are subjected to a large methane flux are particularly sus-
model for diagenesis associated with gas-hydrate forma- ceptible to iron sulphide growth when they are subjected
tion and to evaluate the magnetic methods as survey tools to suboxic or anoxic environments (Berner, 1970). On de-
for mapping gas-hydrate deposits. position, sediments usually contain minerals and pore wa-
ters with strongly oxidized components including sulphate
2
SO42 , ferric Fe31, manganic Mn31, or other oxyanions. Or-
Magnetism, Magnetic Minerals, ganic matter incorporated into the sediments acts as a food
and Diagenetic Reactions source for anaerobic prokaryotes or archaebacteria. They
collect energy when the carbon-hydrogen bonds are broken
Magnetic iron oxide and sulphide minerals are excellent but require components that are capable of receiving elec-
tracers of geologic, geochemical, fluid motion, and bacterial trons, meaning dissolved oxygen and any available oxidized
processes. Their mineralogy, concentration, texture, and grain ions (Pósfai et al., 1998; Murowchick and Barnes, 1987).
size show strong variations dependent on initial sediment This collective chemical and metabolic process drives bio-
composition (lithology, mineralogy, grain size, sorting, fluid geochemical reactions, which consume organic molecules
permeability), sedimentary setting, and diagenetic history in- and create oxidation products like water and bicarbonate
cluding the chemistry of resident or transient pore fluids. The ions while transforming the soluble sulphur species.
bulk properties of magnetic minerals can be analyzed rapidly The hydrogen sulphide (H2S or HS2) in these anoxic
and sensitively using well-established laboratory methods sediments forms by biogenic reduction of sulphate (SO422),
(Dunlop and Özdemir, 1997). Table 1 outlines the magnetic found in seawater or pore fluids from within the sedimentary
parameters used in this study, how they are measured, and basin, combined with the oxidation of organic matter (equa-
their significance. Of primary importance is magnetic sus- tion 1, in which CH2O stands in for a large range of organics;
ceptibility, the ratio of induced magnetization to an applied Borowski et al., 1996; Niewohner et al., 1998) and/or by the
magnetic field. Magnetic surveys image bodies with con- oxidation of methane (equation 2; Riedinger et al., 2005).
trasting susceptibility, reflecting varying magnetic mineral 2 2
composition and concentration. Table 2 introduces the main 2CH2O + SO42 H2S + 2HCO3 (1)
magnetic minerals and their magnetic parameters. The book 2
CH4 + SO42 ↔ HS + HCO3 + H2O
2 2
(2)
Environmental Magnetism by Evans and Heller (2003) offers
an up-to-date description of the methods and applications of The first equation is most appropriately used to de-
magnetic methods to diverse diagenetic settings. scribe shallow sediments rich in detrital or pelagic organ-
To understand what is being sensed magnetically, it ics (or their bacterially degraded residues) near the seabed,
is necessary to study the details of the sediment composi- where dissolved sulphate is still present in high concentra-
tion. Sediments usually contain initial detrital magnetic iron tion or available by diffusion from seawater above or by
oxides derived from preexisting igneous and metamorphic expulsion from compacting sediment below. It accounts for
minerals and rock fragments. Sediments also contain iron in carbonate crust formation and early diagenetic cementation
silicates, carbonates, and as soluble ions in pore fluids that of shallow suboxic seafloor sediments. In deeper sedimen-
are partially available to react or to crystallize as new iron tary settings in which biogenic or thermogenic methane
minerals. The magnetic properties of the sediments depend accumulates, the second equation applies. This type of re-
on the composition, shape, size, and concentration of these action can generate soluble species like bisulphide HS2,
diagenetic iron minerals in addition to any primary detrital sulphide S22, and ferrous iron Fe21, or other reduced tran-
iron minerals. For example, authigenic pyrite FeS2 (Schoo- sition metal species, depending on the nature of the avail-
nen and Barnes, 1991), which can comprise up to several able oxidized species and the types of bacteria present.
percent by volume, shows little magnetic signal because it In hydrocarbon reservoirs, equation 2 explains the build-
is paramagnetic. By contrast, even a fraction of a percent of up of sour gas, the origin of sulphidation, and the forma-
a strongly magnetic mineral like magnetite Fe3O4 or greigite tion of pyrite, marcasite, and redox controlled sedimentary
Fe3S4 can increase the bulk magnetic signal by an order of massive sulphide deposits (Sweeney and Kaplan, 1973;
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 198 9/17/10 8:11:34 PM

Chapter 13: Gas Hydrates and Magnetism: Surveying and Diagenetic Analysis 199
Table 1. Summary of magnetic parameters.

Parameter or ratio Units Measurement techniques Significance
General properties
Magnetization (M) A/m Electromagnetic induction of sample Volume or mass normalized alignment
Am2/kg moving past coils, (e.g., vibrating of magnetic moments.
sample magnetometer, VSM, or
J-meter coercivity spectrometer),
fluxgate or SQUID magnetometer
Magnetic field (H) or A/m Hall probe, fluxgate, SQUID Electromagnetic field which applies an
Induction (B) T magnetometer or moving coil. aligning torque to magnetic moments.
Principal parameters
Magnetic susceptibility unitless (SI) Susceptometer (change in resonant Degree of induced magnetization in an
(χ or k) or frequency of a tuned coil) applied field: (M/H). Concentration of
m3/kg magnetic minerals.
Saturation magnetization A/m High field limit of hysteresis curve Magnetization of fully aligned
(MS) Am2/kg (VSM, J-meter) ferromagnetic moments. Concentration
of magnetic minerals.
Saturation (Isothermal) A/m Magnetization after subjecting Magnetization of stable ferromagnetic
Remanence (MRS or SIRM) Am2/kg sample to high field (VSM, J-meter grains. Concentration and magnetic
or electromagnet and magnetometer) grain-size.
Coercive force (HC) A/m Magnetic back field which cancels Magnetic stability, related to
T magnetization after saturation from magnetization and magnetic grain size.
hysteresis curve (VSM, J-meter)
Coercivity of remanence A/m Magnetic back field which cancel Magnetic stability, related to
(HCR) T magnetic remanence after saturation. magnetization and magnetic grain size.
Electromagnet and magnetometer or
J-meter
Parameter ratios
Magnetization ratio dimensionless Y-axis on Day plot (Day et al., 1977) Magnetic grain size: Large ratio
(MRS/MS) corresponds to fine (single-domain)
grains.
Coercivity ratio dimensionless X-axis on Day plot (Day et al., 1977) Magnetic grain size: Large ratio
(HCR/HC) corresponds to coarse (multidomain)
grains.
Position on Day plot dimensionless DJH 5 (MRS/MS)/(HCR/HC) Magnetic grain size: Approximately:
DJH From Housen and Musgrave (1996) DJH<0.005: multi-domain; DJH>0.1:
single domain
Normalized remanence A/m Introduced by Roberts (1995) as Magnetic grain size: Large ratio
MRS/K a proxy for the presence of corresponds to fine (single-domain)
ferrimagnetic iron sulphides grains.
Schoonen and Barnes, 1991). In particular, equation 2 is These minerals contribute to new cements and diagenetic
appropriate to describe the diagenesis associated with deep changes to the sediment properties.
gas-hydrate deposits fed by substantial methane flux cou- The chemical formulae, mineralogy, petrographic
pled with other chemical species in the pore fluids. character, occurrence, and origin of the iron sulphide min-
As long as fluids continue to move (advect), the ions erals are summarized in Table 3. Where iron is in low con-
produced are all reasonably soluble. If, however, there are centrations or in short supply, each available iron ion will
substantial concentrations of cations in the pore fluids to eventually be reduced to its ferrous form and precipitated
react and precipitate the anions being produced (sulphide, as or transformed to a disulphide mineral like pyrite or
carbonate, etc.), new minerals can form including calcite, marcasite (both FeS2). Incomplete reduction of iron leads
dolomite, siderite, gypsum, pyrite, marcasite, mackinawite to iron deficient monosulphides (Fe1-xS) such as greigite or
(Wolthers et al., 2003; Wolthers et al., 2005), and greigite. smythite. In older literature, these were often mistakenly
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 199 9/17/10 8:11:34 PM

Table 2. Summary of magnetic minerals.

Parameter or Magnetite Titanomagnetite Hematite Goethite Greigite Pyrrhotite Smythite
ratio (Fe3O4) (Fe2,4Ti.6O4) (aFe2O3) (aFeOOH) (Fe3S4) (Fe7S8) (Fe3+xS4)
K (1026 m3/kg) 674 422 0.97 1.17 108 32.1
MRS (Am2/kg) 5.3 5.2 0.18 0.052 5.4 5 Properties are
MS (Am2/kg) 62.2 16 0.28 0.22 14.1 13.3 intermediate to
greigite and
MRS/MS 0.12 0.19 0.58 0.32 0.45 0.36
pyrrhotite values.
HCR (mT) 24.4 41.4 318 1972 67.1 45.3
HC (mT) 9.8 20.8 268 217 42.6 36.9
HCR/HC 9.1 3.2 1.76 19.1 1.74 1.27
DJH 0.01 0.06 0.33 0.02 0.26 0.28
MRS/K (mA/m) 11.3 21 261 57.4 70.7 209
Curie / Néel TN 320
Temperature (°C) 580 150 675 120 320–340 TC 360
>400°C All sulphides begin decomposing
Superparamagnetic 0.025-0.030 0.08-0.09 0.025-0.030 0.025–0.030
grain size (mm)
Critical single- 0.079-0.084 0.2 15 1.6
domain size (mm)
Sources: Peters and Dekkers (2003) Table 1; Dunlop and Ozdemir (1997) Tables 3.1 and 5.1
Table 3. Iron sulphide minerals in diagenetically altered sediments.

Mineral Greigite Mackinawite Marcasite Pyrite
Type Monosulphide Monosulphide Disulphide Disulphide
12 13 12 22 12 22
Formula Fe (Fe )2 (S)4 Fe (S )12x Fe (S2) Fe12 (S2)22
x ≤ 0.11, 9 : 8
Fe120.75 Ni120.25 S220.9
Weight% fe 56.64 63.63 46.55 46.55
Impurities Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, Co, Cu, Ni Cu, As Cu, As
Cr, Sb, As Environmental metals
Magnetism Ferrimagnetic Nonmagnetic Nonmagnetic Nonmagnetic
Crystal- Isometric Tetragonal Ditetragonal Orthorhombic Cubic Isometric – Diploidal
lography Hexoctahedral Dipyramidal Dipyramidal
System: (4/m 3 2/m): F d3m (4/m 2/m 2/m): (2/m 2/m 2/m): P nnm (2/m 3): P a3
Space group P 4/nmm
Unit cell å a 5 9.868 a 5 3.67, c 5 5.03 a 5 4.436, b 5 5.414, a 5 5.417
c 5 3.381
Formula units, V 961.50 Z 5 2, V 68 Z 5 2, V 81.20 Z 5 4; V 5 158.96
Volume å3
Group Linnaeite - Thiospinel Mackinawite - Marcasite Pyrite
Karaelakhite
Form Massive, microscopic: Massive, amorphous, Tabular, curved, Drusy, striated cubes,
cubes, blades, needles 6 sided books cockscomb, reniform, framboids, reniform,
Twins (101), (011) Twins (101), (011)
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 200 9/17/10 8:11:34 PM

Table 3. (continued)
Mineral Greigite Mackinawite Marcasite Pyrite
Cleavage None (001) perfect Irregular fracture Poor (100), (110),
Conchoidal fracture
Color Bronze, pink, blue, Bronze, black Brass yellow - Pale brass yellow
black tin white
Lustre Metallic, earthy Metallic, earthy Metallic, opaque Metallic, opaque
Reflectance Creamy white White-gray Brass yellow - Creamy white
tin white
Cream, rose brown
Anisotropy None Extreme, blue to black Yellow to greens None
Hardness 4.0 to 4.5 <2.5 6.0 to 6.5 6.0 to 6.5
Density 3.32 to 4.05 4.17 4.88 4.80 to 5.01
Streak Black Black Dark gray to black Greenish black
Xrd peaks 2.98(1), 1.746(0.77), 5.03(1), 2.31(0.8), 3.43(.7), 2.69(1.0), 1.6332(1), 2.709(0.85),
(i / io) 2.469(0.55) 2.97(0.8) 1.75(0.5) 2.423(0.65)
Setting Organic sediments, Serpentinites, Replacing organics, Anoxic sediments, massive
limestone, coal, silt, weathered sulphide fossils, sulphide ores, sulphides, coals, black
biomineral, saline, ores, precipitates, iron very acidic, low shales, skarns, fossils,
evaporites, reducing corrosion temperature, coals, near high temp. hydrothermal
surface magmatic, metamorphic
Locality Kern Co. California Mackinaw Mine, Joplin, Missouri, Worldwide
Atacama, Chile, Mont Washington Guanajuato, Mexico
St. Hilaire, Quebec
Bohemia, Czech Rep.
Synonyms Melnikovite (Doss) AVS - Acid Volatile Prismatic or radial pyrite, Fools Gold, Bravoite
Sulphide Spear pyrite
Godlevskite (Ni rich)
Reference Skinner et al. (1964) Wolthers et al. (2003 Fleet (1975b) Berner (1970); Schoonen and
and 2005) Barnes (1991); Sweeney
and Kaplan (1973)
http://www. 1747 2512 2571 3314
mindat. Greigite.shtml Mackinawite.shtml Marcasite.shtml Pyrite.shtml
org/min-#.html
Mineral Pyrrhotite Pyrrhotite Smythite Troilite
Type Monosulphide Monosulphide Disulphide Monosulphide
Formula (Fe1-X) S12 22
(Fe1-X) S12 22 Fe9S11 - Fe13S16 Fe+2 S-2
x ≤ 0.05 x ≤ 0.18 (Fe12)5 (Fe13)4 (S22 )11
(Fe12)7 (Fe13)6 (S22 )16
Fe126.75 Ni2.25 S11
Weight % fe >62.33 >59.68 58.59 to 58.76 63.53
unless Ni bearing
Impurities Ni, Co, Cu Ni, Co, Cu Ni
Magnetism Weakly Ferrimagnetic Strongly Ferrimagnetic Ferrimagnetic Nonmagnetic
Crystal- Monoclinic Monoclinic Trigonal - hexagonal, Hexagonal,
lography pseudohexagonal pseudocubic, scalenohedral dihexagonal
monoclinic - prismatic monoclinic - prismatic dipyramidal
System: (2/m): A2/a (2/m): A2/a (3 2/m): R 3m (6/m 2/m 2/m):
Space group (P63/m 2/m 2/c)
(continued)
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 201 9/17/10 8:11:34 PM

Table 3. (continued)
Mineral Pyrrhotite Pyrrhotite Smythite Troilite

Unit cell (å) a 5 12.811, a 5 11.88, a 5 3.47, a 5 5.96,c 5 11.74
b 5 6.87, b 5 6.87, c 5 34.5 or
c 5 11.885 c 5 22.79 a 5 3.45, c 5 5.76
Formula units, Z 5 26; Z 5 52; Z 5 1, Z 5 12,
volume (å3) beta 5 117.3°; beta 5 90.47°; V 5 359.76 V 5 360.91
V 5 929.51 V 5 1859.96 or Z 5 2;
V 5 59.46
Group Pyrrhotite - Heideite Pyrrhotite - Heideite Pyrrhotite - Heideite Pyrrhotite - Heideite
- Troilite - Troilite - Troilite - Troilite
Form Tabular, platy, forms: Tabular, platy, forms: Flat, platy hexagonal Granular, platy
[ 1 1 0] [ 1 1 2] [ 1 1 0] [ 1 1 2] prisms
[ 1 0 2] [ 1 0 0] [ 0 [ 1 0 2] [ 1 0 0] [ 0 0 1]
0 1]
twins (1012)
Cleavage [0001] Imperfect, None Fracture with flexible
[1120] Imperfect fragments
Color Bronze brown-red, or Bronze brown-red, Brownish-black to Gray brown,
dark brown or dark brown bronze yellow bronze brown
Lustre Metallic, opaque Metallic, opaque Metallic, opaque Metallic, opaque
Reflectance Gray to creamy Bronze shades, weak Pinkish cream, yellow Gray brown, bronze brown
white reflectance. pleochroism to blue-gray. Grayish
Bronze shades, weak yellow to reddish brown
pleochroism
Anisotropy Strong Strong Strong Strong
Hardness 3.5 to 4.0 3.5 to 4.0 4.5 3.5 to 4.0
Density 4.58–4.65 4.58–4.65 4.32 4.91
Streak Dark grayish black Dark grayish black Dark gray Brownish black
Xrd Peaks 2.057(1), 2.635(0.9), 2.057(1), 2.635(0.9), 11.5(1), 2.994(0.31), 2.09(1), 2.66(0.6), 1.72(0.5)
(i / io) 2.966(0.9) 2.966(0.9) 2.566(0.25)
Setting High temperature High temperature Anoxic sediments brown Meteorites, anoxic
skarns, massive skarns, massive coal, low T°C oxidation sediments,
sulphides anoxic sulphides phase of monoclinic massive sulphides
sediments Ni rich anoxic sediments pyrrhotite coals, serpentinites
ultramafic igneous
rocks
Locality Worldwide Worldwide Bloomington, Indiana Broken Hill, Australia.
Bohemian coal basin
Synonyms Magnetopyrite Magnetopyrite Meteorkies, Pyrrhotite
polytype
Reference Fleet (1971) Fleet. (1971); Powell Erd et al. (1957); Skála et al. (2006); King and
et al. (2004) Hoffmann et al. (1993); Prewitt (1982)
Krs et al. (1992)
http://www. 3328 3328 3691 4029
mindat.org/ Pyrrhotite.shtml Pyrrhotite.shtml Smythite.shtml Troilite.shtml
min-#.html
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 202 9/17/10 8:11:35 PM

called pyrrhotite (Powell et al., 2004), which is a higher (Medioli et al., 2005), similar to that observed in conven-
temperature hydrothermal or metamorphic mineral (King tional oil and gas reservoirs. Gas hydrates rarely occur
and Prewit, 1982) or troilite, found in meteorites (Skála within fine-grained sediments but rather are preferentially
et al., 2006). Under low-temperature conditions in sedi- concentrated in the sandy horizons. The present pressure/
mentary environments, iron monosulphides are metastable temperature/salinity profile allows gas hydrate to be stable
compared to pyrite but can persist if H2S is rapidly con- above 1107 m depth. Well logging measurements (Collett
sumed by reactions with other iron bearing minerals or via et al., 2005) revealed rich gas-hydrate intervals between
a ready supply of dissolved iron. The reaction between H2S 892 and 1107 m depth in which 50–90% of the pore vol-
and FeS can also be impeded by low permeability or slow ume is infilled by gas hydrates in sediments having in situ
pore water migration (Kao et al., 2004). Iron monosulphi- porosities at around 35%. Three gas-hydrate zones were
des are ferrimagnetic and these precipitation reactions can identified in the Mallik 5L-38 well: zone A: 892–930 m,
lead to significant accumulations, which enhance the total zone B: 942–993 m, and zone C: 1070–1107 m.
magnetic susceptibility of the sediments.
Magnetic studies can distinguish the signature of in-
troduced diagenetic iron sulphide cement minerals from Aeromagnetic and ground
the original detrital magnetic oxides. If most of the original magnetic surveys
magnetic minerals are destroyed, the diagenetic effects are
not only measurable, but they dominate the signal. If there Magnetic surveys reveal lateral contrasts in magnetiza-
is abundant detrital magnetite and only a small amount of tion. If there is a uniform horizontally bedded stack of sed-
introduced magnetic greigite or smythite, then the diage- iments, even with alternating vertical sequences of original
netic signal will be overwhelmed by that of the original and introduced magnetic susceptibility without a lateral
sedimentology (Krs et al., 1992). Complementary petro- contrast, there will be no detectable anomaly. However, di-
logic studies, such as reflected light thin section micros- agenesis focused along faults, seeps, or lateral sedimentary
copy and microprobe analyses, resolve such ambiguity. facies variations (for example, along fluvial channels and
bars) can generate detectable magnetic signatures when
sufficient quantities of magnetic minerals are either intro-
duced or removed.
Magnetism and Gas Hydrates Interpretation of the aeromagnetic survey of the Mack-
in a Permafrost Setting: Mallik enzie Delta (Figure 1b; Lowe et al., 2005) indicates that the
and the Mackenzie Delta long wavelength features (>10 km) are caused by lateral
magnetic contrasts at significant depth, whereas the short
An aeromagnetic survey (Dumont et al., 2002a,b,c,d; wavelength (<1 km) irregular “hummocky” features in the
Lowe et al., 2005) of the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Ter- magnetic field originate from contrasts between shallow
ritories, Canada, revealed a prominent positive magnetic magnetic sources within the permafrost layer.
anomaly near the permafrost related gas-hydrate deposits A magnetic high in the Mallik region is clearly defined
at Mallik (69.3°N, 134.4°W; Figure 1a). with suboval northwest-trending shape (7.5-km long and
The present study was initiated to see if analysis of 3–4-km wide) and a magnetic amplitude of 7 nT (Figure 1c).
core samples from the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 Whereas the exact origin of this magnetic high is unknown,
and 5L-38 wells could establish a causal relationship be- its wavelength points to a source less than 1250 m from the
tween the formation of gas hydrates and the enhancement surface, potentially within the gas-hydrate stability field. A
of magnetic susceptibility sufficient to have created the system of normal faults, (F1, F4, and F6; Figure 1b) inter-
positive anomaly. preted from seismic reflection data to have offsets ranging
The Mallik site is the most studied gas-hydrate field in from 300 to 600 m offset (Collett et al., 1999; Brent et al.,
the Mackenzie Delta (Dallimore and Collett, 2005). It sits 2005), is coincident with the limits of the magnetic anomaly,
in an arctic environment with deep permafrost (>600 m). truncating it on the north (F1), northeast (F4), and southwest
The Mackenzie region contains thick (>12 km) sands and (F6). These faults suggest a significant structural control on
shales of a long-lived Cretaceous-Tertiary fluvial-deltaic the magnetic source or they may have provided fluid con-
complex (Jenner et al., 1999; Medioli et al., 2005). In par- duits and a different geochemical environment to account
allel with other gas-hydrate studies, 37 m of core between for the sharp delineation of the magnetic anomaly.
886 and 953 m was recovered from well 2L-38, and 220 m The positive magnetic anomaly was interpreted by
of core from 885 to 1152 m depth was recovered from well Lowe et al. (2005) to be a fault-bounded block with en-
5L-38, 100 m away from 2L-38. hanced magnetic susceptibility. A tabular body (3-km wide,
A strong lithological control is observed on gas-hy- 400-m thick) with a magnetic susceptibility of 2 mSI at
drate concentration, especially grain size and porosity depths 620–840 m below surface was proposed to simulate
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 203 9/17/10 8:11:35 PM

Figure 1. Aeromagnetic
analysis in Mallik and
Mackenzie Delta area:
(a) location map; (b)
aeromagnetic data with a
10 km high-pass filter close
to the Mallik 5L-38 hole with
seismically inferred faults F1,
F4, and F6 (after Brent et al.,
2005). The magnetic anomaly
modeled in (c) is indicated
by the white dashed line;
(c) observed (black dots) and
predicted (red curve) magnetic
profiles for the model shown
in (d); and (d) tabular body
with magnetic susceptibility of
2000 μSI at 620–840 m depth
below surface. The body is
approximately 3-km wide and
is surrounded by material with
a magnetic susceptibility of
50 μSI. Used by permission.
the aeromagnetic signal observed (Figure 1d). However, a magnetometer. Along five traverses, a well-defined 20 nT
body with magnetic susceptibility of just 1 mSI could also negative magnetic anomaly was observed to be centered
satisfy the observed anomaly if it were much thicker (~630 over the seep (Figure 2b).
m) and more shallow (~40 m below surface). Modeling shows that the magnetic anomaly is an or-
We carried out a surface magnetic survey on an ac- der of magnitude bigger than can be explained with the ba-
tive methane seep on the Mackenzie Delta during sum- thymetry alone (Figure 2b). A vertical nonmagnetic zone
mer 2005. The Nig seep is located in a tributary to Middle coincident with the seep and surrounded by sediments with
Channel by Richards Island (69.23°N, 135.50°W, Figure higher magnetic susceptibility (126 μSI at surface and
1a). The gas seep erodes the permafrost of the river bank 1000–2000 μSI at depth) can satisfy the observed anomaly.
and forms a pronounced (~8 m deep) bathymetric anomaly We infer that bacterial reactions have reduced all the pri-
in the river bed (Figure Downloaded
2a,b; data 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
courtesy of R. Bowen and mary ferrimagnetic oxide minerals present in the vertical
F. Wright, Geological Survey of Canada). The magnetic seep zone to nonmagnetic iron sulphides (pyrite) or simply
survey was conducted with a portable GSM-19 Overhauser removed them by solution and fluid flux.
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 204 9/17/10 8:11:35 PM

Figure 2. Magnetic signature of the Nig seep in the Mackenzie Delta region. (a) Topography of the seep and (b) observed
(black dots) and model (black curve) magnetic data for the profile shown in white in (a) that follows one passage of the
magnetometer. The dotted curve is the calculated response generated by bathymetry alone; the dashed curve represents the
bathymetry effect assuming zero magnetic susceptibility below the seep. The preferred model has a nonmagnetic sediment
column beneath the seep, and surrounding sediments have increasing magnetic susceptibility with depth.
Figure 3. Magnetic susceptibility measurements from 2L-38

and 5L-38 wells in Mallik region: (a) and (b) susceptibility
and gas-hydrate concentration logs from 2L-38 and 5L-38.
The 5L-38 data were previously published by Lowe et al.
(2005). Yellow squares represent the sand samples, and blue
triangles represent the silt samples; (c) and (d) histograms
of magnetic susceptibility showing distinct magnetic
populations in the sand and silt horizons; (e) and
(f) magnetic susceptibility of sand samples as a function of
the gas-hydrate concentration (%). The red line marks the
best linear fit on the semilog graph. Used by permission.
Magnetic properties of the Mallik cores

Lowe et al. (2005) presented the magnetic susceptibil-
ity log of the Mallik 5L-38 core, to which we add here the
magnetic susceptibility log from core 2L-38 (Figure 3a,b).
Magnetic susceptibility was measured every 2 cm along the
frozen recovered core with a GF Instruments SM-20 pocket
magnetic susceptometer. The measurement coil has a 5-cm
diameter, and the instrument is sensitive to ±0.5 μSI.
Both cores showed strong magnetic susceptibility
contrasts between sands and silts with mean values around
123 μSI in silts and 46 μSI in sands (2.7 times lower)
(Figure 3c,d). Magnetic susceptibility histograms display
log- normal distributions. Carbonate and lignite layers
show low susceptibilities when they occur just above a The sand layers host most of the gas-hydrate ac-
gas-hydrate level. The pronounced sand-silt susceptibility cumulation (Medioli et al., 2005). Well log estimates of
contrast could be exploited by regularly measuring down- gas-hydrate concentration (based on electrical resistiv-
hole magnetic susceptibility so that well log depths may ity or nuclear magnetic resonance measurements, Collett
be better correlated to depths of returned cores. et al., 2005) show that magnetic susceptibility decreases
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 205 9/17/10 8:11:47 PM

size shows that the sands with high gas-hydrate content

have the finest (most single domainlike) magnetic carriers
(Figure 4c).
Petrographic and geochemical

observations
The diagenetic changes inferred from the magnetic
measurements require complementary petrographic obser-
vations to identify the magnetic minerals and their origins.
Twenty representative sediment samples were freeze dried
and impregnated with epoxy resin, to preserve the mineral-
ogy and sedimentary texture, and prepared as polished thin
sections for a reflected and transmitted optical microscopy.
The iron and sulphur bearing diagenetic minerals of seven
of these thin sections were examined via wavelength dis-
persive microprobe analysis at the University of British
Columbia.
Detrital magnetite, often depositionally concen-
trated in thin laminae in unconsolidated sands, are the
most abundant primary magnetic mineral. Siltstones have
a mud matrix and abundant (up to 30%) authigenic ce-
ments. Cements are dominated by iron sulphide minerals
in a diagenetic assemblage of clays, carbonates (calcite and
dolomite), and minor glauconite, jarosite, romerite, chlo-
rite, azurite, and malachite. In Enkin et al. (2007), the iron
Figure 4. J-meter coercivity spectrometer magnetic sulphide was identified optically to be greigite; however,
parameters in 5L-38 well samples from Mallik: (a) saturation subsequent wavelength-dispersive analysis on the largest
magnetization (MS); (b) magnetic coercivity field (HC); and grains (>50 μm) indicates that the main opaque mineral is
(c) remanence of saturation normalized with the magnetic
pyrite, often rich in manganese. Paramagnetic pyrite can-
susceptibility (MRS/k) to observe the magnetic grain size
not be responsible for the remanent magnetization and
(i.e., big magnetic grains for low values and small magnetic
high susceptibilities measured in the collection. Therefore,
grains for higher values). These three parameters are
compared with gas hydrate concentration (%). The red line
a ferrimagnetic iron sulphide phase (greigite or smythite)
shows 40 point averages. The yellow squares are the sand must be disseminated throughout the matrix as grains that
samples, and blue triangles represent the silt samples. are too small to probe. Pure greigite has a magnetic suscep-
tibility of 400 mSI (Peters and Dekkers, 2003), whereas the
observed magnetic susceptibility is only around 100 μSI.
Thus, greigite is present at a volumetric concentration of
as the gas-hydrate concentration increases in the sand lay- about 1 part in 4000, orders of magnitude less than the con-
ers (Figure 3e,f). Observations from both cores reveal that centration of iron sulphide observed in the thin sections.
silts, which do not host gas hydrate, and the sand layers The iron sulphides fill tensional veins or inflate the
that contain only low concentration of gas hydrate are the matrix between detrital grains. Clots of iron sulphides
locations with the highest concentrations of introduced di- disseminated in the matrix are mostly observed in the silt
agenetic magnetic minerals. levels. Within veins and pore throats, sulphides often oc-
Results of magnetic hysteresis and remanence acqui- cur as parallel swirls of microcrystals or multinuclear
sition curves of 198 subsamples from core 5L-38 using colliform (resembling cauliflowers) and framboidal (re-
a new apparatus (J-Meter Coercivity Spectrometer) were sembling raspberries) masses, suggesting they formed on
presented by Enkin et al. (2007). Table 1 summarizes bacterial films. Coeval authigenic carbonates also appear
the parameters that are presented. The lowest saturation to have been nucleated by bacterial processes (Medioli et
magnetization (MS) and the highest coercive force (HC) al., 2005). The largest diagenetic iron sulphide crystals re-
are observed in sands Downloaded
with gas25concentration
above 80% semble porphyroblasts and sometimes envelope and totally
(Figure 4a,b). The remanent magnetization normalized overgrow original detrital magnetite grains and notably
by susceptibility (MRS/k) as a measure of magnetic grain lack reaction rims. These disequilibrium textures underline
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 206 9/17/10 8:12:24 PM

the absence of alteration or redox destabilization as the The iron sulphides formed out of equilibrium, and in some
source for the iron to make the sulphides in these mature, places they, along with carbonates and clays, inflated the
quartz rich sediments. available pore space and fractured or infilled primary de-
trital grains. New elements, including Fe, Ca, Mg, Mn, Cu,
and S, were introduced into sediments in which they pre-
Discussion of arctic gas-hydrate cipitated, quite rapidly, into the observed assemblage of di-
magnetism agenetic minerals. The quartz and chert dominated detrital
lithologies are an unlikely source for these elements. Pos-
Lowe et al. (2005) suggested that processes correlated sibly, they were introduced along with the flux of methane-
to the presence or flow of methane through the sand lay- bearing fluids from depth. The gas-hydrate formation in
ers lead to the reduction of iron oxides to sulphides. This the sands cemented them shut and forced the methane and
is a possible mechanism to explain the magnetic contrasts saline pore waters to migrate into the less porous and less
in the sands with the highest concentration of gas hydrate permeable silt horizons by a gradient of concentration or
(>80%). However, petrographic observations combined by differential capillary pressure forming tensile fractures.
with magnetic properties do not support this mechanism to In this concentrated solution, bacteria broke and oxidized
explain the main contrasts seen between the gas-hydrate- the carbon-hydrogen bonds for energy; and in the process,
bearing sands versus the silts and sands devoid of gas oxidized sulphate and metal ions were used as electron re-
hydrate. Rather, the observations suggest that diagenetic ceptors as they were reduced and precipitated.
growth of authigenic minerals was forced into the neigh- The dominant magnetic effect is to increase the magnetic
boring silt horizons, away from the accumulations of gas susceptibility, by the growth of ferrimagnetic iron sulphide,
hydrate. Coeval authigenic carbonates and iron sulphides in sediments adjacent to gas-hydrate accumulations. We have
are seen to have bacterial textures, and high magnetic sus- observed this result directly within the Mallik cores, and we
ceptibilities reside in authigenic iron sulphides. The most suggest similar reactions took place in permeable layers in
likely authigenic mineral candidates are greigite (Skinner et the fault-bounded region that is imaged as the positive mag-
al., 1964) Fe3S4, or smythite (Erd et al., 1957) with an Fe:S netic anomaly south of the Mallik well site (Figure 1a).
ratio between 0.81 and 0.86. Both of these can be formed In contrast, we see a reduction of magnetic suscepti-
from an FeS precursor by selective iron loss (Krupp, 1994; bility in which methane is actively venting to the surface.
Benning et al., 2000; Jertz and Rimstidt, 2003). Given the high concentration and flux of methane and the
All diagenetic reactions occurred at low temperatures, availability of oxidized sulphur in the form of seawater
as proven by the low organic maturity (all organic matter sulphate, the chemical reactions in the Nig gas seep make
is undermature lignin and kerogen, Waseda and Uchida, all oxidized iron minerals reduce to nonmagnetic pyrite
2005; Haberer et al., 2005). Vein textures and fractures (Canfield et al., 1992).
in unconsolidated sediments indicate that diagenesis oc- In the Mallik cores, dolomite layers are observed ad-
curred at a time when the sediments had tensile strength jacent to unconsolidated fluvial gas-hydrate-bearing sands
and were subject to inflationary pressure, conditions pres- and soft brown coals. Such stratigraphy poses a conundrum
ent during the accumulation of gas hydrate in the neighbor- as to missing depositional facies if the dolostones are in-
ing porous beds. The observed diagenetic textures in these terpreted to be primary marine deposits. However, Medioli
low temperature unlithified sediments are similar to those et al. (2005) demonstrate that the diagenetic cementation
of hydrothermal and high temperature metamorphic skarn produced dolostones with floating silt grains and multiple
systems (contact metamorphic zones in carbonates featur- episodes of crosscutting manganese-bearing carbonate
ing metasomatism) that are dominated by rapid crystalliza- veins, matching the unusually high manganese content of
tion and introduced mineral phases. Whereas in skarns and the pyrites. The carbonate and sulphide cement minerals
hydrothermal systems, these textures are formed by boil- appear to have nucleated in free pore space rather than in
ing off pure water as steam, leaving a supersaturated resi- constricted pore throats or as overgrowths. At Mallik, the
due; here, the intense solute concentration mechanism is zonation of manganese in the sparry dolomite cement re-
achieved during the formation of the gas hydrate, removing cords this kind of nucleation in free space by its variable
pure water, locally freezing the sediment shut, and later- coloration and cathodoluminescence. Also, the pyrite oc-
ally providing a diagenetically reactive solute-rich solution curs as framboids (Sweeney and Kaplan, 1973) rather than
adjacent to the gas hydrate-bearing horizons. This process cubes or octahedra showing that it nucleated quickly as
has been termed solute exclusion (Jenner et al., 1999). from supersaturated or quenched solutions (Murowchick
The lack of reaction rims on the detrital magnetite and and Barnes, 1987; Wilkin and Barnes, 1996; Benning et al.,
the existence of both detrital magnetite and diagenetic iron 2000). These observations prove the dolostones are diage-
sulphides in the same layers argues against magnetite as netic and related to gas-hydrate formation rather than being
the source of the iron for the formation of the sulphides. of depositional origin.
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 207 9/17/10 8:12:30 PM

Magnetism and Gas Hydrates in Seismic studies in the region, including a 1997 deep-
towed multichannel seismic survey (Chapman et al., 2002),
the Marine Setting revealed several blank zones interpreted to be cold vents.
The Cascadia margin, offshore British Columbia, The main blank zone (called the Bullseye Vent) was stud-
Washington, and Oregon, is at present the most studied ied with 3D seismic methods in 1999, revealing a circu-
marine gas-hydrate region (Figure 5). Three international lar structure with a diameter of 400 m (Riedel et al., 2001,
ocean drilling missions have targeted these sediments: 2002). A piston coring cruise (PGC00-02) followed this
ODP Leg 146 in 1992, sites 889–893 (Westbrook et al., investigation during which 26 piston cores were recovered
1994); ODP Leg 204 in 2002, sites U1244–U1252 (Tréhu (Figure 5). Gas hydrates were directly observed in four
et al., 2003); and IODP Expedition 311 in 2005, sites of the cores from the Bullseye Vent (Riedel et al., 2001;
U1325–U1329 (Riedel et al., 2006). These missions were Figure 6a) within the upper 2–8 m below seafloor.
complemented by numerous geophysical and shallow cor- Novosel et al. (2005) presented the physical properties
ing cruises. In this chapter, we will focus particularly on of these cores including the first magnetic observations in
new data on samples returned from IODP Expedition 311, a cold vent. The background magnetic susceptibility varies
particularly site U1327, off the west coast of Vancouver between 2000 and 4000 μSI, whereas within the blank zone
Island, complemented by results from shallow cores stud- values range from 50 and 500 μSI (Figure 6b). At the blank
ied by Novosel et al. (2005) and lateral evolution with the zone edges, magnetic susceptibilities correspond to a mix
transect sites from Expedition 311. of low and high values varying with depth. Inside the blank
Compression across the accretionary prism east of zones, sedimentological analysis revealed abundant authi-
the Juan de Fuca subduction zone creates elongated anti- genic pyrite concentrations (25%) in the form of separate
clinal ridges parallel to the margin with elevations as high grains with different sizes; framboidal fillings in cavities,
as 700 m above the adjacent basins, 20–30 km in length veins, and infilled; or mineralized foraminifera right up to
and a few kilometers in width. These ridges are composed the seafloor. No pyrite was observed in cores from outside
of prePleistocene and Pleistocene hemipelagic sediments the blank zone. The sediments within the blank zone were
overlain by rapidly deposited Late Pleistocene to Early dark colored, and they actively oxidized in air, producing
Holocene glacial diamict featuring layers of glacial drop- a lighter and mottled color. Microscopically, these dark
stones with thin bands of interlayered foraminiferal ooze sediments contain abundant black carbon spherules up to
(Riedel et al., 2006). 20 microns in size that are particularly concentrated on
Figure 5. Location maps of

the offshore sampling program
in the Cascadia Slope region
(Pacific North America). IODP
Expedition 311 (five wells and
PGC00-02 surface sampling)
and ODP Leg 146 (site 888 and
889/890) are on the northern
part of the gas-hydrate ridge.
The southern part of the gas
hydrate ridge was drilled by
ODP Leg 204 (sites 1245–1252)
and ODP Leg146 (site 892).
Bathymetry of Expedition
311 courtesy of D. Kelley, J.
Delaney, and D. Glickson,
University of Washington,
and C. Barnes, C. Katnick,
NEPTUNE Canada, University
of Victoria (after Riedel et al.,
2006; Tréhu et al., 2003). Used
by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 208 9/17/10 8:12:30 PM

fracture surfaces and within

more permeable layers such
as foraminiferal oozes. Out-
side the blank zone, the same
glacial diamict horizons were
pale gray and devoid of the
carbon spherules and the dark
coloration.
The susceptibility con-
trast at the Bullseye Vent is
compatible with the magnetic Figure 6. Blank zone study (PGC00-02 program) of magnetic susceptibility (Novosel et
anomaly observed at the Nig al., 2005): (a) location of the blank zone 1 and core locations; b) magnetic susceptibility
Vent in the Mackenzie Delta. intensity (units10-6 SI/volume) versus depth for each subsurface drilling in transect 1.
Indeed, Novosel et al. (2005) The gray area in the column represents high magnetic susceptibility values (i.e.,
modeled the magnetic field dominance of magnetite) whereas the white areas correspond to the very low values (i.e.,
pattern expected from the mea- dominance of pyrite). The crystal pattern in the base of columns C6 and C4 marks the gas
sured susceptibilities and esti- hydrate occurrence. Used by permission.
mated an anomaly between 10
and 40 nT, encompassing the
20 nT value of the anomaly
observed at the Nig seep. The
large supply of methane flow-
ing up through the Bullseye
Vent provides the energy (food
source) to sulphate reducing
bacteria, whereas the large sea-
water supply of sulphate ions
can readily reduce to sulphide
ions, lead to a localized area
where all detrital iron oxides
reduce completely to pyrite.
The dark color introduced in
the vent sediments is caused
by the deposition of carbon un-
able to oxidize completely to
carbonate in this highly reduc-
ing environment.
Magnetic properties
of Cascadia margin Figure 7. Comparison of magnetic susceptibility logs with the depth for each site
cores from IODP Expedition 311. The lithologies and bottom of the gas hydrate stability zone
(BGHSZ) for each site is posted. Site U1329 (inner slope) is clay dominated, whereas site
Magnetic measurements U1326 (outer slope) is sand dominated. The infrared log from U1327C provides a proxy
on the cores collected on IODP measurement for the presence of gas hydrates (blue colors).
Expedition 311 help elucidate
the diagenetic changes related
to gas-hydrate formation. Five sites (U1325 to U1329) high (~2000 μSI) and low (~200 μSI) magnetic suscepti-
have been sampled (Figure 5) approximately every 50 cm, bilities in the Late Pleistocene sections of the cores (Figure
1692 samples in all and were magnetically studied in the 7). Measurement of magnetic susceptibility as a function of
laboratory to understand the distribution and character of temperature help identify the magnetic minerals by identi-
the magnetic minerals with the
Downloaded depth.
fying the Curie temperature and the temperatures of min-
The most striking feature of the magnetic properties eralogical transformations (Figure 8). Samples with high
in this collection is the square wave pattern of contrasting susceptibility are dominated by original detrital magnetite,
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 209 9/17/10 8:12:52 PM

hydrate, as noted by infrared temperature anomalies on the

recovered core (Riedel et al., 2006) or from geophysical
well logging. At the end of the last ice age, the Cascadia
margin was a deposition site for iceberg debris ranging
from dropstones to fine silts. The iceberg transported sedi-
ment contained sufficient magnetite grains from continen-
tal sources to dominate the magnetic signal. The positive
implication of this observation is that magnetic susceptibil-
ity provides a powerful correlation tool for regional stra-
tigraphy. Unfortunately, the contribution from the glacial
magnetite is so large as to mask any diagenetic sulphide
signal, which could constrain other observations related to
gas-hydrate accumulations. However, the dominance of de-
trital magnetite in the recovered cores from Hole U1327C
is only observed in the top 150 mbsf.
The bottom 150 m of the sediments from Hole
U1327C underlies the dropstone zone, allowing the diage-
netic signal to be detected (Figure 7). The upper part (0–
150 mbsf) is typified by sediments with glacial dropstone
component (blue points) alternating with silty-clay levels
(orange points). The lower part (150–300 mbsf), including
the bottom of the gas-hydrate stability zone (BGHSZ) at
220 mbsf, is affected by gas-hydrate induced disturbance
(e.g., moussy texture). This lower part is marked by low
values of susceptibility (black points) corresponding to the
background signal normally observed in reduced marine
sediments. The background signal is punctuated by higher
values (green points) in clay-rich levels and with highest
values in the middle of these clay levels (red points).
Figure 8. Thermomagnetic characterization of three Recent studies of magnetic properties of sulphide
representative samples from IODP Expedition 311 bearing sediments (Roberts, 1995) have suggested that the
site U1327C: (a) temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility normalized remanence (MRS/k) is a proxy
susceptibility with heating followed by cooling. Magnetite, for the presence of greigite or other ferrrimagnetic iron
marked by a sudden drop in susceptibility at the Curie sulphides (FIS). More accurately, it quantifies the propor-
temperature of 580°C, can be observed in all the samples. tion of single domain (magnetically fine grained) to mul-
The blue curve (1.65 mbsf), from a dropstone deposit where tidomain (magnetically coarse grained) grains, noting that
the highest susceptibility values were found, is dominated by FIS grains have a larger single domain size range than do
magnetite and no ferrimagnetic iron sulphides are observed. magnetite grains. A second magnetic grain size parameter,
In contrast, the other samples start with low susceptibility DJH = (MRS/MS)/(HCR/HC), was introduced by Housen and
and grow magnetite from iron sulphide precursors above Musgrave (1996) to describe the position of a point on a
400°C. The green curve (229.11 mbsf, from below the glacial
Day plot (Day et al., 1977) of (MRS/MS) versus (HCR/HC)
dropstone levels) has a small bump around 320°C marking
(Figure 9a). Most magnetic samples plot on a hyperbola on
ferrimagnetic iron sulphide (FIS) magnetism. The orange
the Day plot, and DJH offers the slope of the line through
curve (from 86.65 mbsf, from a low susceptibility sample) has
no FIS bump and thus is dominated by nonmagnetic pyrite;
the origin, which intersects that hyperbola.
(b) thermal magnetic demagnetization of the remanence With our data, neither (MRS/k) nor DJH alone can ap-
from the same samples. The blue curve has a drop caused by parently distinguish magnetite from FIS magnetic mineral-
magnetite between 500 and 575°C, and the green curve shows ogy. Combining these two magnetic grain size parameters
a pronounced FIS drop between 300 and 350°C. in a bivariate plot (Figure 9b) separates the data into two
distinct families. Thermomagnetic curves (Figure 8) show
that the lower family (blue points) contains magnetite as
whereas those with low susceptibility hold diagenetic iron the dominant magnetic carrier, whereas the upper family
sulphide minerals. (other colors) contains iron sulphides, which oxidize to
The depths of the magnetite and sulphide dominated magnetite on heating in air (accompanying increase of k
zones do not correlate to layers with accumulations of gas between 400°C and 580°C in Figure 8a).
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 210 9/17/10 8:13:02 PM

There are only subtle differences between the sulphide

bearing samples in the lower and upper sections of hole
U1327C (orange and black points, Figures 7, 8, and 9). The
green and red points correspond to measurements on high
susceptibility samples from the lower section, below the
depths affected by dropstones. Lithologically, these layers
tend to have a higher clay content, and thus are not favored
for gas-hydrate accumulation as corroborated by the infra-
red images (Figure 7). These samples have high DJH (usu-
ally > 0.18) and high MRS/k (usually > 10 kA/m), a similar
value to that suggested by Larrasoana et al. (2007), based
on measurements of samples from ODP Leg 204, to mark
significant growth of FIS. These samples have a higher
proportion of FIS to paramagnetic pyrite in the black and
orange points, as seen by their thermomagnetic curves in
which no significant demagnetization occurs at 325°C in
contrast to the green curve (Figure 8b).
Petrographic and geochemical

observations
Optical observations on polished thin sections show that
large detrital magnetites (Figure 10a) are common but have
the highest concentrations in the dropstone affected levels
of the upper part of the core. Iron sulphide textures include
framboids and stippled, curved films of sulphides in open
veins suggesting deposition on bacterial films. Introduced
iron sulphide minerals fracture original coarse silt grains or
raft them apart, effectively inflating the original sediment
(Figure 10a). Veins (Figure 10b) and foraminifera fossils
(Figure 10c) are particularly filled in with iron sulphides Figure 9. Magnetic parameters from all the samples at site
particularly in the top 150 m. Probe data reveals smythite U1327C (IODP Expedition 311): (a) Day plot with MRS/MS
stoichiometry with Fe:S ranging from 0.81 to 0.86. Detrital as a function of HCR/HC in which the samples follow the
magnetite grains coexist with the iron sulphides, and they classic hyperbolic trend from coarse to fine magnetic grain
show no evidence of reactions rims or textures that would size. The colors of the dots represent the color proposed from
suggest that the adjacent iron oxide minerals are the source the magnetic susceptibility investigation in Figure 7. The size
for iron in the authigenic sulphide phases. of the dots corresponds to the magnetic susceptibility; (b)
Surprisingly, in the lower part of the section (below comparison of two magnetic grain size proxies: DJH versus
MRS/k with the colors and dot size following the magnetic
~150 m), the dominant texture of smythite is as clusters of
susceptibility intensity shown in Figure 7. Two trends are
blades and bodies of coalesced needles up to 20 microns
clearly observed with the blue trend for the detrital magnetite
across (Figure 10d,e,f), which are interpreted to be respon-
deposits (dropstone events) and the iron sulphide trend from
sible for the strong single-domain magnetic characteristics.
ferrimagnetic iron sulphide (red/green dots in clay layers) to
Similar textures were described from samples collected at pyrite (orange/black dots in more or less silty layers).
Hydrate Ridge, further south off Oregon during ODP Leg
204 (Figure 10g-k, Larrasoana, 2007).
Discussion of marine gas-hydrate Diagenetic growth of authigenic minerals was concentrated

magnetism in horizons adjacent to the main accumulations of gas hy-
drate. Iron sulphides often have bacterial textures, however
We propose the same mechanism for magnetic mineral the more strongly affected sediments hold blades of authi-
diagenesis in the marine setting as in the permafrost set- genic iron sulphides, which grew very quickly, probably
ting. The main differences concern the original detrital ma- through a forced or supersaturated inorganic precipitation.
terial and the composition of the pore waters in the basin. Clay rich layers seem to play the role of a sponge during
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 211 9/17/10 8:13:22 PM

Figure 10. Photomicrographs, using combined transmitted and reflected light, with bright, highly reflective, diagenetic iron
sulphide minerals introduced adjacent to gas-hydrate-bearing sediments. Sample numbers, scale bars, magnetic parameters, and
minerals are labeled on each photo. Mineral abbreviations: ferrimagnetic iron sulphide (FIS), –magnetite (Mt), –pyrite (Py),
–smythite (Smy), and –greigite (Gr). Textures of introduced sulphides range from infilling to displacive of primary sediment:
(a) en echelon gash fracture with fine-grained FIS and coexisting unaltered magnetite, (b) multiple vein, (c) infilled foraminifer,
(d) needles perpendicular to fracture fill, (e) needles rimming primary grain, (f) blades piercing silt, (g) large composite
authigenic grain, (h) blade piercing sand, (i) blades, (j) framboids, and (k) blades. Note that thin sections (a) through (f) are
from IODP Expedition 311. Thin sections (g) through (k) are from ODP Leg 204 (Larrasoana et al., 2007), and we reinterpret
their pyrrhotite to be smythite. Used by permission.
solute exclusion. Brine solutions form because of solute Synthesis and Conclusion
exclusion during gas-hydrate formation leading to greigite/
smythite precipitation in presence of bacteria and high flux The diagenesis of sediments associated with gas-
of methane. hydrate deposits gives rise to a geologically unique set of
Such altered layers are also observed below the mod- physical properties. Acoustic, geomagnetic, geoelectric,
ern bottom of the gas-hydrate stability zone (BGHSZ). and thermal properties all change in the vicinity of gas-
Confronted by similar data from the ODP Leg 204 sites, hydrate deposits. Some of these depend on changes to pore
Larrasoana et al. (2006) and Larrasoana et al. (2007) attri- filling compositions (e.g., fresh water, brine, gas hydrate,
bute the diagenesis to deeper fossil gas-hydrate layers from permafrost water ice, and free methane gas). Other physi-
a time when the BGHSZ extended deeper than today. The cal properties depend on changes in thermal conditions,
present study adds two features to the analysis: a refined porosity, permeability, mineral cements, and fractures.
method to recognize sediments that contain authigenic iron From petrographic evidence on textures and mineralogy,
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectthe diagenetic
to SEG effects
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sulphides and a geochemical model in which diagenesis is
selectively concentrated in layers that are adjacent to the crystallization or introduction of new diagenetic minerals.
locations of gas-hydrate accumulation. It is not surprising, therefore that whereas some sediments
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 212 9/17/10 8:13:46 PM

exhibit the original magnetic properties of fine grained de- carbonates and interlayered compacted but uncemented
trital magnetite, others exhibit dominance of introduced recessive plastic shales. In contrast, gas-hydrate-bearing
ferrimagnetic iron sulphides like greigite and smythite. sections concentrate the greatest mineral diagenesis in
These phenomena produce physical property variations the fine grained and less permeable beds adjacent to gas-
that can be applied to develop a fine scale stratigraphic hydrate deposits.
correlation tool and a geophysical method to detect gas- Diagenesis in the gas-hydrate environment is textur-
hydrate accumulations and to identify the effects of gas- ally striking. Unconsolidated sediments (which should
hydrate formation. have low tensile strength) are often cut by fractures that
Bulk magnetic properties mostly depend on the con- are filled by secondary diagenetic cements including cal-
centration and grain size of the iron bearing minerals, their cite, dolomite, siderite, and pyrite. Veins cut veins and
crystal structures, and their oxidation states. Because of both the original detrital particles and earlier vein mate-
abundant free oxygen, the bulk of the hydrosphere and rial are shattered and cut by subsequent vein infillings.
top of the sediment column are relatively oxidized. Be- Such textures are far more typical of hydrothermal set-
neath the sediment water interface, high organic matter tings with water boiling to steam than they are for uncon-
content within the sediment enhances reduction of iron solidated sediments that have never seen the high side of
bearing minerals and thus introduces profound changes 30°C. In the gas-hydrate setting, the tensional environ-
to bulk magnetic properties. Methane collects in pore flu- ment is caused by the overpressure induced by the volume
ids within the gas-hydrate stability field until the phase increase upon freezing and the expulsion of pressurized
change occurs, which form gas hydrate. Sediments in the highly saline brines.
more porous and permeable layers quickly become filled When gas hydrate forms, it selectively occupies the
with and cemented by gas hydrate. This process can result most available pore space, cementing the unconsolidated
in alteration of primary depositional textures by inflation sediment into a frozen impermeable rock. The freezing
of the sediment beyond its primary porosity by cryotur- front associated with the gas-hydrate formation serves two
bation disrupting primary sedimentary layers and by the purposes in this unique diagenetic setting. Because the gas
formation of complex gas-hydrate-filled fractures, which hydrate mostly consists of pure water, any dissolved sol-
can then accumulate or buoyantly rise up to pierce the ute ions are expelled as a brine front, which spreads as the
seafloor. freezing front expands, giving rise to a phenomenon termed
The phase change that forms the clathrate stores both solute exclusion (Jenner et al., 1999). Second, the gas hy-
methane and pure water as layers, veins, or zones of gas- drate occupies more volume than the original pore fluid, so
hydrate cements. These hydrate cements in turn act as it creates a tensional environment and opens fractures lead-
barriers to further fluid migration, including acting as a ing away from the gas hydrate. As the gas-hydrate deposit
cap rock to form traps for free gas. The build up of meth- itself is frozen shut, the brines can only move into adjacent
ane pressure additionally creates a reducing geochemi- silts with their lower permeabilities or along newly opened
cal environment, which for reasons of both inorganic and tensile fractures. These brines have greatly increased ionic
bacterially mediated chemical processes, gives rise to strengths compared with the pore fluids from which they
reduced iron sulphide and carbonate cements. Both the were derived. Thus, they can hit the solubility limits for di-
introduced gas-hydrate deposits and the mineral cements valent metal cations with carbonate and sulphide anions,
frequently coincide with the disappearance of sulphate giving rise to sudden episodes of cementation.
anions in pore waters and the creation of colonies of sul- These diagenetic reactions related directly to gas-hy-
phate-reducing bacteria. drate formation significantly alter the magnetic mineral-
The gas-hydrate setting produces a sort of inversion ogy of the sediments. Thus, down hole or laboratory based
to the profile for low temperature diagenesis compared magnetic observations can be used to map the locations
with that produced in typical unconsolidated sediments. and extent of the alteration. Future work should include re-
Normally, pore fluids selectively move through the most fining the model of diagenesis in gas-hydrate-bearing sedi-
permeable beds. The ion flux concentrates diagenetic ef- ments by observing the similarities and contrasts in diverse
fects of new authigenic mineral growth in the pore throats geologic settings. Particularly important is the examina-
and pore linings of clastic sediments or in larger cavities tion of diagenesis in cold vents because a large proportion
in fossiliferous or carbonate layers. Meanwhile, whereas of methane flux occurs through these ephemeral features.
many pore volumes of fluid have transited the porous Magnetic methods provide a useful tool to locate fos-
formation, transforming its mineralogy and lithifying it, sil cold vents, some of which may host large gas-hydrate
the adjacent silt or clay rich layers may be compacted but accumulations. These studies show that magnetic survey
generally retain much of their original pore fluid and espe- techniques can be adapted to technically difficult, deepwa-
cially their unconsolidated and uncemented nature. Thus, ter or permafrost settings, to help in the exploration of gas-
a typical log profile displays resistant lithified sands or hydrate deposits.
02181_SEG_GH_C13.indd 213 9/17/10 8:13:50 PM

Acknowledgments Collett, T. S., R. E. Lewis, and S. R. Dallimore, 2005,

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Chapter 14
Infrared Imaging of Gas-hydrate-bearing Cores: State of the Art

and Future Prospects
Philip Long1, Melanie Holland2, Peter Schultheiss2, Michael Riedel3, Jill Weinberger4, Anne Tréhu5, and
Herbert Schaef 1
Abstract is minimized, some inevitably occurs, but the endothermic

nature of gas-hydrate dissociation (Sloan, 1997) can be
Modern digital infrared (IR) thermal imaging of re- exploited by using the loss of gas hydrate during dissocia-
covered sediment cores is a technical development that tion and its measurable temperature anomaly to determine
opens new scientific opportunities for studying gas-hydrate the gas-hydrate distribution within the sediments. Accu-
abundance and texture. Data derived from thermal imaging rately measuring the temperature of cores upon recovery
of gas hydrates provide an entirely new and independent and identifying relatively cold regions allows dissociating
proxy for gas-hydrate abundance in marine sediments. The gas hydrate to be quickly identified. Often such thermal
information on gas-hydrate distribution at the core scale anomalies are the only means of differentiation between
can be used to assess gas-hydrate resources and to con- gas-hydrate-bearing sediments and nongas-bearing back-
strain the processes resulting in formation of gas hydrate. ground sediments, the distinction between which is crucial
IR imaging has also become an indispensable guide for for subsampling and further studies. The distribution and
sample collection of gas-hydrate and pore water samples. magnitude of these negative thermal anomalies allows for
Future development of IR imaging techniques and analyses estimates of the total quantity of gas hydrate in the core
promises automated estimation of gas-hydrate abundance (e.g., Tréhu et al., 2004), and a detailed thermal analysis of
and characterization of textures immediately after acquir- the anomalies can show the exact location of the gas hydrate
ing IR scans of cores. relative to sedimentary and other geologic structures (Tréhu
et al., 2003; Riedel, 2006a). In gas-hydrate research, where
a complete understanding of the system requires multiple
Introduction and Background lines of evidence, thermal data is one of the most directly
interpretable for wireline retrieved core samples and has
Gas hydrate, a naturally occurring clathrate unstable proven invaluable on several recent marine gas-hydrate drill-
at surface temperature and pressure conditions, dissociates ing expeditions (Trehu et al., 2003; Riedel et al., 2006a).
during core recovery and processing. Considerable effort is Initial attempts to utilize the endothermic property of
made to minimize this dissociation in order to preserve the gas-hydrate dissociation were made during Ocean Drilling
hydrate for estimating the resource potential of a site and Program (ODP) Leg 164 to Blake Ridge, a drift deposit off
for studies of the processes that control hydrate formation the east coast of the United States (Paull et al., 1996). Low
and distribution in the host sediment. Although dissociation temperature thermal anomalies were identified using both
individual thermocouples and thermocouple arrays on split
1
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington.
cores. Whereas hydrate bearing sediments were success-
E-mail: philip.long@pnl.gov fully identified using this approach, the time required for
2
Geotek Limited, Daventry, Northants, United Kingdom handling thermocouples and their response time and their
3
Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada–Pacific, limited spacing throughout the core reduces the effective-
4 Downloaded
Borehole Research Group, 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50.
Lamont-Doherty Redistribution subject toness
Earth Observatory
of this
SEG license approach,
or copyright; Terms ofparticularly because rapid processing
5
College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State of cores is needed to preserve any remaining gas hydrate in
University, Corvallis, Oregon LN2 (liquid nitrogen) or in pressure vessels.
217
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 217 9/17/10 8:05:39 PM

continues to fall, gas hydrate is still present. For cores of

marine sediments drilled by the JOIDES Resolution, tem-
peratures of gas-hydrate-bearing zones are commonly still
declining when cores arrive on the catwalk. Similar obser-
vations have been reported in the literature by others exam-
ining marine sediments containing gas hydrate (Sultan et al.,
2004). These findings are consistent with direct observation
of significant amounts of gas hydrate visually observed in
these cores. The abundance of hydrate remaining in cores
arriving at the catwalk makes it possible to actually collect
data over a significant portion of the dissociation process,
ultimately enabling the linkage of gas-hydrate abundance
and the thermal data collected with the IR camera.
Moreover, the spatial resolution of these cameras
(commonly 240 3 320 pixels or greater) enables the direct
Figure 1. Typical IR thermal imaging camera, circa 2002 observation of gas-hydrate textures down to the subcenti-
(model FLIR SC 2000). Used by permission (after ODP). meter scale. As typically configured for imaging of cores
on the JOIDES Resolution, one pixel is approximately 0.7
3 0.7 mm. The maximum spatial resolution is governed
Infrared (IR) digital imaging of sediment cores repre- by the closest focus of the specific camera and lens. With
sents a significant advancement over thermocouple arrays some camera and lens combinations, it would be possi-
by allowing for a continuous, high-resolution complete core ble to achieve resolutions on the order of 0.25 mm. Tex-
thermal scan to be conducted and stored over a period of tural analysis of gas hydrate and its distribution relative
minutes. This short time also allows for repeat scans on hy- to geologic structures is also important for understanding
drate rich sections of the core. Specifically, digital IR ther- the geohazard threat posed by gas hydrates (e.g., Sultan
mal imaging cameras provide: (1) instantaneous image data et al., 2004) as well as their resource potential.
collection (e.g., 1664 quantitative IR images at 60 frames As a result of the near-perfect match of data need and
per second); (2) the ability to collect and store arbitrarily IR imaging technology development, the potential impor-
large amounts of thermal data (nearly continuous imag- tance of IR imaging to research on natural gas hydrate
ing of more than 3 km of gas-hydrate-bearing hemipelagic was recognized, and various recommendations were made
marine sediments were acquired on ODP Leg 204 (Tréhu to incorporate IR thermal imaging into protocols for core
et al. 2003); (3) quantitative to semiquantitative temperature processing (Holditch and Emrys, 2002). The first attempt
estimates for each pixel (pixel-to-pixel thermal resolution of to systematically image gas-hydrate-bearing core occurred
0.0258C to 0.18C); (4) video data capture if needed; and (5) during ODP Leg 201 on the Peru margin (Ford et al., 2003)
extensive postcollection, image processing to display quan- and was followed quickly by the extensive IR data set on
titative temperature data in the manner most suited to the hydrate-bearing cores acquired during ODP Leg 204 (Tréhu
user’s needs. Because of these capabilities, handheld and et al., 2003; Rothwell and Rack, 2006). The data from Leg
track mounted IR thermal imaging cameras (Figure 1) have 204 provided information on hydrate distribution, tex-
found a wide range of applications, including geoscience ture, and abundance at previously unseen levels of detail.
studies. For example, IR images of excavated unconsoli- Subsequent to ODP Leg 204, Integrated Ocean Drilling Pro-
dated sediments have been used to estimate properties such gram (IODP) Expedition 311 (Riedel et al., 2006a), Leg 1
as hydraulic conductivity or pore entry pressure by taking of the Joint-Industries-Project (JIP) for Gulf of Mexico gas
advantage of slight differences in temperature arising from hydrates, and Expedition 01 of the Indian National Gas
differences in evaporation rate associated with differences Hydrate Program (NGHP-01) have all included and im-
in water content (Long et al., 1996; Katra et al., 2006) dem- proved upon the IR image acquisition system.
onstrated estimation of the spatial distribution of soil mois-
ture using IR imaging, mapping the change in soil moisture
content on a microscale as a function of time. IR Thermal Imaging Principles
Gas-hydrate dissociation begins when the core sample
leaves the P-T space of hydrate stability. The thermal im- Digital IR thermal imaging cameras were developed
pact of dissociation accumulates in the core as a decrease out of the IR sensors originally created for heat-seeking
in T that continues until the rate of heat removal is less missile applications. Advances in IR imaging ultimately
than the rate of heat flow into the region containing gas hy- led to advances in other military applications such as night-
drate controlled by the ambient temperature and the ther- vision goggles and nondestructive testing. Infrared imaging
mal conductivity of the core. If the temperature of the core became commercially available starting in 1992 when the
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 218 10/8/10 9:44:06 PM

Chapter 14: Infrared Imaging of Gas-hydrate-bearing Cores: State of the Art and Future Prospects 219
U. S. government declassified the original microbolometer material property that must be determined empirically and
technology. IR imaging systems available prior to that had is typically measured assuming that (e) 5 1-reflectivity.
to be LN2 or Sterling engine cooled. The challenge was Emissivity of a wide range of manufactured materials is
to produce a scanning system or a planar array on the or- well known, whereas the variable composition and texture
der of 240 3 320 pixels of sensors that would respond to of naturally occurring (sediment or rock) materials makes
a limited range of photon energies or wavelengths (e.g., their emissivity more difficult to measure or to treat as a
3–12 μm), thus taking advantage of the fact that all objects constant. Ambient temperature, visible light intensity, and
emit infrared radiation (~0.750–350 mm) in proportion to relative humidity data can be logged at the time of each
their temperature. The underlying physics is based on the IR scan with data loggers positioned near the core in order
Stephan–Boltzmann law, which states that the amount to correct for variation in these parameters during postac-
of radiation given off by a body is proportional to the 4th quisition data analysis (Torres et al., 2008). Emissivities of
power of its temperature E* 5 sT 4; where E* is the amount actual sediments can be directly measured on actual cores
of radiation emitted by the body in Watts per square meter, s and thus can be reasonably well constrained.
is a constant (5.67 3 1028 Wm22K24), and T is the absolute
temperature of the body in Kelvin. Recognizing that real ob-
jects have emissivities (e) that are less than 1 (Kirchhoff’s
law, emitted radiation 5 adsorbed radiation•e) and that peak
Methods and Approaches
radiation shifts to shorter wavelengths and high intensity IR thermal imaging of sediment cores
with increasing temperature (Wien’s displacement law), it
is possible to use the intensity of the IR photons to estimate IR thermal imaging of sediment cores can be ap-
the surface temperature of any object on a pixel by pixel proached with varying levels of sophistication. For simple
basis. The routine sensitivity and accuracy of commercially decisions regarding the presence or absence of gas hydrate,
available IR thermal imaging cameras (Figure 1) is made manual operation of handheld IR cameras may suffice, but
possible by microbolometer focal plane arrays, which are most gas-hydrate coring projects can benefit from system-
thermometric devices used for the measurement of radiant atic collection of IR thermal images on every sediment
energy that are basically IR photon detectors. Cooled focal core recovered. Such comprehensive thermal data sets en-
plane arrays achieve pixel-to-pixel thermal resolution (sen- able estimation of gas-hydrate abundance throughout the
sitivity) of ~0.0258C. Uncooled arrays can provide thermal sedimentary formation. IR thermal imaging can also be
sensitivity as low as ~0.04 to 0.18 C. Microbolometers are combined with other techniques, such as pore water fresh-
typically set up in arrays and are based on vanadium ox- ening analysis to pinpoint gas-hydrate-bearing zones or
ide (Vox) as the IR-radiation sensitive element that changes layers within sediments (Ford et al., 2003). Current best
resistance in response to changing IR intensity (see www. practice combines IR thermal imaging on core liners fol-
infraredsolutions.com/html/technology/microbolometerF. lowed by IR thermal imaging of core ends and at slightly
shtml). A range of technologies are used including amor- later times IR thermal imaging of sectioned cores (second
phous silicon-based arrays (see www.ulis-ir.com/en/ scan), and in selected cases, direct imaging of the surfaces
bolometer-sensor.htm). Currently, high temperature su- of split cores.
perconductors are under development as ultrasensitive bo- In the ideal situation, multiple IR cameras are avail-
lometers (National Institute of Standards and Technology able, one used full-time to automatically collect IR images
and Conductus Inc., Sunnyvale, California) using yttrium- of entire cores (mounted on an IR thermal imaging track),
barium-copper-oxide thin film on an yttria-stabilized, free- another one for collecting core-end images and for verifi-
standing zirconia membrane. During Leg 204, Expedition cation of cold spots identified for the thermal imaging track
311, and NGHP-01 a FLIR SC-2000 IR imaging system and a third camera for analyzing split cores during subsam-
with a 240 3 3320 focal plane bolometer array and 0.18C pling for pore water chemistry or other analyses. Use of
thermal sensitivity was used to image the cores on deck. a handheld IR camera is straightforward, particularly if
A number of factors must be taken into account to the camera is self-contained and can record images with
obtain an accurate temperature measurement with an IR no umbilical cord attached to a power supply or computer.
camera, including proper focus, emissivity (e) of the tar- Images taken in this manner typically are not obtained for
get material, distance from the target, ambient temperature, quantification of temperature, but this certainly is pos-
relative humidity, and for some applications, wind because sible if the factors discussed in the previous section are
of its potential for modification of surface temperatures via observed. Typically, what is desired is rapid identification
evaporative cooling. After the camera has been properly fo- of cold spots in the core representing locations of hydrates
cused, the most important of these is the emissivity of the or where gas hydrates are dissociating. Direct viewing of
material, which is defined as the ratio of the total radiative a live temperature image in the camera viewfinder or at-
output from a body per unit time per unit area to that of a tached screen meets this need. Individual images can also
black body at the same temperature. Emissivity is a basic be recorded for later use. Recent work on IODP Expedition
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 219 9/17/10 8:06:01 PM

311 and the India NGHP Expedition 01 has demonstrated image of the core, and temperature data were extracted us-
the value of IR imaging as guide for subsampling cores ing Excel macros. Although this new system represented a
(Riedel et al., 2006a). dramatic improvement from that of Leg 201 and success-
fully imaged 3 km of core, there were still improvements
required. The largest problems were that individual images
Development of IR thermal were not registered to a common center, as the IR camera
imaging track could move relative to the core, and thus the core compos-
On ODP Leg 201, the first to attempt systematic imag- ite image could not be created automatically, and the ther-
ing of cores with an IR camera, the camera was mounted on mal environment along the core was poorly controlled.
a wheeled cart that maintained a constant distance between For JIP Leg 1, IODP Expedition 311, and India NGHP
the camera and the core liner, and images were acquired at Expedition 01, the IR thermal imaging approach was modi-
a fixed time interval as the camera moved along the core fied by GEOTEK Ltd. to provide better image registration
(Ford et al., 2003). Whereas this method proved success- and increased control over image collection, allowing auto-
ful overall, several limitations were noted, including inac- mated image concatenation and extraction of thermal pro-
curacy in spatial reconstruction of the core introduced by files for each core. The principal difference in approach was
operator inconsistency in moving the camera at a constant to have the IR camera ride on the core liner using a shielded
rate. This limitation was overcome on ODP Leg 204 by us- skate (Figure 4) attached loosely to a computer-controlled,
ing a computer-controlled overhead motorized track, de- stepper-motor driven belt fixed to a wall-mounted track.
veloped by TAMU to move the camera horizontally above This approach keeps the image of the core liner in a fixed
an intact core liner (Figure 2), acquiring images every 20 location in the camera image, facilitating automated image
cm (e.g., Figure 3). At the particular focal length used, the cropping and concatenation. The enclosed skate also helped
images covered 26 cm along the core liner, providing ap- to provide a consistent, repeatable thermal environment for
proximately 3 cm of overlap from one image to the next. thermal images. This current system has become an inte-
Images were stored for later analysis. During Leg 204, the gral part of marine gas-hydrate drilling expeditions, play-
images were concatenated by hand to create a composite ing an indispensable role in catwalk sample selection for
pore-water chemistry, gas sam-
pling, and microbiology. In ad-
dition, it provides a previously
unavailable data set for estimat-
ing gas-hydrate concentrations,
complementing pore-water
chemistry, pressure coring, and
resistivity logging.
Routine IR imaging
of sediment core in
plastic liners
The imaging of sediment
within its plastic core liner
should occur immediately after
core recovery in order to capture
the thermal signature of rapidly
dissociating hydrate, as well as
to facilitate core sampling and
hydrate preservation. Whole,
unsectioned core is placed on a
Figure 2. Track arrangement for automated collection of IR data on 9 m cores on the rack and wiped dry with cloths
drill ship JOIDES Resolution (Leg 204). (a) External view of the catwalk that housed to avoid inaccuracies introduced
the core processing rack and the IR camera track. (b) View of the catwalk from inside by evaporative cooling of water
on
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use:
showing overhead track, core rack, and a core in transit from the rig floor to the core the surface of the core liner,
http://segdl.org/
rack for imaging. (c) View of IR camera (inside aluminized cylinder) in position for and differences in emissivity be-
imaging a core (after ODP). Used by permission. tween water, core liner, and mud.
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 220 9/17/10 8:06:01 PM

Figure 3. Single IR thermal images of core liner illustrating texture differences. (a) Gas-hydrate vein with shallow dip.
(b) Gas-hydrate nodule. (c) Disseminated gas hydrate, and (d) nodular or blade-shaped. All examples from Leg 204, Hole
1248C. See text for additional information on abundance of various textures (after Tréhu et al., 2003). Used by permission.
The skate containing the IR camera is stationed at the top of helpful for tying the thermal data to the cores (see Linkage
the core, and the IR thermal scan is initiated using the menu- to pore water freshening data) and for determining whether
based control software. An image of IR reference standards any thermal anomalies are increasing in intensity and de-
is collected at the beginning of each scan for postcollection creasing in temperature (see Qualitative gas-hydrate distri-
image correlation. IR reference standards included black bution and morphological analysis from thermal data).
electrical tape, cardboard, and occasionally an ice-water
bath reference. The temperature of the standards was moni-
tored every 15 s with self-contained temperature logger. The Direct IR Imaging of
concatenated IR image of the core appears in real time, ac- Sediment Surfaces
companied by a virtual ruler to facilitate identification of the
depth of IR anomalies, on flat screens placed along the core. The direct imaging of sediment surfaces provides higher-
Ten meters of core can be imaged in less than 3 min. resolution images with larger temperature contrasts than
After the core has been sectioned, gas voids have been those taken of the core liner because the standard butyrate
collapsed, and samples have been taken, taking another core liners used by ODP and IODP are opaque in the 8–12
IR scan of the curated core (a second scan) is extremely mm wavelength range detected by the camera. Thus, all
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 221 9/17/10 8:06:08 PM

images of hydrate through

the core liner rely on trans-
ferring the thermal signa-
ture from the sediment onto
the liner itself. The two ap-
proaches to direct imaging
of sediment surfaces, (1)
imaging of core ends and (2)
imaging of longitudinally
split cores, are described in
the following sections.
IR imaging of cut
core ends
As soon as practical
after cutting the whole core
into sections, images of core
ends are taken on limited
basis, particularly if vis-
ible gas hydrate is present
Figure 4. IR camera skate used on JIP Leg 1, IODP Expedition 311, and India NGHP-01. (Figure 5). The cut core end
Both the handheld and skate-mounted cameras are shown. Note the wall-mounted track and images are invaluable for as-
wheels on the skate that allow the skate to travel along the core, maintaining a fixed position sessing the general thermal
of the IR camera relative to the core (after IODP Expedition 311, Riedel et al., 2006). Used status of the core interior
by permission. and the relationship between
gas-hydrate morphology and
distribution in the core and
the thermal anomaly on the liner surface.
We note that obtaining quantitative temperature esti-
mates from these images requires accurate focusing of the
camera, perpendicular to the core end, as well as knowledge
of the sediment and hydrate emissivities. Therefore, a sys-
tematic approach to collecting cut core end images in which
a cameral mount provided a fixed distance between the core
end and the IR camera lens and shielded both from stray IR
sources was used on IODP Expedition 311 and India NGHP-
01. This device facilitated accurate focus and speeded image
collection.
IR imaging of longitudinally split or

opened whole-round cores
IR imaging of longitudinally split or opened whole-
round cores is usually done for special purposes such as
sampling for pore water chemistry or for assessing the
detailed thermal structure and history of hydrate-bearing
cores. These images provide even more information on the
Figure 5. Thermal IR image of core end containing gas 3D structure of hydrate in the host sediment than do the
hydrate taken immediately after cutting of core section. core end images. Dedicated core sections must be provided
Image is from Leg 204 1245B-6H-5, top of section next to for such imaging; however, as the time constraints on split-
IW-3. Distance across core is 6.6 cm (after IODP Expedition ting or extruding the core for imaging typically prohibit
311, Riedel et al., 2006). Used by permission. subsequent preservation in LN2. Quantitative temperature
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 222 9/17/10 8:06:33 PM

estimates from longitudinally split or whole round cores Extraction of useful information from raw IR data sets
require the same control parameters as images of the core is accomplished by manipulation of individual thermal im-
ends. There are several gas-hydrate expeditions that uti- ages, essentially arrays of temperature values. Each image
lized this approach to core characterization. On the Mallik spans approximately 26 cm of core and consists of 320
2002 drilling on the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territo- by 240 pixels. Automatic data reduction from the current
ries, Canada, a permafrost hosted gas-hydrate site (Dalli- GEOTEK IR imaging system produces concatenated visual
more and Collett, 2005), all cores were split at low ambient images (bitmap format) for each core, including a virtual
temperatures (08C), and selected cores were imaged later ruler, and data arrays consisting of temperature data cor-
at room temperature (W. Winters, personal communica- responding to each pixel of the concatenated core image.
tion). On IODP Expedition 311 and India NGHP-01, direct If postcollection adjustments are necessary to the thermal
IR images of whole round cores containing gas hydrate image processing parameters (emissivity, ambient tempera-
were acquired from a tripod mounted over the core to en- ture, etc.), these corrections can be reapplied to the raw data
able steady, well focused images, perpendicular to the core from an entire core as a batch process and the concatenated
surface. This setup could be transferred to a glove bag if visual image and temperature data array are automatically
the scientific requirement was to link microbiology of sedi- regenerated. To generate downcore temperature profiles,
ments to gas-hydrate occurrence at a detailed scale. two along-core strips of data, one either side of the center of
the core, are averaged across-core, providing a single tem-
perature for each depth. Temperature data are consistently
Time-lapse imaging of sediment core extracted from the thermal images in this manner specifi-
cally to eliminate artifacts from the top of the core, where
Another approach to direct IR imaging of sediment cores the reflection of the IR camera increases the apparent tem-
is to collect time-lapse or full video data rate IR images of perature and the edges of the core, where temperature ap-
cores as gas-hydrate dissociation occurs. Such image se- pears artificially low due to the curvature of the core liner.
quences can be compared to visible light videos and can be
used to quantitatively track the thermal history of a longi-
tudinally sectioned core (Riedel et al., 2006b). Note that in Qualitative gas-hydrate distribution
this case and for core section ends, the newly exposed face and morphological analysis from
becomes a boundary condition at ambient air temperature, thermal data
impacting the temperature of the exposed sediment as time
progresses. Regardless, the presence of gas hydrate on or One of the most significant uses of IR imaging data
near the sediment surface can be tracked and the time of its is to address the question of how gas hydrate is distrib-
disappearance identified by the disappearance of increasingly uted in the subsurface. This question is important for un-
negative thermal anomalies in the image. This approach was derstanding the role gas hydrate plays as a geohazard as
used during IODP Expedition 311 and India NGHP-01 to well as its potential as a future energy source. Down-hole
characterize core sections measuring up to 30 cm in length. logs provide the only other continuous record of hydrate
distribution in the host formation, but even high-resolution
log data capture hydrate on a scales of centimeters to tens
Data Analysis and of centimeters (see logging chapter, this volume), whereas
Typical Results IR images record hydrate location on a centimeter to mil-
limeter scale depending on the technique used (see above).
Over the past five years, IR thermal imaging of gas- Figure 6 shows concatenated core liner images of cores
hydrate-bearing sediments has become standard practice recovered during IODP Expedition 311. Hydrate, as indi-
on marine gas-hydrate expeditions (Tréhu et al., 2003; cated by the blue/purple hues, is observed to occur rou-
Riedel et al., 2006a). The thermal data sets have been used tinely in zones <10 cm thick (Tréhu et al., 2003; Riedel
for both qualitative and quantitative estimates of hydrate et al., 2006a), zones that are difficult to distinguish with
abundance, morphological analyses of hydrate in the sub- any other proxy measurement of gas hydrate. A 9-m core
surface, constraining pore water freshening estimates from in a gas-hydrate-bearing zone commonly presents a few
hydrate dissociation, determining the extent to which cores thin zones of large negative ΔTs (zones of cooling relative
have warmed during their trip through the water column, to background temperatures, >2ºC), zones of intermediate
and guiding subsampling of hydrate for preservation and to low negative ΔT, areas of background temperature, and
future study. In the following sections, we discuss the ways zones of apparent high temperature. The high temperature
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject tozones areor copyright;
SEG license virtually always
Terms gas expansion voids that show
in which thermal imaging has advanced our understanding
of gas-hydrate systems, and we provide case studies for high temperatures because of the low thermal mass of gas,
further reading. allowing the core liner to reach near-ambient temperature
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 223 9/17/10 8:06:49 PM

pore-scale hydrate is not needed for mass balance, and in

fact, is not apparently present in the pressure cores. This
strongly suggests that the discrete hydrate features in IR
images from Leg 204 account for the bulk of gas hydrate
in the system at Hydrate Ridge. In contrast, a recent study
from IODP Expedition 311 (Malinvero, personal com-
munication) indicates that the bulk of the gas hydrate in
at least part of the Cascadia margin, offshore Vancouver
Island, cannot necessarily be accounted for by discrete gas-
hydrate features. Smaller scale features must contribute to
the overall gas-hydrate abundance at this site. This is true
in spite of clear control on localized hydrate concentrations
by grain size (higher concentrations of gas hydrate in sandy
zones; Tréhu et al., 2003). Whereas the bulk of the gas hy-
drate may not be truly pore scale for the dominant grain
size of these sediments, it does appear that hydrate occur-
rence in this area of the Cascadia margin is dominated by
gas-hydrate particles that are less than 1 mm in size. The
cause of the difference in these two examples and which
one dominates by globally remains to be resolved.
Examination of the distribution of gas hydrate from
thermal images of ODP Leg 204 cores also elucidated sub-
surface fluid flow patterns in a complex hydrogeologic set-
ting. Riedel et al. (2006a) correlated the locations of negative
temperature anomalies in the IR images to sediment distribu-
Figure 6. Concatenated IR images of a single core as tion in the cores. They found that the correlation between IR
displayed in the core-processing area, enabling sampling anomalies and thin (<0.5 cm) silt horizons increased from
decisions to be made based on gas-hydrate distribution. the sites on the flanks to those on the crest of Hydrate Ridge.
Backlit visible light images of the core liner are shown This result indicates that both lithology and geologic struc-
adjacent to the IR images. Note virtual ruler providing depth ture play a role in controlling hydrate distribution by provid-
information for each anomaly observed in the core. The entire ing permeable pathways along which methane bearing fluids
core image is broken into 1.5-m-long virtual sections (after migrate into the hydrate stability zone.
IODP Expedition 311). Used by permission. Thermal images can also be used to classify the
gas-hydrate textures contained within a core. The range of
gas-hydrate textures observed as thermal anomalies include
rapidly. Background zones (no thermal anomaly) either nodular, veins or lenses, and disseminated (see Figure 3).
lack gas hydrate, gas hydrate has dissociated and thermally For gas hydrate in direct contact with the core, the fidelity
equilibrated, or the abundance is so low that no thermal sig- of morphology as seen through the core liner is remarkable.
nature can be detected. Varying ΔTs can be detected down Dipping veins are clearly visible as are the size and shape
to ~0.258C and negative ΔTs are interpreted to indicate of nodules or other features down to approximately 0.5 cm.
varying concentrations of gas hydrate or varying scenarios As noted above, or the disseminated case, it is important to
in which nodules of gas hydrate are centered in the core reiterate that thermal diffusivity precludes distinguishing
liner. Additionally, small amounts of gas hydrate dissociate between an individual nodule of gas hydrate buried in the
resulting in a low thermal signature that produces a smaller interior of the core and a short section of core that has truly
ΔT than might otherwise be associated with that particular disseminated millimeter or smaller scale hydrate grains. At
gas-hydrate abundance. Quantitative assessment of gas-hy- this point it, is not known how common various morpholo-
drate abundance is discussed in the following section. gies are in marine sediments. For ODP Leg 204, however,
Tréhu et al. (2004) used the distribution of gas hydrate gas-hydrate textures were categorized and tabulated, with
observed in composite core images to assess the likelihood the overall results for sites 1246 and 1248 providing a sense
that a given number of hydrate lenses would occur in a me- of the range of abundances. For site 1246, disseminated gas
ter of core collected using a pressure coring device that pre- hydrate accounted for 76% of the anomalies, nodular 8%,
cluded direct IR thermal imaging. Results from this study and veins or lenses 16%. For site 1248, disseminated gas
suggest that methane gas from gas hydrate in at least some hydrate accounted for only 50% of the anomalies, nodular
marine hemipelagic sediments can be accounted for solely 26%, and veins or lenses 25% (see IR anomaly tables in
from discrete, mesoscopic hydrate features. Abundant [Tréhu et al., 2004]). It is important to reiterate that thermal
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 224 9/17/10 8:06:49 PM

anomalies classified as disseminated do not necessarily con- profiles have been used to provide quantitative estimates
tain pore scale gas-hydrate grains. They may either represent of gas-hydrate abundance. Temperature profiles are ex-
a zone in the core with numerous 1 to 3 mm sized grains or tracted from IR images following the method discussed
larger grains that are not in direct contact with the liner. previously. These estimates provide conservative lower
Comparison of IR data with logging-while-drilling bounds for the amount of gas hydrate in the core because
(LWD) resistivity for holes ranging from 6 to 25 m apart has the observed ΔTs do not always represent the maximum
provided insight gas-hydrate heterogeneity on meter to tens amount of cooling for a given section of core. On ODP
of meter length scales. For example, at site 1327 drilled on Leg 204, the downcore temperature profiles (generated
IODP Expedition 311, hole 1327A showed high resistivity by hand from the individual thermal images) were used
in the depth range 120 to 140 mbsf based on logging-while- to identify cold anomalies that were parameterized by ΔT
drilling results, indicating a 20-m-thick zone of concentrated (the difference in temperature between the cold anomaly
(nearly massive) gas hydrate. Hole 1327C showed only mi- and the background sediment temperature) and the width
nor IR anomalies over the depth range 132 to 160 mbsf with of the anomaly (Figure 7). ΔTs were related to gas-hy-
large concentrations of gas hydrate based on ΔT occurring drate concentrations by visual estimates of gas-hydrate
only in the depth range 152.5 to 155.0 mbsf. A third hole, abundance in cores with measured ΔTs and with a few
1327D, showed only on minor zone of IR anomalies at 157 spatially linked chloride analyses (Figure 8). The con-
to 158 mbsf. Wireline resistivity in a fourth hole (1327E) centrations were estimated in discrete ranges as follows:
lacked any high resistivity zone that would have indicated 0–18C ΔT 5 10% methane hydrate in pore space; 1–38C
high concentrations of gas hydrate (Torres et al., 2008). ΔT 5 30% methane hydrate in pore space, and >38C ΔT
These holes were all drilled approximately along a line with 5 50% methane hydrate in pore space. The concentra-
the following spacing: 1327A to 1327C, 6.3 m; 1327A to tions were then estimated for the thicknesses of core
1327D, 25 m; and 1327A to
1327E, 37.5 m. This hetero-
geneous distribution increases
the risk of submarine slope
failure from gas-hydrate dis-
sociation by creating concen-
trated horizons of gas hydrate
that have the potential to act
as weak layers if liquefied. At
the same time, the thin, widely
spaced horizons of gas hydrate
make the active margin envi-
ronment less attractive for de-
velopment of gas hydrate as
an energy resource because it
is difficult to target pay zones
over distances of even tens of
meters. Ultimately, systematic
comparison of multiple gas-
hydrate proxies will enable
optimal interpretation of both
marine and subpermafrost gas-
hydrate concentrations.
Quantitative
estimates of gas-
hydrate abundance Figure 7. Example IR images and down-core temperature profiles showing cold thermal
from thermal data anomalies and approach to ΔT estimation. (a) Concatenated IR images from one core.
(b) Downcore temperature profile generated from digital IR temperature data as described
I n a d d i t i o n tDownloaded
o t h e i 25
r Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
in the text. (c) IR images from multiple cores juxtaposed to core recovery plots. Note large
use as qualitative indica- numbers of high temperature voids in image compared to recovery plot. (d) Downcore
tors of gas-hydrate distribu- temperature data showing background temperature, voids, and cold anomalies used to
tion, downcore temperature estimate ΔT (after IODP Expedition 311). Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 225 9/17/10 8:07:01 PM

Figure 9). These observations are not well understood

but could reflect nonhydrate-related thermal effects from
escape of free gas or intrusion of cold seawater during
recovery of the core. However, the presence of a small
amount of metastable gas hydrate or structure II hydrated
cannot be entirely ruled out, but neither of these possibli-
ties has been confirmed by other observations.
Recently, we have developed two other approaches
for using IR data for quantitative estimation of gas-hydrate
concentration. In the first approach, the IR ΔTs are cali-
brated using chloride concentration data from pore water
Figure 8. Detailed spatial relationship between an individual samples collected at the same location in the core as the IR
IR anomaly and chlorinity measurements (Tréhu et al., 2003). anomaly, as described previously. This approach provides
Used by permission. a continuous function for estimating gas-hydrate concen-
tration: y 5 20.0311 3 21.569, where y is ΔT, and x
is the percentage of gas hydrate in pore space estimated
from chloride concentrations (Tréhu et al., 2004). The R2
(squared correlation coefficient) for this relationship is
0.4577, indicating significant scatter in the relationship,
but we anticipate that analysis of the core handling times
and thermal boundary conditions will allow us to reduce
the uncertainty in the equation.
A second approach to quantitative methane hydrate
estimation is direct use of downcore temperature data,
applying a simple thermodynamic approach in which
heat required from methane hydrate dissociation lowers
the temperature by an amount that is estimated from the
Gibbs free energy of the reaction and the thermal prop-
erties of the sediment. This algorithm produces estimates
Figure 9. Comparison of IR anomalies and Sw derived of gas-hydrate abundance, which compare favorably with
from LWD resistivity from Hole 1246B. Resistivity data are estimates from pore-water freshening analysis and pres-
plotted in terms of apparent Sw using Archie’s relation; the sure cores. The simplifying assumption of this approach
estimated hydrate concentration is 1.0 2 Sw (Tréhu et al. is that all gas hydrate instantaneously dissociates, and the
2003). Used by permission.
resulting removal of heat is fully reflected in the ΔT. This
assumption is likely valid only for relatively low amounts
of hydrate in pore space. If too low, however, the ΔT will
occupied by a given ΔT, and the total amount of meth- be lost during recovery of the core and undetectable by
ane hydrate was estimated for a complete core or hole by IR imaging. One location drilled during India NGHP-01
summing the volumes of gas hydrate so obtained (Paull appeared to meet this condition, and we suspect this ac-
et al., 1996). Figure 9 shows the assembled IR anomalies counts for its consistency with other estimates of gas-hy-
from a single cored borehole compared to Sw calculated drate abundance. For this model, we used 1 m of core and
from a nearby LWD borehole. The differences in Sw and calculated either the amount of hydrate that can account
the IR anomalies (Figure 9) are likely a combination of for an observed amount of cooling (ΔT) or the amount of
(1) a threshold value of a few percent of pore volume be- cooling predicted from a given amount of hydrate. Input
low which gas hydrate cannot be readily detected by IR, parameters are as follows, based on a specific section of
and (2) the difference in spatial resolution for the LWD core from the India NGHP-01:
resistivity tool (decimeter scale) and that for IR imag-
ing (subcentimeter scale). Because of the differenct scale ΔT, observed or calculated, °C
of measurement of the two methods, estimated hydrate Amount of hydrate in pore space (SH), input parameter
abundances are not expected to match perfectly at any or calculated, % of pore space
given depth even if the two measurements were other- Porosity of sediment (F, input variable, 64.54% for
wise identical. Note also that IR imaging shows a set of this case)
IR anomalies ~10 to 15 m below the BSR (lower part of Density of core (r, gcc21, 1.62 gcc21 for this case)
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 226 9/17/10 8:07:07 PM

Volume of 1 m of core (Vm, constant given core diam- Linkage to pore water freshening data
eter, 3421 cc)
Estimated grain heat capacity of the sediment (cg, 0.24 Prior to the routine use of thermal imaging, the pri-
calg218C21) mary way of identifying gas hydrate in marine sediments
was to look for pore fluid freshening or decreased chlorin-
SH is calculated as follows: ity, indicating the dissociation of gas hydrate (e.g., Torres
et al., 2008). The hydrate structure excludes salt during
VP 5 (Vm 3 F)/100 formation, leaving the water cages of the hydrate molecule
containing only fresh water. Upon dissociation pore fluids
Mc 5 F 3 Vm near hydrate become fresher than the surrounding pore
fluid. Until pore water sampling was combined with ther-
Energy (Ec) required to cool the sediment a given amount: mal imaging, however, little was known about how far the
freshened pore fluids extended away from dissociating gas
ca 5 [cg 3 (100 2 F)/100] 1 F/100 hydrate. The first attempts to identify the vertical extent
Ec 5 Ha 3 Mc 3 (ΔT) of freshening were made by combining IR images of split
core with detailed pore fluid sampling during ODP Leg
Ej 5 Ec 3 4.184 204 (Tréhu et al., 2003). The results of this study indicated
that pore fluid freshening occurs less than tens of centime-
Amount of hydrate in moles and ccs (Sm, Sv) required to ter away from the gas hydrate. This indicates a significant
absorb Ej: bias is likely in previous pore fluid based estimates of gas-
hydrate concentrations, as a substantial quantity of hydrate
Sm 5 Ej/54000 was likely missed during routine sampling of cores typi-
cally spaced meters to tens of meters apart.
Sv 5 Sm 3 124/0.91 As a result of the above studies, a protocol combining
IR thermal imaging of whole core, IR thermal imaging of
Amount of hydrate in core as % of pore space: split core, and pore water freshening analysis was devel-
oped and has been highly successful for identifying pre-
SH 5 (Sv 3 100)/VP, cisely which sedimentary layers contain gas hydrate. The
IR track system is first used to identify thermal anomalies
where in the whole core and selected whole-round core samples
containing anomalies (15 to 30 cm in length) are removed
VP 5 total volume of pore space in cc for detailed IR thermal imaging and pore-water chemistry
analysis. Optimally, samples selected for pore-water chem-
Mc 5 total mass of core
istry will include a range of ΔTs, including samples that
ca 5 average heat capacity for sediment are >1 m away from thermal anomalies. To define the parts
of the core containing hydrate on centimeter to millimeter
Ec 5 energy in calories scale, the sections of core in liner are opened and scraped
or split and live IR thermal imaging is used to detect cool
Ej 5 energy in joules material directly within the sedimentary structures of the
Sm 5 total amount of hydrate in core (moles) core. The core can then be precisely subsampled, enabling
comparison of the salinity and chlorinity of pore-water
Sv 5 total volume of hydrate in core (cc) from parts of the core with and without thermal anomalies.
On both IODP Expedition 311 and India NGHP-01, exten-
As an example, for the India NGHP-01 core we studied, sive use was made of this technique with as many as one
24°C ΔT implies 7.7% of pore space filled with gas hy- sample per 9 m core processed in this manner when drilling
drate. For this case, we also did sensitivity in which we in the gas-hydrate stability zone. These measurements have
varied the inputs by observed 1 sigma values of the under- defined limitations of pore-water chlorinity measurements
lying input data. The analysis shows that gas hydrate (SH) collected on a per core basis or at predetermined depths for
could be expected to range from 7.3% to 8.2% based on the detection of discrete zones or lenses of gas hydrate. More
variability of the input parameters. As another example of significantly, however, they have also demonstrated the
the reverse calculation, if we assume that 2.4% of the pore correlation between ΔTs and pore-water chlorinity (Torres
space is occupied by Downloaded
gas hydrate, we would
25 Jun 2012 predict
to 95.28.162.50. a ΔT of
Redistribution subject toet al.,
SEG 2008).
license ThisTerms
or copyright; correlation will allow quantitative appli-
21.2°C, again using the input parameters identified above. cation of ΔT data for estimation of gas-hydrate abundance.
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 227 9/17/10 8:07:09 PM

Thermal Imaging as a Guide warming. See, for example, the margins of the core in
Figure 5. Core handling times prior to sampling are
for Subsampling obviously critical, but in some instances ( e.g., core re-
Thermal imaging has proven invaluable for guiding trieval through a relatively warm water column), warm-
subsampling of cores for gas hydrate. As a practical matter ing above 108C may be difficult to prevent even in the
for most marine coring expeditions, the initial sampling center of the core.
decisions center around sampling for the preservation of
gas hydrate in LN2 or pressure vessels, sampling for pore
water chemistry, and other sample uses, which may or Problems and Issues with
may not be located in or near gas hydrates. Samples se-
lected for gas-hydrate preservation will typically be from
Thermal IR Data
parts of the core exhibiting large (>28C) negative thermal Digital thermal IR cameras are a remarkable combina-
anomalies. tion of technologies that can produce incredibly accurate
Rapid subsampling typically relies on the whole core temperature data in an image format. However, a few criti-
scans, although systematic collection of core end thermal cal factors must be considered before accurate temperature
images indicates that dissociating gas hydrate has to be in data applicable to gas-hydrate location and concentration
contact with the inside of the liner in order for a significant can be obtained.
ΔT to develop on the outside of the liner. This conclusion
is based on core-end images with centimeter-sized hydrate 1) IR camera must be in focus. If the IR camera is not in
features that produced no IR anomaly on the liner surface focus, the hottest and coldest points in the image will
because it was located away from the liner within the sedi- be lost, averaged with other portions of the image. As
ment of the core (Figure 5; Tréhu et al., 2004). Conversely, with optical cameras, the overall effect will be a blur-
core-end images with gas-hydrate features in contact with ring and loss of contrast; also as with optical cameras,
the core liner were associated with major IR anomalies there is no satisfactory data recovery once an out-of-fo-
on the liner images. Hydrate features buried in the inte- cus image is captured. Thermal anomalies could easily
rior of cores do produce IR anomalies in later IR scans, be missed in an out-of-focus thermal image. The cam-
however, if they are taken. Because of thermal diffusion, era focus should be confirmed before each use, some-
these anomalies tend to be diffuse and cannot be readily thing that is particularly important for taking handheld
distinguished from those caused by disseminated hydrate gas-hydrate images. For track-mounted IR cameras,
in contact with the liner. The exception occurs later, dur- the focus should remain fixed and correct once set, but
ing a secondary IR scan when the disseminated gas hydrate this still needs to be checked periodically.
in contact with the liner dissociates leaving behind inner 2) Emissivity must be known or measured. Assigning
core gas hydrate, which will eventually make its thermal the correct emissivity to some measured surfaces can
imprint on the liner. be problematic. As a practical matter, direct estima-
tion of emissivity is generally readily made using an
IR thermal imaging camera and materials of known
Constraining the extent of temperature emissivity (for example, black electrical tape has e 5
change in cores during recovery 0.95 to 0.97). The electrical tape is thermally equili-
brated on the surface of the material of interest, and
Direct images of the core section ends are useful in then the object emissivity in the camera software is
determining the extent to which cores have warmed dur- adjusted until the temperature of the unknown mate-
ing their trip through the water column, information cru- rial matches the temperature of the electrical tape at
cial for microbiological studies. Extensive imaging of its known emissivity. This works relatively well for
core ends on ODP Leg 204, IODP Expedition 311, and plastic core liner, which tends to have an emissivity
India NGHP-01 demonstrate both the occurrence of gas very close to the electrical tape standard; again, care
hydrate in sediments and significant warming of cores must be taken that it is the liner that is imaged and
that do not contain gas hydrate. Consistent warming of not a water or mud coating. Estimating the emissivity
several degrees by the time microbiological sampling of a raw sediment surface is more difficult because
occurs is common. D’Hondt et al. (2003) tracked core it is impacted by changes in grain size, grain miner-
warming using IR imaging on Leg 201 with the objective alogy, surface water content, and surface roughness.
of minimizing warming above 108C prior to sampling. However, data on emissivity of sediments under dif-
Core end images demonstrate the importance of sub- ferent conditions are being routinely collected on gas-
sampling the center of cores to minimize the extent of hydrate drilling cruises so there is a growing body of
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 228 9/17/10 8:07:10 PM

information. Of key importance is recognition that correction will need to be applied to the edges of the
emissivity may be different within different regions unwrapped image.
of a single image. Hence, it may be necessary to use
multiple emissivity values to get accurate tempera-
tures for different parts of an image. Emissivity val- Future Directions
ues we have obtained for materials important to IR
analysis of gas-hydrate-bearing cores are as follows: IR thermal imaging has been rapidly established as a
butyrate core liner: 0.95; wet to damp hemipelagic key technique for on-site identification of the location of
sediment from Hydrate Ridge in the Cascadia accre- gas hydrate in cores to facilitate sampling and as a proxy
tionary wedge: 0.87. for quantification of gas-hydrate abundance, at least in
3) Depth shifts due to gas expansion cracks. Thermal im- hemipelagic marine sediments. However, available tech-
ages are generally collected as soon as cores are re- nology for IR thermal imaging and data processing have
covered, that is, before the core is curated by cutting a yet to be fully exploited. We suggest that IR thermal imag-
core several meters long into 1 to 1.5 m sections. The ing of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments could be improved in
depths of features in thermal images are often difficult the future by (1) full circumference imaging, (2) automated
to reconcile with depths in the curated core, especially detection and virtual removal of voids, (3) automated
if gas expansion voids are present. Some of these issues generation of downcore temperature plots, (4) real-time
can be addressed by performing second, and in some estimation of gas-hydrate abundance, and (5) use of hyper-
cases, third scans on core sections after they are cut and spectral IR cameras to broaden the interpretation and range
gas expansion cracks removed by recompressing cores. of use for IR data. These improvements will allow more
Second scan data has proved to be crucial to relating effective collection and analysis of IR data as well as better
thermal anomalies from gas hydrate to other features in integration of IR data with other data sets.
the core such as basal sand layers in turbidite sequences
(Weinberger et al., 2005). In contrast, the IR data on Full circumference imaging
initial scans are depth-shifted caused by gas expansion
cracking. Most recently, we have linked samples col- To date, only about one third of the full circumference
lected for pore water geochemistry to IR images and of cores has been effectively imaged. Time constraints im-
curated section depths to address this problem ship- posed by the desire to rapidly process and preserve gases,
board. However, caution is still warranted when using gas hydrate, and pore water in the cores prevented time-
downcore temperature plots generated from initial IR consuming rescans of cores at two additional orientations
scans of entire cores. Depending on the amount of void 1208 apart. However the full data collection rate available
space created by gas expansion in given core, depth even in the cameras available in 2002 was not exploited.
shifts between the location of first scans and the curated With full use of the maximum data rate and the use of mul-
depth of that same location in core sections may be as tiple IR cameras, it should be possible to image the full cir-
great as ~1 m, but typically are less than a few tens of cumference of cores as cores are transported onto the deck
centimeters. or a catwalk from the drill floor. Rapid, full circumference
4) Orientation and topography of imaged surfaces impacts imaging opens a number of new possibilities for use of IR
temperature estimates. The orientation and topography data. First, all images can be concatenated and displayed
of surfaces imaged using IR cameras affects the tem- as wrapped cylinders, permitting direct comparison with
perature estimate. Typically, pit or holes in a surface resistivity images from the same or nearby boreholes. Sec-
produce a lower temperature estimate because the ther- ond, the absolute dips or rakes of gas-hydrate lenses can
mal photons are likely to be absorbed on the sides of be estimated. Further, if cores can be oriented even rela-
the pit, and relatively little surface area for thermal tive to one another (generally possible with many coring
emission is available to the camera lens. Similarly, ap- systems), the relative or absolute strikes of lenses can be
parent slight decreases in temperature are observed for obtained. This will lead directly to determining the im-
the limbs of curved surfaces to steep angles in which portance of structural control on gas-hydrate distribution.
the estimated temperatures become cold because the Full circumference imaging will also facilitate estimation
surface emits thermal photons away from as opposed to of gas-hydrate abundance in real time by enabling use of
toward the camera. The limb of the round core surface image analysis to calculate percentage of core surface area
is therefore purposefully excluded from the downcore occupied by thermal anomalies (see following section for
thermal estimates. If core image unwrapping is further discussion of real-time estimation of gas-hydrate
performed for future analyses (see following section) abundance). Finally, one can envision systems that would
to maximize available information from images, then a automatically mark the liners to provide immediate visual
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 229 9/17/10 8:07:10 PM

identification of gas-hydrate-bearing zones to facilitate based the relationship of ΔT to gas-hydrate abundance on

rapid sampling. a pixel-by-pixel basis. This calculation could be further
improved by introducing thermal corrections based on for-
ward modeling of water temperature profiles and handling
Automated detection and virtual times on the rig floor prior to IR imaging. With appropri-
removal of voids ate linkage of core collection and handling data from the
rig floor to the IR imaging results, gas-hydrate abundance
Sediments containing gas hydrate usually also contain could be estimated on a whole core or on a meter-by-me-
large quantities of dissolved gases, which exsolve during ter basis immediately after completion of the IR scan. Fur-
core recovery and create gaps or voids in the sediment thermore, it would be possible to create key statistics on
cores. These gas voids quickly reach ambient temperature. number, size, and shapes of individual anomalies.
Ambient temperature typically is warmer than the sedi- Another approach to estimating gas-hydrate abundance
ment, thus the voids appear to be warm zones in the in- is the simple thermodynamic calculation discussed previ-
frared image. These zones are readily distinguished from ously. This approach could provide a lower bound for the
gas-hydrate dissociation signatures but cause difficulty in amount of gas hydrate present in a core and be compared
depth registration if the curated cores have the voids physi- directly to the estimate provided by the ΔT— gas-hydrate
cally removed by pushing sediment back together (which correlation derived from chlorinity data. Such a calcula-
is standard practice in order to minimize material costs and tion assumes that all cooling in the core is from gas-hydrate
core storage space). Automated virtual removal of these dissociation and that the background core temperature
voids, which can be millimeters to meters long, would al- (temperature if no gas hydrate were present) is known. Re-
low better quantitative estimates of gas-hydrate abundance. quired parameters for this calculation are the magnitude and
Whereas it might be possible to identify gas voids from volume of thermal anomalies and the heat capacity of the
their sharp edges in a thermal image, an alternative method sediment. This calculation could be improved by 3D visual-
of automated void removal involves simultaneous imaging ization of the core and by estimating any heat transfer that
with a visible camera. If the core is appropriately lit during may have taken place during core recovery.
image collection, the concatenated visual image can be au-
tomatically converted to a black and white image and used
as a mask for the IR data.
Use of hyperspectral IR cameras
State-of-the-art IR thermal imaging cameras are sensi-
Automated generation of downcore tive over a specific spectral range ( e.g., 8–12 μm). However,
temperature plots new imaging capability is becoming commercially available
One of the standard outputs of IR imaging data starting that permits collection of an entire spectrum at each pixel
with Leg 204 is a downcore temperature plot (see Figure (e.g., Institute for Technology Development hyperspec-
7). These plots are generated from concatenation of indi- tral cameras using prism-grating-prism [PGP] method for
vidual images that even as recently as India NGHP-01 still high-resolution spectral imagery). This type of data allows
require considerable manual data processing. A standard- for analysis of mineralogy simultaneously with thermal
ized data processing protocol for image concatenation and information, suggesting that it may be possible to directly
processing that would yield to a complete downcore tem- link occurrence of gas hydrate with lithologic features if
perature plot would make it possible for on-site scientists hydrate-containing sediments are imaged directly. Analyz-
to focus on data interpretation. Combining this capability ing this type of data is challenging, typically requiring an
with full circumference imaging would also make it pos- algorithm for extracting specific data features and ground-
sible to more accurately portray the depth and ΔT of ther- truthing by discrete sampling and sedimentologic descrip-
mal anomalies. tion. Exploratory approaches used to date on archived core
samples is to identify spectral regions that show the most
difference from one part of the image to another and dis-
Real-time estimation of gas-hydrate play either the spectral difference or the spectral intensity
abundance for that region. Spectral differences in one test case were
spatially associated with areas of the core known to have
IR imaging has, until now, been used to estimate vol- contained gas hydrate when the core was obtained as a pres-
umes of gas hydrate using the ΔT parameter (Tréhu et al., sure core. This result suggests that there is some character-
2003) and the length of core occupied
Downloaded by
25 Jun 2012 to thermal subjectistic
a givenRedistribution
95.28.162.50. oflicense
to SEG the orcore in which
copyright; gashttp://segdl.org/
Terms of Use: hydrate formerly was present
anomally. Full circumference imaging would make it pos- that is detected by the spectral data. Whereas this data and
sible to more accurately calculate gas-hydrate abundance its interpretation are preliminary, it illustrates the potential
02181_SEG_GH_C14.indd 230 9/17/10 8:07:10 PM

power of hyperspectral IR data. Clearly, the possibilities for D’Hondt, S., B. B. Jørgensen, D. J. Miller, and the Ship-
use of hyperspectral IR data are significant and provide an board Scientific party, 2003, Proceedings of the ODP,
opportunity to develop the next generation imaging capabil- Initial Reports 201 (CD-ROM), 1–103.
ity for analysis of gas hydrate in sediment cores. Ford, K. H., T. H. Naehr, C. G. Skilbeck, and the Leg 201
Scientific party, 2003, The use of infrared thermal im-
aging to identify gas hydrate in sediment cores, Pro-
Conclusions ceedings of the ODP, Initial Reports, in S. L. D’Hondt,
B. B. Jorgensen, D. J. Miller, I. W. Aiello, B. Bekins,
Modern digital IR thermal imaging cameras have R. Blake, B. A. Cragg, H. Cypionka, G. R. Dickens,
opened new scientific opportunities for studying gas-hy- T. Ferdelman, K. Ford, G. L. Gettemy, G. Guèrin, K.-U.
drate abundance and texture in recovered sediment cores. Hinrichs, N. Holm, C. House, F. Inagaki, P. Meister,
Data derived from thermal imaging of gas hydrates provide R. M. Mitterer, T. Naehr, S. Niitsuma, R. J. Parkes, A.
a wholly new and independent proxy for gas-hydrate abun- Schippers, C. G. Skilbeck, D. C. Smith, A. J. Spivack,
dance in marine sediments. The information on gas-hydrate A. Teske, and J. Wiegel, eds., Proceedings of the ODP,
distribution at the core scale can be used to assess gas-hy- Initial Reports 201, http://dx.doi.org/10.2973/odp.
drate resources and to constrain the processes resulting in proc.ir.201.2003, accessed 11 July 2010.
the formation of gas hydrate. Current and future develop- Holditch, S. A., and J. Emrys, 2002, Results, from the data
ment of IR thermal imaging cameras and automated ther- collection workshop, modeling workshop, and drilling
mal image collection systems will result in unparalleled and coring methods workshop as part of the joint in-
information on the abundance and distribution of gas hy- dustry participation (JIP) project to characterize natural
drate and enable optimal sampling strategies based on near gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, http://
real-time information. www.osti.gov/energycitations/servlets/purl/823392-
mZ6pgv/native/, accessed 11 July 2010.
Katra, I., D. G. Blumberg, H. Lavee, and P. Sarah, 2006,
Acknowledgments A method for estimating the spatial distribution of
soil moisture of arid microenvironments by close
We thank Frank Rack formerly of Joint Oceanographic range thermal infrared imaging: International Jour-
Institutions (JOI) for his support of the concept and imple- nal of Remote Sensing, 27, no. 12, 2599–2611,
mentation of IR thermal imaging of gas-hydrate bearing doi:10.1080/01431160500522684.
cores. Without his vision of the value of IR thermal im- Long, P. E., H. P. Foote, S. M. Goodwin, C. S. Kimball, C. J.
aging to Leg 204, the initial use of this technology would Murray, J. L. Wilson, and R. G. Taylor, 1996, Use of ul-
have been postponed. We also thank the U. S. Department trasensitive infrared imaging to provide detailed perme-
of Energy, National Gas Hydrate Research Program for ability estimates for microbial transport experiments:
funding two of the IR cameras used on Legs 201, 204, and Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, fall
on Expedition 311. The U. S. Department of Energy, Na- meeting supplement, 77, no. 46, F221.
tional Gas Hydrate Research Program provided research Paull, C. K., R. Matsumoto, P. J. Wallace, 1996, Proceed-
funding to two of us (PEL and HTS). Review comments by ings of the ODP, Initial Reports 164, http://www-odp.
Joel Johnson, University of New Hampshire, significantly tamu.edu/publications/164_IR/164TOC.HTM, ac-
improved the manuscript. Some samples and data used in cessed 11 July 2010.
this analysis were provided by the Ocean Drilling Program Riedel, M., T. S. Collett, M. J. Malone, and Shipboard Sci-
(ODP) and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), ence Party, 2006a, Cascadia Margin gas hydrates, in
which are funded by the U. S. National Science Foundation Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
and participating countries. 311, Expedition Reports, http://publications.iodp.org/
proceedings/311/311toc.htm
Riedel, M., P. E. Long, and T. S. Collett, 2006b, Estimates
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doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2004.03.005. Tréhu, A. M., P. E. Long, M. E. Torres, G. Bohrmann, F.
Torres, M. E., A. M. Tréhu, N. Cespedes, M. Kastner, U. R. Rack, T. S. Collett, D. S. Goldberg, A. V. Milkov,
G. Wortmann, J. H. Kim, P. Long, A. Malinverno, J. M. Riedel, P. Schultheiss, N. L. Bangs, S. R. Barr, W.
W. Pohlman, M. Riedel, and T. Collett, 2008, Methane S. Borowski, G. E. Claypool, M. E. Delwiche, G. R.
hydrate formation in turbidite sediments of northern Dickens, E. Gracia, G. Guerin, M. Holland, J. E. John-
Cascadia: IODP Expedition 311: Earth and Planetary son, Y. J. Lee, C. S. Liu, X. Su, B. Teichert, H. Tomaru,
Science Letters, 271, no. 1–4, 170–180, doi:10.1016/j. M. Vanneste, M. Watanabe, and J. L. Weinberger, 2004,
epsl.2008.03.061. Three-dimensional distribution of gas hydrate beneath
Tréhu, A. M., G. Bohrmann, F. R. Rack, M. E. Torres, N. L. southern Hydrate Ridge: Constraints from ODP Leg
Bangs, S. R. Barr, W. S. Borowski, G. E. Claypool, T. 204: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 222, no. 3–4,
S. Collett, M. E. Delwiche, G. R. Dickens, D. S. Gold- 845–862, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2004.03.035.
berg, E. Gràcia, G. Guèrin, M. Holland, J. E. Johnson, Weinberger, J., K. Brown, and P. E. Long, 2005, Painting a
Y.-J. Lee, C.-S. Liu, P. E. Long, A. V. Milkov, M. Rie- picture of gas hydrate distribution with thermal images:
del, P. Schultheiss, X. Su, B. Teichert, H. Tomaru, M. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, no. L04609, doi: 10,
Vanneste, M. Watanabe, and J. L. Weinberger, 2003, 1029/2004GL021437.
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Section 3
Borehole Studies
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02181_SEG_GH_C15_PP3.indd 234 9/10/10 9:16:35 PM

Chapter 15
Introduction to Borehole Studies

Borehole methods exploit some of the same anomalies Recent drilling and logging campaigns have encoun-
in physical properties of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments as tered gas-hydrate environments where the gas hydrate
do regional geophysical methods described in the previous forms a network of fractures (with thicknesses varying
two sections. These include anomalies in elastic properties from millimeters to several tens of centimeter) within a
and hence in P- and S-wave velocities, as well as anoma- dominantly fine-grained sediment (Riedel et al., 2006;
lies in electrical resistivity. A log-based characterization Collett et al., 2008 ; Hadley et al., 2008; Park et al.,
of gas-hydrate environments also typically includes logs 2008). The fracture orientation can be semiparallel to the
of the caliper (borehole diameter as a proxy for data qual- borehole, and thus measurements of physical properties can
ity), gamma ray (used, e.g., for sand-detection), porosity, be heavily influenced by the alignment of the tool with the
and density. Special logging applications using the nuclear fracture planes (e.g., Cook and Goldberg, 2008). These
magnetic resonant (NMR) technique have also been used anisotropic effects may result in an inaccurate estimation
(e.g., Kleinberg et al., 2005) but appear to be most success- of the in situ gas-hydrate content and need to be corrected
ful in thick sand-rich gas-hydrate occurrences. either through comparison with other proxy measurements
In principle, one can divide borehole logging ap- (e.g., estimates of gas-hydrate concentration from pressure
proaches into two groups: logging-while-drilling (LWD) cores) or through the development of alternate mathemati-
and measurement-while-drilling (MWD) as well as wireline cal interpretation techniques ( Lee and Collett, 2009 ).
logging. LWD/MWD offers an opportunity to determine A new approach was taken during the 2009 drilling cam-
the physical properties of sediments as the borehole is ad- paign in the Gulf of Mexico in which special LWD equip-
vanced, whereas wireline logging is always deployed af- ment was deployed providing 3D information on acoustic
ter a borehole has already been drilled and measurements and electrical properties of the sediment enabling the im-
are sometimes made after considerable time delays. Thus, proved evaluation of gas hydrate in fracture-filling settings
wireline logging data suffer more from potential borehole (Boswell et al., 2009).
deterioration (or infill), and the risk is higher that gas hy- Physical measurements to define the extent of the gas-
drate in the near-well bore environment have either dissoci- hydrate stability zone can include measurements made
ated or additional artificial gas hydrate has been formed if during drilling with probes attached to the drill string (e.g.,
drilling fluids were cooler than the ambient in situ tempera- Davis et al., 1997; Heesemann et al., 2006). However, for
tures. Wireline logging is also typically performed with the obvious operational reasons, these can only be made at
drilling pipe deployed up to 60-m deep into the formation, certain intervals and thus represent point measurements,
thus the shallow sediment section is typically not logged. and interpolation techniques have to be invoked for ac-
LWD/MWD in contrast can (if carefully deployed) provide curate predictions of the base of the gas-hydrate stability
full coverage of the entire sediment column penetrated. A zone. Because these measurements are also made during
comprehensive summary of the logging tools, techniques, the course of drilling, concerns exist that the measure-
and data from various drilling campaigns is provided by ments may be affected by the drilling itself (e.g., through
Goldberg et al. (2010). artificial frictional heating or infiltration of cooler drilling
fluids into the formation). A summary of current technolo-
1
Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada–Pacific,
gies including conventional heat probes and applications
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail: mriedel@nrcan.gc.ca from various drilling campaigns is given by Villinger
2
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. et al. (2010). To overcome some of these above-mentioned
E-mail: willough@physics.utoronto.ca limitations, fiber-optic distributed-temperature-sensors
3
235
02181_SEG_GH_C15_PP3.indd 235 9/10/10 9:16:35 PM

(DTS) cables have been used to estimate the equilib- Because of the very disruptive nature of gas-hydrate
rium temperatures in terrestrial and marine gas-hydrate dissociation upon conventional (wireline) core recovery,
environments (e.g., Henninges et al., 2005; Fujii et al., special coring devices have been developed that preserve
2008). Additional advantages of the DTS technique are the in situ temperature and pressure conditions. The first
that it can provide high spatial and temporal resolution attempts to apply pressure coring methods were applied in
(e.g., 1-m vertical resolution to an accuracy of 0.1ºC and the 1980s (e.g., Kvenvolden et al., 1983), and later modi-
with repeat measurements). The DTS technology can also fications to these systems were made through the 1990s
be used for controlled active measurements to determine (e.g., Pettigrew, 1992 ; Dickens et al., 2000; Dickens
the in situ thermal conductivity, also referred to as hot- et al., 2003). Various technical problems were identified
DTS technology (Fukuhara et al., 2005). Other drill-stem such as the significant lag time for extraction of a sample
testing techniques have also been used to understand the from the core barrel. Subsequent programs successfully
response of the gas-hydrate system to induced changes developed and applied a coring system that could control
in pressure and temperature regime by using the Schlum- temperature and pressure in research wells in the Nankai
berger Modular Formation Dynamics Tester (MDTTM) at Trough (pressure-temperature core sampler [PTCS]; Taka-
the Mallik gas-hydrate research well site (Hancock et al., hashi and Tsuji, 2005) and an integrated pressure coring
2005a; Hancock et al., 2005b) and the Mount Elbert test and analysis system to allow precise X-ray imaging and
well (Anderson et al., 2008). gamma densitometry under pressure (Schultheiss et al.,
In general terms, some prevailing intrinsic limitations 2010).
hamper directly comparing borehole logging and regional Borehole geophysical well logging is a common ele-
geophysical surveying (seismic or CSEM) data. These are ment of gas-hydrate exploration, and especially the LWD/
related to the difference in data acquisition geometry, scale, MWD technique has now been routinely implemented
and frequencies used. Consider sonic measurements within in all major gas-hydrate drilling campaigns e.g., during
logging tools; these have a need for higher frequencies the India National Gas Hydrate Expedition 01 (Collett et
from the kilohertz to megahertz range, whereas a typical al., 2008), Korea Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition
seismic survey using surface deployed sources and receiv- 01 (Park et al., 2008), and the 2009 Joint Industry Proj-
ers has a frequency spectrum that typically extends only ect (JIP) expedition in the Gulf of Mexico (e.g., Boswell
up to 100 Hz. Thus, physical properties that are frequency et al., 2009). However, the borehole techniques are chal-
dependent (e.g., attenuation) measured by logging tools lenged by formation characteristics potentially degrading
result in different values as those measured with conven- borehole data quality (e.g., through washouts or breakouts)
tional surface-deployed techniques (Guerin and Goldberg, or by unwanted borehole closures not preventing the entire
2002; Bellefleur et al., 2007; Lee and Waite, 2007). Like- desired depth to be logged. A critical aspect of logging in
wise, electromagnetic methods, as detailed in Edwards et gas-hydrate environments is to log deep enough to much
al. (2010) have a well-known skin-depth effect inversely greater depths below the base of gas-hydrate stability and
proportional to frequency. A short-baseline tool, such as thus characterize the transition from gas-hydrate bearing
any borehole resistivity tool, does not and cannot measure sediment through the zone of possible free gas to depths
the same bulk resistivity seen by survey methods, and earth where a regional background in physical properties (es-
materials are known to be electrically anisotropic both in- pecially P- and S-wave velocity and electrical resistivity)
trinsically (with directional dependence seen at all scales) may be established. Also, future logging campaigns should
and macroscopically, in which we have composite materi- attempt to employ logging tools such as those used during
als like hydrated sediments. the last Gulf of Mexico JIP drilling campaign (Boswell,
No other methods can achieve such high vertical reso- et al., 2009) that allow the full 3D characteristics of the
lution as borehole measurements; however, uncertainties in physical properties of gas-hydrate bearing sediment to be
lateral continuity of these measurements can be likewise able to detect any anisotropic effects, which otherwise neg-
high. Although modern logging tools provide a suite of dif- atively impacts estimates of gas-hydrate concentration.
ferent penetration depths (ranging from several centimeters
to just over one meter), regional geophysical surveying is
often carried out with a lateral resolution of tens of me- References
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typically done through well-tie analyses and synthetic Anderson, B. J., J. W. Wilder, M. Kurihara, M. D. White,
seismogram generation, but a high degree of confidence in G. J. Moridis, S. J. Wilson, M. Pooladi-Darvish, Y.
the well-to-seismic correlation is required for subsequent Masuda, T. S. Collett, R. B. Hunter, H. Narita, K.
reliable inversions of seismic data to estimate gas-hydrate Rose, and R. Boswell, 2008, Analysis of modular dy-
concentrations (e.g., Bellefleur et al., 2006; Riedel et al., namic formation test results from the Mount Elbert 01
2009). stratigraphic test well, Milne Point Unit, North Slope,
02181_SEG_GH_C15_PP3.indd 236 9/10/10 9:16:35 PM

Chapter 15: Introduction to Borehole Studies 237
Alaska: Proceedings of the 6th International Confer- Fujii, K., M. Yasuda, B. Cho, T. Ikegami, H. Sugiyama, Y.
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Bellefleur, G., M. Riedel, and T. Brent, 2006, Seismic velopment of a monitoring system for the JOGMEC/
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Delta, Canada: The Leading Edge, 25, 599–604, doi: 2008, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference
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Dallimore, 2007, Implication of seismic attenuation for Popov, O. Matsubayashi, K. Kusaka, and M. Yasuda,
gas hydrate resource characterization, Mallik, Mack- 2005, Active downhole thermal property measurement
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Boswell, R., T. S. Collett, D. McConnell, M. Frye, B. ence on Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2005), Abstract 1036.
Shedd, S. Mrozewski, G. Guerin, A. Cook, P. God- Goldberg, D. S., R. L. Kleinberg, J. L. Weinberger, A. Ma-
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cumulations in sand reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico, logs: this volume.
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gas/publications/Hydrates/Newsletter/MHNewsSum- Journal of Geophysical Research, 107, B5, 2088, 1–11,
mer09.pdf doi: 10.1029/2001JB000556.
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P. Kumar, A. V. Sathe, A. Sethi, M. Lall, V. Sibal, and Gumusut-Kakap Project: Geohazard Characterisation
the NGHP Expedition 01 Scientists, 2008, Indian Na- and impact on field development plans: International Pe-
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Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India. T. Inoue, E. Huenges, J. Henninges, B. Weatherill,
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tific party, 2008, Korean national program expedition tion of heat flux from seismic observations of bottom
confirm rich gas hydrate deposits in the Ulleung Basin, simulating reflectors: this volume.
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Chapter 16
Evaluation of Natural Gas-hydrate Systems Using Borehole Logs

David S. Goldberg1, Robert L. Kleinberg2, Jill L. Weinberger1, Alberto Malinverno1, Pat J. McLellan3, and
Timothy S. Collett4
Introduction Wireline logging
Background Wireline logging, a technique used mostly by the oil

industry to map promising formations for exploration and
Natural gas hydrate, a clathrate in which water mole- production of hydrocarbons, has proven to be extremely
cules form a cage around a single molecule of natural gas, useful in extracting information about the distribution
is found in two settings in the subsurface: in permafrost re- and concentration of gas hydrate in the subsurface. Dur-
gions on land and along continental margins offshore. Gas ing wireline logging operations, an instrument is lowered
hydrate is restricted to shallow depths in both environments, down a hole shortly after it is drilled, and information on
with permafrost hydrate found in an interval up to ~1000 m the geophysical properties of the formation is sent to the
below the surface, and marine hydrate occurring up to sev- surface along a communications cable or wireline. Wireline
eral hundred meters below the seafloor (mbsf). Compared logs fall into four general categories: electrical, nuclear,
with typical hydrocarbon reservoirs, the hydrate bearing magnetic resonance, and acoustic. The interested reader is
host formations are relatively uncompacted and unconsoli- referred to the literature for a more detailed technical dis-
dated, and temperatures and pore water salinities are low. cussion of borehole logging instruments (Doveton, 1986;
Natural gas hydrate is also unstable at surface tem- Ellis, 1987; Goldberg, 1997; Kleinberg, 1999).
perature and pressure, making it difficult to study under High-quality wireline logging measurements can be
laboratory conditions. Therefore, in situ measurements are made in permafrost gas-hydrate environments, but in marine
a vital source of information about its properties. Bore- environments complete recovery of continuous wireline log
hole geophysical logs provide direct, depth-continuous profiles is not always possible. Typically, the soft, unconsoli-
measurements of gas-hydrate properties with a minimum dated sediments that comprise the uppermost 80–100 mbsf
of disturbance to the natural system. Commonly used log are prone to inward collapse when drilled. Therefore, drill
indicators of in situ gas hydrate are elevated electrical re- pipe or casing is used in most deployments to ensure hole
sistivity, high acoustic velocity, and anomalously low mag- stability through these soft sediments. Where this is done,
netic resonance porosity (Mathews, 1986; Collett, 1993; the uppermost section of the gas-hydrate stability zone
Goldberg, 1997; Collett and Ladd, 2000; Guerin and Gold- (GHSZ) cannot be logged using wireline techniques. Addi-
berg, 2002; Kleinberg et al., 2005; Murray et al., 2006). tionally, the hole below the pipe or casing may be blocked by
Borehole logs provide robust information about complex cavings, as open holes in the few hundred meters below the
mixed natural systems containing pore and fracture filling seafloor where gas hydrates are found can degrade quickly
hydrate, sediment grains, water, and free gas. Natural sys- during and after drilling. To benefit from the use of log data
tems do not typically produce massive crystalline hydrate over the entire section, another approach must be taken.
deposits.
Logging while drilling
1
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Borehole Research, Palisades, Over the last 15–20 years, technology has been devel-
New York Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
2 oped to measure formation properties while the borehole is
Schlumberger-Doll Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts
3
Advanced Geotechnology, Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada being drilled. This is called logging while drilling (LWD)
4
U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado and uses sensors placed just above the drill bit (e.g., Allen,
239
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 239 9/23/10 6:15:05 PM

et al., 1989; Evans, 1991). LWD tools differ from wireline for safe drilling in potentially gassy or overpressured for-
tools in that they record information as they move down- mations (e.g., Tréhu 2003). The annular PWD measure-
ward at variable speed (the drilling rate) and sample data at ment will show decreases in the presence of low-density
fixed time intervals, in contrast to wireline tools that record gas (hazard 1) but increases if fluid or formation flows into
data at fixed depth intervals. Because LWD measurements the well bore (hazard 2). The PWD response is nearly in-
are made while the hole is drilled, before extended pumping stantaneous so that quick action can be taken, if needed,
and other operations that adversely affect the borehole and, for either case. With little or no free gas present typically
therefore, the wireline measurements, LWD data quality is within the gas-hydrate stability zone, PWD monitoring
usually excellent. Drilling fluid invasion into the formation alone may suffice for drilling safely above its base depth.
is also reduced relative to wireline logging because of the Annular PWD, however, does not discern between “kicks”
shorter elapsed time between drilling and measurement. above or below a predicted safe level and cannot resolve
Currently available LWD devices can make accurate gas volumes. By monitoring the real-time responses of
physical measurements including resistivity, density, acous- additional LWD measurements, the reservoir quality of
tic velocity, and natural gamma radiation, among others, only formations below the gas-hydrate stability zone and, with
minutes after the drill bit cuts through a gas- or gas-hydrate- certain petrophysical assumptions, an estimated volume of
bearing formation. The spatial resolution of the LWD sen- free gas may be predicted. The LWD measurements most
sors is similar to that of wireline logging tools; neutron sensitive to the presence of free gas are the formation VP
porosity measurements have a vertical resolution of about and fluid velocities (strong decreases), sonic waveform
30 cm (12 in), and density and gamma-ray measurements coherence (strong loss of coherence), electrical resistiv-
have a vertical resolution of 15 cm (6 in), depending in part ity (increase with gas presence), neutron, and bulk density
on maintaining a consistent drilling penetration rate. LWD (decrease with gas presence). Establishing a broad, multi-
resistivity measurements used for imaging can reach a verti- parameter protocol is advisable to drill safely in all gas-
cal resolution of 5–10 cm (2–4 in). LWD acoustic devices hydrate exploration projects. Although by exercising such
are capable of reliably measuring compressional velocities caution (e.g., careful monitoring, mud weight adjustments,
(VP) in sediments with velocities >1.7 km/s; low-velocity etc.) previous gas-hydrate drilling projects have reached
shallow sediments (<100 mbsf) may be difficult to measure target depths without encountering serious hazards, every
because of tool interferences (Goldberg et al., 2003). location is unique and LWD monitoring, mud programs,
A primary advantage of LWD over wireline logging and hole abandonment protocols should be established for
in marine environments is that data can be acquired with each individual drill hole.
shorter gaps below the seafloor and at the bottom of the
drill hole. In gas- and gas-hydrate-bearing sediments, an
important additional benefit of LWD is that data are re-
Seismic–log-core data integration
corded while drilling; the reduced time before the mea- Log data play a crucial role in linking core and seismic
surements are taken minimizes gas-hydrate dissociation or data in hydrate bearing environments, which display het-
changes in gas concentration in the vicinity of the drill hole erogeneity on all scales. Logs investigate volumes ten to a
that may seriously affect wireline logs. thousand times larger than cores, and seismic surveys probe
structures that are another factor of a million times larger.
LWD as a guide for drilling safety Log measurements sense different distances into the for-
mation (depth of penetration) ranging from centimeters to
As LWD becomes routine for gas-hydrate exploration meters, depending on the tool type (Goldberg, 1997). There-
programs, concerns about drilling safely during LWD op- fore, well logs play a crucial role in linking core data with
erations may increase in certain environments. In recent regional geological and geophysical surveys. Logs provide
years, LWD tools have often been deployed in conjunction three complementary functions: (1) unlike core data, log
with measurement-while-drilling (MWD) data transmis- data are acquired under in situ conditions, thereby minimiz-
sion capability. Using MWD, LWD data may be viewed ing the alteration of properties that occurs as a sample is
at the surface in nearly real time, that is, within only min- taken and brought to the surface; (2) log data are acquired
utes after the bit penetrates a formation (Goldberg, 1997). in continuous profiles with no missing sections; and (3) log
Real-time monitoring using LWD/MWD has focused on data are sampled at an intermediate scale and measures an
the recognition of two important hazards: (1) free gas in intermediate rock volume that compliments both core and
reservoir formations below the base of gas-hydrate stabil- seismic measurements, helping to tie the two together.
ity, and (2) overpressure zones that may flow into the well Coring methods are critical to calibrate both seismic
bore. To identify such hazards, annular pressure measure- and log data and are necessary to establish baseline values
ment (PWD) has been used as the primary predictive tool in nonhydrate-bearing sediments. Gas hydrate is, however,
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 240 9/23/10 6:15:05 PM

Chapter 16: Evaluation of Natural Gas-hydrate Systems Using Borehole Logs 241
difficult to recover in conventional cores as it dissociates low density, high electrical resistivity (>100 ohm-m) and
rapidly at surface temperature and pressure. Recently de- high compressional velocity (>3.5 km/s) layer relative to
veloped techniques improve the quality of core measure- otherwise uniform clay sediments, indicative of a zone of
ments by enabling the recovery of cores under in situ massive gas hydrate about 250 m below the seafloor (Mat-
conditions (see Schultheiss et al., 2010, this volume). LWD thews and von Huene, 1985).
has been used effectively as a reconnaissance tool to iden- ODP drilling and logging at the Blake Ridge offshore
tify thin gas-hydrate-bearing layers to be targeted by sub- South Carolina, a passive margin environment, found gas-
sequent pressure coring (Tréhu et al., 2004). Combining in hydrate accumulations that occupied on average less than
situ measurements with coring approaches has improved 10% of the pore volume (Paull et al., 1996). ODP Leg
our understanding of gas-hydrate occurrence and distribu- 204 and IODP Expedition 311, on the Cascadia margin,
tion significantly. drilled through hemipelagic mud and turbidites moder-
Additionally, newly developed LWD tools that allow ately deformed by tectonic compression and fracturing as-
core to be taken during LWD operations have achieved sociated with trench subduction and the formation of an
two scientific objectives particularly relevant for gas- accretionary sedimentary prism (Tréhu et al., 2003). The
hydrate studies: (1) reducing the time required to log and sedimentary section in this location is clay-rich and typi-
collect samples after disturbing the drilled environment cally follows a nearly normal compaction curve with the
and (2) logging and coring the same formation volume in sediment porosity ranging from 60% to 70% at the surface
the same borehole. This technology successfully recovered and 40% to 50% at the base of the hydrate stability zone at
core and logs in gas-hydrate-bearing sediment (Goldberg ~200–250 mbsf for sites on the midcontinental slope. Both
et al., 2003) and was also tested in ocean crustal settings coring and logging indicated low gas-hydrate concentra-
on the mid-Atlantic ridge (Goldberg et al., 2006). Until tions of 5–10% of the pore volume on average, except for
this time, continuous, simultaneous collection of core and unusual high concentration occurrences at the summit of
in situ logging data had not been possible. southern Hydrate Ridge and at the cold vent structure off
Vancouver Island (Tréhu et al., 2004; Riedel et al., 2006).
IODP Expedition 311 drilled a transect of five sites
Field Examples across the Cascadia accretionary wedge sampling a vari-
ety of gas-hydrate accumulations (Riedel et al., 2006).
Scientific ocean drilling and logging Gas-hydrate-rich layers were found in 10–20-m-thick
intervals located at different depths within the gas-hydrate
The Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), the Ocean
stability zone: just above the bottom of the gas-hydrate sta-
Drilling Program (ODP), and the Integrated Ocean Drill-
bility zone (GHSZ) at Site U1325, immediately below the
ing Program (IODP) have contributed to our understanding
seafloor at the cold vent Site U1328 and within the GHSZ
of marine environments by sampling and experimenting
at Sites U1326 and U1327. Additionally, gas hydrate was
below the seafloor. Over its history, ocean drilling has
found concentrated in sand horizons at Site U1325. This
studied a wide variety of formations, from unconsolidated
heterogeneous depth distribution is matched by a cor-
sediments to crystalline rocks, recovering core samples and
responding horizontal heterogeneity. For example, at site
measuring in situ logs whenever possible. These programs
U1327 gas-hydrate occurrences do not correlate between
have been the primary source for core sampling and log-
holes only a few tens of meters apart.
ging information about the in situ properties of marine gas-
Thus, it appears that the distribution of gas hydrate is
hydrate-bearing formations worldwide. A list of scientific
patchy throughout the gas-hydrate stability zone at all of
drill holes that have encountered gas hydrates is compiled
the sites drilled on Hydrate Ridge and the northern Cas-
in Table 1. Among these, DSDP, ODP, and IODP have
cadia margin. This distribution has been linked to the tur-
cored and logged 46 holes in which gas hydrate has been
bidite layering with gas hydrate primarily concentrated
sampled or inferred. Several other scientific drilling pro-
in coarse-grained lithologies and within fractures in fine-
grams have also encountered hydrates beneath the seafloor
grained sediments (Weinberger et al., 2005).
on continental margins (see Table 1). Sites have included
the Blake Ridge off the U. S. east coast, the Cascadia mar-
gin off the Canadian west coast, and the continental mar- Resource-driven ocean drilling
gins of Guatemala, Peru, and Costa Rica (von Huene et al., and logging
1985; Suess et al., 1988; Westbrook et al., 1994; Paull et al.,
1996; Kimura et al., 1997; Hyndman et al., 1999; Tréhu Many countries, including Japan, India, and Canada,
et al., 2003). On theDownloaded
Guatemala margin (DSDP Leg 84), are keenly interested in the potential of gas hydrates as an
where the first conclusive deep sea log measurements in energy source and have established gas-hydrate research
gas hydrate were made, wireline logs recorded a 15-m-thick and development projects, which include ocean drilling and
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 241 9/23/10 6:15:05 PM

Table 1. Scientific drill holes encountering gas hydrates.
DSDP/ ODP/ IODP Hydrate-bearing sites
Leg Site Latitude Longitude Water depth Penetration Date Location Hydrate indicator Reference
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 242
Velocity anomaly inferred Hollister, Ewing
Blake Ridge from experiments on artificial et al., 1970
11 102 30°44.93' 74°27.14' 3426 661 1970 area hydrate in lab Stoll et al., 1971
South Mexico Shipley
66 490 16°09.56' 99°03.39' 1761 588.5 1979 active margin Frozen sediment and gas in core and Didyk, 1982
491 16°01.74' 98°58.33' 2883 542 1979 Frozen sediment and gas in core
492 16°04.73' 98°56.72' 1935 279 1979 Frozen sediment and gas in core
Middle America Based on interstitial Harrison
67 496 13°03.82' 90°49.68' 2049 378 1979 trench water analyses and Curiale, 1982
497 12°59.23' 90°54.94' 2347 396.5 1979 Hydrate recovered
498A 12°42.68' 90°47.71' 5478 316.5 1979 Ice cemented sands
Blake Kvenvolden and
76 533 31° 15.6' 74°52.2' 3191 167.6 1980 Bahama rise Frozen sediment and gas in core Barnard, 1983
Middle America
84 565 09°43.69' 86°05.44' 3099 328.3 1982 trench Recovered hydrate Hesse et al., 1985
568 13°04.33' 91°48.00' 2010 417.7 1982 Recovered hydrate
570 13°17.12' 91°23.57' 1698 401.9 1982 Recovered hydrate
Mississippi
96 618 27°00.68' 91°15.73' 2412.4 92.5 1983 Fan / GOM Recovered hydrate Pflaum et al., 1986
Peru Outer Kvenvolden and
112 682 11°15.990'S 79°3.730'W 3801 436.7 1986 margin Chloride anomalies Kastner, 1990
683 9° 1.690'S 80°24.400'W 3087 419.2 1986 Chloride anomalies
685 9° 6.780'S 80°35.010'W 5093 468.6 1986 Recovered hydrate
688 11°32.260'S 78°56.570'W 3827 350.3 1986 Recovered hydrate
127 796A 42°53.64'N 139°24.66'E 2570.6 242.9 1989 Japan Sea Recovered hydrate Tamaki et al., 1990
9/23/10 6:15:06 PM
Chile Triple Logging; pore fluid chemistry;
141 859 45°53.760'S 75°51.168'W 2741.2 145 1991/1992 junction no hydrate recovered Behrman et al., 1992
860 45°53.160'S 75°45.102'W 2145.9 617.8 1991/1992
Cascadia /
146 892 44°40.452'N 125°7.140'W 674.5 176.5 1992 Hydrate Ridge Recovered hydrate Kastner et al., 1995
Eastern DeLange and
160 970 33°44.194'N 24°48.120'E 2075.5 201.4 1995 Mediterranean Chloride + methane Brumsack, 1998
164 994 31°47.139'N 75°32.753'W 2799.1 703.5 1995 Blake Ridge Logging; chloride anomalies Paull et al., 1996
995 31°48.210'N 75°31.343'W 2778.5 704.5 1995 Logging; chloride anomalies
996 32°29.633'N 76°11.454'W 2169.6 63 1995 Recovered hydrate
997 31°50.588'N 75°28.118'W 2770.1 434.3 1995 Logging; chloride + methane
Northwest
Atlantic
172 1056 32°29.102'N 76°19.799'W 2166.6 155.6 1997 sediment drifts Chloride spikes Keigwin et al., 1998
likely hydrate from chloride spikes
1057 32°1.732'N 76°4.754'W 2584.5 136.7 1997 (smaller than 1056)
Possible hydrate below core based
on chloride trend; none recovered
1058 31°41.386'N 75°25.801'W 2984 164 1997 in core
on chloride trend; none recovered in
1059 31°40.461'N 75°25.127'W 2985.4 98.8 1997 core
1060 30°45.597'N 74°27.990'W 3481.2 170.1 1997 core
1061 29°58.498'N 73°35.993'W 4046.6 350.3 1997 core
IR camera images; hydrate
201 1230 9°6.753'S 80°35.010'W 5086.2 277.3 2002 Peru margin recovered in core Ford et al., 2003
Hydrate
204 1244 44°35.178'N 125°7.190'W 895.1 332 2002 Ridge Logging; hydrate recovered in core Trehu et al., 2003
1245 44°35.159'N 125°8.946'W 869.7 471.7 2002 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
(Continued)
9/23/10 6:15:06 PM
204 1247 44°34.659'N 125°9.077'W 834.3 217 2002 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
1248 44°34.454'N 125°9.150'W 829.6 149 2002 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
1250 44°34.127'N 125°9.018'W 795.8 143 2002 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
Cascadia
311 U1325 48°38.694'N 126°58.999'W 2194.8 205.5 2005 margin Logging; hydrate recovered in core Riedel et al., 2006
U1326 48°37.628'N 127°3.043'W 1827.9 192.6 2005 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
U1327 48°41.889'N 126°51.914'W 1304.5 297 2005 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
U1328 48°40.057'N 126°51.044'W 1267.7 242.5 2005 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
Resource driven gas-hydrate sites
India hydrate expedition
Bay of
NGHP-1 2A 15°52.119'N 81°49.359'E 1069 50.3 2006 Bengal Logging; LWD Collett et al., 2006b
2B 15°52.122'N 81°49.359'E 1069 250 2006 hydrate recovered in core
3A 15°53.891'N 81°53.968'E 1087 300 2006 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
4A 15°57.379'N 81°59.465'E 1083.5 300 2006 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
6A 16°00.093'N 82°08.277'E 1168 350 2006 Logging
7A 16°31.279'N 82°40.857'E 1296.5 260 2006 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
10A 15°51.862'N 81°50.074'E 1049.3 205.5 2006 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
11A 15°59.460'N 81°59.529'E 1018 204.5 2006 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
12A 15°51.634'N 81°50.227'E 1045.8 350 2006 Logging
9/23/10 6:15:06 PM
Resource driven gas-hydrate sites
Leg /
Expedition Site Latitude Longitude Water depth Penetration Date Location Hydrate indicator Reference
India hydrate expedition
17B 10°45.180'N 93°06.737'E 1356 718 2006 Andaman Sea Logging; hydrate recovered in core
18 19°09.145'N 85°46.376'E 1386.1 190 2006 Bay of Bengal hydrate recovered in core
19B 18°58.653'N 85°39.516'E 1436 280 2006 Logging; hydrate recovered in core
20B 15°48.571'N 81°50.572'E 1157.9 149 2006 hydrate recovered in core
21B 15°51.802'N 81°50.133'E 1050 200 2006 hydrate recovered in core
Mackenzie Dallimore and
Mallik n/a 69°27.467'N 134°39.533'W n/a 1200 2001 Delta Logging Collett, 2005
Nankai Logging; hydrate recovered Takahashi et al.,
MITI n/a n/a n/a 945 3300 1999/2000 Trough in core 2001
North Slope, Logging; hydrate recovered http://www.netl.doe.
BPXA 1 70°27.338'N 149°24.647'W n/a 3000 2007 Alaska in core gov/
Northwest
Eileen North Slope, Logging; Hydrate recovered
n/a State-2 70°29.933’N 149°21.567’W n/a 780 1972 Alaska in core Collett, 1993
9/23/10 6:15:06 PM
logging experiments. In 2004, the D/V JOIDES Resolution, 90% and appear relatively homogeneous in the vicinity of the
the drill ship used by ODP, conducted a non-ODP drilling borehole. A major component of the Mallik drilling programs
campaign offshore Japan in the Nankai Trough (Namikawa was to apply state-of-the-art wireline logging technology and
et al., 2003). Wireline and LWD measurements determined refine its interpretation in naturally occurring gas-hydrate
the extent and concentration of gas hydrate on the tectoni- formations, especially in a permafrost environment. As the
cally active margin. In 2005, a joint industry project led by Mallik wells were drilled explicitly for this purpose, the qual-
the U. S. Department of Energy and Chevron investigated ity of the wireline logs in the gas-hydrate-bearing interval of
two sites in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. More recently, this formation is excellent.
the Government of India and a consortium of operators
used the D/V JOIDES Resolution to conduct a three-month
expedition to determine the distribution and resource po- Methods
tential of gas hydrates along the east, west, and Andaman
Sea margins of India (Collett et al., 2008). See Table 1 for a The most commonly used logs to identify gas hydrate
list of these drilling locations. are porosity, resistivity, electromagnetic, NMR, sonic,
and imaging. Porosity and the other logs discussed se-
quentially below provide unique information that is often
best understood in the context of other log data and core
Permafrost drilling and logging measurements.
A considerable amount of initial knowledge about
the in situ properties of gas hydrate has been gained from Porosity logs
well logging data in commercial exploration wells in per-
mafrost-associated gas-hydrate occurrences on the North Porosity logs are derived from an interpretation of
Slope of Alaska and in the Mackenzie Delta of northern the electromagnetic, NMR, and sonic log measurements.
Canada (Bily and Dick, 1974; Judge et al., 1994; Dalli- Determining porosity is essential for the discussion of all
more et al., 1999; see also Table 1). The occurrence of gas the other measurements because hydrate in the pore space
hydrate on the North Slope of Alaska was confirmed by significantly alters the standard porosity depth relation ob-
pressurized core samples, wireline logs, and the results of served in nonhydrate bearing sediments. Massive, layered,
formation production testing in northwest Eileen State-2, a nodular, and disseminated gas hydrates have different dis-
commercial exploration well located in the northwest part tributions within sediment pores, and therefore, different
of the Prudhoe Bay oil field (Collett, 1993). The northwest effects on porosity measurements. To evaluate these effects,
Eileen State-2 well penetrated five gas-hydrate-bearing lay- porosity estimates from a variety of different log measure-
ers. Wireline logs from this and other wells in the western ments are often combined to differentiate various effects
part of the area indicate free gas and gas-hydrate accumula- and determine a best estimate of the in situ porosity.
tions within well-defined stratigraphic traps. However, the The neutron porosity log measures neutron scatter-
identification of gas-hydrate layers is complicated by the ing, which is controlled by total hydrogen content. Where
similar wireline log responses of permafrost and gas hy- the total hydrogen is high, many neutrons are slowed and
drate (Bily and Dick, 1974; Judge et al., 1994; Dallimore captured, leading to a low neutron return rate and a high
and Collett, 1995). Geochemical logging tools, which can porosity estimate. This method assumes that the hydrogen
measure in situ carbon and oxygen concentrations (e.g., content of the formation is contained in the pore fluid. Li-
Herron et al., 1993), may provide useful data for distin- thology can affect this assumption, and the measurements
guishing hydrate from ice. These tools have been deployed are often adversely affected by the hydrogen bound in clay-
previously at sites in the Mackenzie Delta (Dallimore and rich sediments. Where available, estimates of clay content
Collett, 2005), as well as in marine sediments on the Blake from core samples can be used to separate movable water
Ridge (Collett and Wendlendt, 2000). from bound water in the logs.
The Mallik research holes, dedicated to comprehensive The density log measures the electron density, which is
multinational hydrate study, were drilled to investigate the oc- closely related to the bulk density of the formation. Using
currence of gas hydrate in the permafrost region of the Mack- either mineral grain density measured in core samples or
enzie Delta of Canada (Dallimore et al., 1999; Dallimore and a reasonable assumption of the mineral grain density from
Collett, 2005). The Mallik site is located near the crest of a the formation characteristics, the formation porosity may be
shallow anticline of deltaic sandstone and shale deposits that computed from the bulk density log. Combining the neu-
are laterally continuous and relatively undeformed. The gas- tron and bulk density measurements reduces the sensitivity
hydrate-bearing sediments in this25location
Downloaded Jun 2012 to are sandy Redistribution
95.28.162.50. and have subjecttoto SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
either bound hydrogen or grain density alone, and the
20%–50% porosity. Mallik 5L-38 well log data indicate that accuracy of the formation porosity estimate can be signifi-
sandy formations contain gas-hydrate saturations of up to cantly improved (e.g., Schlumberger, 1989). The density of
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 246 9/23/10 6:15:06 PM

methane gas hydrate is 0.91 g/cm3, and its hydrogen con- and possible biases if the hydrate occurs as grain cements or
centration is slightly higher than that of water, so neither in larger scale nodules, veins, lenses, or massive layers. The
tool response changes very much when gas hydrate replaces Archie equation requires a number of empirically derived
water in the pore space (Collett, 1998). Thus, neither neu- parameters that need to be locally calibrated. These are the
tron porosity nor density porosity estimates are substantially pore water resistivity, Rw, the Archie constant a, the cemen-
affected by the presence of gas hydrate in the pore space. tation exponent m, and the saturation exponent n.
Resistivity logs Pore water resistivity Rw

Gas hydrate, which acts as an electrical insulator that The pore water resistivity can be computed from the
replaces electrically conductive seawater in porous sedi- salinity of the pore water and the geothermal gradient, for
ments, can be detected with resistivity tools that measure example, using the formulas of Fofonoff (1985), which are
the ease with which an electric current flows through a for- appropriate for the low-temperature pore waters in gas-
mation. Matthews (1986), Collett (1993), Hyndman et al. hydrate environments. In principle, the pore water salinity
(1999), Collett and Ladd (2000), and Riedel et al. (2005) can be determined from analyses of pore waters in cored
discuss estimation of gas-hydrate concentration from resis- sediment samples. In gas-hydrate environments, however,
tivity logs. the measured pore water salinity may be significantly less
than the in situ value because fresh water is generated when
gas hydrate dissociates at laboratory conditions. The in situ
Resistivity-porosity relations; pore water salinity is generally inferred to correspond to
Archie’s equation a smooth trend, or baseline, fitted to the envelope of the
maximum salinity values (Ussler and Paull, 2001).
Water and hydrate saturations may be derived from re-
sistivity and porosity logs using Archie’s equation (Archie,
1942). Archie’s equation is conventionally used in the oil Parameters a and m
and gas industry to derive hydrocarbon saturation. Sedi-
ment electrical resistivity (Rs), porosity (F), pore-water re- The formation factor (FF) is the ratio of the bulk resis-
sistivity (Rf), and water saturation (Sw) are related by tivity of the water-saturated sediments to the resistivity of the
pore water. The Archie parameters a and m are typically de-
Rs 5 aRf F2mS2n
w
termined from purely water-saturated sediments by a log-log
crossplot (Pickett plot) of FF as a function of porosity (e.g.,
with empirical Archie coefficients a, m, and n. In case of Serra, 1989). The slope of a best-fit linear trend through the
water-saturated sediments (i.e., Sw 5 1.0), Archie’s equa- data represents the cementation exponent m, whereas pa-
tion simplifies to rameter a is given by the intercept of the best-fit line with
the FF-axis at a porosity of F 5 1. Thus, estimating a and
R0 5 aRf F2m. m requires knowledge of the pore water resistivity. Values
of a and m and their uncertainties can be obtained from a
In shales or clay sediments, modifications of Archie’s equa- least squares fit of well log measurements in water-saturated
tion are often used because clay ions are thought to contribute depth intervals (e.g., Malinverno et al., 2008).
to the measured conductivity. Erickson and Jarrard (1998),
however, determined that shallow, high-porosity water satu- Saturation exponent n
rated clays do not display any conductivity increase caused
by clay content, and it is still appropriate to apply Archie’s The saturation exponent n for gas-hydrate-bearing
relationship without modification. These equations suggest sediments is usually taken from the average n measured
the quick-look Archie method in which the electrical resis- for different lithologies in frozen sediment (Pearson et al.,
tivity of water-saturated sediment (R0) is compared to the 1983). In a theoretical modeling study, Spangenberg (2001)
electrical resistivity of a lithologically similar gas-hydrate- showed that the parameter n depends on the grain size dis-
bearing sediment (Rs) (e.g., Collett and Ladd, 2000): tribution and gas-hydrate saturation and distribution in the
pore space. This result suggests that no universal value for
Sw 5 1 R0 /Rs 2 11/n2. parameter n can be used in all gas-hydrate environments,
although the n value is often ~2. Malinverno et al. (2008)
Archie’s equation is only valid for water-wet rock, that is, in use data from IODP Site U1325 to obtain a local value of
which gas hydrate occupies the center of pore spaces and wa- the exponent n by matching the gas-hydrate saturation de-
ter coats the grain surfaces. There may be larger uncertainties termined in a sand layer from Archie’s equation with the
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 247 9/23/10 6:15:06 PM

saturation estimated from pore water chlorinity dilution

(Figure 1).
For a rigorous discussion regarding errors and uncer-
tainties related to Archie parameters, the reader is referred
to Pearson et al. (1983), Lee and Collett (2001), Riedel
et al. (2005), and Malinverno et al. (2008). Regardless of
which borehole resistivity data are used — wireline, LWD,
or even image logs — fundamentally different results may
be obtained from different choices of Archie parameters as
well as of in situ pore water resistivity baseline. Allowing
for different values of m and n recognizes that gas hydrate
growing in the pore space may not necessarily have the
same spatial structure of sediment grains.
Electromagnetic logs
Gas hydrate and pore fluid have distinct dielectric
properties with gas hydrate behaving like sediment with re-
spect to conductivity and like fresh water with respect to di-
electric permittivity (Boissonnas et al., 2000; Wright et al.,
2002). The electromagnetic response is frequency depen-
dent, however, and this signature requires high-frequency
tools to observe. LWD electromagnetic tools operate at low
frequency (2 MHz) and are designed to measure electrical
conductivity with minimal influence of dielectric properties
(Boissonas et al., 2000). Wireline electromagnetic devices
designed to measure formation dielectric properties oper-
ate at microwave frequencies (e.g., 1.1 GHz) and are skid-
type tools pushed against the borehole wall (Schlumberger,
1989). Both the propagation time and attenuation of the si-
nusoidal electromagnetic wave traveling from transmitter to
receivers are measured with high vertical resolution (often
<5 cm) and shallow penetration into the formation (2.5–15
cm). Data gathered from shallow penetration depths are
more susceptible to changes in hydrate concentrations near
the borehole wall. Conventional analysis is based on the
plane wave solutions of Maxwell’s equations:
a2
er 5 c2 atpl2 2 b,
3604
atpl
Figure 1. Gas-hydrate saturation estimated from well s5 ,
log data in IODP Site U1325 (black curve). The light 5458
gray band shows the uncertainty in gas-hydrate
saturation computed from the uncertainty of the porosity
where tpl is the slowness or propagation time in ns/m, a is
and resistivity measurements and of the parameters attenuation in dB/m, er is the relative electric permittivity
of Archie’s equation. The white rectangles show gas- or dielectric constant (dimensionless), s is the conductivity
hydrate saturations estimated from the dilution in in S/m, and c (50.3 m/ns) is the speed of light in vacuum
chlorinity of pore waters from sediment cores. The (after Sun and Goldberg, 2005).
horizontal size of the rectangles is the uncertainty in The high-resolution and high-frequency response of
computed gas-hydrate saturation, and the vertical size wireline electromagnetic tools can reveal the dielectric
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectsignature
to SEG licenseof
or copyright;
gas Terms of Use:
hydrate in http://segdl.org/
seawater-bearing formations
is the uncertainty in sample depth caused by incomplete
core recovery (after Malinverno et al., 2008). Used by (Sun and Goldberg, 2005). In Figure 2, a log from the Mal-
permission. lik 2L-38 well, the wireline dielectric log provides much
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 248 9/23/10 6:15:07 PM

higher resolution of gas-hydrate saturation in thin layers

than lower resolution conventional resistivity methods. Sun
and Goldberg (2005) also combine dielectric measurements
with density measurements to provide a robust estimation
of gas-hydrate saturation.
NMR logs
Significant developments in nuclear magnetic reso-
nance (NMR) well logging have occurred in recent years
(Horkowitz et al., 2002). NMR well logging can play an
important role in characterizing gas-hydrate deposits, par-
ticularly when combined with density or other porosity
measurements (Kleinberg et al., 2005; Collett et al., 2006;
Murray et al., 2006). Similar to neutron porosity devices,
NMR logging tools primarily respond to the presence of
hydrogen in the formation. Unlike neutron porosity logs,
however, NMR tools are only sensitive to hydrogen in liq-
uids. The difference between the NMR porosity and other
porosity measurements, such as neutron or density poros-
ity, can give the hydrate concentration.
Hydrogen nuclei align with a strong applied static
magnetic field, and this alignment can be manipulated by
magnetic field pulses applied at a particular frequency, the Figure 2. A portion of estimated gas-hydrate saturation
Larmor frequency. A variety of properties of the nuclear and porosity logs for the gas-hydrate reservoir in the depth
spin system can then be measured. For gas-hydrate forma- interval from 900 to 930 m in Mallik 2L-38. The dielectric-
tion evaluation, the measurements of greatest importance derived high-resolution estimates (black) is shown against
are the total signal amplitude, which is proportional to the those (gray) derived from the induction resistivity log (Rt).
density of fluid-borne hydrogen in the sediment, and the The dielectric-derived porosity (black) is shown against
relaxation time of transverse magnetization, T2. Relax- the neutron porosity (gray). Gas-hydrate-bearing sands are
ation times for hydrogen nuclei in fluids vary over orders shaded (after Sun and Goldberg, 2005). Used by permission.
of magnitude, depending on fluid viscosity and interac-
tions with mineral surfaces. For water-saturated rock or
sediment, the distribution of T2 relaxation times is a good and the magnetic resonance apparent porosity (TCMR)
proxy for the pore size distribution in the formation: hy- to solve the total (fluid+hydrate filled) porosity f and the
drogen nuclei in water molecules in large pores have a rel- hydrate saturation Sh:
atively long T2, whereas those in small pores have a short
T2 (Kleinberg, 1999). HIh 3 Ph l
DPHI 3 a1 2 b 1 TCMR 3
Numerous laboratory studies (e.g., Davidson et al., HIw HIw
1986; Ratcliffe and Ripmeester, 1986) have shown that the f5
HIh 3 Ph
nuclear T2 relaxation time in gas hydrate is very similar to a1 2 b1l
HIw
the relaxation times of nuclei in other solids, such as the
rock matrix. Very short T2 relaxation times (< 0.1 ms) are 1
DPHI 2 TCMR 3
below the detectable limit of borehole NMR tools. Gas hy- HIw
drates, therefore, cannot be directly detected with today’s Sh 5
HIh 3 Ph l
downhole NMR technology. Nevertheless, gas-hydrate sat- DPHI 3 a1 2 b 1 TCMR 3
HIw HIw
uration can be estimated by comparing the NMR-derived
porosity estimate, in which gas hydrate is part of the solid rw 2 rh
matrix, to the density-derived porosity measurement in l; ,
rma 2 rw
which gas hydrate is part of the pore space.
A convenient and accurate method for computing po- where the hydrogen index of water is (HI)w < 1, and the
rosity and gas-hydrate saturation uses the density-magnetic NMR-apparent hydrogen index of gas hydrate is (HI)h 5 0.
resonance (DMR) method (Kleinberg et al., 2005). This The density of pore water is usually rw < 1.0 g/cm3, the
method utilizes the density log apparent porosity (DPHI) density of gas hydrate is rh = 0.91 g/cm3, and the density
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 249 9/23/10 6:15:09 PM

Sonic logs
Sonic tools measure compressional, shear, and surface
wave velocities in the borehole. The tools, which can have
one or more azimuthally isotropic and anisotropic acoustic
sources, emit energy into the formation as one of several
elastic wave modes. By measuring the waveforms received
at various recording sensors on the tool, various wave mode
velocities and amplitudes can be calculated. Both compres-
sional (VP) and shear (VS) velocity logs are often computed
directly from field sonic log recordings. Empirical and the-
oretical relationships to estimate free-gas concentrations
from VP and VS have been widely used in the oil and gas in-
dustry (e.g., Kuster and Toksoz, 1974). For further details
about wave modes in boreholes, see Bourbie et al. (1987)
and Paillet and Cheng (2000).
Water-saturated sediments, hydrate bearing sediments,
and free-gas-bearing sediments have distinctive acoustic
Figure 3. Modeled response for gas-hydrate growth habits characteristics. Compressional velocity decreases sharply
showing the predicted relationships (solid curves) between
in the presence of free gas and increases in the presence
VP and gas-hydrate saturation (after Helgerud, 2001), and
of gas hydrate. The shear wave velocity is relatively unaf-
data from the Nankai Trough offshore Japan (blue points)
fected by the presence of free gas but is a critical indicator
(Murray et al., 2006).
of the presence of hydrate (Guerin et al., 1999).
To estimate gas-hydrate concentrations quantitatively
from V P and V S measurements in gas-hydrate- bearing
of a quartz matrix is rma = 2.65 g/cm3. Ph is the NMR po- formations, a model describing the microstructural ar-
larization correction for gas hydrate, which is irrelevant rangement of gas hydrate and sediment grains must be as-
because it only appears in combination with (HI)h. Then sumed. Zimmerman and King (1986), Dvorkin and Nur
l 5 0.054 and (1993), Dvorkin and Nur (1996), Lee et al. (1996), Wil-
loughby and Edwards (1997), Helgerud et al. (1999),
DPHI 1 l 3 TCMR
f5 Chand et al. (2004), Guerin and Goldberg (2005), Yun
11l et al. (2005), and Murray et al. (2006), among others, all
consider theoretical treatments of elastic-wave propaga-
DPHI 2 TCMR tion to predict the velocity and dynamic behavior of gas-
Sh 5 .
DPHI 1 l 3 TCMR hydrate-bearing sediments (see also Dvorkin et al., 2010).
The DMR method assumes that the NMR amplitude Most of these models suggest that gas hydrate either fills
measured in a fully water-saturated formation reflects the sediment pores to some degree with high-velocity material,
total porosity. In lithologies that contain small pores where acts as intergranular cement, or both, increasing the rigid-
the T2 relaxation times are shorter than the detectable limit ity of the sediment (Helgerud, 2001). Figure 3 illustrates
of the NMR device, the NMR porosity will be an under- the potential distinction between VP-saturation models for
estimate. This may occur in very fine silts or clay-rich different gas-hydrate growth habits (after Helgerud, 2001).
formations when using long-dead-time LWD NMR tools, Velocity log data from drilling in the Nankai Trough, Japan,
resulting in an overestimate of gas-hydrate saturation. indicate that gas hydrate likely fills the open pore spaces in
Wireline NMR tools have a significantly shorter dead time this geological environment (Murray et al., 2006). Similar
and therefore measure total porosity in shaly sands (Pram- results were found in subpermafrost hydrate at the Mallik
mer et al., 1996; Freedman et al., 1997). Therefore, they test well (Kleinberg et al., 2005), but results in clay-rich
are not affected by this problem in typical reservoir forma- marine sediments differ (Guerin et al., 1999).
tions and may be less affected in marine clay. The influence of gas hydrate on attenuation has been
Hydrate saturation estimates from Archie’s equation measured over a wide range of frequencies. Sonic log ob-
and the DMR method were compared in the arctic and in servations clearly indicate that high-compressional-atten-
the Nankai Trough (Kleinberg et al., 2005; Murray et al., uation and shear-wave attenuation is associated with gas
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjecthydrates (e.g.,
to SEG license Guerin
or copyright; Terms et al.,http://segdl.org/
of Use: 1999; Guerin and Goldberg,
2006). In both environments, the methods agreed well. This
provides a good confirmation of both methods, as they are 2002). This phenomenon appears to be at odds with the
based on different physics. common observation that reduction of fluid-filled porosity
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 250 9/23/10 6:15:15 PM

is correlated with reduced attenuation in granular porous lower frequency surveys (e.g., Wood et al., 2002; Dai et al.,
media (e.g., Bourbie et al., 1987). Guerin and Goldberg 2004). Another possibility is that gas is flushed from near
(2005) conclude that the increase of attenuation with in- the borehole by borehole fluid invasion. A third possibility
creasing solid gas-hydrate content is caused by previously is that hydrate might be formed by depressurized gas and
unaccounted-for frictional
loss between partially ce-
mented sediment grains and
gas-hydrate crystals.
The strongest attenua-
tion in the seismic frequency
range is on the shear wave
modes (Guerin and Goldberg,
2005). Crosshole seismic
measurements by Bauer et al.
(2005) and Pratt et al. (2005)
and VSP data from Sakai
(1999) provide similar evi-
dence, although attenuation
mechanisms in the seismic
frequency range are still de-
bated (Guerin and Goldberg,
2005; Matsushima, 2006).
High attenuation within the
GHSZ may in part explain
seismic “blanking” in field
data (Guerin et al., 1999), and
if gas-hydrate distribution is
uniform along the seismic
wave path and relevant physi-
cal models are established,
then attenuation could be
used to estimate gas-hydrate
concentration.
Sonic logs recorded in
hydrate-bearing sediments
also aid in determining the
nature of the seismic bottom-
simulating reflector (BSR)
and in interpreting seismic
and vertical seismic profile
(VSP) data. Velocities esti-
mated from VSP often show
decreases in free-gas inter-
vals below the GHSZ that are
more pronounced than those
observed in well logs (e.g.,
MacKay et al., 1994; Hol- Figure 4. Downhole logs and sonic waveforms recorded in the Mallik 5L-38 well. (a)
brook et al., 1996). A likely Monopole waveforms at receivers 1 and 5. (b) Compressional attenuation (QP21) calculated
explanation is that free-gas with the method for receivers 1 and 5 and by spectral ratios (Guerin et al., 1999). (c) Gamma
distribution below the BSR ray and gas-hydrate (GH) concentration derived from resistivity logs. The inverted scale for
is patchy. Gas may be absent gamma ray illustrates the correlation between sand layers (low gamma ray) and high gas-
near the borehole but suffi- hydrate concentration. (d) VP and VS. (e) Shear attenuation (QS21) for receivers 1 and 5 and by
ciently abundant over larger spectral ratios. and (f) Dipole waveforms at receivers 1 and 5. Intervals with high gas-hydrate
volumes to be detectable by concentration are shaded in blue (after Guerin and Goldberg, 2005). Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 251 9/23/10 6:15:19 PM

Borehole imaging tools

Imaging tools deliver high-resolution pictures of the
wall of a borehole using precision measurements of electri-
cal conductivity, acoustic reflectivity, density, or other pa-
rameters. The images are oriented by means of a magnetic
reference measured downhole and are recorded by skids or
pads pressed against the borehole wall. Wireline electrical
imaging, provided by the formation micro scanner (FMS) or
formation micro-imager (FMI) tools, has a resolution of ap-
proximately 5 mm, obtained by sensing contrasts between
high- and low-conductivity features, such as water-filled
fractures or fine-scale bedding variations (e.g., Serra, 1989).
LWD electrical imaging has a lower vertical resolution of
5–10 cm. Due to the electrical conductivity contrast be-
tween gas hydrate and formation fluids, electrical imaging
tools have been used in gas-hydrate studies to map the fine
scale distribution of hydrate in the formation. The dip, strike,
width, and depth of geological features intersecting a bore-
Figure 5. Comparison of fractured core to the corresponding
hole may be measured using these imaging devices (e.g.,
FMI log image at a similar vertical scale in the Mallik 5L-38
Luthi and Souhaite, 1990; Paillet et al., 1990). Images can be
well. (a) Profile of a natural fracture in a dolomite-cemented
sandstone interval near core depth 931.75 m. (b) Borehole
used visually to compare logs with cores for bedding orien-
image log showing the trace of the same fracture in the tation and to study fracturing, structure, borehole shape, and
borehole wall at a log depth of approximately 930 m (after gas-hydrate distributions (Weinberger and Brown, 2006).
McLellan et al., 2005a). Used by permission. Figure 5 shows a wireline electrical conductivity image
log and core photo from the Mallik 5L-38 well located on
the Mackenzie Delta of northern Canada (McLellan et al.,
2005a). There is a near-vertical fracture in a thick-bedded
subsequent cooling of fluids in the vicinity of the borehole dolomite-cemented sandstone layer in both images. Note
(Hyndman et al., 1999). These explanations may eliminate the high resistivities (bright color) associated with gas-
anomalies in velocity and resistivity logs due to free gas hydrate occurrence. Although there is some apparent depth
while retaining them in deeper-penetrating VSP data. shift and a change in depth scale between the core photo
As an illustrative field example, Figure 4 shows the and log image, the clear observation of a steep-dipping
sonic logs acquired through a relatively thick gas-hydrate- fracture in both images allows orientation of this east-west
bearing interval from about 897 to 1110 m depth in the Mal- striking feature.
lik 5L-38 research hole (from Guerin and Goldberg, 2005).
The logs show VP values ranging from 2.5 to 3.6 km/s. In Local spatial distribution of natural
addition, a VS log was recorded, yielding values from 1.1 gas-hydrate systems
to 2.0 km/s; VP/VS varies between 2.0 and 2.8 through the
gas-hydrate interval. Collett et al. (1999) estimate formation The continuity and vertical resolution afforded by us-
porosity from the VP and VS logs in the range from 20% ing well logging tools provides unique information about
to 40%, consistent with estimates from core and other logs. the spatial distribution of gas hydrate through comparison of
Attenuation (Q21) of both compressional and shear waves data obtained in closely spaced, laterally offset holes. IODP
are elevated in gas-hydrate intervals. At approximately 1120 Expedition 311 drilled a series of four LWD holes in close
m, the velocity decreases below the general trend observed proximity (~15 m) on the Cascadia margin. Despite the ex-
in water-saturated intervals, suggesting a thin free-gas layer tremely close spacing of these holes, logging and coring
below the predicted base of the GHSZ. High quality VSP results across this lateral transect indicate considerable vari-
data were recorded in the Mallik well and both VSP com- ations in gas-hydrate distribution that were not evident in the
pressional-wave and shear-wave velocities are in good gen- predrilling seismic reflection survey data (see Riedel et al.,
eral agreement with VP and VS from the sonic logs (Walia 2010, for a more detailed discussion of seismic resolution).
et al., 1999). In particular, the logging results suggest that gas-hydrate
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 252 9/23/10 6:15:34 PM

concentrations in the sediments

are generally not as laterally
continuous as is sometimes
assumed. Figure 6 illustrates
gas-hydrate occurrences in
these holes using LWD images,
wireline resistivity logs, and
core thermal images. There is a
20-m-thick gas-hydrate zone at
120–140 mbsf in Hole U1327A,
a 5-m interval at 155–160 mbsf
in Hole U1327D (drilled 25 m
to the NE of U1327A) and no
hydrate zone in Hole U1327E
(drilled 40 m to the northeast of
Hole U1327A).
Heterogeneity within
gas-hydrate deposits
The acquisition of circum-
ferentially and axially continu-
ous, high-resolution images
of physical parameters allows
for observation and quantifi-
cation of lateral heterogeneity
and patchy distribution of gas
hydrate at the centimeter scale
(Goldberg et al., 2004). Using
Archie’s equation applied to
wireline resistivity logs, Collett
and Ladd (2000) obtained semi-
quantitative estimates of gas-
hydrate concentration on the
Blake Ridge and qualitatively
observed the lateral distribu-
tion of gas-hydrate layers in
wireline electrical log images.
This approach can be extended
using resistivity data acquired
by LWD imaging tools to en- Figure 6. Wireline log, core, and LWD data in closely spaced holes drilled at Site
able a quantitative estimate of U1327. RAB 5 Resistivity-at-the-bit image, IR 5 Infrared core temperature. High
the azimuthal distribution of gas-hydrate concentrations are marked by light intervals (high resistivity) in the RAB
hydrate around the borehole. image, purple to red intervals (cold temperatures) in the IR images, and high resistivities
The spatial sampling rate of in the resistivity logs. The high resistivity interval in Hole U1327A (120–140 mbsf)
the LWD tools is very high — correlates with the cold interval in the IR image of Hole U1327C (130–160 mbsf), except
measurements are collected at for a ~10-m-depth difference. The resistivity log in Hole U1327D shows a high resistivity
~3 cm intervals while the tools interval at 155–160 mbsf, which correlates with a cold interval observed in the IR image
are rotating, which provides from cores taken in the same hole. The resistivity log in Hole U1327E has no high
56 resistivity and 16 density resistivity interval (after Riedel et al., 2006). Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 253 9/23/10 6:15:55 PM

measurements of the sediment properties around the inner closely tracks saturation derived from conventional wire-
circumference of the borehole. Janik et al. (2009) utilize line and LWD log data. Heterogeneity may be caused by
both LWD resistivity and density images to compute hy- fracturing and fracture-controlled gas-hydrate deposition.
drate concentration at this resolution around the borehole at Gas-hydrate formation within faults and fractures has been
sites drilled during ODP Leg 204 (see Figure 7). Azimuthal observed at several sites and in a variety of logging and
profiles taken across this image are shown at several depths core-derived data sets (e.g., Tréhu et al., 2003; Weinberger
and clearly indicate the strong variability of gas-hydrate sat- and Brown, 2006; Cook et al., 2007). Figure 8 illustrates
uration with borehole azimuth. When averaged around the an LWD image at the ODP Site 1244 where high resistiv-
borehole, gas-hydrate saturation computed from the image ity and low-density zones correspond to hydrate-filled frac-
tures. There is considerable
azimuthal variation in gas-
hydrate distribution, sug-
ODP Leg 204 Site 1250 gesting that the gas hydrate
Azimuthal variability in gas hydrate Gas hydrate saturation Average gas hydrate forms in steeply dipping
saturation at arbitrarily chosen depths image of borehole wall saturation
0 (%) 95
faults and fractures in this
interval (Janik et al., 2009).
50 4m
2.0 Subvertical fractures feed-
40 7.0
ing fluid and gas to shal-
30 10 low sediments have also
0 90 180 270 360 12.0
4
16m "Ring" saturation been observed at the sum-
2 17.0
"SFLU" saturation mit of Hydrate Ridge and
20 Avg. azim. saturat.
0
at IODP Site 1328 on the
0 90 180 270 360 22.0
28m
northern Cascadia margin
10
27.0 (Tréhu et al., 2003; Riedel
30
0 32.0 et al., 2006). It is interest-
0 90 180 270 360
40m
ing to note that the zone of
10 37.0
40 dipping gas-hydrate layers
5
0
42.0 suggested by the LWD data
Gas hydrate saturation (%)
0 90 180 270 360

52m 47.0 in Hole 1244D corresponds
20 50 to a depth interval with only
52.0
very small Cl - anomalies
Depth (mbsf)
0
0 90 180 270 360
64m
57.0 in Hole 1244B, indicating
5 60
62.0 strong horizontal as well
as vertical heterogeneity
0 67.0
0 90 180 270 360
70
in gas-hydrate distribution
10 76m
72.0 (Tréhu et al., 2004), similar
5
77.0 to the spatial heterogeneity
0
0 90 180 270 360 80 observed elsewhere on the
88m 82.0
20 Cascadia margin during Ex-
10 87.0 pedition 311 (see Figure 6).
0 90
0 90 180 270 360
92.0
100m
50
97.0
100
Stress state and
0
1
0 90 180 270 360 102.0 formation strength
112m
0.5 107.0 from logs
110
0
0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360 0 Recent evidence from
20 40 60
Azimuthal orientation Azimuthal orientation Gas hydrate saturation (%)
borehole logs suggests for-
Figure 7. Computed image of gas-hydrate saturation estimates at ODP Site 1250. Center: mation strengthening in
computation of gas-hydrate saturation using Archie’s equation. Left panel: profiles of gas-hydrate-bearing inter-
azimuthal variability of saturation at different depth values. Right panel: gas-hydrate vals and weakening below
the base of the GHSZ. In the
saturation calculated from LWD ring resistivity measurement (red line), spherically focused
resistivity (SFLU) wireline measurements (cyan line), and azimuthal average of the 56 LWD Mallik 5L-38 well, McLel-
image resistivity measurements (blue line) (after Janik et al., 2009). Used by permission. lan et al. (2005b) noted the
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 254 9/23/10 6:16:26 PM

Figure 8. LWD resistivity images from 66 to 73 mbsf

in ODP Hole 1244D. Bright regions (high resistivity) are
indicative of gas hydrate when they also correspond to low-
density zones (after Tréhu et al., 2003). Strong heterogeneity
of gas-hydrate concentration due to fracture-controlled
deposition is suggested. Used by permission.
absence of well-defined borehole breakouts (stress-induced

elongations in the cross-sectional shape of the borehole)
over long intervals of gas-hydrate-bearing sandstones and Figure 9. Azimuth of borehole breakouts indicated in LWD
siltstones. An additional example was observed on the Cas- resistivity images at ODP Leg 204 sites (from Goldberg and
cadia margin, where caliper logs from IODP Hole U1325A Janik, 2006). Used by permission.
show an in-gauge borehole through the GHSZ giving way
to borehole caving just below (Riedel et al., 2006).
On Hydrate Ridge, borehole breakouts were detected Janik et al., (2004) estimate a lower limit of formation
using LWD resistivity images at three sites located on strength for gas-hydrate-bearing sediments. The strength-
the flanks of the ridge, primarily toward the continental ening effect of gas hydrate impedes borehole deformation
coastline and only at depths below the base of gas-hydrate where it would otherwise be present, and conversely, the
stability (Goldberg and Janik, 2006). No breakouts were dissociation of gas hydrate may promote borehole defor-
observed at sites near the ridge crest, which is uplifted mation and formation weakening within the GHSZ under
and under extension (Weinberger and Brown, 2006) or the same stress conditions (Goldberg et al., 2004).
shallow in the sediment section, which is likely strength- Wireline velocity and density logs are used to com-
ened by the presence of gas hydrate within the stability pute the response of rock to infinitesimal dynamic elastic
zone. Based on the orientation of the breakouts, the di- strain. Goldberg et al. (2004) compare the bulk modulus K
rection of the in situ maximum horizontal stress (sHmax) computed from sonic logs at Mallik 5L-38 and ODP site
can be determined (Figure 9) and is consistent with the 1250. Figure 10 indicates that the average bulk modulus
regional tectonic and ridge uplift stresses (Goldberg and is consistently higher in gas-hydrate-bearing than in water-
Janik, 2006). Precise measurements of breakout width in saturated sediments at both sites. Gas-hydrate saturation is
conjunction with information from laboratory tests on 4–15 times higher in Mallik, where the moduli are ~18MPa,
core samples can provide constraints on sHmax and shmin than at Site 1250 where they are ~4.5MPa. K decreases be-
(the minimum horizontal stress) at the depths where low the GHSZ by >50% in Mallik 5L-38 and by ~12.5% at
breakouts occur. Site 1250, in the absence of lithological or other changes
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 255 9/23/10 6:16:26 PM

Summary
Because gas hydrate is
difficult to sample and study
in the laboratory, in situ
detection methods in drill
holes are critical in obtain-
ing ground truth needed to
interpret geophysical data.
The primary in situ method
for detection and quantifica-
tion of gas hydrates is resis-
tivity logging. Gas hydrate
is indicated by a significant
increase in formation resis-
tivity as electrically insu-
lating gas hydrate replaces
conductive pore water. The
use of Archie’s equation is
the most common method
for estimating gas-hydrate
saturation from in situ bore-
hole data. Compressional
and shear wave velocity and
attenuation increase in gas-
hydrate-bearing formations.
Density logs show little or
no change in gas-hydrate-
bearing sediments but when
analyzed together with wire-
line magnetic resonance log-
ging, these logs together can
Figure 10. Logging and image data from Mallik 5L-38 and ODP Site 1250, illustrating quantify the volume of gas
the properties of gas-hydrate and water-bearing formations above and below the base of hydrate. Image methods are
gas-hydrate stability (BGHSZ) and BSR, respectively (after Goldberg et al., 2004). Note uniquely suited for evalua-
the decrease in bulk modulus corresponding with decreases in gas-hydrate saturation at tion of the local distribution
1078–1086 m in Mallik 5L-38. Used by permission. of hydrate in the vicinity of
the borehole and often indi-
cate irregular in situ distri-
in either hole. Furthermore, a thick sandstone layer at the butions, particularly in marine environments. Sediment
base of gas-hydrate occurrence in the Mallik 5L-38 well strengthening related to the presence of gas hydrate, the
has high and isotropic values in the gas hydrate affected possible dissociation of gas hydrate, and the change in
sediment but velocity anisotropy of ~10% below it. Plona free gas concentration in the vicinity of a borehole may
and Kane (2005) suggest that the anisotropy is stress in- also be observed from in situ borehole logs. Such in situ
duced as a result of mechanical elongation of the borehole information is primarily useful for (1) the identifica-
in a direction consistent with the regional sHmax orientation of gas hydrate and gas-hydrate-bearing sediments
tion. The water-bearing sand below the GHSZ is signifi- and their distribution with depth, (2) the estimation of
cantly weaker than the partially gas-hydrate-filled sand porosity and gas-hydrate saturation, (3) reconnaissance
above, which is strong enough to impede hole deformation. to identify thin gas-hydrate-bearing layers to be targeted
Similar results have been observed in gas-hydrate-bearing by subsequent coring and sampling, (4) the calibration
hemipelagic sediments in the Nankai Trough, where stress- of surface seismic and other remote geophysical data,
induced anisotropy from the sonic log agreed with stress and (5) the identification of natural fractures and other
orientations and formation strength estimates from forma- structures that put the accumulation of gas hydrate in a
tion fracture tests at nearby sites (Murray et al., 2006). geological context.
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 256 9/23/10 6:16:53 PM

Acknowledgments well-log displays, in S. R. Dallimore, T. Uchida, and T.

S. Collett, eds., Scientific results from JAPEX/JNOC/
Some samples and data used in this analysis were GSC Mallik 2L-38 Gas Hydrate Research Well, Mack-
provided by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and Inte- enzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada: Geological
grated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), which are funded Survey of Canada Bulletin 544, 295–312.
by the U. S. National Science Foundation and participating Collett, T. S., and R. F. Wendlandt, 2000, Formation evalu-
countries. ation of gas-hydrate-bearing marine sediments on the
Blake Ridge with downhole geochemical log measure-
ments, in C. K. Paull, R. Matsumoto, P. J. Wallace, and
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ODP Leg 204: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 222, 10.1190/1.1442181.
no. 3-4, 845–862, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2004.03.035.
02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 261 9/23/10 6:17:17 PM

02181_SEG_GH_C16.indd 262 9/23/10 6:17:17 PM

Chapter 17
Borehole Pressure Coring Techniques and Core Analysis

at In Situ Pressure
Peter Schultheiss1, Melanie Holland1, and Frank Rack2
Abstract and small scales, from seismic to borehole surveys, pro-

vides continuous data about the nature and location of
Pressure coring and pressure core analysis are essen- gas-hydrate-bearing sediments. However, to interpret this
tial components for the investigation of natural gas hydrate continuous data properly, the exact quantity and distribu-
in the marine environment. To sample gas-hydrate-bearing tion of gas hydrate within sediment must be known. Cur-
sediments over their entire range of occurrence (up to sev- rently, these parameters can only be determined through
eral hundred meters below the seafloor), wireline sampling recovery of sediments to the laboratory.
tools, deployed during drilling operations, are required. Ide- Gas-hydrate-bearing sediments sampled by conven-
ally, pressure coring devices for gas hydrate would maintain tional coring techniques are disturbed by gas-hydrate
both in situ temperatures and pressures, but in practice only dissociation and gas exsolution. The use of a pressure-
pressure has been maintained by coring devices, as temper- retaining coring system is the only way to ensure the
ature changes have been minimized by careful deployment recovery of gas-hydrate-bearing sediment with minimal
procedures. Three wireline pressure coring systems are in disturbance. Gas-hydrate-bearing sediment sampled by
use, primarily for scientific investigations: the Pressure Core pressure core can be used immediately to determine the
Sampler, the Pressure Temperature Coring Sampler, and distribution and morphology of gas hydrate relative to
the HYACINTH system (deployment of HYACE tools in the surrounding sediment and to quantify the gas hydrate
new tools on hydrates). All three systems have retrieved gas- within a volume of sediment. Samples of gas-hydrate-
hydrate-bearing pressure cores. The HYACINTH system bearing sediment can also be transferred under pres-
also allows further analysis and mainpulation of pressurized sure to shore-based institutions for detailed laboratory
cores. Nondestructive testing of HYACINTH cores at full investigations.
pressure, including X-ray imaging, has allowed these cores
to be visualized and characterized, revealing detailed gas-hy-
drate morphologies. Future developments in pressure coring Wireline Pressure Coring
and analysis will allow more samples under pressure to make Systems
their way into individual laboratories for specialized testing.
Scientific ocean drilling of gas-hydrate-bearing sedi-
ment has been the main driving force for the development
Introduction: Why Take of pressure coring tools. Although there are a few surface-
deployed piston coring and multicorer systems that bring
Pressure Cores? back sediment (and gas hydrate) under pressure (Hohnberg
Understanding gas hydrate in the worldwide sedi- et al., 2003), this paper focuses on wireline pressure cor-
mentary environment relies on a combination of tech- ing, as downhole tools are required to obtain samples deep
niques at varying scales. Remote sensing at both large into a sedimentary formation for ground truth of remote
sensing data. The first successful wireline pressure cor-
ing tool was the Pressure Core Barrel (PCB) developed by
1
Geotek Limited, Daventry, Northants,
Downloaded United
25 Jun 2012 Kingdom. Redistribution
to 95.28.162.50. E-mail: subject tothe
SEG Deep
license orSea Drilling
copyright; Terms of Project (DSDP, 1984) but no longer
peter@geotek.co.uk, melanie@geotek.co
2
Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. E-mail: used. The PCB was replaced by the Pressure Core Sampler
frack2@unl.edu (PCS), developed by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP).
263
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 263 9/22/10 7:29:17 PM

most recently on the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program

Expedition 1 in 2006 (Bay of Bengal).
The original ODP PCS has undergone a few changes
since it was first described (Pettigrew, 1992). It now recov-
ers a 1-m-long, 4.32-cm-diameter sediment core in a metal
inner barrel at pressures of up to 690 bar (equivalent to ap-
proximately 7000-m water depth). The core is cut by a pilot
bit extending ahead of the main drill bit, driven by rotation
of the whole drill string from the top drive on the drill ship
(see Figure 1). After the core has been cut, the inner core
tube (containing the core) is retracted into the sample cham-
ber (called the autoclave), and the pressure is maintained
by closing a ball valve at the lower end of the chamber. For
ODP Leg 204, the PCS was instrumented to measure tem-
perature, pressure (internal and external), and conductivity
during recovery (Rack et al., 2006). The PCS can recover
cores in sediments that range from soft to stiff clays and has
recovered cores containing massive gas hydrate on ODP
Leg 204.
After retrieval, the autoclave is removed from the tool
for scientific investigations. With the PCS, these investiga-
tions have generally consisted of controlled depressuriza-
tion of the core to determine the methane saturation and
hence the amount of gas hydrate or free gas in the core (see
Depressurization analysis of pressure cores; Dickens et al.,
Figure 1. Diagram of pressure core sampler (PCS) from 2000; Milkov et al., 2004). When the PCS core has been
Graber et al. (2002), showing core barrel extended in coring fully depressurized, the inner barrel is removed from the
position and retracted in autoclave after collecting core. Used autoclave, and the sediment is extruded into a half-round
by permission. liner. More recently, since IODP Expedition 311 in 2005,
both the inner and outer barrels have been manufactured
from an aluminum alloy that has enabled some nonde-
structive testing to be performed using the HYACINTH
Following the success of the PCS, two new pressure coring measurement systems. X-ray images and gamma density
development programs began, each designed to overcome profiles can now be obtained from the upper half of the
some of the perceived shortcomings of the PCS. core while still at full pressure (see Nondestructive analysis
on pressure cores).
PCS PTCS
The PCS was developed by the ODP (Pettigrew, 1992; The PTCS was developed by Aumann Associates, Inc.,
Graber et al., 2002; Figure 1) after the PCB was retired be- under contract to the Japan Oil, Gas, and Metals National
cause of tool compatibility conflicts. The PCS was initially Corporation (JOGMEC, formerly Japanese National Oil
used extensively in hydrate-bearing formations on the first Company, JNOC). The system has been in development
dedicated gas-hydrate drilling expedition (ODP Leg 164) since 1996 for the express purpose of sampling gas hy-
on Blake Ridge (Paull et al., 1996). The PCS successfully drate. The PTCS has been exclusively used by JOGMEC/
collected gas-hydrate-rich pressure cores that enabled the JNOC to investigate gas hydrate in the Nankai Trough off
concentration of methane (and hence gas hydrate) to be Japan, with the last major expedition in 2004 recovering
determined from depressurization/degassing experiments 161 m of PTCS core (Takahashi and Tsuji, 2005). The gas-
(Dickens et al., 2000). It was subsequently used on ODP hydrate-rich samples recovered on this expedition were
Leg 201 in 2001 (Peru Margin; D’Hondt et al., 2003) and predominantly sandstones, although some massive hydrate
three dedicated gas hydrate expeditions: ODP Leg 204 in layers were observed within mudstones.
2002 (Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon;
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 toTréhu et al.,
95.28.162.50. 2003), subject to SEG
Redistribution license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
The PTCS is in many ways similar to the PCS, latching
International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition into the rotating drill string to cut core and using a ball valve
311 in 2005 (Cascadia margin; Riedel et al., 2006), and to seal the autoclave. The two major differences between
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 264 9/22/10 7:29:17 PM

Chapter 17: Borehole Pressure Coring Techniques and Core Analysis at In Situ Pressure 265
the PCS and the PTCS are that the PTCS takes larger di-
ameter (67 mm) and longer (3 m) cores by operating in a
large drill pipe and that the PTCS originally incorporated
an active thermoelectric cooling system. The active cooling
system was thought necessary, or at least desirable, to keep
gas-hydrate samples cold to prevent dissociation. However,
it was subsequently discarded once it was found that when
working in cold water environments, gas hydrate could be
kept stable using measures to minimize rapid temperature
rises (e.g., passive thermal insulation, rapid core recovery,
and ice baths). The large cores recovered provide a much
larger bulk sample and a longer section of the formation
than can be sampled with other pressure coring systems,
although the PTCS can only be used inside a larger size
drill pipe (5.5-in-inner diameter) than is normally used by
ODP, IODP, and geotechnical drilling vessels (4.5-in-inner
diameter).
The most recent operation of the PTCS in 2004 from
the JOIDES Resolution has been documented by Taka-
hashi and Tsuji (2005). On this operation, once the PTCS
was retrieved, the autoclave was placed into an ice bath for
hours before being opened. After rapid depressurization of
the corer autoclave, the plastic core liner was removed and
examined by an infrared camera to look for cool sections,
which indicated the presence of gas hydrate as it began to
Figure 2. Diagram of the FRPC and the FPC showing
dissociate (see Infrared Analysis of Gas-Hydrate-Bearing
common components where possible. FRPC accumulator
Sediments, this volume). These gas-hydrate-bearing por-
is not pictured.
tions were immediately placed into liquid nitrogen and
awaited examination and detailed analysis on shore. Less
cool sections were visually examined and stored in a drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution alongside the PCS: ODP
refrigerator. Leg 204 in 2002 (Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon; Tréhu
et al., 2003); IODP Expedition 311 in 2005 (Casca-
dia margin, offshore Vancouver Island, Canada; Riedel
HYACINTH et al., 2006); and the India National Gas Hydrate Program
(NGHP) Expedition 1. The HYACINTH tools have also
The HYACINTH pressure coring system (Schultheiss et been deployed off geotechnical drilling vessels and plat-
al., 2006), developed by the European Union but currently forms on five other dedicated commercial gas-hydrate ex-
operated through a partnership between Geotek Ltd. and Fu- peditions for national governments and industry in 2003,
gro, is an integrated system that includes two coring tools 2005, 2006, and 2007.
and an array of downstream core processing equipment and The HYACINTH coring tools differ in a number of
capabilities. The system is currently designed to operate at significant design respects from the PCS and PTCS. The
up to 350 bar (equivalent to approximately 3500 m water HYACINTH tools penetrate the sediment using downhole
depth). The combined system enables the cores to be trans- driving mechanisms powered by fluid circulation rather
ferred in their core liners from the pressure coring autoclaves than by top-driven rotation with the drill string, which sig-
into chambers for nondestructive testing, subsampling, and nificantly improves core quality. Both HYACINTH tools
storage as might be required for different investigations. The use flapper valve sealing mechanisms at the bottom end
two coring tools, the Fugro pressure corer (FPC) and the Fu- above the cutting shoe, rather than a ball valve, to maxi-
gro rotary pressure corer (FRPC), Figure 2, were designed mize the diameter of the recovered core relative to the
to recover high-quality cores in a complete range of sedi- drill pipe. The HYACINTH pressure core autoclaves are
mentary formations. Testing and use of the FPC and FRPC attached to gas-charged pressure accumulators, which
have been made in close cooperation with the ODP and its partially compensate for drops in core pressure caused by
successor program, the IODP.25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject totool
Downloaded SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
volume expansion during core retrieval. The recov-
The two HYACINTH coring tools have been used on ered HYACINTH cores are contained in an inner plastic
three dedicated scientific gas-hydrate expeditions on the liner and can be manipulated and transferred into other
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 265 9/22/10 7:29:19 PM

chambers for analysis, storage, and transportation under sediments, was the original bit used with the FRPC (Figure
full pressure. 3). This design allows the core to enter into the inner barrel
The FPC (Figure 2) is a HYACINTH-compatible before any flushing fluid can contaminate the material be-
percussion corer developed by Fugro Engineers. A water ing cored. The lined core is 51 mm in diameter (liner outer
hammer, driven by the circulating fluid pumped down the diameter is 56 mm). On completion of coring, the tool is
drill pipe, is used to drive the FPC core barrel into the lifted off the bottom using the drill string, and then the core
sediment up to one meter ahead of the drill bit. In soft is retracted into the autoclave by pulling in on the wireline
sediments it simply acts as a push corer, and no hammer- in a similar manner to the FPC with the pressure again be-
ing is required. The core liner (63 mm outside, 57 mm ing sealed by a flapper valve. Most gas-hydrate expeditions
inside diameter) is retracted into the autoclave chamber do not encounter the very hard lithified material for which
past a flapper valve that seals the bottom end of the core. the FRPC bit was originally designed, so on the most recent
In its current configuration, the FPC is suitable for use expedition off India a new auger style helical bit (the Vi-
with unlithified sediments ranging from soft through stiff king) was used successfully to enhance penetration in much
and sandy clays. softer materials (Figure 3).
The FRPC, previously known as the HYACE Rotary
Corer (HRC; Figure 2), is a HYACINTH-compatible rotary
corer developed by the Technical University of Berlin and
the Technical University of Clausthal. An inverse Moineau Recovering Gas Hydrate in
motor, driven by the circulating fluid pumped down the drill Pressure Cores
pipe, is used to rotate the cutting shoe independently of the
drill pipe up to one meter ahead of the roller cone bit. A nar- The ultimate goal for gas-hydrate sampling would be to
row kerf, dry auger design cutting shoe with polycrystalline maintain the exact in situ temperature and pressure through-
diamond cutting elements, designed to core into lithified out core capture, recovery, and analysis. This is not possible
with the pressure corers of
today, which have no tem-
perature control and no active
pressure control; however,
with a careful eye to tool op-
erations, cores can be brought
back that have remained in-
side the gas-hydrate stabil-
ity zone, even in warm water
environments.
The PCS, FPC, and
FRPC all have pressure and
temperature (P/T) data log-
gers that record the complete
deployment of the tool and
enable the P/T history of the
deployment to be analyzed.
Recent expeditions have also
tested small micro P/T data
loggers that are small enough
to fit close to the sediment
core itself. In the FPC and
FRPC these data loggers
were fixed inside the piston
at the top of the core, and in
the PCS they were fixed to
the outside of the inner bar-
Figure 3. Top: Picture of original FRPC diamond bit and dry auger designed for cutting rel. These small data loggers
core in lithified sediments or hard rock (top right, bottom), and modified FRPC auger bit provided a much improved
(the “Viking”), designed to penetrate soft or sticky formations (top left, middle). assessment of the temperature
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 266 9/22/10 7:29:33 PM

of the core because the tool

data loggers are remote from
the core and heavily influ-
enced by the large thermal
mass of the tool itself.
Staying in the
stability zone:
Pressure
In a sealed, water-filled
corer containing a water-
saturated sediment core, the
internal pressure is very sen- Figure 4. Diagrams showing effects of temperature and pressure on the internal
sitive to any volume changes pressure of pressure cores. Changes in volume produced by temperature or pressure
that occur either to the auto- (including compression of compliant components) produce changes in internal
clave or to the contents them- pressure.
selves. Small volume changes
occur from changes in tem-
perature during recovery as
well as the large reduction in
external pressure that occurs
during recovery (Figure 4).
The total internal volume of
the autoclave increases as the
external pressure is reduced.
This increase is primarily
from the compression of
compliant components (O-
rings, etc.) as the tool seals
but also from expansion of
the tool itself. Differential
heating and thermal expan-
sion of the autoclave and its
contents can also cause rela-
tive volume changes, which
can become very important
in regions with warm surface
waters. To minimize the re-
duction in pressure caused
by differential expansion
from both temperature and
pressure effects, the FRPC Figure 5. Simulated deployment of pressure core showing effects of temperature
and FPC coring autoclaves and pressure on the internal pressure of pressure cores. Initially, the core is sealed
contain a gas accumulator inside the autoclave with a pressure of 100 bar at 108C, and there is no further transfer
that is normally set at around of mass (i.e., the autoclave does not leak). We assume a 0.1% increase in volume of
80%–90% of the anticipated the autoclave caused by drop in external pressure from seafloor to sea surface caused
in situ pressure. This allows by expansion of the steel autoclave and volume changes from tool sealing. The additional
the tool to expand (or con- increase in autoclave volume caused by the thermal expansion of the steel 26
container
tract) slightly without any was calculated using a linear thermal expansion coefficient of 17.3 3 10 /K. The
change in density of water was calculated using the new volume and the resulting
significant change Downloaded
in pres-25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
pressure determined from the equation of state for water (UNESCO, 1981) using a
sure, keeping the pressure
salinity of 35 ppt.
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 267 9/22/10 7:29:47 PM

high and minimizing the chances of the core moving out typically return with higher percentages of the in situ
of the gas-hydrate stability zone. pressure than does the PCS.
To illustrate the problem of maintaining a constant
pressure, Figure 5 shows an idealized plot of tempera- Staying in the stability zone:
ture and pressure for a pressure coring operation, using a Temperature
tool with an internal volume of five liters recovered from
1000-m-water depth. Figure 5 shows simplified tempera- Warming of pressure cores must be minimized for both
ture profiles for both the steel autoclave and the internal scientific and safety reasons. To minimize warming to cores
contents (water and sediment core), which are signifi- in warm water environments, the tool is recovered to the
cantly different. This exercise, whereas not completely rig floor on the wireline as fast as practically possible, nor-
rigorous, shows how large pressure changes could occur mally at a speed of 100 m/min but up to 250 m/min. When
even if a pressure coring system sealed perfectly. A core the core is retrieved from the drill pipe, it is immediately in-
that sealed at 100 bar in situ might reach the laboratory at serted into an ice bath (an ice-water-filled shuck hanging in
only 60% of that pressure unless an accumulator (pres- the moon pool) for 30 min to chill the core below 28C. Dur-
sure capacitor) were installed to mitigate these effects. ing this chilling period, the next rig floor operation or tool
The original design for the PCS included an accumula- deployment can be performed and hence the cooling time
tor, but it was removed to make room for the pressure and has little or no impact on drilling activities. The autoclave
temperature monitoring system. The use of an accumula- portion of the tool should then be chilled or insulated as it is
tor is likely the primary reason why the FPC and FRPC removed from the rest of the tool (5–10-min operation). The
autoclave is then moved to a
temperature-controlled van
for analysis (typically held at
around 48C).
In the warmest environ-
ments, the cores may re-
quire chilling before passing
through hot surface waters;
this can be accomplished by
pausing wireline retrieval at
the mudline, the coolest loca-
tion in the drill string. If the
coring tools are in the sun-
shine before deployment, use
of the ice bath or a mudline
stop may be required to chill
the tool prior to coring.
Pressure and
temperature
changes during a
Figure 6. Annotated plot of pressure and temperature versus time from the tool data logger typical deployment
and the internal P/T logger (DST data logger, Star-Oddi) for an FPC deployment. Initially,
the pressure rises rapidly and the temperature drops as the tool is lowered in the pipe to the Figures 6 and 7 illustrate
coring depth. Small pressure perturbations are observed during the coring process at around the pressure and temperature
130 bar after which the tool is raised to the mudline (100 bar) for a cooling stop. In this history during the course of a
instance, the tool completely seals during the wireline trip at 90 bar, and the pressure inside typical deployment of a pres-
the autoclave drops slowly, caused by tool volume changes as the tool is rapidly raised to sure coring tool, as recorded
the surface (about 10 min). As the tool reaches warmer surface waters after passing through by the tool data logger and
the thermocline, the temperature of the tool rises sharply, although the internal DST data the internal micro P/T data
logger shows that the temperature near the actual core rises much more slowly. Once the tool logger. Whereas the pressure
is recovered to the deck,Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
the pressure inside the autoclave rises again as the contents slowly records of the two different
warm. This trend of warming and pressure increase is reversed when the tool is chilled in the P/T logging devices are very
ice shuck. similar, the large temperature
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 268 9/22/10 7:30:29 PM

excursions recorded by the tool data logger are not reflected

in the temperature of the internal data logger, situated next
to the core. This comparison between internal and external
temperature data may be used to better interpret past tool
data logger P/T records showing large thermal excursions
in which no internal thermal data are available.
Nondestructive Analysis of
Pressure Cores: Gas Hydrate
Distribution
Quick nondestructive measurements on pressure cores
allow an immediate survey of the core to determine if a suc-
cessful core has been retrieved and to look for obvious signs
of the presence of gas hydrate. More careful nondestructive
measurements provide primary data on sediment-hydrate
properties to ground-truth larger-scale measurements. The
HYACINTH system was designed to facilitate analysis after
recovery, and thus all HYACINTH cores have had some non-
destructive testing performed on them; the PCS has more re-
cently begun to be examined under pressure. We are unaware
of any nondestructive measurements having been attempted
through the steel autoclave of the PTCS.
Nondestructive measurements on
HYACINTH cores
On early expeditions with the HYACINTH system,
nondestructive measurements on pressure cores were made
using the Geotek MSCL-V (Vertical Multisensor Core Log-
Figure 7. Annotated plot of pressure versus temperature
ger) system after the core had been transferred from the au- versus time from the tool data logger and the internal P/T
toclave to a measurement or storage chamber. More recently, data logger for the FPC deployment shown in Figure 6,
the Geotek MSCL-P (Pressurized Multisensor Core Logger) showing trajectory relative to gas hydrate stability (35 ppt
has been employed, allowing measurements, including X- salinity) as calculated from Xu (2002, 2004).
rays, to be made with the aid of the HYACINTH transfer
system itself. The modular design of the complete HYA-
CINTH system enables additional experimental chambers to into the transfer system. All the manipulato r operations
be designed by third parties and used with the cores retrieved are performed under computer control to ensure accurate
under pressure (see Further analysis and subsampling under positioning. The autoclave can then be removed and the
pressure). transfer system connected to the Geotek MSCL-P (Figure
Figure 8 illustrates the general concepts and pro- 8d). The MSCL-P unit enables detailed profiles of gamma
cesses associated with core transfer and subsequent density and ultrasonic P-wave velocity to be obtained
measurements that are routinely made under pressure in along the length of the core. It also allows a complete
the HYACINTH system. Figure 9 shows a picture of the X-ray image of the core to be collected. Once baseline
inside of the cold 20-ft container laboratory that houses MSCL-P data is collected, the core may be depressurized
the HYACINTH transfer and analysis equipment. When while obtaining more measurements (Figure 8eII; also
a core is first recovered in the autoclave, the autoclave is see Depressurization analysis of pressure cores) or can
connected to the transfer system. The transfer system is be stored under pressure (Figure 8g). Core stored under
filled with water, and the pressures are carefully balanced pressure may be subjected to other analyses through the
before the ball valves are opened. The long manipulator is storage vessel walls (e.g., X-ray CT) or transferred into
moved from the transfer system into the corer autoclave further analytical chambers (see Further analysis and sub-
to catch the core (Figure 8b), and the core is retracted sampling under pressure).
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 269 9/22/10 7:30:36 PM

Figure 8. Diagram [cartoon

sounds awkward] of pressurized
HYACINTH core manipulation.
(a) The start position, (b)
the catch position after the
autoclave has been attached
with core under pressure,
(c) the retract position showing
the core removed from the
autoclave, and (d) the core log
position with the MSCL-P in
place. Core can then proceeed
to (e-1) the degas position
with the core catcher under
the gas escape port (core is
removed when pressure drops to
atmospheric pressure) or to
(e-2) the shear position in the
shear transfer chamber where
the core liner is cut under full
pressure, (f) the push position
in which the core is pushed
into the storage chamber, and
(g) the store position in which
the manipulator rod is retracted,
the ball valve closed, and the
core free to be transported in
the storage chamber at full in
situ pressure.
Two examples are shown here of nondestructive data 12) in the fine-grained sediments. The second example of
collected on HYACINTH pressure cores, which highlight a HYACINTH data set is from another core composed en-
the surprising observations made on pressure cores re- tirely of homogenous clays. The X-ray image of this core
garding the nature of gas hydrate in clay sediments. The revealed gas-hydrate nodules, horizontal lenses, and sub-
first example is from a core (Figure 10) that had abnor- vertical veins (Figure 13). Though the core was rotated
mally high P-wave velocities throughout its length (Figure (Figure 14) to discern the differences in the velocity and
11) as well as thin, vertical low-density structures in the density anisotropy (Figure 15), the true complexity of the
X-ray (Figure 10). When this core was rapidly depressur- grain-displacing hydrate was not evident until the core
ized for distribution to other laboratories, cut sample ends underwent X-ray CT (computed tomography) analysis
showed many thin subvertical gas-hydrate veins (Figure (Figure 16).
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 270 9/22/10 7:30:46 PM

Figure 9. Inside of the pressure coring van over the core

tech shop showing the long shear transfer system in the
center with the MSCL-P being adjusted at the far end. Photo
credit: IODP. Used by permission.
Figure 10. MSCL-P data collected at 120 bar and 78C for
core 311-U1327D-14E: gamma density, P-wave velocity,
Nondestructive measurements and X-ray images (dense structures are darker). X-ray
on PCS cores images have been stretched 250% in the cross-core direction
to show detail, including thin vertical low-density features
Traditionally, the PCS did not have nondestructive (from IODP Expedition 311; Riedel et al., 2006). Used by
measurements made on the core before depressurization permission.
and volumetric analysis of released gas (see next Depres-
surization analysis of pressure cores section). However,
just prior to IODP Expedition 311, the steel inner and
outer barrels of the PCS autoclave were replaced by alu-
minum barrels and some nondestructive analyses have Depressurization Analysis of
become possible. During IODP Expedition 311 and India Pressure Cores: Gas Hydrate
NGHP Expedition 1, the PCS was routinely X-rayed im- Quantification
mediately after retrieval using a modified MSCL-P sys-
tem. Some steel elements remain in the PCS autoclave that Reliable data on methane concentration is impossible
obscure the bottom half of the core, but the X-rays proved to obtain from conventional coring techniques because
extremely useful in identifying probable gas-hydrate struc- natural gas solubility decreases significantly as pressure
tures within sediment (Figure 17) as well as the amount decreases during the recovery of cores to the surface. Con-
of sediment cored, which is important for the methane ventional cores containing methane release large volumes
mass balance (see Depressurization analysis of pressure of gas (Wallace et al., 2000; Paull and Ussler, 2000), and
cores). However, the combination of these baseline mea- any gas volume measurements made on conventional cores
surements, together Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
with measurements made during de- are gross underestimates of the in situ natural gas concen-
pressurization, have had the largest scientific utility (see trations. The only way to directly preserve and determine
Depressurization analysis of pressure cores). the in situ concentrations of natural gas in the subseafloor
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 271 9/22/10 7:31:05 PM

Figure 11. Gamma density versus P-wave velocity for core

311-U1327D-14E (red). Data are also shown for the bulk of
core 311-U1329E-9E (blue, Figure 21), with best-fit line.
These blue points show a normal positive correlation between
density and P-wave velocity (from IODP Expedition 311;
Riedel et al., 2006). Used by permission.
Figure 13. X-ray images of FPC core, with enlargements

(a-c) showing different gas hydrate morphologies in fine-
grained sediment. Dense structures are dark (from India
NGHP-01). Used by permission.
Figure 12. Photograph of gas-hydrate flake, approximately

1-mm-thick, in core catcher of rapidly depressurized core Figure 14. X-ray images of FPC core in Figure 13, rotated
311-U1327D-14E. The flakes of gas hydrate were oriented every 158. The lighter patches (less dense) in Figure 13 are
vertically in the core (from IODP Expedition 311; Riedel revealed to be dipping veins of gas hydrate seen from a
et al., 2006). Used by permission. different angle from (India NGHP-01). Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 272 9/22/10 7:31:14 PM

Figure 15. Two sets of MSCL-P data (X-ray images,

P-wave profiles, and gamma density profiles) collected at
right angles to each other on the FPC core in Figure 13. In the
458 data set, the profiles are taken perpendicular to (through)
the major gas-hydrate veins, and a slight lowering of density
and a smooth increase in P-wave velocity is seen in the area
of greatest gas-hydrate concentration. In the 1358 data set,
the profiles are taken parallel to the major gas-hydrate veins,
causing low-density spikes and a complex P-wave velocity
profile. The complex vein structure creates interference in
the P-wave velocity data, causing occasional apparent low
velocities in the midst of higher values. The highest values
shown are likely to represent true velocities (from India
NGHP-01). Used by permission.
is to retrieve cores that are sealed immediately after the

coring process itself and recovered to the surface without
any losses of the constituents, that is, pressure cores.
Kvenvolden et al. (1983), Dickens et al. (2000), and
Milkov et al. (2004) developed and furthered the depres-
surization of pressure cores for gas-hydrate analysis. For
any pressure core, the principle of a depressurization ex-
periment is the same. The slow reduction of pressure al-
lows methane (and other gases), in all phases, to be released Figure 16. Horizontal X-ray computed tomographic
from the core, captured, and quantified (Figure 18). Excess slices of FPC core shown in Figure 13, next to linear X-ray,
methane is estimated by subtracting the quantity of meth- showing the complexity of gas hydrate vein features present
in this clay core. Denser features (carbonate nodules) are
ane that would be expected to be dissolved in pore waters
dark; less dense features (gas-hydrate veins) are light (from
for a core of that volume and porosity, assuming the pore
India NGHP-01). Used by permission.
waters were saturated in methane from the total quantity
of methane contained in the core. Such excess methane,
which could not have been contained in solution, is then boundary in relation to the temperature, pressure, and sa-
assumed to have been in thermodynamic equilibrium and linity at core depth. There is kinetic information contained
is assigned to either methane hydrate or free methane gas, in a depressurization experiment as well: dissolved gas
depending on the location of the hydrate-gas phase stability quickly exsolves, but gas hydrate is comparatively slow to
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 273 9/22/10 7:31:30 PM

Figure 17. PCS core dissociate because of varied gas-hydrate morphology and
311-U1328B-4P showing the endothermic nature of the reaction. If the depressuriza-
probable gas-hydrate structures tion experiment is performed slowly enough, gas hydrate
(arrows). Only the top 51 cm should dissociate at the phase boundary temperature and
of the PCS can be X-rayed; the pressure conditions, showing a large evolution of gas at a
bottom half is obscured by steel. single temperature and pressure.
Top of core is less dense because Physically, these experiments have recently been aug-
it is composed of drill cuttings, mented by nondestructive testing; the experiments are car-
not solid sediment (from IODP ried out either in the MSCL-V (for PCS cores) or while the
Expedition 311; Riedel et al., core is inside the MSCL-P (for HYACINTH cores). The
2006). Used by permission. addition of nondestructive information regarding the core
enhances the methane mass balance information gained
during a depressurization experiment. Repeated density
or X-ray scans during depressurization (examples below)
have allowed observation of gas evolution from and as-
signment of gas hydrate to specific core layers, as well as
tracking movement of sediment during depressurization to
aid in mass balance analyses. For example, a depressuriza-
tion experiment with PCS Core 311-U1328B-4P released
21.5 liters of methane, and, in so doing, forced much of
the core out of the core barrel. However, the original core
volume was required to compute the volume of methane
hydrate. The core volume at the start of the experiment
was reconstructed by following the changes in gamma
density during the experiment (Figure 19).
Figures 20 through 23 show an example highlighting
the insights gained from non-
destructive tests on pressure
cores in conjunction with de-
pressurization experiments.
In the original MSCL-P data
from core 311-U1329E-9E,
there are two high-velocity
zones (Figure 20). These
zones were associated with
small density lows, clearly
visible on the X-ray images
but with no visible differences
from other low-density zones
in the same core. The distinc-
tive nature of the two high-
velocity zones is illustrated in
a crossplot of gamma density
and P-wave velocity (Figure
21). During the depressur-
ization experiment, pressure
recovery is seen at about 30
bar (see Total gas on Figure
22), indicating the presence of
gas hydrate. Multiple gamma
Figure 18. Diagram of depressurization manifold and gas collection chamber. Gases evolved ray density profiles were col-
during depressurization pass through a pressure manifold into a 1-L bubbling chamber lected during depressurization
(inverted measuring cylinder) to determine the quantity of gas evolved. The composition of of the core (Figure 23). Gas
this gas is measured by gas chromatography onboard ship. Fluid expelled from the system is was primarily released from
also collected and measured as it equates to gas remaining within the system. two zones in the sediment and
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 274 9/22/10 7:31:59 PM

Figure 19. Repeated differential gamma density profiles on core 311-U1328B-4P, which contained 15% gas hydrate as a
percent of pore volume, showing movement of sediment and gas out of the bottom of the inner core barrel. X-ray images taken
before and after (from IODP Expedition 311; Riedel et al., 2006). Used by permission.
Figure 21. Gamma density versus P-wave velocity for core

311-U1329E-9E, showing anomalous nature of zones 1 and 2
(identified in Figure 20), which are interpreted as containing
gas hydrate (from IODP Expedition 311; Riedel et al., 2006).
Used by permission.
Figure 20. MSCL-P data collected at 120 bar and 78C for core
311-U1329E-9E, including gamma density, P-wave velocity, and
X-ray images. Two low-density, high-velocity zones, presumably
gas-hydrate-bearing, are highlighted in color. X-ray images
have been stretched 250% in the cross-core direction to show
detail (from IODP Expedition 311; Riedel et al., 2006). Used by
permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 275 9/22/10 7:32:05 PM

Figure 22. Pressure versus released gas volume, released

water volume, calculated volume of gas inside the storage
chamber, and total volume of gas evolved for core
311-U1329E-9E. A pressure recovery is seen at around
30 bar. Storage chamber (SC; from IODP Expedition 311;
Riedel et al., 2006). Used by permission.
collected at the top of the core over time, eventually forc-

ing sediment out of the top of the core liner, but the bulk of
the core showed no expansion. The two zones that evolved
gas correspond to the two higher velocity zones (Figure
20), confirming that these zones contained gas hydrate. The
7.7 L of methane released was equivalent to 1%–2% of gas
Figure 23. Differential gamma density scans collected
hydrate in pore space, if the gas hydrate had been evenly during degassing experiments on core 311-U1329E-9E.
spread throughout the core, or 5%–10% gas hydrate when Differential density scans show the difference between
concentrated in the two high-velocity zones. a baseline density scan, taken prior to depressurization,
and intermediate stages. Gas was released in two zones
corresponding to low-density, high-velocity zones seen
Further Analysis and in MSCL-P data (Figure 20), and moved to the top of the
Subsampling Under Pressure: core, forcing sediment up and out. Gas hydrate dissociated
The Future of Pressure Coring between scans 8 and 9 (from IODP Expedition 311; Riedel
et al., 2006). Used by permission.
The future of pressure coring rests in the utility of
pressure cores to the scientific community. Whereas en-
hancements can be made to the pressure coring tools, the to improve the flexibility of pressure core utilization, the
real advancements will come with improvements in the HYACINTH core transfer system will be improved to al-
capabilities for rapid onboard analysis, subsampling, and low each core to be cut into sections of varied lengths. In
more sophisticated shorebased analysis. The HYACINTH this way, parts of a core could be depressurized onboard
system already incorporates analysis and subsampling; ship, whereas other parts of the same core could be stored
other pressure coring tools will require their own transfer for shorebased studies.
and analysis systems or, alternatively, modifications to al- The promise of pressure cores will not truly be re-
low them to become HYACINTH compatible. alized until individual scientists can perform their de-
The HYACINTH transfer and analysis infrastructure sired laboratory measurements and experiments using
will be improved in the future to include routine X-ray CT never-depressurized core material. Currently two pieces
at sea. The detailed gas-hydrate structures that have been of pressurized equipment have been developed and used
revealed by X-ray CT scanning have clearly demonstrated with cores that have never been depressurized: the instru-
the need to include this type of visualization capability as mented pressure testing chamber (IPTC; Yun et al., 2006;
part of the routine operations onboard the vessel. Also, Figure 24) and the DeepIsoBug (Figure 25; Schultheiss
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 276 9/22/10 7:32:29 PM

Figure 25. The DeepIsoBug pressurized microbial core

subsampler, compatible with HYACINTH cores (described
in Schultheiss et al., 2006).
Acknowledgments
Figure 24. The IPTC (Yun et al., 2006) connected to the The authors would like to thank a wide range of people
HYACINTH system, showing ports with protruding sensors and organizations who have been particularly involved in
for P-wave velocity, shear wave velocity, electrical resistivity, the development and use of pressure coring and pressure
and sediment strength (from IODP Expedition 311; Riedel core analysis systems. They include the staff of Geotek,
et al., 2006). Used by permission. with a special thanks to Tim Francis, John Roberts, and
Matthew Druce. We thank all of the partners within the
EU-funded HYACE and HYACINTH programs, in particu-
lar, our colleagues at Fugro BV and the Technical Univer-
et al., 2006). The IPTC has allowed direct contact mea- sity of Clausthal. Special thanks go to the engineers who
surements to be made under pressure, including shear have had the most input to the design and operation of the
waves, electrical resistivity, and strength by drilling coring tools at sea, Floris Tuynder, Roeland Bass, and Mar-
holes in the liner and inserting probes directly into the tin Rothfuss. Some samples and data used in this analy-
sediments. The DeepIsoBug axially subcores a pressure sis were provided by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)
core and then aseptically slices this pressurized subcore and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), which are
for complex microbiological growth studies under pres- funded by the U. S. National Science Foundation and par-
sure. Both these systems are HYACINTH compatible: ticipating countries.
The IPTC mates directly to the HYACINTH core trans- All of the scientists and crew on the operations that
fer and manipulation system using simple HYACINTH have taken place on the JOIDES Resolution deserve our
quick clamps (Schultheiss et al., 2006) and utilizes the gratitude during the development of the HYACINTH sys-
computer-controlled core movement functions, and the tems, but we are particularly indebted to Tim Collett, Mi-
DeepIsoBug accepts a HYACINTH core sample in a stor- chael Riedel, and Mike Storms for their long-term vision.
age chamber. The technological barrier to utilization of We are grateful to the U. S. Department of Energy for sup-
never-depressurized samples has been removed, and com- port on a number of projects, including those involving
plex but realistic operations such as the preparation of third party HYACINTH-compatible instruments, through
a pressurized, gas-hydrate-bearing sediment sample for the ChevronTexaco Joint Industry project. Our close col-
electron microscopy or triaxial testing can now be under- laboration with Fugro-McClelland Marine Geosciences in
taken by the scientific community. Houston, through Gary Humphrey, has been crucial.
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 277 9/22/10 7:32:47 PM

References drilling associated with gas hydrates, in C. K. Paull

and W. P. Dillon, eds., Natural gas hydrates: Occur-
D’Hondt, S. L., B. B. Jørgensen, and D. J. Miller, 2003, rence, distribution, and detection: American Geo-
Proceedings of the ODP Initial Reports, 201, 1–20, physical Union, Geophysical Monograph Series,
(CD-ROM): Ocean Drilling Program, Texas A&M 124, 53–66.
University. Rack, F., P. J. Schultheiss, D. Goldberg, M. Storms, D.
Deep Sea Drilling Project, 1984, Design and operation of a Schroeder, B. Julson, M. Malone, T. Collett, M. Rie-
wireline pressure core barrel: DSDP Technical Note 16. del, and P. Long, 2006, Scientific ocean drilling: Char-
Dickens, G. R., P. J. Wallace, C. K. Paull, and W. S. acterizing and sampling methane hydrates: OTC Paper
Borowski, 2000, Detection of methane gas hydrate in 18011.
the pressure core sampler (PCS): Volume-pressure- Riedel, M., Collett, T. S., Malone, M. J., and the Expedi-
time relations during controlled degassing experi- tion 311 Scientists, 2006, Proc. IODP, 311: Wash-
ments, in C. K. Paull, R. Matsumoto, P. J. Wallace, and ington, DC (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
W. P. Dillon, eds., Proceedings of the ODP Scientific Management International, Inc.). doi:10.2204/iodp.
Results, 164, 113–126. proc.311.2006.
Graber, K. K., Pollard, E., Jonasson, B., and Schulte, E. Schultheiss, P. J., T. J. G. Francis, M. Holland, J. A. Rob-
(Eds.), 2002, Overview of Ocean Drilling Program erts, H. Amann, and R. J. Thjunjoto, Parkes, D. Mar-
engineering tools and hardware. ODP Tech. Note, 31. tin, M. Rothfuss, F. Tyunder, and P. D. Jackson, 2006,
doi:10.2973/odp.tn.31.2002. Also available at http:// Pressure coring, logging and sub-sampling with the
www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/tnotes/tn31/INDEX. HYACINTH system, in R. G. Rothwell, ed., New tech-
HTM, accessed 28 July 2010. niques in sediment core analysis, Geological Society
Hohnberg, H. J., H. Amann, F. Abegg, H. Mudrack, G. (London), 267, 151–163.
Bohrmann, and M. Maggiulli, 2003, Pressurized cor- Takahashi, H., and Y. Tsuji, 2005, Multi-well exploration
ing of near-surface gas hydrate sediments on Hydrate program in 2004 for natural hydrate in the Nankai
Ridge: The multiple autoclave corer, and first results trough, offshore Japan: OTC Paper 17162.
from pressure core X-ray CT scans: Geophysical Re- Tréhu, A. M., G. Bohrmann, F. R. Rack, and M. E. Torres,
search Abstract 9128, 5 (European Geophysical Soci- 2003, Proceedings of the ODP, Initial Reports, 204,
ety, Nice). CD-ROM.
Kvenvolden, K. A., L. A. Barnard, and D. H. Cameron, UNESCO, 1981, Tenth report of the joint panel on ocean-
1983, Pressure core barrel: application to the study of ographic tables and standards. UNESCO Technical
gas hydrates, Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 533, Leg Paper, in Marine Science, 36.
76, in R. E. Sheridan and F. M. Gradstein, eds., Initial Wallace, P. J., G. R. Dickens, C. K. Paull, and W. Ussler
reports DSDP, 76, 367–375. III, 2000, Effects of core retrieval and degassing on the
Milkov, A. V., G. R. Dickens, G. E. Claypool, Y.-J. Lee, carbon isotope composition of methane in gas hydrate-
W. S. Borowski, M. E. Torres, W. Xu, H. Tomaru, A. and free gas-bearing sediments from the Blake Ridge,
M. Tréhu, and P. Schultheiss, 2004, Coexistence of gas in C. K. Paull, R. Matsumoto, P. J. Wallace, and W.
hydrate, free gas, and brine within the regional gas hy- P. Dillon, eds., Proceedings of the ODP Scientific Re-
drate stability zone at Hydrate Ridge (Oregon margin): sults, 164, 101–112, CD-ROM.
evidence from prolonged degassing of a pressurized Xu, W., 2002, Phase balance and dynamic equilibrium dur-
core: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 222, no. ing formation and dissociation of methane gas hydrate:
3–4, 829–843, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2004.03.028. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on
Pettigrew, T. L., 1992, Design and operation of a wireline Gas Hydrates, 195–200.
pressure core sampler: ODP Tech Note, 17. Xu, W., 2004, Modeling dynamic marine gas hydrate sys-
Paull, C. K., Matsumoto, R. et al., 1996, Proceedings of the tems: The American Mineralogist, 89, 1271–1279.
Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports, College Sta- Yun, T. S., G. Narsilio, J. C. Santamarina, and C. Rup-
tion, TX. Ocean Drilling Program, 164: Ocean Drill- pel, 2006, Instrumented pressure testing chamber for
ing Program, College Station, TX, 5–12. characterizing sediment cores recovered at in situ
Paull, C. K., and W. Ussler III, 2000, History and sig- hydrostatic pressure: Marine Geology, 229, no. 3–4,
nificance of gas sampling during DSDP and ODP 285–293, doi: 1 0.1016/j.margeo.2006.03.012.
02181_SEG_GH_C17.indd 278 9/22/10 7:32:51 PM

Chapter 18
Seafloor Marine Heat Flux Measurements and Estimation of Heat

Flux from Seismic Observations of Bottom Simulating Reflectors
Heinrich W. Villinger1, Anne M. Tréhu2, and Ingo Grevemeyer3
Introduction BSR observations. After a short review of the theoretical

background, we present instruments and methods used to
Yamano et al. (1982) introduced the technique of us- measure seafloor heat flux and explain the required pro-
ing observations of a seismic reflection commonly known cessing steps. This is followed by an up-to-date description
as the bottom-simulating reflection (BSR) as a proxy of bottom hole temperature measurements in Ocean Drill-
for subsurface temperature. This technique is based on ing Program/Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (ODP/
interpreting the BSR to be a reflection from a boundary IODP) drill holes. A detailed description of how to estimate
above which gas hydrate is present in the sediments and/ seafloor heat flux from BSR depth and an in-depth discus-
or below which free gas is present. If one assumes that sion of the problems and pitfalls when using this methodol-
the BSR marks the base of the gas hydrate stability zone, ogy follows.
then the temperature at this boundary can be determined A compilation of marine and continental heat flux
assuming that the sediment velocity and density, the pore data (see Figure 1) can be found in the global heat flow
water and gas chemistry, the sediment thermal properties, data base (www.und.nodak.edu) compiled and maintained
the subseafloor pressure, and the seafloor temperature under the auspices of the International Heat Flow Com-
are known. However, these parameters are often poorly mission (IHFC, www.geophysik.rwth-aachen.de/IHFC/).
known, and the heat flux estimated from BSR observa- The IHFC is a commission of, and operates generally
tions is uncertain and must be verified by seafloor heat under guidelines set by, the International Association of
flux measurements or borehole temperature measure- Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior (IASPEI).
ments. Nonetheless, seismic surveys in areas where BSRs Unfortunately, the data collection is not up to date and
are present can be used to map heat flux in large areas lacks most values acquired during the last decade. An up-
very efficiently, thus avoiding time-consuming seafloor date of the global heat flux data base is planned in the
heat flux surveys to obtain detailed constraints for ther- near future.
mal models of the subsurface. If the parameters are well
known, discrepancies between the measured and BSR-
derived heat flux can provide insights into advective heat
transport. Theoretical Background
The goal of our contribution is to present methods for
determining seafloor heat flux using either conventional General introduction
heat probes or measurements in drill holes and to outline
In the following section, we outline the basic equations
the procedure for calculating conductive heat flux from
describing conductive heat flux and explain the various
thermal parameters that are used in this paper. Equation 27
is especially important because it is used to calculate heat
flux from BSR depth. A very detailed description of so-
1
Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany. lutions of heat conduction problems in solids is given by
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject toCarslaw
E-mail: vill@uni-bremen.de and
SEG license or Jaeger
copyright; (1959).
Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
2
College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Oregon State
University, Corvallis, Oregon. E-mail: trehu@coas.oregonstate.edu
3
IfM–GEOMAR Kiel Germany. E-mail: igrevemeyer@ifm-geomar.de
279
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 279 9/17/10 8:30:23 PM

reduced for a flat earth and a hori-

zontally stratified subsurface to
ak 1 z 2 b 5 0.
d dT
(5)
dz dz
By integrating this equation twice

and applying the proper boundary
conditions, one gets
z
T 1 z 2 5 T0 1 q3
dzr
0 1 zr 2
(6)
k
with q as the steady-state heat flux

in W/m2 and a constant tempera-
ture T0 at the surface of the earth.
Equation 6 can be used to calculate
Figure 1. Global distribution of heat flux measurements based on the data in the
temperatures at depth for a given
global heat flow database (www.und.nodak.edu).
heat flux and a known thermal
conductivity profile. Alternatively,
The conductive heat flux from the interior of the earth it can be interpreted to indicate which quantities are needed
is described in general terms by a nonstationary parabolic to determine heat flux from observations:
T 1z 2 2 T0
partial differential equation
q5 z . (7)
'T
5 = 3 1 k=T 2 1 h
dzr
rcp 3 1 2
't (1) 0 k zr
5 k=2T 1 1 =k 2 1 =T 2 1 h For the determination of heat flux, temperature and ther-

mal conductivity as a function of depth must both be mea-
with T as temperature in K, t as time in s, k as thermal con- sured, and the heat flux can be calculated using equation 7.
ductivity in W/mK, r as density in kg/m3, cp as specific For a constant thermal conductivity the vertical heat flux
heat capacity in kg K/J, and h as heat production per unit is simply
volume in W/m3.
In the case of constant thermal properties, equation 1 dT
reduces to q5k# . (8)
dz
We see that heat flux is never measured directly. Rather, it

'T
5 =2kT 1 h/rcp (2) is always calculated from temperature and thermal conduc-
't tivity profiles. The result, however, is often referred to as a
with k 5 rck p as thermal diffusivity in m2/s. heat flux measurement.
In the case of a stationary temperature field and no
heat production, equation 1 is simplified to Heat flux in an infinite cylinder
kDT 1 1 =k 2 1 =T 2 5 0 (3) The processing of marine heat flux measurements as
well as thermal conductivity measurements made with
and simplified further to the well-known Laplace equa- a needle probe require the solution of nonstationary heat
tion (heat conduction equation) for constant thermal conduction problems in an infinitely long cylinder with
conductivity: different boundary conditions that depend on the problem
to be solved. We briefly present the solution of some of
=2T 5 0. (4) these problems; for details, see Bullard (1954) and Carslaw
and Jaeger (1959).
Heat
In most geoscience applications, the vertical heat flux is licensediffusion in aof perfectly
or copyright; Terms conducting cylinder of
much larger than its horizontal components, so equation 3 is radius a and of infinite length, which is immersed in a
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 280 9/17/10 8:30:23 PM

Chapter 18: Seafloor Marine Heat Flux 281
material whose thermal parameters are homogenous and

isotropic, is described in general by
'T 1 r, t 2 '2T 1 r, t 2 1 'T 1 r, t 2

5 ka 1 b t . 0 and r $ a
't 'r 2 r 'r
(9)
subject to the following conditions:
T 1 r, t 2 0 t50 5 T0 for r # a
T 1 r, t 2 0 t50 5 Ta for r . a
T 1 r, t 2 0 t5 ` 5 Ta for all r.
Temperature and heat flux are continuous at r 5 a for all t.

At infinity, temperature is at Ta. Figure 2. Cross section of the sensor string.
Whereas the material surrounding the cylinder has a finite
thermal conductivity k and thermal diffusivity k, the cylinder
of a cylinder heated in a pulse-like fashion can be used to
itself is assumed to have infinite conductivity and diffusiv-
derive the thermal conductivity of the material itself. Lister
ity, with the constraint that the product of specific heat cp and
(1979) proposed the pulse-probe-method in which the cyl-
density r of the cylinder remains finite. The temperature at
inder is heated with a calibrated heat pulse and the thermal
the center (r 5 0) of the cylinder can then be described by the
conductivity is calculated from the slope of the tempera-
thermal equilibration curve of the cylinder (see Figure 2):
ture decay versus 1/t.
T 1 t 2 5 1 T0 2 Ta 2 3 F 1 a, t 2 1 Ta 4 (10) Previously von Herzen and Maxwell (1959) had intro-
duced the needle probe method, in which a cylinder is con-
Following Bullard (1954) and Carslaw and Jaeger (1959), tinuously heated and the temperature increases as
F 1 a, t 2 is
T1t2 5 ln 1 t 2 1 constant.
Q
` 2tu2 (14)
F 1 a, t 2 5
4a e 4pk
p2 0 uf 1 u, a 2
3 du (11)
With this method, the slope of T(t) versusersus ln(t) is used
f 1 u, a 2 5 1 uJ0 1 u 2 2 aJ1 1 u 22 2 1 1 uY0 1 u 2 2 aY1 1 u 22 2. to calculate k (von Herzen and Maxwell, 1959).
Here a 5 2 1 cp 2 / 1 ccylinder 2 is the ratio of the heat capacities per

volume of the sediment and the cylinder, t 5 1 k 3 t 2 /a 2 2 is Downward propagation of a
the dimensionless time. J0, J1, Y0, and Y1 are zero and first- temperature variation at the surface
order Bessel and Neumann functions respectively, f is of an infinite half-space
porosity, and u is the integration variable. The instantaneous
If the temperature at the sediment-water interface var-
temperature rise T0 2 Ta at time t 5 0 can be expressed by
ies with time, the temperature variation at the boundary
1 T0 2 Ta 2 5
Q will propagate downward and add a nonstationary compo-
pa 1 rc 2 c
2 (12) nent to the steady-state temperature field. An example is
shown in Figure 3. The solution for a periodic temperature
with Q being the heat per unit length contained in the change with amplitude Ts and frequency v at the sediment-
cylinder. Equation 10 has a well-known and widely used water interface can be found by solving equation 1 assum-
asymptotic solution that approximates F 1 a, t 2 with 1% ac- ing no heat production in the subsurface
'T 1 z, t 2
curacy for t . 10 (Hyndman et al., 1979):
5 kDT 1 z, t 2 . (15)
T1t2 5
Q 't
1 Ta . (13)
4pkt
With the boundary condition of
Because this solution (equation 13) contains the thermal
conductivity of the surrounding material, the thermal decay T 1 z, t 2 0 z50 5 Ts 1 t 2 t $ 0 (16)
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 281 9/17/10 8:30:31 PM

If the temperature variation at the sediment-water-

interface is known in form of a time series, the subsurface
temperature disturbance can be calculated by a superposi-
tion of stepwise temperature changes Ts by solving equa-
tion 15 with the initial condition of
T 1 z, t 2 0 t50 5 T0 z . 0 (20)
and the boundary condition
T 1 z, t 2 0 z50 5 TS t $ 0. (21)
The solution for a single step is
T 1 z, t 2 5 1 Ts 2 T0 2 erfca b 1 T0
z
(22)
2"kt
and for a sequence of n steps
T 1 z, t 2 5 T0 1 a dTierfca
n
b.
z
(23)
i51 2"kti
The measurement shown in Figure 3 illustrates the need for

deep penetration heat probes as only the lowermost sensors
Figure 3. Effect of bottom water changes on temperatures in
are unaffected by bottom water temperature variations and
the uppermost sediment layers. The example shows severely
can be used to derive the undisturbed temperature gradient
disturbed sediment temperatures, measured offshore Costa
and hence heat flux.
Rica in about 1700 m water depth. The strong deviation of
the uppermost temperatures from a linear increase with depth
is caused mainly by the transient downward propagation of a Corrections due to sedimentation/
sudden decrease of temperature at the sediment-water interface erosion or seafloor topography
(H.-H. Gennerich, personal communication). The straight line
most likely represents the steady-state temperature gradient as Sedimentation or erosion at the seafloor can be modeled
it was calculated from the deepest temperature measurements as a thermal boundary (the sediment-water interface) that
which are least affected by bottom water temperature changes. moves upwards or downwards at a rate equal to the sedimen-
tation or erosion rate. The temperature can be described by
'T '2T 'T

and 2 5 k 2 1 nz (24)
't 'z 'z
Ts 1 t 2 5 A 0 sin 1vt 2 (17) with nz as the vertical component of the velocity of the mov-
ing boundary. The solution for a homogenous half-space is
and a vanishing influence of the disturbance at infinite
T 1 z, t 2 5 T0 1 Gu 1 z 2 nz t 2 1 aGu 1 b
depth 1 b
nz
lim T 1 z, t 2 5 T0 ,
2
zS`
(18)
v zz
3 c1 z 1 nzt 2 e k erfca b
z 1 vz t
the solution of equation 15 is
2"kt
v
1 1 vz t 2 z 2 erfca bd
z 2 vz t
T 1 z, t 2 5 A0e2z Å 2k cos avt 2 z b.
v
(25)
Å 2k
(19)
2"kt
to SEGG
Thus, the amplitude ofDownloaded u as the undisturbed linear gradient and erfc as the
25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectwith license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
the disturbance decreases rapidly
with depth and low-frequency variations penetrate deeper complementary error function. For more details see, for ex-
than high-frequency variations. ample, Hutchinson (1985).
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 282 9/17/10 8:30:34 PM

To a first approximation, the sediment-water interface changes in bottom water temperature (see Figure 3) and
is an isotherm. Therefore, seafloor topography will distort subsurface fluid flow are common, albeit generally not as
the near-surface temperature field. The near-surface tem- dramatic for perturbing the temperature field as on land.
perature field is not 1D in the presence of short-wavelength The magnitude of the bottom water temperature variations
topography. Horizontal components of heat flux are present depends on local oceanographic conditions, and heat flux
and, assuming 1D heat transport, will lead to inaccurate es- measurements must take these variations into account.
timates of heat flow. However, if the sediment-water inter- Seafloor measurements are made by dropping a sensor
face temperatures are stationary, the topographic corrections tube, equipped with a number of temperature sensors, into
can be derived by solving the Laplace equation with the ap- the seafloor to measure the temperature and thermal conduc-
propriate boundary conditions describing the topography. tivity profile in situ. During that period of time the ship has
Analytical solutions are possible only for simple ba- to remain stationary above the heat probe so that the instru-
thymetric features like a step or a sinusoid. All other cases ment is not disturbed. Figure 4 shows as an example the heat
must be treated numerically to assess the magnitude of probe currently used by the Bremen Heat Flux Group (De-
heat flux disturbance and to calculate correction fac- partment of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Germany).
tors. A detailed discussion of both topics can be found in Temperature measurements in the subsurface always use
Kappelmeyer and Hänel (1974) and Powell et al. (1988). invasive techniques, which means that measurements cannot
be obtained without disturbing the subsurface temperatures
to some extent. The thermal equilibration time in the case
Seafloor Heat Flux of drill holes—either on continents or in the oceans—is on
Measurement Technique the order of months or years and depends mainly on the
length of time that drilling fluid was circulated in the bore-
Introduction and operational hole. Seafloor heat flux measurements suffer from the same
considerations problem but with a time constant of the disturbance on the
Terrestrial heat flux determinations are strongly af-

fected by the fact that the temperature at the surface of the
earth shows daily, seasonal and climatic variations whose
amplitude and frequency depend on geographic location.
The amplitude of the disturbances to the temperature field
decreases with increasing depth and frequency, so that only
large, low-frequency variations reach depths greater than
10 m. Temperature measurements in deep boreholes are,
therefore, less affected by daily or seasonal temperature
variations. In addition to temperature variations at the sur-
face, stationary or nonstationary hydrological influences
may affect the subsurface temperature field substantially
and preclude determination of the steady state heat flux be-
cause the magnitude of the hydrologic disturbance is rarely
known with enough accuracy.
In contrast, the bottom water temperature in the deep
ocean is constant to within a couple of 620.018C and
deep sea sediments, which generally have very low perme-
ability, do not allow significant water movement within the
sediments. Consequently, the deep ocean is an optimal en-
vironment for undisturbed heat flux measurements, either
in boreholes or in the upper few meters of the sediments.
Comparison of measurements made with shallow probes
to measurements made in nearby ODP drill holes has con-
firmed that reliable and representative conductive heat flux
estimates can be made in the deep ocean by measuring
temperatures and thermal conductivities in the upper few
meters of the sediments. This25 is
Downloaded Junnot
2012 the case, however,
to 95.28.162.50. Redistributionon
subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
continental margins, where most submarine gas hydrates Figure 4. The Bremen Heat Probe, deployed from the
are found. On the margins, periodic as well as aperiodic German RV Sonne off southern Chile.
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 283 9/17/10 8:30:38 PM

going back originally to C. Lister (University of Wash-

ington, Seattle). It means that after a measurement the in-
strument will be left about 200–300 m above the seafloor
while the ship moves slowly to the next nearby measure-
ment position. However, this is only feasible if the dis-
tance between penetrations is on the order of a kilometer
as otherwise too much time is wasted by transiting from
one site to the other at low speed with the instrument still
hanging in the water. In that way, whole profiles can be
measured in comparatively short time. This type of opera-
tion is especially efficient if the data are transmitted in real
time from the probe at the seafloor to the ship because this
always allows the scientist to make operational decisions
Figure 5. Temperature data from a marine heat flow directly when the measurements are made. If that real–time
measurement. Solid colored lines represent temperatures link is not available, the probe will store the data; some
measured as a function of time by 22 temperature sensors systems acoustically transmit state-of-health information.
inside the sensor tube. The first part of the data represents the Depending on the heat probe and ship, on water depth and
equilibration of the sensor string to in situ temperatures and weather conditions, stations lasting 24 hours can easily be
the second part the decay of a calibrated heat pulse, which is achieved.
used to derive in situ thermal conductivity. Figure 6 shows For most surveys, it is sufficient to assume that the
the complete record in more detail. heat probe is basically beneath the ship, and therefore,
the location of the heat flux measurement is assumed
to be the same as the ship’s position at the moment the
probe penetrates the seafloor. However, high-resolution
probe navigation is required in areas where heat flux may
vary laterally by orders of magnitude over a few hundred
meters, like in active hydrothermal areas; this can be
achieved by using bottom transponder navigation.
Bathymetric and sub-bottom profiling surveys of the
investigation area are a prerequisite for a successful heat
flux survey, and it is also highly recommended to schedule
a sediment sampling (gravity coring) program before the
heat flux measurements are made. The sediment sampling
program will give an idea of the nature of the sediments
and help to avoid places where no probe penetration is pos-
sible as is often the case when massive gas hydrates occur
Figure 6. Temperature data of a marine heat flow
near the seafloor. The bathymetric data may be needed for
measurement. The first part of the data represent the
topographic corrections. The seismic data will be essential
equilibration of the sensor string to in situ temperatures and
when interpreting the measured heat flux.
the second part the decay of a calibrated heat pulse, which
is used to derive in situ thermal conductivity. The arrow In order to illustrate a heat flux measurement, Figures
number 1 marks the time of penetration, which is followed 5 and 6 show a typical data set. When the sensor string with
by a distinct heating event of most sensors due to the friction its internal temperature sensors penetrates the sediment the
created during penetration. The arrow number 2 marks the friction between sensor tube and sediment creates heat re-
start of a 20-s-long heat pulse whose decay is used to derive sulting in a temperature rise (frictional rise). The following
in situ thermal conductivity. temperature decay is recorded at a preset sample interval
for a preset time span after which the in situ thermal con-
ductivity measurement starts automatically or by command
order of minutes. In both cases, the observed decay of the from the surface. The method used in the example in Fig-
disturbance due to the measurement is used to determine the ure 6 is the pulsed needle probe method after Lister (1979),
undisturbed in situ temperatures using techniques described in which a calibrated heat pulse is fired and the decay of
Section 2. In situ thermal conductivities are measured with the temperature pulse is recorded and used for thermal con-
well-established techniques developed
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 for laboratory
to 95.28.162.50. mea- subjectductivity
calculation. Some systems, however, employ the
surements on unconsolidated sediments or powders. continuously heated needle probe method after von Herzen
Modern day heat flux surveys are done in a pogo-style and Maxwell (1959). The excellent reproducibility of the
fashion, a term published by Hyndman et al. (1979) but heat probe measurements is demonstrated in Figure 7.
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 284 9/17/10 8:30:50 PM

Instrumentation
Marine heat flux measurements started after the Sec-
ond World War with the first publication of values and a
description of instruments by Bullard (1954). The in-
creased interest in marine heat flux in the wake of plate
tectonics, and also in conjunction with steadily expanding
marine exploration for oil and gas, has helped to improve
the existing measurement technique in two ways. First,
the violin bow type heat probe instrument, as described in
Hyndman et al. (1979), has evolved over two decades of
intensive use to a mature, mechanically robust instrument,
which now is the standard instrument used worldwide and
can be used in a routine way. Second, rapid electronic
development has led to an increased temperature resolu-
tion of 1 mK and allowed a larger number of sensors to
be mounted on one string due to increased digital storage
capacity. Both developments now permit pogo-style multi-
penetration deployments of 24 hours and more per station.
A violin-bow type heat probe (see Figure 4) consists
of a solid steel strength member and a hollow steel tube
mounted parallel to the strength member to house tempera- Figure 7. Reproducibility of in situ temperature
ture sensors and heater wires for in situ thermal conduc- measurements, demonstrated with three measurements
tivity measurements. The length of the strength member is made at the same location off West Greenland. The gray
from 3 to 6 m depending on the instrument used. Its length line represents the temperature gradient. The errors of
is mainly limited by operational constraints (deployment the temperature measurements are approximately as
and recovery of the instrument), but also by the fact that small as the symbol size. (Data after N. Kaul, personal
few sediment types permit penetration of more than 5–6 m. communication)
The weight-stand houses the pressure cases for the elec-
tronics and batteries. The total weight of the complete heat
probe in water is on the order of 500–1000 kg depending consuming absolute temperature calibration of the tem-
on the type of instrument used. perature sensors is required for conventional heat flux
The temperature sensors used are almost exclusively studies. The conversion from thermistor resistivity to tem-
thermistors as they produce a resistivity change on the or- perature is based on the sensor’s characteristics supplied
der of several percent per degree of temperature change by the manufacturer, and absolute temperature offsets of
and therefore allow temperature measurements with a res- the thermistors are sometimes determined by taking tem-
olution of 1 mK using comparatively simple bridge-type perature measurements in deep water, where the vertical
electronic circuits and without using a four-wire technique. temperature change in the water column over the length of
The heater wire in the sensor tube has a high resistivity, the probe is much smaller than the temperature resolution
and the heater current is on the order of several 100 mA. of the sensors. For gas-hydrate studies, in which the ob-
A calibrated temperature sensor for bottom water tempera- jective is to evaluate stability conditions for gas hydrate,
ture measurement is integrated in the weight-stand. A tilt absolute calibration of temperature sensors is important.
sensor is an absolute necessity as the derived temperature Ideally, this should be done in a controlled calibration tank
gradient has to be corrected for tilt. Some instruments also on shore (Heesemann et al., 2006).
monitor the penetration of the heat probe by acceleration
sensors, a pressure sensor or an acoustic altimeter. Auxil-
iary sensors monitor the health of the instrument and the Determination of thermal conductivity
electronics. In case of an autonomous mode operation, a in situ and on cores
steady pressure is used as an indicator that the probe has
penetrated and sets a switch for the firing of a heat pulse In situ thermal conductivity is determined using es-
after a period of steady time while the penetration decay is sentially the same techniques as are used in the labora-
recorded. Figure 8 shows in a25schematic
Downloaded diagram
Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. the com-
tory to measure thermal properties of unconsolidated or
ponents of a modern heat probe. soft materials. In the laboratory, the thermal conductivity
Because only the temperature gradient is required is measured with the so-called needle probe method (von
for the heat flux calculation (see equation 8), no time- Herzen and Maxwell, 1959) in which a thin (,1 mm O.D.),
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 285 9/17/10 8:30:59 PM

The method of constant heating creates a substantial

temperature rise of the needle on the order of several de-
grees, thereby creating large temperature gradients in the
sediments surrounding the needle. In highly porous materi-
als like seafloor sediments, internal fluid circulation may
be stimulated, which disturbs the measurement process
severely (Fodemesi and Beck, 1983). Therefore, Lister
(1979) used a short calibrated heat pulse of about 5–10 s
and recorded the temperature decay which follows a sim-
ple 1/t decay function:
T1t2 5
Q 1
1 constant. (26)
4pk t
With this method, the slope of temperature vs the inverse of

time is proportional to thermal conductivity. This method
has the advantage of creating small thermal gradients in the
surrounding material but may suffer from the fact that the
signal—temperature drop versus time—is much smaller
than in the case of constant heating. The choice of the heat-
ing method depends on material to be investigated but also
on personal preferences. In either case, laboratory needle
probes have to be calibrated in material of known thermal
conductivity.
To use the technique described above for in situ mea-
surements in the seafloor sediments, the dimension of the
needle has to be adapted to the rough penetration process,
that is, the sensor string has an outer diameter of up to
14 mm with a wall thickness of 3.5 mm. The large diam-
eter, however, has the consequence that the thermal time
constant is much larger and one has to monitor the decay
Figure 8. Components of a typical modern marine heat probe. process much longer.
In the case of no in situ thermal conductivity measure-
ment capability or if autonomous temperature data log-
short (,60 mm length) needle is inserted into the mate- gers are attached to a coring device (Pfender and Villinger,
rial and heated up, either continuously as proposed by 2002), only the temperature gradient will be measured and
von Herzen and Maxwell (1959) or in a pulse-like fashion thermal conductivity has to be measured on recovered core
(Lister, 1979). One often uses hypodermic needles as they samples by a needle probe technique and corrected for in
have the required outer diameter and are very thin-walled situ temperature and pressure.
and therefore have a small time constant. The tempera-
ture change, measured in the middle of the length of the
needle, depends after some initial heating on the thermal Data Reduction
conductivity of the surrounding material. In gas hydrate-
bearing sediments, these laboratory measurements may be The goal of all processing schemes is to invert the ob-
compromised because of gas exsolution during recovery served decay of frictional heat caused by probe penetra-
and other factors. tion to derive the undisturbed in situ temperatures and to
In case of a continuously heated needle with a constant invert the temperature rise or decay created by a calibrated
heater current for a time period of about 100–150 s, the re- heating of the sensor string to derive in situ thermal con-
sulting temperature rise is proportional to the natural loga- ductivity (see Figure 9). Both data sets are combined using
rithm of time (von Herzen and Maxwell, 1959), as shown equation 6 in the so-called Bullard plot, plotting tempera-
by equation 14, so the inverse of the slope of the temperature versus integrated thermal resistance (see Figure 10). In
ture versus ln 1 t 2 graphDownloaded
is the thermal
25 Jun 2012 conductivity of the subjectatoperfectly
to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution conductive
SEG license or copyright; Termsand 1D
of Use: case, the slope of the result-
http://segdl.org/
material. ing straight line is the conductive heat flux.
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 286 9/17/10 8:31:01 PM

Extrapolation of temperature
measurements to derive in situ
temperature and thermal conductivity
The processing of the raw temperature measurements
(see Figure 6) is illustrated here with a data set from a heat
probe that employs pulse heating for in situ thermal con-
ductivity measurements. The procedure will in principle be
the same if continuous heating is used. The processing of
the temperature decays encompasses three steps:
1) Determine undisturbed sediment temperatures from
frictional decay by extrapolating the observed tempera-
ture decay to infinite time (equation 10).
2) Correct heat pulse decay for the remaining effect of the
frictional decay
3) Calculate thermal conductivities from heat pulse decay
(equation 13).
Figure 9. Result of a heat probe measurement.
It is important, however, to recall the limitations of the (a) Temperature versus depth. (b) Thermal conductivity
above by considering the real physical situation of the sen- versus depth. For errors of temperatures and thermal
sor tube housing the temperature sensors: conductivities see Figure 10.
1) The sensor tube is nonideal, that is, it has a finite con-
ductivity and an internal structure.
2) The duration of the heating pulse is
finite, usually in the order of 10–20 s.
3) Axial heat flow will be inevitable but
certainly small.
4) A thin layer of water between the
sediment and the sensor tube may
act as insulation to delay the achieve-
ment of thermal equilibrium.
Measurements early in the tem-
perature records will be more affected
by deviations from the model than later
ones. Therefore, this part of the record
has to be excluded from analysis. Even
within the analyzed time range, temper-
atures may show slight deviations from
the ideal behavior. This deviation can be
best modeled by introducing a new pa-
rameter, the time-shift ts as suggested by
Hyndman et al. (1979). The measured
origin time is always the onset of the
Figure 10. Calculation of heat flux, based on the results shown in Figure 9.
penetration or heat-pulse. Introduction
(a) Bullard plot: integrated thermal resistance versus temperature. (b) Errors
of the parameter ts approximates heating
of in situ temperatures based on the result of the inversion of the penetration
of finite duration by an instantaneous
decay. (c) Error of in situ thermal conductivity, based on the inversion of the
temperature rise that is shifted relative to heat pulse decay. (d) Temperature residuals, calculated from the linear fit of
the onset of the heating. Although math- integrated thermal resistance (a) versus temperature. The gray rectangle marks
ematically not rigorously proven, this the 6 two standard deviations of the residuals. Data points outside of the gray
concept is well justified from a physi- field
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. (see crossed-out
Redistribution point)
subject to SEG license in (a) are
or copyright; not
Terms included
of Use: in the final calculation of
http://segdl.org/
cal point of view and has been shown to the heat flux).
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 287 9/17/10 8:31:15 PM

provide reliable results (Hyndman et al., 1979; Villinger 2) The temperature of the bottom water is changing with
and Davis, 1987a,b; Hartmann and Villinger, 2002). time. If the disturbance is limited to the upper meter,
In the early days of heat flux measurements, process- the lower part of the temperature-depth curve can be
ing was done exclusively by hand as the number of measure- used to calculate the undisturbed gradient. Background
ments was small. Hyndman et al. (1979) were the first ones data from regional oceanographic studies are useful for
to publish a manual processing procedure that could easily assessing how large the temporal variations of bottom
be implemented in a computer program on a personal com- water temperature are likely to be. Forward modeling
puter. Their algorithm is based on the work of Lister (1970; with this information will help to correct the nonlinear
1979). Villinger and Davis (1987b) published a pragmatic gradients. Conventional inversion techniques could also
scheme (called HFRED), which minimizes the misfit be- be used but are limited in their usefulness due to the
tween measured and model data in a least-squares sense by small database available for inversion.
varying the effective origin time (ts) of penetration. Tests on 3) The measurements were made in an area with rapid sedi-
numerically modeled data (synthetic measurement) with mentation or erosion rates or where slumping occurs. Ba-
known parameters showed that HFRED produced reliable thymetric and acoustic or seismic imaging data are useful
and accurate results. However, the scheme has two major defor evaluating these scenarios. If the sedimentation or
ficiencies: (1) The thermal diffusivity used for the sediment erosion rates are known, corrections can be calculated; a
is computed from thermal conductivity according to a rela- useful table for a quick estimate of sedimentation effects
tionship proposed by Hyndman et al. (1979). This relation- can be found in Kappelmeyer and Hänel (1974); for more
ship has never been validated by experimental data and will details see Hutchinson (1985). If the sedimentation rates
certainly vary with sediment type. (2) The algorithm imple- are high, the correction to the gradient can be greater than
mented in HFRED does not allow rigorous error analysis 10%; however, in most cases it is very difficult to deter-
of the calculated undisturbed sediment temperatures and mine the sedimentation rate precisely enough to calculate
in situ thermal conductivities; errors calculated by HFRED the correction factor. Also, sedimentation may not have
are always unrealistically low, compared to error estimates been constant over the depth interval the temperature
of about 5% from other studies (Lister, 1970; Hyndman profile was measured.
et al., 1979). To overcome these deficiencies and to incor- 4) Pronounced bathymetry will distort temperature gradi-
porate platform independent plotting routines, a mathemati- ents. Analytical solutions for simple cases [for an over-
cally sound inversion scheme to extrapolate from observed view see Kappelmeyer and Hänel, (1974)] can be used
temperature decays was implemented using Matlab® and to estimate the magnitude of the corrections; however,
published by Hartmann and Villinger (2002). The inversion numerical models will have to be used in more complex
program package (T2C) has on-screen graphics and creates cases.
platform-independent plots. In addition, automated process- 5) Advection of pore water (either up-flow or down-flow)
ing or reprocessing of a large number of individual measure- will create curved gradients, as sometimes seen in geo-
ments is possible. All heat flux measurements by the Woods therms measured in boreholes on land. However, due
Hole Oceanographic Institute were processed as described to the limited penetration depth of a heat probe and
in an internal report by Bonneville et al. (1993). the very low permeability of deep sea sediments, ad-
vection rates which create significant curvature of the
geotherm over the several meter length measured with
Interpretation of departures from a conventional marine heat flux probes are seen only in
linear gradient areas with extremely high flow rates. Slower rates of
fluid advection may result in disturbed but apparently
After completion of a survey, a detailed inspection of
still linear temperature gradients as the curvature of the
the derived in situ temperatures will reveal immediately if
temperature depth profile may be undetectable with the
the gradients show systematic deviations from linear be-
available temperature resolution of 1 mK.
havior. Several processes may be responsible for nonlinear
behavior:
1) The thermal conductivity varies significantly with Heat Flux Determinations in
depth. In that case, the temperature gradient reflects
these changes under the assumption of a constant and
Boreholes
purely vertical heat flux. If thermal conductivities Introduction
were measured either in situ or on sediment cores, the
Bullard plot will reveal whether changing conductivity The basic principles of in situ temperature determina-
is responsible for the nonlinear gradient. If the Bullard tion in deep boreholes are similar to those for shallow probes
plot is nonlinear, other processes must be considered. insofar as the temperature probe is rapidly inserted into the
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 288 9/17/10 8:31:18 PM

seafloor, generating a pulse of frictional heat that decays

at a rate that depends on probe geometry and the thermal
properties of the sediment. In situ temperature is inferred by
extrapolating the observed temperature. Uncertainties result
from the model for the probe, which is necessarily a simpli-
fied version of reality, and from uncertainty about the in situ
thermal properties of the sediment. Compared to measure-
ments made with a short probe, borehole measurements are
less affected by variable bottom water temperature due to
tidal currents and other phenomena with relatively short time
scales. On the other hand, the geometry of the probe is more
complicated and the temperature at the base of the borehole,
where the measurements are made, may have been cooled
because of circulation of seawater in the case of XCB coring
or heated by friction in the case of APC coring, as shown by
IR scans of cores (Tréhu et al., 2004; see also Figure 11). In
addition, in situ thermal conductivity measurements are gen-
erally not made in boreholes because of logistical consider-
ations, and measurements made on recovered core samples
may be strongly affected by mechanical disruption of the
core caused by deformation during drilling and gas exsolu-
tion during recovery, even when no gas hydrate is present.
Finally, if the probe is inserted into a massive gas hydrate
layer, the in situ thermal conductivity may be affected by the
presence of gas hydrate even though the thermal conductiv-
ity of the hydrate itself is similar to that of the pore water.
In this next section, we review the various methods
currently available for in situ temperature measurements in
boreholes and summarize some results from recent ODP
and IODP drilling expeditions. Three different down hole
temperature tools are generally available for use by the Figure 11. (a) Temperature at the center of a composite
academic community while drilling. The advanced piston infrared image of all cores recovered from a Hole 204-1251B
corer temperature tool (APCT) fits into the cutting shoe of (after Tréhu et al. (2003a). Images were made by scanning
the APC and is used to measure temperature during regular the core as soon as it was laid out on the catwalk. This figure
piston coring (Horai and von Herzen, 1985). A new gen- shows that core temperature increases with depth within each
eration of this tool (called the APCT-3) has recently been core and that cores acquired by XCB drilling are generally
developed (Heesemann et al., 2006). In more indurated colder than cores acquired with the APC coring mechanism.
sediments where piston coring is not possible, the Davis- We speculate that this is due to more vigorous circulation
Villinger temperature probe (DVTP) or Davis-Villinger of seawater during XCB drilling. This figure illustrates the
temperature-pressure probe (DVTP-P) is used. impact of the drilling process on temperature and the need
to take in situ temperature measurements in advance of
drilling. Cold spikes in the depth range of 45–130 mbsf
indicate the presence of dissociating gas hydrate in the core.
Tools for measuring in situ sediment (a) Close-up of a cold anomaly and the gas hydrate lens
temperatures in boreholes causing it. See Long et al. (2010) for more discussion of the
use of infrared scanning of cores in gas hydrate studies.
APCT—Advanced piston corer Used by permission.
temperature tool
The APCT tool (Horai, 1985) was designed to fit di-
rectly into the APC cutting shoe (Figure 12). It is used to device calibrated over a temperature range of 08C–308C.
measure sediment temperatures during regular piston cor- Descriptions of the tool and of the principles behind anal-
ing and was first used during DSDP Leg 86 in 1984. The ysis of the data it acquires can be found in Pribnow et al.
tool consists of electronic components, including battery (2000) and Graber et al. (2002) and the references therein.
packs, a data logger, and a platinum resistance-temperature The thermal time constant of the cutting shoe assembly in
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 289 9/17/10 8:31:18 PM

Figure 12. Schematic of the APCT, which is built

into the coring shoe of the APC coring system. Inset
shows the device (from http://www-odp.tamu.edu/
publications/tnotes/tn31/apct/apct.htm, 30 October
2007). The APCT-3 is similar, except that the electronics
package has been modernized, and the temperature
sensor is a thermistor rather than a resistive temperature
device (RTD), providing more stable temperature
measurements, more robust operation, and a higher Figure 13. (a) Time history of an APCT deployment from
sampling rate (after Heesemann et al., 2006). Used by ODP Leg 204 (Tréhu, 2006). tp is the time that the probe enters
permission. the sediment; ti and tr show the portion of the record used to
extrapolate the observed temperature decay to infer the in situ
temperature. (b) Time history of a measurement affected by
which the APCT tool is inserted is ,2–3 min. The only secondary frictional pulses. (c) Effect of varying the thermal
modification to normal APC procedures required to obtain conductivity on the shape of the normalized response for the
temperature measurements is to hold the corer in place APCT. ts is a time shift compared to the observed tp which gives
,5–10 min near the seafloor to record bottom water tem- the best fit. (d) Contours of extrapolated in situ temperature
peratures and to hold it for ,5–10 min in the seafloor af- and corresponding standard error as a function of ts and thermal
ter cutting the core. During this time, the APCT tool logs conductivity, showing the trade-off between temperature and
temperature data on a microprocessor contained within thermal conductivity (left). Data and solution corresponding to
the instrument as it approaches equilibrium with the in the best-fit solution on the left. The inferred temperature and the
situ temperature of the sediments. The APCT has recently predicted temperature at the BSR are also shown.
been completely redesigned to use thermistors as tem-
perature sensors rather than resistive temperature devices
(RTDs) and to incorporate modern electronics (Heese- record lasting 5 min. This is followed by a pulse of fric-
mann et al., 2006). This third generation APCT (known as tional heating when the piston is fired, a period of thermal
APCT-3) was first used during IODP Expedition 311 and decay that is monitored for ,10 min or more, a frictional
permits faster sampling rates and more precise calibration pulse upon removal of the corer, and a second mudline
(Heesemann et al., 2006).
temperature measurement for 5 min. The in situ tempera-
A typical temperature history recorded by the APCT is ture is determined by extrapolating from the thermal decay
shown in Figure 13a. It consists of a mudline temperature that follows the frictional pulse when the piston is fired.
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 290 9/17/10 8:31:20 PM

Any motion of the drill string that displaces the coring

mechanism in the seafloor (Figure 13b), however, can lead
to secondary frictional pulses that have a severe impact on
the accuracy of the extrapolation.
Davis-Villinger temperature probe

The Davis-Villinger Temperature Probe (DVTP) is de-
scribed in detail by Davis et al. (1997) and summarized by
Pribnow et al. (2000) and Graber et al. (2002). The probe
is conical and has two thermistors; the first is located
1 cm from the tip of the probe, and the other is 12 cm above
the tip (Figure 14). A third thermistor is in the electron-
ics package. Thermistor sensitivity is 1 mK in an operating
range of 250 to 20°C. In addition to the thermistors, the
probe contains an accelerometer sensitive to 0.98 m/s2. The
accelerometer data are used to track disturbances to the in-
strument package during the equilibration interval.
A typical deployment of the tool consists of lowering
the tool by wireline to the mudline followed by a 5–10 min
pause to collect temperature data within the drill pipe. Sub-
sequently, it is lowered to the base of the hole and latched
in at the bottom of the drill string, with the end of the tool
extending 1.1 m below the drill bit. The extended probe is
pushed into the sediment below the bottom of the hole and Figure 14. Schematic of the DVTP tool and photograph
temperature is recorded for 10–20 min. Upon retrieval, a showing insertion of the DVTP tool into the top of the drill
second stop of 5–10 min is made at the mudline. pipe (from http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/tnotes/
tn31/dvtp/dvtp.htm, 30 October 2007).
Distributed temperature sensors (DTS)

Distributed temperature sensors, in which tempera- approach to obtaining temporally and spatially dense mea-
ture is determined from its effect on the spectral content surements of temperature. Considerable effort, however, is
of scattered light in an optical fiber, represent a new ap- still needed to develop techniques for installing cables in
proach to measuring environmental temperature that may the seafloor and for adapting the recording systems to a ma-
find increased application in the future. This approach rine environment.
was first discussed by Kurashima et al. (1990) and Har- To date, DTS techniques have been used to measure
tog and Gamble (1991). The physics behind the method temperature in boreholes in hydrate-bearing sediments in
and several recent applications to monitoring the environ- the Arctic (Henninges et al., 2005a,b; Hancock et al., 2005)
ment are reviewed by Selker et al. (2006), who also discuss and in the Nankai Trough (Fukuhara et al., 2005). In these
the tradeoffs between measurement precision and sam- experiments, fiber optic cables were permanently installed
pling rate. With judicious choice of experimental param- outside the borehole casing in the cement annulus between
eters, precision on the order of 0.018C– 0.058C (Henninges the casing and borehole wall. The thermal reequilibration
et al., 2005a) can be achieved by averaging over time if the of the boreholes after drilling, changes in thermal gradient
temperature is changing slowly (time scales of hours or due to changes in lithology and to the base of permafrost
more). Absolute accuracy depends on the accuracy of cali- and gas hydrate, and the response to thermal perturbations
bration, which must be performed for each cable. Spatial of the gas hydrate were recorded. An interwell accuracy of
resolution is 1 m along the cable, although denser spatial 0.38C was reported, although it is not clear whether the ac-
sampling can be achieved by coiling the cable. In the past curacy here was limited by a short time average or by inter-
several years, potential applications of the technique in a hole calibration.
variety of fields are expanding, and several manufacturers Another potential submarine use of DTS technology
have produced DTS instruments that produce ready-to-use is in the construction of short probes to measure conti-
temperature data. These instruments can be mated to com- nental margin heat flow or for measuring 3D variability
mercial fiber optic cables, providing a relatively cheap in fluid flow. Traditional heat flow measurements using
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 291 9/17/10 8:31:29 PM

short probes deployed by ship on continental margins are made on cores following procedures outlined in Determi-
strongly affected by tidal and seasonal changes in bottom nation of thermal conductivity in situ and on cores [see also
water temperature. This problem can be circumvented by Blum (1997)]. In gas-rich environments, however, these
taking long time-series measurements of the subsurface measurements can be biased by development of microc-
while simultaneously measuring bottom water tempera- racks due to gas exsolution during recovery. The scientist
ture. The effect of oceanographic temperature changes taking the measurements should carefully choose the spot
(Turcotte and Schubert, 2002) can be effectively removed where the measurement is taken to avoid deformed sec-
from the data (Goto et al., 2005; Hamamoto et al., 2005); tions of the core. In hydrate-rich environments, this may be
however, dense spatial sampling along the probe is needed impossible, and it may be advisable to assume the thermal
to validate these corrections. Short temperature probes de- conductivity based on lithological analysis and on thermal
ployed in dense spatial arrays have the potential to provide conductivity measurements in similar sediments obtained
new constraints on the geometry of fluid flow exchange be- from a less gas-rich environment. Additional uncertainty in
neath the seafloor and the ocean. The few measurements the in situ thermal properties may occur because of poorly
currently available on fluid flow associated with subma- understood effects related to the presence of gas hydrate
rine cold seeps indicate strong variability in time and space (Tréhu, 2006). Although the thermal conductivity of gas
(e.g., Tryon et al., 2002), and better constraints on this pro- hydrate is similar to that of pore water, so that hydrate that
cess are needed to evaluate heat and chemical exchanges simply occupies pore space should not have a significant
between the seafloor and the ocean. Dense arrays of short effect, development of massive hydrate in situ can result in
temperature probes are a part of the planned and proposed hydrate displacing sediment grains and thermal conductiv-
gas-hydrate observatories. ity that is locally lower than the thermal conductivity of
the adjacent sediment. This may be the case for occasional
measurements made in gas-hydrate-bearing environments
Analysis of borehole temperature data in which the best-fit solution for in situ temperature is ob-
tained for an anomalously low value of thermal conductiv-
Similar data reduction procedures are used for all ity (Tréhu, 2006). This conclusion, however, is difficult to
borehole temperature tools. Because equilibration to in verify because the gas hydrate that surrounded the probe in
situ temperatures takes much longer than the 10 min dur- situ may not be recovered.
ing which the instrument records subseafloor temperature, Several software packages are available for estimating
extrapolation based on the theoretical impulse response of in situ temperature from the observations. For the APCT,
the tools is required. The transient thermal decay curves decay curves based on the model of Horai (1985) have tra-
for sediment temperature probes are a function of the ge- ditionally been used, as implemented in the software pro-
ometry of the probes and of the thermal properties of the gram TFIT. For the DVTP tool, the impulse response of
probe and the sediments (Bullard, 1954; Horai and von Davis et al. (1997), as implemented in the software pro-
Herzen, 1985). Analysis of data requires fitting the mea- gram CONEFIT, has traditionally been used. TFIT and
surements to model decay curves calculated based on tool CONEFIT have recently been superceded by a MATLAB-
geometry, sampling interval, and tool and sediment thermal based program called TP-Fit, which includes more accu-
properties (Figure 13c). It is generally not possible to ob- rate decay curves for the APCT-3 as well as providing a
tain a perfect match between the model temperature decay more flexible analysis environment for studying the mul-
curves and the data because: (1) the probe does not reach tiple tradeoffs between uncertainties in thermal parameters
thermal equilibrium during the penetration period; (2) con- of the sediments (M. Heesemann, personal communica-
trary to ideal theory, the frictional pulse upon insertion is tion, 2007).
not instantaneous; and (3) temperature data are sampled at Once estimates of in situ temperature are obtained, de-
discrete intervals, so that the exact time of penetration is termination of the heat flux follows the same procedure as
uncertain. These uncertainties are similar to those encoun- that discussed in the “Interpretation of departures from a
tered in the analysis of data from shallow seafloor probes linear gradient” section. Because borehole measurements
(Extrapolation of temperature measurements to derive in extend to hundreds of meters below the seafloor, heat flux
situ temperature and thermal conductivity section). determined from these measurements will be less affected
Logistical constraints preclude in situ measurements of by tidal, seasonal or decadal variations in ocean tempera-
thermal conductivity when making borehole temperature ture than measurements made with short probes. Spatial
measurements. In many cases, there is a tradeoff between distribution of measurements, however, is relatively sparse,
in situ temperature and sediment thermal conductivity limiting the ability to resolve departures from the linear
(Hartmann and Villinger, 2002;25Tréhu,
Downloaded 2006;
Jun 2012 to Figure
95.28.162.50. 13d). subjectgradients
expected for purely conductive heat flow in a me-
Thermal conductivity measurements must therefore be dium with constant thermal properties.
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 292 9/17/10 8:31:35 PM

Results from borehole temperature 1997; Kaul et al., 2000; Pecher et al., 2001; Henrys et al.,
measurements 2003; Tréhu et al., 2003b). In this section, we discuss the
assumptions, the calculation procedure, and uncertainties
To date, there have been three ODP or IODP cruises inherent in this procedure.
dedicated to gas-hydrate studies (ODP Legs 164 and 204 and By assuming that the BSR represents the base of the
IODP Expedition 311). In addition, gas hydrates were acci- gas-hydrate stability field, one can calculate the tempera-
dentally recovered during DSDP Legs 11, 66, and 67, and ture at that boundary provided that a number of other pa-
were a secondary objective of ODP Sites 808, 859–861, 889, rameters can be estimated, including sediment density and
892, and 1019. Most of these sites were drilled where the velocity, pore water and gas composition, and pressure
seismic data indicate the presence of a gas hydrate-related conditions in the subsurface. Once the temperature is de-
BSR. One of the major questions to be addressed by down- termined, the heat flux can be calculated if the seafloor
hole temperature measurements at these sites is whether temperature and sediment thermal conductivity are known
the BSR occurs at the depth predicted for thermodynamic by assuming that heat transport is purely conductive (see
equilibrium of gas hydrate. Confirmation of thermodynamic equation 7, and substituting the calculated temperature and
equilibrium is needed if BSR observations are to be used as depth of the BSR for T(z) and z.
a reliable proxy for heat flow as discussed below. Rearranging equation 6,
Testing the hypothesis that the BSR represents thermal
equilibrium requires synthesis of several different types TBSR 2 T0
q5 zBSR .
of data: dzr (27)
0 k 1 zr 2
3
1) Seismic velocity information is needed to determine
the depth of the BSR from observations of seismic
traveltime. This equation defines the different quantities which have
2) Borehole temperature data must be extrapolated to ob- to be known to calculate the seafloor heat flux. Of course,
tain the temperature at the BSR depth. once the heat flux has been calculated, the geotherm from
3) In situ pressure at the BSR, which must be somewhere the seafloor to the BSR can be calculated as well. It should
between hydrostatic and lithostatic, must be measured be kept in mind that the calculation assumes purely con-
or assumed. ductive and steady-state heat transfer. The steps of calcu-
4) Gas and pore water chemistry must be measured or lating heat flux can be summarized as follows and will be
assumed in order to predict gas-hydrate stability as a discussed in detail afterward:
function of temperature and pressure. 1) Determine the seafloor temperature T0
Uncertainties are present to some degree for all of these 2) Determine the temperature TBSR at the depth zBSR of the
parameters and affect the confidence with which one can BSR
conclude whether the BSR represents thermal equilibrium. 3) Determine the thermal conductivity profile from
Only for ODP sites 994, 995, and 997 on the Blake Pla- seafloor to the depth of the BSR
teau, a robust conclusion of thermodynamic disequilibrium
has been reported and attributed to inhibition of gas- Seafloor temperatures
hydrate nucleation because of capillary forces (Ruppel, 1997;
Ruppel and Kinoshita, 2000). At other sites, uncertainties The seafloor temperature T0 has to be either measured
are either too large for a definitive conclusion (e.g., Brown directly during a heat flux survey or taken from avail-
et al., 1996; Riedel et al., 2006) or the data suggest thermal able oceanographic databases (Levitus et al., 1998). Care
equilibrium (Tréhu, 2006). should be taken to investigate if seafloor temperatures
vary seasonally, as is possible in shallow water. On con-
tinental margins, where gas hydrates are often found, the
Estimation of Heat Flux seafloor temperature can vary by about 0.258C because of
tidal effects and by a larger amount because of seasonal
from BSR Depth and longer term oceanographic effects. Measurements of
Outline of the procedure seafloor temperature made while drilling may therefore
not be representative of the average seafloor temperature.
In the past two decades, a number of studies have been If regional oceanographic data acquired over several years
published in which the BSR is used as a proxy for heat and spanning several seasons are available, those data
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject tocan
SEG license
be usedor copyright; Terms of Use:
to estimate thehttp://segdl.org/
average seafloor temperature,
flux (e.g., Yamano et al., 1982; Davis et al., 1990; Yamano,
1992; Brown et al., 1996; Zwart et al., 1996; Townend, and that average should be used to calculate the thermal
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 293 9/17/10 8:31:35 PM

For example,
T1p2 5
1
2 2.83 3 1024 3 log 1 p 2
23 (28)
3.79 3 10
as given by Dickens and Quinby-Hunt (1997) can be used

for a pure methane system and a pore water salinity of 3.5%
with p as pressure in MPa and T in K (see Figure 15). Other
sources of data on the stability field from which coefficients
can be derived for different gas and pore water chemistries
are Handa (1990), Maekawa et al. (1995), and Sloan (1998).
Pressure is generally assumed to be hydrostatic unless de-
tails about overpressures are known from other sources.
BSR depth
Figure 15. Gas-hydrate stability curve after Dickens The next step is to determine the depth of the BSR from
and Quinby-Hunt (1997) for a pure methane system and a the observed two-way traveltime. Evaluating the uncertainty
seawater salinity of 3.5% with p as pressure in MPa and T in this estimate requires an estimate of the uncertainty in both
as temperature in K. the traveltime pick and in the velocity-depth function from
the seafloor to the BSR. The velocity depth function can be
derived from either a seismic refraction study or a detailed
gradient and heat flow from BSR observations. If bore- velocity analysis of multichannel reflection seismic records.
hole temperature data are available, the average seafloor
twtBSR
v 1 twt 2 dt.
temperature derived from oceanographic data can also 1
zBSR 5 3 (29)
be compared to the seafloor intercept of the temperature 2 0
profile derived from deeper borehole measurements, pro-
viding a consistency check on the validity of assuming a The depth, combined with an assumed constant seawater
conductive thermal regime. density of 1.024 3103 kg/m3, is used to calculate the hy-
drostatic pressure at the BSR depth. The temperature at the
BSR can then be calculated by using equation 28.
Gas hydrate stability curve
For any particular situation, the first step in estimat- Thermal conductivity
ing heat flux from BSR observations is to identify the
equation that best represents the stability boundary for the The third step is determination of the vertical ther-
appropriate pore water and gas composition. This equa- mal conductivity profile. This is the step that introduces
tion can be derived from a best fit to either experimental the most uncertainty because several poorly constrained
data or theoretical thermodynamic calculations. If no ad- assumptions have to be made. Thermal conductivity of
ditional information on chemistry and pressure are avail- sediments can be calculated as the geometric mean of the
able, the stability equation for pure methane in seawater thermal conductivity of the matrix and the pore-filling
at hydrostatic pressure is generally used. However, large fluid, as shown by empirical investigations (e.g., by Wood-
effects on gas-hydrate stability in the presence of saline side and Messmer, 1961, Brigaud and Vasseur, 1989 and
pore water have been documented (Milkov et al., 2004; Brigaud et al., 1990):
k 1 z 2 5 kff 1z2 3 k m112f1z22

Ruppel et al., 2005) as have the effects of higher order
hydrocarbon gases (Andreassen et al., 2000). Pore water (30)
freshening landward of the deformation front, which has
been documented in some accretionary complexes and at- with kf as thermal conductivity of the pore-filling fluid
tributed to dehydration of subducted sediments (Torres et (generally seawater) and km as the thermal conductivity of
al., 2004), may also affect gas-hydrate stability. It is also the sediment matrix.
important to verify that coefficients used to represent the Use of this relationship requires the knowledge of the
simplified equation forDownloaded thermal properties
25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license
the gas-hydrate stability tempera- or copyright;of theof pore-filling
Terms fluid and the sediment
ture as a function of pressure are appropriate for the pres- constituents as well as the vertical porosity profile from
sure range of interest. seafloor to the BSR. Whereas the thermal conductivity of
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 294 9/17/10 8:31:35 PM

seawater 1 kseawater 5 0.6 W/mK 2 is well known, there is consolidation regimes. Their formula for normally consoli-
quite a range of possible values for the matrix of the most dated sediments is rather complicated in order to take into
likely hemipelagic sediments close to a continental margin or account the shale fraction as well as consolidation:
on the shelf. After Brigaud and Vasseur (1989) and Kinoshita
(1994) values of k matrix vary between about 2 and 3 W/mK,
VP 1 f 2 5 0.739 1 0.552 f 1
0.305
1 f 1 0.13 2 2 1 0.0725
depending on the exact composition of the sediments. For
depth ranges where porosities are on the order of 50%–60%,
1 0.61 1 VSH 2 1.123 2 # 3 tanh 1 40 1 f 2 0.39 2 2
the influence of the uncertainty in k matrix is not severe; how-
ever, its influence increases as porosity decreases.
2 0 tanh 1 40 1 f 2 0.39 2 2 0 4 .
As the pore space above the BSR might be filled to
(33)
a certain degree with disseminated gas hydrate, we need
to consider a three-component system whose thermal con- A more general view is shown in Figure 16, in which all
ductivity is available thermal conductivity measurements made on
DSDP and ODP sediment core are compiled. It is the larg-
k 1 z 2 5 kVf 1 # kgashydrate
V2 # kVm3 with V1 1 V2 1 V3 5 1. (31) est publicly available database for thermal conductivities of
deep sea sediments and comprises 30,688 measurements.
Because k gashydrate is 0.575 W/mK (Huang and Shuan- However, the ODP/IODP data set may not be representa-
shi, 2005), close to the value of seawater, disseminated gas tive for very shallow sediments (upper 5 m, which often
hydrate will not have a significant effect on thermal con- have thermal conductivities considerably less than 1.0 W/
ductivity, and the two-component equation is adequate ex- mK. The solid red line is a linear fit of thermal conductiv-
cept where massive gas hydrate is present, in which case ity versus depth
sediment grains have been displaced so that the effective
porosity approaches 100%. Although there is little direct k 1 z 2 5 0.000541056z 1 1.03409 (34)
evidence for in situ low thermal conductivity in massive
gas hydrate, some anomalous measurements made in gas with z in m and k in W/mK. The black and gray fields rep-
hydrate-bearing regions are suggestive of a scenario in resent one or two standard deviations. Thermal conductivity
which the temperature sensor was embedded in nearly pure increases with depth, as expected, with standard deviation in
gas hydrate (Tréhu, 2006). An alternative three-component the data also increasing with depth as the database becomes
system includes the effect of free gas in the sediments. Co- smaller. This model can be used if no detailed information
existence of free gas with gas hydrate has been documented on the sediment composition is available. If only porosity
(Milkov et al., 2004). This situation may also result in very profiles from well log data are available in the investigation
low apparent thermal conductivity, and it is difficult, if not area, the geometric mean model (equation 30) is preferred.
impossible, to distinguish between these two possibilities. Makov et al. (1998) has compiled and discussed in a
Porosity versus depth can be estimated from empiri- very systematic way all published empirical relationships of
cal relationships that link increasing seismic velocities to seismic velocities and porosities, including the influence of
porosity if porosities are smaller than about 70%. Numer- clay content on both. Makov et al. (1998) warns the reader
ous publications based mostly on results from ODP drilling not “to extrapolate the results to values of porosity or clay
show examples of these relationships. Davis and Villinger content outside the range of the experiments” (which in gen-
(1992) base their results on data from ODP Leg 168 (Casca- eral comprises porosities ,30%). Their compilation should
dia Basin), in which the hemipelagic sediments are thought therefore not be used for the unconsolidated to semiconsoli-
to be a good representative of continental margin sediments dated rocks encountered from seafloor down to BSR depth.
worldwide. Now all components of equation 27 are available and q
can be calculated either numerically if the analytical integra-
tion of the denominator is not possible or a closed expres-
f 1 VP 2 5 21.18 1
8.607
2
17.894
1
13.941
(32) sion can be derived if k 1 z 2 has a simple analytical form.
2
VP VP VP3
with f as fractional porosity and VP as compressional wave Discussion of errors
velocity in kilometers per second.
A different relationship was published by Erickson The data analysis and discussion clearly suggest that
and Jarrard (1998). They incorporate a large number of the assessment of the uncertainty in BSR-derived heat flux
investigations and results from ODP boreholes and mea- through continental margins varies from site to site, de-
surements on cores as well as other previously published pending on the information available. The calculation of
data in their analysis and distinguish also between different heat flux, as expressed by equation 7, depends on both the
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 295 9/17/10 8:31:41 PM

Table 1, after Grevemeyer and Villinger

(2001), briefly summarizes the errors and
shows that previous estimates of possible er-
rors/uncertainties have been far too optimis-
tic (Yamano et al., 1982; Cande et al., 1987;
Kaul et al., 2000). Possible errors in depth
might be in the range of 5–20 m, depend-
ing on the depth to the BSR and the veloc-
ity data available. This issue is discussed in
the appropriate seismic literature in much
more detail. However, it is important to note
that the errors discussed here represent the
uncertainty of the estimates for individual
parameters and that uncertainty in some pa-
rameters may be balanced by uncertainty in
other parameters. It is therefore not possible
to calculate the total error using standard
error propagation methods. Moreover, in-
corporation of additional information from
drilling or other sampling programs will
decrease the uncertainty of certain param-
eters. It is important to note that uncertain-
ties due to uncertainty in pore water and gas
composition have not been included in this
table because the range of possible values
Figure 16. Thermal conductivity measurements versus depth, derived
from DSDP and ODP data. (a) Number of measurements versus depth. depends strongly on the geologic setting.
(b) Thermal conductivity versus depth; the black and gray fields represent Figure 17 shows some of these effects for
fields with one or two standard deviations. (Compilation of data, personal a profile crossing the Cascadia accretionary
communication, M. Heesemann) complex offshore northern California.
geothermal gradient and thermal conductivity. The result- Table 1. Summary of errors associated with the assessment
ing error is therefore the sum of errors associated with the of BSR-derived heat flux values.
determination of the thermal gradient and the thermal con-
Magnitude of
ductivity structure between the seafloor and the BSR. These
Property uncertainty in %
errors are difficult to assess and can only be discussed in a
general way. Temperature at BSR depth calibrated by
Summarizing the parameters that must be estimated to heat flux studies 5–10
derive the thermal gradient and the thermal conductivity, Temperature at BSR depth derived from
which are needed to evaluate equation 27. accepted models for gas
Temperature TBSR at the ZBSR depends on hydrate stability 10–20
Variable bottom water temperature 1–10
1) assumed or measured velocity-depth function (equation
Conversion of seismic traveltimes to depth 1–5
29),
2) assumed or measured pressure regime (pure hydrostatic Sum of errors for gradient 5–35
or between hydrostatic and lithostatic); and Conductivity from heat probes or gravity
3) assumed phase diagram for gas-hydrate stability for the cores 2–5
appropriate pore water and gas chemistry (equation 28). Conductivity from local relationships
between seismic velocity/porosity/
The integrated thermal resistance (denominator in
thermal conductivity 5–10
equation 27) depends on
Effect of disseminated gas hydrate on
1) calculated porosityDownloaded
profile25based on velocity versus thermal conductivity structure
,5
depth, Sum of errors for thermal conductivity 2–20
2) assumed matrix thermal conductivity, and
Sum of errors for calculated heat flux 10–55
3) gas-hydrate concentration above the BSR.
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 296 9/17/10 8:31:42 PM

Discussion
Results from five ODP
legs (112, 131, 141, 146, 164)
drilled into both active and
passive continental margins
were used by (Grevemeyer
and Villinger, 2001) to show
and discuss errors and un-
certainties arising from the
estimation of heat flow from
seismic BSRs. The con-
straints were then applied to
a BSR off Pakistan and were
compared to heat flow values
derived from heat probe mea-
surements. Their conclusions
are summarized below.
1) Downhole temperature
measurements suggest
that a seawater-methane Figure 17. Heat flux inferred from BSR observations is sensitive to a number of
system is appropriate for imperfectly known parameters. Several of these are illustrated here, as applied to BSR
the calculation of temper- observations from the Cascadia accretionary complex offshore northern California.
(a) Seafloor temperature generally increases as water depth decreases on the continental
atures at BSR depth. Nev-
slope. Assuming a constant seafloor temperature can lead a systematic bias in the inferred
ertheless, capillary forces
heat flux. (b) Thermal conductivity for sediments within the gas hydrate stability zone
acting in fine-grained sed-
is generally between 0.85 and 1.2 W/mK, depending on lithology. Unless reliable in situ
iments, chemical impuri-
thermal conductivity measurements are available, this is a major source of uncertainty.
ties, and nonequilibrium (c) The depth to the BSR depends on the interval velocity between the seafloor and the BSR.
conditions may change the Although this can generally be determined to better than 50 m/s if multichannel seismic data
temperature by up to 4 K with a maximum offset of several km is available, the uncertainty may be larger for short
or even more. Therefore, offset data. The velocity may also change systematically along the profile. (d) Pore water
thermal gradients could be freshening landward of the deformation front due to sediment dehydration at depth has been
incorrect by 10%–20%. In documented in several continental margins (e.g., Torres et al., 2004) and contributes
addition, variable bottom to uncertainty and potential bias in BSR heat flux estimates.
water temperatures may
increase the uncertainty to
30%.
2) Calculation of downhole-log-derived in situ thermal sediment samples should be acquired to decrease the
conductivities indicate that typical concentrations of uncertainty in the estimate of thermal conductivity.
low conductivity gas hydrate (5%–15% saturation) do 5) Application of the constraints to the Makran margin sug-
not have a considerable impact on the bulk thermal con- gests that BSR-derived heat flow can be calculated using
ductivity of sediments. a very simple approach: using a mean value for the ther-
3) Although thermal conductivity is strongly dependent on mal conductivity derived from seafloor measurements
the sediment porosity, decreasing porosity with depth and the thermal gradient calculated from the temperature
does not affect the bulk conductivity between the BSR at the seafloor and an accepted model for gas hydrate sta-
and the seabed significantly. A mean value provides ap- bility assuming a seawater-methane system.
proximately the same fit to the conductivity data from The conclusions listed above have generally been con-
needle probe measurements on ODP drill cores as a po- firmed by subsequent studies, including ODP Leg 204,
rosity-dependent model. which provided strong support for the conclusion that the
4) Estimates of the thermal conductivity based on global BSR occurs at a temperature corresponding to thermody-
empirical relationships between seismic velocity,
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject tonamic equilibrium
SEG license even
or copyright; Terms of Use:in the fine-grained sediments of
http://segdl.org/
porosity, and conductivity have an uncertainty of the central Cascadia margin (Tréhu, 2006) and raised cau-
20%–30% (or more). Because lithology has a large im- tionary flags about the need for better absolute calibration
pact on thermal conductivity, measurements of regional of the tools used for borehole temperature measurements
02181_SEG_GH_C18.indd 297 9/17/10 8:31:49 PM

and the possible biases introduced when measuring ther- Brown, K., N. Bangs, P. Froelich, and K. Kvenvolden,
mal conductivity on samples in which gas had exsolved 1996, The nature, distribution, and origin of gas hy-
from the pore waters during recovery. drate in the Chile Triple Junction region: Earth and
Planetary Science Letters, 139, 471–483.
Bullard, E., 1954, The flow of heat through the floor of the
Conclusions Atlantic Ocean: Proceedings of the Royal Astronomi-
cal Society, 408–429.
We conclude that BSR studies can indeed be used to Cande, S., R. Leslie, J. Parra, and M. Hobart, 1987, In-
place additional constraints on the thermal state of conti- teraction between the Chile Ridge and Chile Trench:
nental margins. However, in addition to high-quality seismic Geophysical and geothermal evidence: Journal of Geo-
data, a prerequisite is a large data set of thermal conductivi- physical Research, 92, 92495–92520.
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sulting uncertainty will be within 5%–10% of the estimated Davis, E. E., R. D. Hyndman, and H. Villinger, 1990, Rates
heat flow. If this additional information is not available, er- of fluid expulsion across the northern Cascadia ac-
rors can reach 50–60% of the calculated heat flow value. The cretionary prism: Constraints from new heat flow and
improved understanding of the uncertainties obtained when multichannel seismic reflection data: Journal of Geo-
heat flux estimates from BSR observations can be verified physical Research, 95, 8869–8889.
by drilling should lead to more realistic interpretations of re- Davis, E. E., and H. Villinger, 1992, Tectonic and thermal
gional variations in heat flux on continental margins. structure of the middle valley sedimented rift, northern
Juan de Fuca Ridge: Proceedings of the ODP, Leg 139,
Initial Reports, Texas A&M University, 9–41.
Acknowledgments Davis, E. E., H. Villinger, R. D. Macdonald, R. D. Meldrum,
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National Science Foundation and participating countries. Dickens, G. R., and M. S. Quinby-Hunt, 1997, Methane
hydrate stability in pore water: A simple theoreti-
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Section 4
Laboratory Studies
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Chapter 19
Introduction of Laboratory Studies

Knowledge of the physical properties of gas-hydrate- approach introduced by Lee et al. (1996), three-phase ef-
bearing sediments is critical in assessing gas-hydrate de- fective medium theory (related to the models presented
posits in general. Geophysical remote sensing techniques by Dvorkin and Nur, 1993; Ecker et al., 1998; Helgerud
(for example, seismic or EM methods) require careful et al., 1999), three-phase Biot theory (based on Leclaire
calibration to be used in reliable predictions of regional et al., 1994; Carcione and Tinivella, 2000; Gei and Car-
gas-hydrate concentrations. Predicting and quantifying cione, 2003), as well as differential effective medium the-
the responses of gas-hydrate deposits to changes in phase ory, which allows the incorporation of anisotropic effects
boundary conditions (chemical, thermal, or geomechani- (based on e.g., Jakobsen et al., 2000).
cal) also require detailed knowledge of the physical and When using rock physics to model a given gas-hydrate
mechanical properties of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments to deposit, coring data are essential to establish the unique sed-
design and implement recovery techniques for extracting iment type, mineralogy, and grain-size distribution. Further,
gas from these deposits. These are in turn required to ap- core studies provide important information on the primary
propriately deal with any possible hazards to the borehole controls on the stability and mechanical properties of gas-
and associated production infrastructure, as well as local hydrate-bearing sediments as well as its potential response
and regional slope stability conditions. to production. Whereas considerable progress has been
This section strives to present an introduction to the made with the various pressure-coring techniques described
field of theoretical rock-physics modeling and gas-hydrate in the previous section, challenges with these tools and
laboratory studies. Whereas this book cannot be all-inclu- devices remain. These include potential for drilling-fluid
sive for obvious reasons, we have tried to incorporate vari- contamination during core-cutting, uncontrolled changes in
ous theoretical concepts and laboratory approaches. We the pressure and temperature regime during core retrieval,
have not included studies related to the generation of pure as well as disruptive extraction of the core samples, which
methane hydrate and the measurements of its physical prop- can cause substantial degradation of gas hydrate and related
erties. A comprehensive summary of some of the available sediment properties. Also, access to pressure cores is lim-
techniques and laboratory procedures can be found in Sloan ited to large (and costly) drilling programs.
and Koh (2008). A few recent approaches to synthesizing There is a clear necessity for the creation of synthetic
pure methane gas hydrate include the studies by Kuhs et al. analogs to natural gas-hydrate-bearing sediments from
(2000), Stern et al. (2000), and Helgerud et al. (2003). which accurate and reproducible physical property data can
The first two chapters in this section by Dvorkin be obtained. Some of the first researchers to investigate gas
(2010) and Carcione et al. (2010) provide an overview to hydrate synthesized in natural and artificial sediments were
rock-physics modeling, linking logging measurements Ershov and Yakushev (1992). Modifications of this tech-
with seismic reflection profiling to estimate gas-hydrate nique have been used for determining thermal properties,
concentrations. An interesting comparison study of several physical properties, and salinity effects on methane hydrate
approaches to effective medium theory was presented by stability conditions (Wright et al., 2005). Another approach
Chand et al. (2004). They compare the weighted equation was described by Stern at al. (2005) in which methane
gas-hydrate-sediment aggregates are formed by physically
1
Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada–Pacific,
mixing sediment and polycrystalline gas-hydrate granules
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail: mriedel@nrcan.gc.ca together. In contrast, Spangenberg and Kulenkampff (2010)
2
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. use a technique in which gas hydrate forms from methane
E-mail: willough@physics.utoronto.ca dissolved in the sediment pore water.
3
303
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One of the challenges facing any attempt to synthesize these techniques and approaches was presented by Waite et
natural gas-hydrate-bearing sediments is that the morphol- al., 2009 (resulting from presentations given at a workshop
ogy reflects the way a sample was formed. The morphol- held in Atlanta, Georgia, 16–19 March 2008).
ogy in turn affects the structural and physical properties of Among the physical properties of gas-hydrate-bearing
any gas-hydrate-bearing sediment sample, whether natural sediments, those related to the mechanical behavior of the
or synthetic. In situ gas hydrate is typically formed from sediment-hydrate mix and the potential geohazard it poses
an aqueous solution containing dissolved gas, and hence to conventional oil and gas exploration are of particular in-
the sediments exhibit a specific pore-filling morphology. terest (as described in the general introduction to this book
Whereas, laboratory synthesized samples formed from free and also mentioned, e.g., by Nimblett et al., 2005). When
gas generally result in gas hydrate cementing the sediment gas hydrate is purposely dissociated for production, or if flu-
grains (Sloan and Koh, 2008; Waite et al., 2009). However, ids produced at greater depths pass through shallower gas-
dissolved gas can be used to synthesize gas-hydrate-bearing hydrate layers, the near-wellbore environment is affected
sediments as shown by Spangenberg et al. (2008). Although (e.g., Rutqvist and Moridis, 2007; Masui et al., 2008), which
these are very time-consuming procedures, they produce re- can potentially threaten the stability of any production fa-
sults which more closely resemble natural samples. cilities. Production of gas from a gas-hydrate deposit may
The challenges in synthesizing methane gas hydrate in- also result in regional subsidence or slumps and slides (e.g.
spired an alternate methodology: using the tetra-hydro-furan Nixon and Grozic, 2007). However, gas has yet to be pro-
(THF) hydrate system, which is stable at atmospheric pres- duced from gas-hydrate deposits, thus the severity of these
sure below 4.4 °C and thus is more convenient to prepare and hazards remain uncertain, although they clearly merit atten-
handle in the laboratory (Santamarina and Ruppel, 2010). tion. The regional slumping potential geohazard related to
However, some discrepancies between THF hydrate and dissociation of marine gas hydrate through natural forcing
methane gas hydrate were observed: (a) THF is miscible in during climate warming periods has also been studied (e.g.,
water, whereas methane is almost insoluble in water; (b) dif- Dickens et al., 1995; Paull et al., 2000).
ferent thermal expansion and heat of dissociation values; and Some effort has been spent on measuring the stress-
(c) differences in the effect of pressure on hydrate equilibrium strain response of hydrate-bearing sediment in the labo-
temperature. On the other hand, quite similar mechanical ratory under controlled conditions of known gas-hydrate
properties have been found for methane gas-hydrate-bearing concentrations and sediment type such as grain size and clay
sediment and THF hydrate-bearing sediment at low hydrate content (e.g., Hyodo et al., 2005; Masui et al., 2006; Soga
saturations of less than 40% (e.g., Lee et al., 2007). et al., 2006; Hyodo et al., 2007; Yun et al., 2007; Masui
In addition to the challenges associated with the type et al., 2008). Little data exist from natural settings, and it is
of synthesized gas hydrate (methane or THF), there are mostly restricted to the shallow upper few tens of meters of
some issues related to scale and the applicability of physi- sediment (Yun et al., 2006; Sultan et al., 2007).
cal property measurements on small laboratory hydrate- The most recent comprehensive summary of issues re-
bearing sediment samples to data obtained from logging or lated to laboratory techniques and measurements of physi-
other large-scale geophysical remote-sensing techniques. cal properties of gas-hydrate-bearing sediment is given by
Several autoclave systems have been developed to measure Waite et al (2009). In their workshop summary, they re-
physical properties (P- and S-wave velocity, porosity, per- port the three most relevant properties for assessing the
meability, and electrical resistivity) over the past several characteristics of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments to be (a)
years. These include the field laboratory experimental core pore-space filling gas-hydrate concentrations, (b) effective
analysis system (FLECAS) (Kulenkampff and Spangen- stress, and (c) sediment grain size and mineralogical com-
berg, 2010) and the gas hydrate and sediment testing labo- position (especially the silt and clay content). Waite et al.
ratory instrument (GHASTLI) (e.g., Winters et al., 2000). (2009) concluded that future studies should further describe
Uchida et al. (2005a) and Uchida et al. (2005b) developed the effect of any fine-grained sediment content on the over-
autoclave systems for gas permeability as well as acous- all characteristics of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments. Also,
tic velocity and electrical resistivity measurements. Other because sampling and core extraction greatly impact the
systems were also developed, for example, by Okui et al. effective stress and physical state of sediments (including,
(2005) or Yang and Tohidi (2010), dedicated to measure- in part, severe gas-hydrate dissociation), emphasis must be
ments of formation and dissociation rates of hydrate-bear- placed on further developing in situ sediment characteriza-
ing sediments. A slightly different technique based on a tion techniques. Pressure coring and associated testing, as
resonant column is presented by Best et al. (2010). Acous- well as maintaining or quickly reinstating the in situ effec-
tic properties of the sample in the resonant column can be tive stresses of the samples at their in situ pore pressure
measured over a much lower frequency range (50–500 Hz) conditions was also identified by Waite et al. (2009) as a
than the other techniques mentioned previously (that typi- key component in future analyses of gas-hydrate-bearing
cally operate in the ultra-sonic frequency domain). A re- sediments. Future experimental studies may also include
cent comprehensive summary on the state-of-the-art of all routine imaging of gas-hydrate distribution within samples,
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Chapter 19: Introduction of Laboratory Studies 305
for example, through the use of X-ray or nuclear magnetic methane hydrate-sediments mixture: Soil and Founda-
resonant scanning, to implement data inversion procedures tion, 45, 75–85 (Japanese Geotechnical Society).
in the interpretation of measured physical properties. Hyodo, M., Y. Nakata, N. Yoshimoto, and R. Orense, 2007,
Shear behaviour of methane hydrate-bearing sand:
Proceedings of the 17th International Offshore and
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02181_SEG_GH_C19_PP3.indd 306 9/10/10 10:02:32 PM

Chapter 20
Round Table: Rock Physics of a Gas-hydrate Reservoir

Jack Dvorkin1, Amos Nur1, Richard Uden2, and Turhan Taner2
Gas hydrates are solids composed of a hydrogen-bonded popular Wyllie’s time average equation, which states
water lattice with entrapped guest molecules of gas. There that total traveltime through rock is the volume weighted
are convincing arguments that vast amounts of methane gas sum of traveltimes through the solid phase and the fluid
hydrate are present in sediments under the world’s oceans phase considered independently of each other; that is,
as well as in onshore sediments in the Arctic. This hydrate VP21 5 1 1 2 f 2 VPS 21
1 fVPF 21
, where f is the total poros-
is possibly the largest carbon and methane pool on earth. As ity, VP is the P-wave velocity in the rock, and VPS and VPF
such, methane hydrate may be the principal factor in global are the P-wave velocity in the solid and in the pore-fluid
climate balancing. One may also treat this methane pool as phases, respectively.
a potential energy source. These considerations ignite the The original work of Wyllie et al. (1956) is based on
scientific and business community’s interest in quantifying laboratory measurements of ultrasonic wave propagation
the amount of methane hydrate in the subsurface. through a pile of alternating lucite and aluminum disks set
Gas-hydrate reservoir characterization is, in principle, parallel to one another. The individual disk thickness var-
no different from the traditional hydrocarbon reservoir ied between 1/16 and 1/2 in. As expected, total traveltime
characterization. Similar and well-developed remote sens- through such a layered system was the sum of traveltimes
ing techniques can be used, seismic reflection profiling be- through lucite and aluminum considered independently of
ing the dominant among them. each other. Next, by examining a large data set of artificial
Seismic response of the subsurface is determined by and natural liquid-saturated porous samples, Wyllie et al.
the spatial distribution of the elastic properties. By mapping (1956) established a remarkable and somewhat unexpected
the elastic contrast, the geophysicist can illuminate tectonic fact that the velocity data can be approximately described
features and geobodies, hydrocarbon reservoirs included. by the time average, as if the mineral grains and the pore
To accurately translate elastic-property images into images space in rock were arranged in relatively thick layers nor-
of lithology, porosity, and the pore-filling phase, quantita- mal to the direction of wave propagation.
tive knowledge is needed that relates the rock’s elastic prop- Obviously, this is not what the pore space structure of
erties to its bulk properties and conditions. Specifically, to many natural sediments appears to be, which means that
quantitatively characterize a natural gas-hydrate reservoir, Wyllie’s time average is a useful and simple but physically
we must be able to relate the elastic properties of the sedi- deceptive way of summarizing extensive experimental data.
ment to the volume of gas hydrate present and, if at all pos- Therefore, further exploiting this equation by summing up
sible, the permeability. One way of achieving this goal is traveltimes through the mineral components of the solid
through rock physics effective-medium modeling. phase and/or through the components of the pore-filling
material (such as water and gas hydrate) cannot be justified
Rock Physics Models in by first-principle physics and thus is likely to be erroneous.
Also, remember that Wyllie’s time average does not
Perspective work in unconsolidated sediments where apparently most
Several attempts to construct a relation between methane hydrate is concentrated.
hydrate concentration and the compressional veloc- Nevertheless, various modifications of Wyllie’s time
ity in sediments have followed the path of modifying the average, and weighted combinations of Wyllie’s time aver-
age and Wood’s (1941) relation, have found their way into
1
Stanford University, Stanford, California the gas-hydrate reservoir characterization literature. Gener-
2
Rock Solid Images, Houston, Texas ally, by fine-tuning the input parameters and weights, these
Reprinted from The Leading Edge, 22, 842–847.
307
02181_SEG_GH_C20.indd 307 9/17/10 8:33:07 PM

equations can be forced to fit a selected data set. The prob- An Effective-Medium Model
lem with such fitting is that equations that are not based on
first physical principles provide little or no physical insight. Helgerud et al. (1999) used a physics-based effective-
More important, they are not predictive because it is difficult medium model to quantify methane hydrate concentration
to establish a systematic pattern of adapting free model pa- from sonic and check-shot data in a well drilled through a
rameters to site-specific conditions in the exploration mode. large offshore methane hydrate reservoir at the outer Blake
Ridge in the Atlantic. Sakai (1999) used this model to accu-
rately predict methane hydrate concentration from well log
P-wave and S-wave data as well as VSP data in an onshore
gas-hydrate well in the Mackenzie Delta in Canada. Ecker
et al. (2000) used the same model to successfully delineate
gas hydrates and map their concentration at the outer Blake
Ridge from seismic interval velocity.
This effective-medium model for sediment with gas hy-
drate is based on the Dvorkin and Nur (1996) model (DN),
which relates the elastic moduli of soft unconsolidated clastic
sediment to the porosity, pore fluid compressibility, mineral-
ogy, and effective pressure. The model assumes that at the
critical porosity of 30%–40%, the effective elastic moduli of
the dry mineral framework of the sediment can be calculated
using the Hertz-Mindlin contact theory for elastic particles.
This end point is connected with the zero-porosity, pure min-
eral, end point by the modified lower Hashin-Shtrikman (HS)
bound that is appropriate for the description of uncemented
rock. For porosity above the critical porosity, the critical po-
Figure 1. Velocity versus porosity in water-saturated sand. rosity end point is connected with the 100% porosity end point
The symbols are from well log data — light and dark blue (zero elastic moduli) by the modified upper HS bound (Dvor-
from cemented sand intervals, red from an unconsolidated kin et al., 1999). In a common case of mixed mineralogy, the
sand interval. The curves are Wyllie’s time average (WTA) elastic constants of the solid phase are calculated from those
and the Dvorkin and Nur (1996) model (DN). WTA is not of the individual mineral constituents using Hill’s average
appropriate for soft sediment. Used by permission. equation. Once the dry frame elastic moduli are known, those
of the saturated sediment are calculated using
Gassmann’s fluid substitution.
The model accurately describes velocity-
porosity trends present in well log data from
soft unconsolidated clastic sediments and is
not appropriate for fast sands with diagenetic
cement (Figure 1). It is shown in the same fig-
ure that Wyllie’s time average can be used for
describing fast sands but fails in soft sediments.
Prasad and Dvorkin (2001) establish the appli-
cability of the DN model to unconsolidated ma-
rine sediments in many geographic locations.
The DN model can be modified to in-
clude the effect of gas hydrate present in the
pore space on the elastic moduli. In the result-
ing gas-hydrate model (GHM), the hydrate
Figure 2. P-wave (left) and S-wave (right) velocity versus porosity in is simply treated as part of the load-bearing
sediments with gas hydrate. Porosity by definition is the space not occupied frame, that is, its presence acts to reduce the
by the mineral phase. It includes both water and gas hydrate. The symbols are porosity and, at the same time, alter the elas-
from onshore well log data. The high-velocity data highlighted by yellow come tic properties of the composite solid matrix
from hydrate-saturated sand. The blue curves are from the DN model for water- phase. The net effect is an increase in the P-
saturated shale (the lower curve) and sand (the upper curve). The red curves are and S-wave velocity in water-saturated rock
from GHM, as described in the text, for 40% gas-hydrate saturation (the lower where part of the pore space is filled with gas
curve) and 60% gas-hydrate saturation (the upper curve). Used by permission. hydrate (Figure 2).
02181_SEG_GH_C20.indd 308 9/17/10 8:33:08 PM

Chapter 20: Round Table: Rock Physics of a Gas-hydrate Reservoir 309
Putting Numbers into the Model characterized by a relatively high impedance and medium
to high PR. The same model data but displayed in the VP 2
Here GHM is used to predict the elastic properties of VP / VS domain are on the right of Figure 5.
sand with porosity ranging from 20% to 40% filled with
solid methane hydrate with the hydrate saturation in the
pore space ranging from zero to 100%. The rest of the Hydrate in a Pseudosection
pore space is filled with brine. The assumed mineralogy
is 90% quartz and 10% clay. The results in Figure 3 indi- Consider a vertical section of earth where a dipping
cate that the larger the gas-hydrate concentration at fixed sand layer is encased in shale (Figure 6). The shale is fully
porosity the larger the P-wave impedance and the smaller saturated with water. The upper part of the sand layer is par-
the Poisson’s ratio (PR). The two plots in Figure 3 can tially saturated with methane hydrate with the hydrate satu-
be used to extract both the total porosity and gas-hydrate ration of the pore space about 50%. The lower part of the
concentration from elastic well log or impedance inver- sand contains free methane gas with about 20% gas satura-
sion data. tion. Such arrangement of methane hydrate and free gas is
The net amount of the hydrate in a unit volume of rock likely in seabottom sediment where the hydrate-gas contact
(hydrate concentration in rock), which is likely to be the position corresponds to the lower boundary of the stability
ultimate goal of gas-hydrate exploration, is the product zone of methane hydrate. In several documented cases, a
of the total porosity and
gas-hydrate saturation of
the pore space. This quan-
tity is modeled and plotted
versus the P-wave imped-
ance and Poisson’s ratio
in Figure 4 for sands with
10% and 20% clay con-
tent. Small variations of
clay content in hydrate-
bearing sand do not dra-
matically change the range
of elastic attributes within
which high gas-hydrate
concentration can be found.
These ranges for PR and P- Figure 3. P-wave impedance in km/s g/cc (left) and Poisson’s ratio (right) versus porosity
wave impedance are 0.31– and gas-hydrate saturation of the pore space in water-saturated sand with 10% clay content.
0.33 and 7–9 km/s g/cc, Color coding is by the impedance (left) and Poisson’s ratio (right). Used by permission.
respectively.
The rock physics
model used here helps dis-
criminate sediments with
commercial gas-hydrate
concentration from the
background water-saturated
rock and sands with free
gas in the elastic attribute
space. In Figure 5 (left), the
sand with hydrate domain
in the impedance-PR plane
is color-coded by hydrate
concentration in the rock,
whereas the sand-with-
free-gas domain is yellow
and the sand/shale-with- Figure 4. Hydrate concentration in rock (the color code) versus the P-wave impedance
water domain is cyan. The (in km/s g/cc) and Poisson’s ratio for water-saturated sand with 10% (left) and 20%
target, sand with a large (right) clay content. The color coding is by the hydrate concentration. Highest hydrate
hydrate concentration, is concentration domains are circled. Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C20.indd 309 9/17/10 8:33:11 PM

may serve as an indicator of

hydrate-cemented sand in
a shallow marine environ-
ment usually composed of
very soft sediments.
Poisson’s ratio obtained
from elastic impedance in-
version is useful as a free-
gas indicator. PR in the sand
with free gas falls below 0.2,
whereas that in the sand with
gas hydrate and in the shale
exceeds 0.3. Also, PR in
the hydrate-cemented sand
Figure 5. Hydrate concentration in rock (HC) versus the P-wave impedance and Poisson’s is smaller than in the shale
ratio (left) and the P-wave velocity and VP/VS ratio (right). The cases displayed include background and should be
sand with gas hydrate with clay content 10% and 20%; water-saturated sand/shale with clay expected to be smaller than
content between zero and 100%; and sand with free gas with clay content 10% and 20%. in water-saturated sand with-
The data for sand with gas hydrate are color coded by hydrate concentration in rock. The out gas hydrate (Figure 5).
data for sand with free gas are yellow, and data for water-saturated sand are cyan. Used by Therefore, PR, in addition
permission. to the impedance, can serve
as an indicator of hydrate-
cemented sand.
Elastic-wave attenua-
tion, if properly extracted
from seismic data, may
become an important at-
tribute for subsurface char-
acterization. To calculate
the inverse quality factor
in the pseudosection un-
der examination, we use a
combination of a newly de-
veloped theoretical model
Figure 6. Pseudosection of earth with a dipping sand layer encased in shale. From left to (Dvorkin and Uden, 2004;
right: (a) Clay content (small in the sand and large in the shale). The horizontal white bar
Dvorkin and Mavko, 2006)
indicates the hydrate-free gas contact. (b) P-wave impedance in km/s g/cc. (c) Poisson’s ratio.
for partially gas-saturated
(d) The inverse quality factor. Used by permission.
sediment and an empirical
model of Koesoemadinata
and McMechan (2001), the
strong impedance contrast is observed between the sediment latter for fully water-saturated sediment. The results in Fig-
with hydrate and the underlying sediment with free gas. This ure 6 indicate that one should expect strong intrinsic atten-
contrast gives rise to a strong seismic reflection known as uation in the gas-saturated sand and very small attenuation
the bottom-simulating reflector (BSR). in the hydrate-cemented sand. These attenuation modeling
The elastic properties of the sediment in the vertical results are supported by analyses conducted by Rock Solid
pseudosection under examination are calculated according Images on real seismic data from a gas hydrate reservoir.
to the above-described GHM model. This model becomes The primary seismic elastic and inelastic attributes
the DN model if no hydrate is present in the pore space. can be combined into hybrid attributes to better highlight
Figure 6 shows the modeled P-wave impedance and Pois- various parts of the reservoir (Figure 7). For example, the
son’s ratio. product of the impedance and quality factor is large in hy-
As expected, there is a strong impedance contrast be- drate-cemented sand because both primary attributes are
tween the sand with gas hydrate and the sand with free large there. The opposite is true for the product of the im-
gas. The impedance in the sand with gas hydrate is also pedance and Poisson’s ratio, all of them small in sand with
much larger than that in the shale. This large impedance free gas.
02181_SEG_GH_C20.indd 310 9/17/10 8:33:17 PM

Chapter 20: Round Table: Rock Physics of a Gas-hydrate Reservoir 311
Hydrate Saturation from scale. Sharp impedance and Poisson’s ratio contrasts that
manifest the presence of gas hydrate and free gas become
Impedance smaller and may even disappear in impedance inversion
The ultimate goal of the rock physics modeling pre- volumes.
sented here is to determine gas-hydrate saturation of the Consider a gas-hydrate pseudowell in which the up-
pore space from seismic data. We have established that per part of the sand body is filled with methane hydrate and
there is a strong relation between the P-wave impedance the lower part contains free gas (Figure 9). The hydrate-ce-
and the amount of hydrate in the pore space. Therefore, mented sand is manifested by large impedance, whereas the
impedance inversion is an appropriate technique for gas- sand with free gas is manifested by small Poisson’s ratio.
hydrate reservoir characterization. Figure 9 shows the smoothing effect of the seismic
Unfortunately, multiple factors affect the elastic prop- wave on the elastic attributes (upscaling) simulated via
erties of sand with hydrate. Some (such as the bulk modulus
and density of the pore fluid and the differential pressure)
are relatively easy to bound. The remaining factors (poros-
ity, clay content, and gas-hydrate saturation) are impossible
to uniquely determine from the acoustic impedance. How-
ever, model-driven bounding can help bracket the results.
Assume, for example, that the total porosity of a hy-
drate-cemented sand body may vary between 20% and
30%, and the clay content may vary between 5% and 15%.
Then model-derived nomograms (Figure 8) can provide a
reasonably narrow range of hydrate saturation from imped-
ance. For example, if the measured impedance is 7 km/s g/
cc then the hydrate saturation lies between 45% and 80%.
This degree of narrowing uncertainty is realistically achiev-
able. It can only be further reduced by imposing additional
stringent assumptions on reservoir properties. Figure 7. Pseudosection of earth with a dipping sand layer
Even further reduction of uncertainty in gas-hydrate encased in a shale. The product (left) of the impedance and
reservoir characterization is probably possible if seismic quality factor divided by 1000. The product (right) of the
attributes other than the acoustic impedance, such as Pois- impedance and Poisson’s ratio. Used by permission.
son’s ratio and attenuation,
can be accurately measured
from field data. Once again,
the model-driven approach
is paramount for bracketing
the results.
Caveats Due
to Seismic
Resolution
Rock physics mod-
els are usually used on a
point-by-point basis at the
well log and/or core scale.
The scale of seismic data
may exceed that of well
log data by 2–3 orders of
magnitude. A seismic wave
tends to average theDownloaded
small- 25 Jun Figure
8. Model-derived P-wave impedance (km/s g/cc) versus hydrate saturation color
scale reservoir elastic fea- coded by the total porosity. 5% clay content (left). 15% clay content (right). Used by
tures observed at a smaller permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C20.indd 311 9/17/10 8:33:25 PM

upscaling effect has to be assessed in each concrete case by

synthetic seismic modeling or Backus averaging.
Conclusion
The use of a first-principle-based rock physics model
is crucial for gas-hydrate reservoir characterization because
only within a physics-based framework can one system-
atically perturb reservoir properties to estimate the elastic
response with the ultimate goal of characterizing the res-
ervoir from field elastic data. Rock physics relations have
to be upscaled to become applicable to seismic reservoir
characterization.
Figure 9. Pseudowell with methane hydrate. From left to
right: clay content; total porosity; hydrate and gas saturation;
P-wave impedance; and Poisson’s ratio. The impedance and References
PR are calculated from porosity, clay content, and saturation
according to the gas-hydrate model. In the last two frames Dvorkin, J., and A. Nur, 1996, Elasticity of high-porosity
the blue curves are for the original log data and red curves sandstones: Theory for two North Sea data sets: Geo-
represent Backus average upscaling. Used by permission. physics, 61, 1363–1370.
Dvorkin, J., M. Prasad, A. Sakai, and D. Lavoie, 1999,
Elasticity of marine sediments: Geophysical Research
Letters, 26, 1781–1784.
Dvorkin, J., and R. Uden, 2004, Seismic wave attenuation
in a methane hydrate reservoir, The Leading Edge, 23,
730–734.
Dvorkin, J. P., and G. Mavko, 2006, Modeling attenuation
in reservoir and nonreservoir rock, The Leading Edge,
25, 194–197.
Ecker, C., J. Dvorkin, and A. Nur, 2000, Estimating the
amount of gas hydrate and free gas from marine seis-
mic data: Geophysics, 65, 565–573.
Helgerud, M., J. Dvorkin, A. Nur, A. Sakai, and T. Collett,
1999, Elastic-wave velocity in marine sediments with
gas hydrates: Effective medium modeling: Geophysi-
Figure 10. Impedance versus PR from log data shown in cal Research Letters, 26, 2021–2024.
Figure 9. The original log data (left) with the hydrate sand
Koesoemadinata, A. P., and G. A. McMechan, 2001, Em-
shown in blue and gas sand shown in red. Upscaled data
pirical estimation of viscoelastic seismic parameters
(right) with the hydrate sand in green and gas sand in yellow.
from petrophysical properties of sandstone: Geophys-
Used by permission.
ics, 66, 1457–1470.
Prasad, M., and J. Dvorkin, 2001, Velocity to porosity trans-
Backus averaging of the elastic moduli. The sharp imped- form in marine sediments: Petrophysics, 42, no. 5,
ance and PR contrasts apparent at the log scale become 429–437.
smaller. Even the vertical positions of the extrema of the Sakai, A., 1999, Velocity analysis of vertical seismic profil-
upscaled elastic properties change. ing (VSP) survey at Japex/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38
Figure 10 shows an impedance-PR crossplot that can be gas hydrate research well, and related problems for es-
used for identifying gas hydrate and free gas from acoustic timating gas hydrate concentration: Geological Survey
and elastic impedance data. The upscaling makes clusters of Canada Bulletin, 544, 323–340.
of data points that correspond to the hydrate and gas sand Wood, A. B., 1941, A textbook of sound: The Macmillan
change their position in this diagnostics crossplot. Company.
Because of the often complex stratigraphic distribution Wyllie, M. R. J., A. R. Gregory, and L. W. Gardner, 1956,
and thickness of sand/shale layers, there is no universal Elastic wave velocities in heterogeneous and porous
recipe for upscaling rock physics models and relations. The media: Geophysics, 21, 41–70.
02181_SEG_GH_C20.indd 312 9/17/10 8:33:31 PM

Chapter 21
Velocity and Resistivity Measurements of Artificial

Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediment
Erik Spangenberg1 and Johannes Kulenkampff 2
An experimental device designed and developed to The experimental approach described here is based
grow methane hydrate in the pore space of a sediment was on the hydrate formation model of Hyndman and Davis
successfully used with a glass bead sample. The underly- (1992). This model involves the upward migration of pore
ing idea for the experiment is that methane dissolved in fluid that is common to the environments where BSRs oc-
water is transported with upward-moving fluids from its cur and does not generally occur elsewhere. They propose
place of origin at greater depths to formations in the hy- that the hydrates are formed from methane removed from
drate stability field where the methane is removed from upward-moving pore fluids originating at greater depth as
the pore water to form hydrate. This process is simulated the fluid pass into the hydrate stability field. This model ex-
in a closed loop flow system in which methane-charged plains the source of the large amounts of methane required
water from a gas/water reservoir outside the hydrate sta- to form the quantities of hydrates observed in some areas,
bility field is pumped into the sediment sample cell in the and it explains why the solid hydrate often appears to be
stability field for methane hydrate. The fluid depleted of concentrated in a layer at the base of the stability field. In
methane then flows back into the gas/water reservoir to be contrast to natural sediment samples that have a certain hy-
recharged with methane. drate content, here the hydrate is formed in the sediment
The electrical resistivity and sonic wave velocity was sample cell filled with an originally hydrate-free sediment,
measured during the process of hydrate formation from and the dependence of the physical properties as a func-
methane dissolved in the pore water without a free gas tion of hydrate content can be investigated as the hydrate
phase. In addition to the sample properties, we measured content increases with experimental duration. Furthermore,
the resistivity of the circulating water in order to determine all the problems related to the maintenance of the stability
the amount of water consumed by hydrate formation from conditions of the hydrate during sample extraction, trans-
the increase of salinity and to determine the formation report, and preparation are avoided by this approach.
sistivity factor and resistivity index.
The electrical resistivity and sonic velocity of the sam-
ple increased from 5.1 Ωm and 2036 m/s at 100% water Formation of Pore Space Hydrate
saturation to 265 Ωm and 3770 m/s at about 95% hydrate from Methane Dissolved in Water
saturation, whereas the water resistivity decreased from
1.39 to 1.08 Ωm. Experimental setup
The experimental concept is based on one possible hy-
drate formation scenario, in which the hydrate forms from
methane that is dissolved in the pore water that migrates
upward into a formation with lower pressure and tem-
1
perature. Under marine conditions or in arctic areas, the
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam,
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25 Jun Germany. E-mail:
2012 to 95.28.162.50. erik@subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
Redistribution
gfz-potsdam.de
upward-migrating methane-charged water will pass a depth
2
Institute for Interdisciplinary Isotope Research, Permoserstr. Leipzig, range with pressure temperature conditions under which
Germany. E-mail: kulenkampff@iif-leipzig.de methane hydrate could be stable. Whether hydrate forms in
313
02181_SEG_GH_C21.indd 313 9/24/10 7:41:50 PM

Figure 1. Experimental system used for the formation of

methane hydrate in the pore space of a sediment sample and
performing measurements of the petrophysical sediment
properties.
Figure 2. Methane content in the system versus pressure

this depth range or not will depend on the methane supply for the phase of pressure build up (squares) and the phase of
and the sediment properties. hydrate formation (circles).
To simulate this process in the lab we have built an
instrumentation (Spangenberg et al., 2005) that consists
of a thermal insulated box with two compartments (Fig- rings separated by two thin stainless steel rings, which act
ure 1). as potential electrodes M and N. The inner diameter and
The temperature in both compartments can be con- the length of the cell is 50 mm. Measurements of sonic
trolled independently. The first compartment is always wave velocities and electrical resistivity are taken in cer-
kept at a temperature above the hydrate stability. It rep- tain time intervals. The methane-charged water coming
resents the deep subsurface where methane is formed from the first compartment will cool down and enter the
and water is charged with methane. It contains a meth- sample that is in the hydrate stability field. When hydrate
ane storage volume that is separated from the methane forms in the sediment, it consumes water but excludes
cylinder and the rest of the system by two valves. The the salt ions, hence, the salt content in the remaining
methane storage volume can be charged with methane by water increases. The increasing salt content results in an
opening valve V1. The exact amount of gas in the volume increasing electrical conductivity of the water that we
can be calculated with the gas laws. Via valve V2, the gas measure with the conductivity sensor CS. The water pass-
storage volume is connected to the rest of the system that ing through the sample cell loses a part of the dissolved
is filled with degassed 0.1M NaCl solution. By opening methane because of the hydrate formation process. When
valve V 2, the water-gas reservoir can be charged with the water enters the reservoir again, it is recharged with
methane. From the pressure drop in the gas storage revol- methane. The methane consumption results in a drop of
ume, the amount of gas that went to the water reservoir system pressure. To avoid a pressure decrease to the sta-
can be calculated. The water in the reservoir will solve bility boundary at which hydrate formation stops, meth-
part of the gas. To speed up this process, the water is cir- ane has to be fed into the system from time to time. When
culated through the reservoir with the bypass valve V 3 the hydrate content is plotted versus the system pres-
opened until the system pressure is constant. This process sure (Figure 2), it is possible to distinguish between the
is repeated until the desired system pressure is reached. amount of methane trapped in the hydrate and the meth-
Then the bypass is closed, and the regulation valve RV ane dissolved in the water and in the gaseous state in the
is opened so that methane-charged water can flow to the water-gas reservoir. In fact, it is possible to derive the hy-
sample cell in the second compartment. This compartment drate content from the pressure readings. The amount of
represents the depth range in the subsurface that is in the hydrate formed can also be calculated from the change in
hydrate stability field. The pressure and temperature are the electrical conductivity of the water.
measured at the fluid inlet and outlet of the sediment cell. Because the solubility of methane is low (about 10–3mol/
The closures of the cell are made of stainless steel and act mol at 5 MPa and 20°C) the formation of hydrate out of a
as current electrodes ADownloaded
and B. 25They contain
Jun 2012 a Pt100
to 95.28.162.50. tem- subjectsolution
of methane in water is a very slow process. It turns
perature sensor and ultrasonic P- and S-wave transducers. out that because of the long experimental time, the gas loss
The cell consists of three high tensile strength Plexiglass caused by leakage at the dynamic pump seals results in an
02181_SEG_GH_C21.indd 314 9/24/10 7:41:50 PM

Chapter 21: Velocity and Resistivity Measurements of Artificial Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediment 315
overestimation of the hydrate content especially at high hy-

drate saturation using the pressure data.
Description of experiment and sample

The sample cell described in the previous section was
filled with glass beads (750–500 mm in diameter). The
porosity of the sample was 38%. The sample cell was in-
stalled into the second compartment, and the P-wave veloc-
ity of the dry glass bead sample was measured. The whole
system was evacuated with a membrane vacuum pump,
and a degassed 0.1 M NaCl solution was sucked into the
system. The P-wave velocity of the saturated sample was
measured. The temperature in both compartments was set
to 20°C. When the temperature was equilibrated, the water
was charged with methane by circulating it through the sys-
tem until saturation was reached and the pressure remained
constant at about 17.4 MPa. The temperature in the sec-
Figure 3. Course of the experiment in the temperature
ond compartment was now decreased with 0.2°/h. Hydrate
pressure domain.
formation started about 5° below the stability temperature
and plugged the fluid inlet. To remove the plug, the sec-
ond compartment was heated until flow through the sample
was possible again. The temperature was decreased with a
reduced rate of 0.1°/h to the temperature of 13°C at which
plugging first occurred. In the second cooling period, the
pressure decrease with decreasing temperature was much
stronger than in the first cooling period because of methane
consumption caused by hydrate formation (Figure 3).
At a constant temperature of 13°C, hydrate was pro-
duced in the pore space of the sample by flowing methane-
charged water through the cell. When water and methane
form hydrate, the consumption of methane results in a de-
creasing pressure and the consumption of water in an en-
richment of the salt ions in the remaining liquid phase. The
increasing salt concentration is measured as a decreasing
fluid resistance. Figure 4 shows the fluid resistance as a Figure 4. SEM image of the sample at the end of the
function of time. experiment. The glass beads are embedded in a matrix of
After about 55 days, the sample was almost imperme- methane hydrate. The contact to the neighboring grains can
able so that we stopped the experiment and lowered the be seen in the casts of broken out beads.
temperature in the second compartment to about –5°C.
The frozen sample was depressurized and taken out of
the measuring cell in a cold room at –5°C because of the electron microscope (SEM) laboratory at GZG Göttingen.
highly suppressed decomposition rates at this temperature The microscope is equipped with a nitrogen-cooled prepara-
(Stern et al., 2001). The sample was stored in liquid nitrogen tion stage as well as a nitrogen-cooled sample stage in the
straightaway after it was taken out of the cell to preserve it for main chamber, allowing for studies of materials at tempera-
the following investigations. The time required from the de- tures down to –185°C (Kuhs et al., 2004a). At temperatures
pressurization to the storage of the sample in liquid nitrogen below 100 K, the hydrate remains stable even at high vac-
was less than 45 minutes. According to the decomposition ex- uum condition (Kuhs et al., 2000). Figure 4 shows the glass
periments of Kuhs et al. (2004b), carried out at temperatures beads embedded in a matrix of methane hydrate.
in the anomalous prevention regime, we have to consider a The hydrate itself shows the typical microstructural fea-
hydrate loss of about 10% during sample recovery. tures (see Figure 5) as described for artificial hydrate made
After the sampleDownloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
was removed from the system at the from methane gas and ice (Kuhs et al., 2000) and for natural
end of the experiment, a portion of the hydrate-bearing sedi- hydrate from subpermafrost and seafloor occurrences (Kuhs
ment was used for cryoscanning microscopy in the scanning et al., 2004a).
02181_SEG_GH_C21.indd 315 9/24/10 7:41:54 PM

Determination of Hydrate air during the sample transportation to the sample holder.
The hydrate content from this analysis gave an ice-to-hydrate
Saturation ratio of 17 to 83. The hydrate density depends on the compo-
The basic idea of this experimental setup is the study sition of the hydrate-forming gas. Pure methane hydrate and
of the dependence of physical properties of porous sedi- ice have almost the same density (Davidson, 1983), and the
ments on the hydrate saturation. Because a direct measure- ratio determined from XRD can be directly applied to the
ment of hydrate content is not possible with this setup, the volume ratio of ice to hydrate. Taking into account a hydrate
amount of hydrate in the system is determined indirectly. loss of about 10% during sample recovery, the XRD analysis
When hydrate forms from water and methane, the results in a hydrate saturation of the sample of about 92%,
salt ions will remain in the fluid phase and increase the which is in good agreement with the estimation of the hy-
conductivity of the remaining pore water. During the con- drate content from fluid conductivity.
tinuous circulation of the water through the system, the
resistivity decrease of the water was recorded with a four-
electrode resistivity sensor (see Figure 6). From the resis- Petrophysical Properties as
tivity change, the increase of the salt concentration of the Function of Hydrate Saturation
water was determined, and from this the amount of water
was calculated that has been consumed by the hydrate for- In the absence of systematic experimental investigations
mation. A detailed description of the method is given in of the influence of hydrate saturation on the petrophysical
Spangenberg et al. (2005). properties of hydrate-bearing sediments, it is still a challenge
At a hydrate saturation of about 95%, the sample was to provide suitable methods to estimate the hydrate content
almost impermeable, and the experiment was terminated. of a formation based on geophysical field and well log data.
We have no control on the amount of hydrate formed in the In the focus of particular interest are the sonic velocities and
flow line (inlet and outlet) to the sample. If we consider electric resistivities because they are more strongly affected
this volume completely filled with hydrate, the sample by the presence of gas hydrate than other physical properties.
saturation would be 2% lower (93%). However, it is very To determine the amount of hydrate in the pore space
unlikely that the inlet and outlet lines are filled completely. from physical in situ measurements, Pearson et al. (1986)
After the removal of the sample at the end of the ex- suggested the use of Archie’s law (Archie, 1942). Archie’s
periment, we determined the hydrate-to-ice ratio with X-ray law consists of two equations. The first Archie equation is
diffraction (XRD) analysis in a specially designed nitrogen- for fully water-saturated rocks with a conductivity s0
cooled sample holder with a Siemens D5000 diffractome-
ter. The sample was crushed with a mortar, and the hydrate 1 a
s0 5 sw; F0 5 m , (1)
was separated from the glass beads by screening. The whole F0 f
procedure was done under liquid nitrogen in order to avoid
hydrate decomposition. We cannot avoid that we got small where F0 is the formation resistivity factor of the fully wa-
amounts of additional ice from freezing moisture out of the ter saturated rock, sw is the conductivity of the pore water,
f is the porosity of the rock, and a and m are the empirical
Archie parameters.
The second Archie equation is for partly saturated
rocks with a conductivity of st
a # st a 1
Swn 5 (2)
m s 5 ,
f w fm Ft
where Sw is the water saturation, st is the conductivity of

the partly saturated rock, Ft is its formation resistivity fac-
tor, and n is the empirical saturation exponent.
For practical applications, equation 1 is often used
with the resistivity index I,
1 st F0
Swn 5 5 5 , (3)
I s 0 Ft
Figure 5. The hydrate formed from the system methane solved
in water shows a microporous structure as it was observed from which is the ratio of rock conductivities when the rock
natural samples and hydrate made from ice and gas. is fully and partially saturated. In equations 1–3, and
02181_SEG_GH_C21.indd 316 9/24/10 7:41:56 PM

throughout this paper, brine is assumed to be the only hydrate-bearing formations, a three-phase time average re-
conducting phase. Following this suggestion, the fraction lation version has been used (Timur, 1968; Lee et al., 1996)
of the total pore space occupied by gas hydrates has been in the following form:
estimated from resistivity measurements in gas-hydrate
research wells, for example, ODP Leg 164 site 994 1 f 1 1 2 Sh 2 fSh 11 2 f2
5 1 1 , (4)
(Paull et al., 1996) and Mallik 2L-38 (Dallimore et al., Vtar Vw Vh Vm
1999). The empirical saturation exponent in both stud-
ies was chosen to be n 5 1.9386 as reviewed by Pearson where Vtar is the P-wave velocity of the hydrate-bearing
et al. (1983). sediment, Vh is the P-wave velocity of pure hydrate, Vw is
The empirical saturation exponent is controlled by the the compressional wave velocity of the pore fluid, Sh is the
distribution of the conductive brine in the pore space and hydrate saturation, and f is the porosity containing the hy-
thus depends on wetting properties, saturation history, and drate and pore fluid.
the rock microstructure. The influence of different types of
hydrate occurrences on the resulting electrical properties
was studied theoretically by Spangenberg (2001). The for-
mation of pore space hydrate was investigated based on a
sphere pack model. For the situation that the pore water is
the wetting phase and the hydrate forms as noncementing
material in the pore space, the model predicts a saturation
exponent that depends on saturation itself. Our measure-
ments confirm the theoretical prediction (Spangenberg and
Kulenkampff, 2006). Figure 7 shows the saturation expo-
nent of the hydrate-bearing glass bead sediment together
with the resulting estimation error if the Archie equation is
used with a constant saturation exponent.
Most attempts to predict hydrate contents from ve-
locity data are based on derivatives of the time-average
relation (Wyllie et al., 1958), which relates the velocity of
a fluid saturated consolidated rock to the velocity of the
solid phase; the velocity of the fluid phase and the volume Figure 6. Resistance of the circulating water and hydrate
fractions of both phases. To apply this approach to ice- or saturation of the sample versus duration of the experiment.
Figure 7. (a) Measured and modeled saturation exponent as a function of water saturation, and (b) the Archie prediction for the
hydrate content with constant n and the resulting estimation error.
02181_SEG_GH_C21.indd 317 9/24/10 7:41:57 PM

A drawback of the time average approach is that the With increasing hydrate content, we observed an in-
predictions fail if the rock is unconsolidated (Wyllie et al., creasing signal damping. At a hydrate saturation of about
1958). In this situation, an artificially low matrix velocity 40%, we detected a new first arrival that appeared just above
is used (Hoyer et al., 1975) to adjust for the unconsolidated the noise level and explains the sudden increase of velocity
state of the porous medium. For marine sediments, some- in Figure 8.
times the Wood’s equation (Wood, 1941) is used, which With further increase of the hydrate saturation, this ar-
can also be adjusted for hydrate-bearing sediments to rival becomes more pronounced. This behavior is related to
the special situation of wave propagation in a medium that
1 f 1 1 2 Sh 2 fSh 11 2 f2 is composed of two frameworks, a grain framework and
2 5 2 1 1 , (5)
rVWood rwVw rhVh rmVm2 a hydrate framework. Because of the high absorption of
the sample, it was not possible to detect the S-wave arriv-
where r is the bulk density of the sediment in the form als, which is a drawback because S-wave velocities could
give valuable information to answer the question if hydrate
r 5 1 1 2 f 2 rm 1 1 1 2 Sh 2 frw 1 Shfrh , (6) forms as cementing or noncementing material. Certainly,
further investigations are necessary to understand the pecu-
rw is the density of the pore water, rh is the density of pure
liarities of wave propagation in hydrate-bearing sediments.
hydrate, and rm is the density of the matrix material.
This equation pertains to particles in suspension and
sometimes underestimates the real velocity porosity relation-
ship in marine sediments. Lee et al. (1996) uses a weighted Conclusions
combination of the time average relation (equation 4) and
We experimentally investigated the physical properties
Wood’s equation 5 to predict the velocity of hydrate-bearing
of a glass bead sediment as a function of methane hydrate
sediments
saturation. In our experiment, hydrate was formed from
methane dissolved in water in the absence of a free gas
1 Wf 1 1 2 Sh 2 n
1 2 Wf 1 1 2 Sh 2 n
5 1 . (7) phase. Because of the low solubility of methane in water,
V VWood Vtar this formation process is kinetically inhibited and requires
methane supply by the permanent circulation of methane-
A comparison of the time average relation with an adjusted
charged water. This is a major difference to other experi-
matrix velocity, Lee’s weighted three-phase equation and
mental approaches in which hydrate is formed quickly
our measurements of ultrasonic P-wave velocities is shown
from water and free gas (e.g., Waite et al., 2004; Winters
in Figure 8.
et al., 2004; Priest et al., 2005) or a water-THF mixture (e.g.,
Pearson et al., 1986; Yun et al., 2005). The different forma-
tion process can result in different relations between the
physical properties and hydrate content (Waite et al., 2004;
Spangenberg et al., 2005), which makes it difficult to com-
pare the experimental results achieved in different studies.
Our experimental data support the results of theoreti-
cal models assuming that hydrate forms in the free pore
space away from the grain surfaces as a noncementing
material. The experiment shows that in a water-saturated
sediment, hydrate formation from dissolved methane oc-
curs preferentially in the pores and not at the grain-grain
contacts or the grain surfaces because that would produce
a different dependence of the electrical properties on water
saturation and also would produce a stronger increase of
sonic velocities with increasing hydrate content. This inter-
pretation agrees with the visual observation of hydrate for-
mation in glass micromodels (Tohidi et al., 2001). For all
systems studied (methane gas, dissolved CO2, and THF),
they found that hydrate tended to concentrate in the center
of the pore space and did not adhere to pore walls, where
Figure 8. Comparison Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
of the measured P-wave velocities a thin film of water remained. The results of this and our
with the time average relation with an adjusted matrix studies on artificial sediments are supported by the inter-
velocity and Lee’s equation with W 5 1.51 and n 5 1. pretation of sonic-log data from natural hydrate-bearing
02181_SEG_GH_C21.indd 318 9/24/10 7:42:03 PM

systems at least so far that the measured velocities could Dallimore, S. R., T. Uchida, and T. S. Collett, 1999,
not be related to the resistivity-derived hydrate contents Scientific results from JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik
based on grain cementation models (Dvorkin et al., 2000). 2L-38 Gas Hydrate Research Well, Mackenzie Delta,
Although the number of arguments for noncementing Northwest Terretories, Canada, in S. R. Dallimore, T.
hydrate in natural systems is increasing, a transformation of Uchida, and T. S. Collett, eds., Scientific results from
the observed dependencies on water saturation to real sedi- JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 Gas Hydrate Re-
ments is not feasible yet. Besides the aspect of cementing search Well, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories,
or noncementing hydrate, real sediments show a grain size Canada: Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 544.
and grain shape distribution and, therefore, a much more Davidson, D., 1983, Gas hydrates as clathrate ices, in
complicated topology of the internal fluid-solid interface. J. Cox, ed., Natural gas hydrates – Properties, occur-
Already, a simple network modeling (Spangenberg, 2001) rences and Recovery: Butterworth, 1–16.
shows that a broadening grain size distribution results in Dvorkin, J., M. B. Helgerud, W. F. Waite, S. H. Kirby,
a decreasing dependence of the saturation exponent from and A. Nur, 2000, Introduction to physical properties
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tion of pore space hydrates is clearly associated with coarse- wer Academic Publishers, 245–260.
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hydrate content on the electrical properties of porous Winters, W. J., I. A. Pecher, W. F. Waite, and D. Mason,
sediments: Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, no. 2004, Physical properties and rock physics models of
B4, 6535–6548, doi: 10.1029/2000JB900434. sediment containing natural and laboratory-formed
Spangenberg, E., J. Kulenkampff, R. Naumann, and J. Er- methane hydrate: The American Mineralogist, 89,
zinger, 2005, Pore space hydrate formation in a glass 1221–1227.
bead sample from methane dissolved in water: Geo- Wood, A. B., 1941, A text book of sound: Macmillan.
physical Research Letters, 32, no. 24, L24301, doi: Wyllie, M. R. J., A. R. Gregory, and G. H. F. Gardener,
10.1029/2005GL024107. 1958, An experimental investigation of factors affect-
Spangenberg, E., and J. Kulenkampff, 2006, Influence ing elastic wave velocities in porous media: Geophys-
of methane hydrate content on electrical sediment ics, 23, 459–493, doi: 10.1190/1.1438493.
properties: Geophysical Research Letters, 33, no. 24, Yun, T. S., F. M. Francisca, J. C. Santamarina, and C. Rup-
L24315, doi: 10.1029/2006GL028188. pel, 2005, Compressional and shear wave velocities
Stern, L. A., S. Circone, S. H. Kirby, and W. B. Dur- in uncemented sediment containing gas hydrate: Geo-
ham, 2001, Anomalous preservation of pure methane physical Research Letters, 32, no. 10, L10609, doi:
hydrate at 1 atm: Journal of Physical Chemistry, 105, 10.1029/2005GL022607.
no. 9, 1756–1762, doi: 10.1021/jp003061s.
02181_SEG_GH_C21.indd 320 9/24/10 7:42:05 PM

Chapter 22
Laboratory Measurements on Fresh Terrestrial

Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediment Cores
Johannes Kulenkampff1 and Erik Spangenberg2
Physical properties (saturation, grain size distribution, Estimates of the total amount of methane hydrates in
porosity, permeability, resistivity, ultrasonic velocity, and the earth’s crust are highly speculative because detection
attenuation) of terrestrial gas-hydrate-bearing core samples and quantification algorithms for gas-hydrate deposits are
from the Mallik 5L-38 gas-hydrate research well have been based on imprecise empirical observations and assumptions
investigated in the field laboratory under simulated in situ (Kvenvolden, 1999). The theoretical relations between
conditions with a specially designed core analysis system gas-hydrate occurrences and geophysically observable pa-
(FLECAS). Twenty samples were prepared immediately rameters could be derived from physical principles and lab-
after core retrieval and mounted into the pressure ves- oratory measurements, in which all parameters are known
sel at deep frozen conditions. Electrical resistivity, ultra- and controlled. Up to now, such relations could not be es-
sonic P-wave and S-wave velocities and amplitudes were tablished because laboratory data of physical properties of
recorded during the whole procedure, while the samples natural occurring gas hydrates are rare. Therefore, standard
were brought to in situ pressure and temperature. A strong methods of formation evaluation have to be applied but
decrease of all parameters, especially of the P-wave and S- with doubtful justification. One example is the derivation
wave amplitudes, could be observed at the melting point of the gas-hydrate content from resistivity measurements
of ice. Smaller changes occurred later, apart from the loss in which some type of Archie relation is applied that is not
of mechanical strength and a distinct recovery of the ultra- appropriate (Spangenberg, 2001). Another problem is the
sonic amplitudes, when the gas-hydrate decomposition was evaluation of elastic parameters in which interpretation
initialized by the release of the pore pressure or by heating methods from hydrocarbon exploration are simply trans-
above the stability threshold. The gas-hydrate decomposi- ferred to gas hydrates, although the elastic properties of
tion started instantaneously when the pore pressure was gas-hydrate-bearing sediments are not fully understood.
released, took about 20 min, and was accompanied by a For example, gas hydrates have a relatively high velocity
temperature drop of about 3°C at the sample surface. Only in combination with strong absorption effects (Guerin and
small variations were found in the bulk parameters of the Goldberg, 2002; Gei and Carcione, 2003). The high ve-
unconsolidated sand samples remaining after gas-hydrate locity would imply a tight and low porous texture. Such a
decomposition. This explains the uniform behavior of all strong framework is hardly consistent with strong absorp-
samples from the gas-hydrate zone of the Mallik well. tion that is usually attributed to a weak frame modulus, lo-
This data set provides an experimental basis for formation cal fluid flow, or the presence of gas.
evaluation and a reference for realistic studies with gas Laboratory testing of natural gas-hydrate-bearing sedi-
hydrates that are synthetically grown in sediments in the ments is a difficult task because stability conditions should
laboratory. be maintained at all stages, from coring until testing. To
date, only few measurements under controlled laboratory
1
conditions of physical properties of terrestrial gas-hydrate-
Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiochemistry,
bearing cores exist. For the first time, terrestrial gas-hy-
Reactive Transport, Permoserstr 15,
Downloaded 25 JunLeipzig, Germany. E-mail:
j.kulenkampff@fzd.de drate-bearing cores could be recovered from the JAPEX/
2
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany. JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 gas-hydrate research well
E-mail: erik@gfz-potsdam.de
321
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 321 9/14/10 6:54:20 PM

(Dallimore et al., 1999). Winters et al. (1999b) determined Methods

ultrasonic and strength parameters with the gas hydrate
and sediment testing laboratory instrument (GHASTLI) on Coring
terrestrial gas-hydrate-bearing sediment cores, recovered
from the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 gas-hydrate Based upon the experiences with pressurized and un-
research well. It was attempted to retain the original gas- pressurized core barrels from the Mallik 2L-38 project, a
hydrate content during the long distance transport to the conventional wireline coring system was used for coring
laboratory by storing the cores in chilled pressure ves- the complete gas-hydrate interval from 890 to 1100 m of
sels. Apart from these few measurements with GHASTLI, the Mallik 5L-38 gas-hydrate research well (Takahashi
physical properties at in situ pressure and temperature con- et al., 2005). The mud was chilled to about 0°C, providing
ditions were not investigated in the laboratory. Only bulk gas-hydrate stability conditions below about 300 m depth.
petrophysical properties and pore space parameters (e.g., From core temperature records it was estimated that the
porosity, permeability, and pore size distribution) of frozen cores resided outside the methane-hydrate stability field for
and thawed sediment samples were measured in the Mallik about 20 min. At the surface, the cores were rapidly frozen
2L-38 project at deep frozen conditions and after any gas at arctic conditions (less than 230 °C), but for some min-
hydrate that may have been present in situ decomposition utes they stayed at conditions of anomalous preservation.
(Winters et al., 1999a; Katsube et al., 1999). These data are The loss of gas hydrate during the whole coring proce-
not representative for the actual formation conditions, ei- dure was estimated to be around 10% from comparison of the
ther including the additional solid phase of ice or missing gas-hydrate saturation determined on the cores and derived
the original solid phase of gas hydrate. from NMR-logging (Kleinberg et al., 2005). The gas-hydrate
In this study, in the frame of the Mallik 2003 gas- loss resulted in a shrinkage of the core diameter of about 10
hydrate production research well program, we succeeded mm with respect to the original core diameter of 76 mm; nev-
in taking into account the fragility of gas hydrates as far ertheless, core length recovery was almost 100%.
as possible and minimizing the time lapse between core
retrieval and laboratory investigations and the time spent Sample storage and preparation
at nonstability conditions. A detailed description of the ex-
periments and resulting data are given in Kulenkampff and Immediately after core recovery, core sections with
Spangenberg (2005). a length of approximately 150 mm were inserted into
transport pressure vessels and pressurized with methane
to 5 MPa. The deep frozen samples were now at stability
conditions for transport to the laboratory and storage for
a period of hours to days. During this period, it is not ex-
pected that a significant amount of methane gas, which
could have been present in the pore space, reacted with the
frozen pore water to form new gas hydrate.
Smaller samples (diameter 47.6 mm) were drilled out
of the central part of the cores with a diamond drill flushed
with cold air. They were cut to a length of 50 mm with
a special point-contact diamond band saw with minimum
thermal impact. The preparation work was done at temper-
atures below –30°C. No indication of gas-hydrate decom-
position could be observed during the whole preparation
procedure.
Preparation remnants were tested for their gas-hydrate
content. The mean content was about 60% of the pore
space.
Figure 1. Schematic
of the field laboratory Measuring system
experimental core
analysis system A versatile field laboratory experimental core analysis
(FLECAS). Used system (FLECAS) was developed and built at the GFZ in
by permission (after Potsdam for the investigation of gas hydrates under simu-
Kulenkampff and lated in situ conditions (Figure 1; Kulenkampff and Span-
Spangenberg, 2005). genberg, 2005).
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 322 9/14/10 6:54:21 PM

Chapter 22: Laboratory Measurements on Fresh Terrestrial Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediment Cores 323
Temperature is controlled
with a thermostat through a heat-
exchanger coil that is located at
the inside wall of the vessel. The
confining pressure, controlled
with an ISCO 100 DM syringe
pump, acts on a Neoprene jacket
surrounding the sample The pore
pressure medium was nitrogen
gas and not methane, in order to
prevent the formation of new gas
hydrates. Thus, a small amount
of gas hydrate was allowed to
decompose until the partial satu-
ration pressure of methane was
reached in the small volume (10
ml) of the pore pressure system.
Gas flow meters were used to de-
termine the amount of released
gas during the last phase of gas-
hydrate decomposition and for
permeability measurements. Figure 2. Ultrasonic signals at the P-wave receiver (upper) and the S-wave receiver
The measuring system con- (lower). Left-handed side: amplitude factor. Time runs from bottom to top of both
sists of P- and S-wave transduc- graphics, starting at (1) deep frozen conditions followed by (2) a strong amplitude
ers in both end caps, temperature decrease when the ice is molten, and (3) amplitude recovery after gas-hydrate
sensors that were fixed to the decomposition.
outside of the jacket at the top
and bottom of the sample and at the bottom of the pressure The measuring signal was narrow banded. Therefore
vessel, six electrodes for resistivity measurements in three more sophisticated methods (e.g., spectral quotient) for
zones along the samples at a frequency of 15 Hz, a length determining attenuation could not be applied.
sensor, and pressure transducers for confining pressure and
pore pressure at both ends of the sample. Temperature,
pressure, injected oil volume, length, and resistivity were Procedure
recorded during the entire experiment. The sample length
was measured with one resistive length transducer, and the A typical test is divided into five parts (Figure 3):
temperature sensors are PT100-resistors. 1) The deep frozen (< 230°C) samples were placed
The P- and S-wave transducers were excited with a 500 into the main pressure vessel that was previ-
kHz sinusoidal pulse, and the P- and S-receiver responses ously chilled to less than 210°C. During instal-
were recorded with a sampling rate of 50 ns. In spite of lation of the sample into the pressure vessel it
the weak signals during melting of the ice we were able to was exposed for about 5 min to ambient air pres-
determine the arrival times and the amplitudes by manual sure and thus to nonstability conditions. Then the
picking. Only occasionally, the S-wave signal could not be confining and pore pressure were increased to in
detected during the melting phase (Figure 2). An aluminum situ conditions, with a confining pressure cor-
cylinder served as standard for run-time corrections and as responding to a mean bulk density of 2.1 g/cm3
the reference for the amplitude losses, according to (18–23 MPa, according to the depth range from
890 to 1090 m) and hydrostatic pore pressure
Af corresponding to the density of a water column
20 # loga b (8–13 MPa).
AAl
A5 . 2) Within 3–4 hr, the temperature was increased to
ls in situ temperature (5°–15°C) as determined pre-
viously by DTS-logging (Henninges et al., 2005).
(A: amplitude loss in dB/m, ls: sample length, Af: peak During this heating period, resistivity and sonic
to peak signal amplitude of the first signal period, AAl: velocities decreased gradually. A strong decrease
amplitude of aluminum reference at the same excitation). of the ultrasonic amplitudes was observed as well.
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 323 9/14/10 6:54:21 PM

However, the resistive length sensor indicated no

significant response of the sample length.
3) After equilibrating for about 1 hr, resistivity, ultra-
sonic P- and S-wave velocities and amplitudes at
simulated in situ conditions were recorded.
4) The free pore water was extracted by lowering the
outlet pressure. It was intended to measure perme-
ability at in situ conditions with N2-gas, but the
decomposition process started immediately when
the pore pressure was lowered. The sudden effect
of gas-hydrate decomposition was obvious from
the immediate decrease of the sample length, the
fast recovery of ultrasonic amplitudes (Figure 2)
and the endothermal cooling of the samples, caus-
ing a temperature depression of 1°–3°C over about
20 minutes. A volume of approximately 1–3 l of
methane at ambient conditions was collected at
the outlet, which corresponds to a hydrate content
in accordance with the one previously determined
on the sample preparation remnants.
5) After the gas hydrate decomposed, the sample was
again flushed with N2 to extract the released water.
Then N2 was flowed through the sample at a con-
stant rate to estimate the permeability of the gas hy-
drate-free sample. These permeability values of the
host sediments were in the order of 1000 mDarcy
and mostly exceeding the measuring range.
6) An optional procedure was to decompose the gas
hydrate by heating above the stability threshold at
constant pore pressure (Figure 4). Then the reac-
tion of the measuring parameters was not as fast,
which indicates a slower decomposition process.
After the experiment remained unconsolidated fine-
grained sand.
Sample mass and volume before and after the experi-
ment together with the gas-hydrate saturation that was deter-
mined on preparation remnants were used to determine bulk
density, porosity, and water saturation. The computation pro-
cedure is reported in Kulenkampff and Spangenberg (2005).
Results
All 20 samples that could be prepared from 10 gas-
Figure 3. Measurement record, M18 (depth 1078 m). hydrate-bearing core sections were successfully tested at
Ice is melted after 1 hr, decomposition of gas hydrate was simulated in situ pressure and temperature conditions. The
forced by pore pressure release after 3.5 hr. Note sample tests were conducted after temporary storage in pressurized
temperature depression of 3°C for 20 min. (r: resistivity; methane at 230°C over 1–10 days after core retrieval.
AP, AS: compressional and shear ultrasonic amplitude Figure 3 is an example of measuring record of the stan-
loss; VP, VS: compressional and shear-wave velocity; V: dard method. The most obvious changes of the recorded
sample volume; l: sample length; pconf, ppor: confining/pore properties occur during melting of the frozen pore water,
pressure; TV, Ts: vessel/sample temperature). until 0°C is reached after 1 hr. After 3.5 hr, the in situ tem-
perature is reached. Then, the pore water is extracted with
the pore pressure release at the outlet. This resulted in a
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 324 9/14/10 6:54:23 PM

sudden change of all parameters, including a temperature

depression of 3°C for 20 min.
Figure 4 shows a slower reaction that is caused by heating
above the stability threshold temperature of 13°C after 4 hr.
Here, the parameter changes, including an increase of pore
pressure that is caused by the release of methane, take 2 hr.
In Table 1, the considered in situ temperatures and pres-
sures are shown. The bulk parameters were compiled for each
core in Table 2. Table 3 shows the geophysical parameters
(electrical resistivity, ultrasonic P- and S-wave velocities and
amplitudes) at in situ temperature, and Table 4 after gas-hy-
drate decomposition, respectively. In the depth log (Figure 5),
the sample results are compared to wireline logging data.
Discussion
After retrieval, cores were rapidly frozen by low-
temperature ambient air conditions and by endothermic
cooling, leaving ice, gas hydrate, and possibly gas in the
pore space.
It was found that the gas-hydrate content of the sam-
ples was systematically about 10%–20% lower than the re-
sults from NMR-logging that was established as a reliable
method for determination of the in situ gas-hydrate content
by Kleinberg et al. (2005). This loss is in accordance with in-
vestigations of Kuhs et al. (2004b). It explains deviations of
the laboratory ultrasonic velocities from well logging results
(Figure 5).
The most significant effect during the test is melting
of the ice in the pores, which significantly changes the me-
chanical and transport parameters, although the gas hydrate
remains stable. The decrease of resistivity and sonic veloc-
ity is caused by ice melting.
Decomposition of the gas hydrate (Figure 3: after 3.5 hr,
Figure 4: after 4 hr) changes the physical properties less
Table 1. In situ conditions.

Confining Pore
Depth Temperature pressure pressure
(m) (°C) (MPa) (MPa)
893 5.7 184 89
898 6.6 190 94
908 8.4 190 91 Figure 4. Measurement record, M20 (depth 1088 m). Ice is
912 6.0 191 91 melted after 1 hr. Decomposition of gas hydrate by heating;
923 6.6 194 96 stability conditions are left after 3 hr, causing the pore
951 7.3 200 103 pressure increase. After 9 hr, the pore water is extracted by
pore pressure release. (r: resistivity; AP, AS: compressional
956 7.3 200 99 and shear ultrasonic amplitude loss; VP, VS: compressional
1078 10.8 226 111 and shear-wave velocity; V: sample volume; l: sample length;
1088 13.9 230 122 pconf, ppor: confining/pore pressure; TV, Ts: Vessel/sample
1094 11.1 229 126 temperature). Used by permission (after Kulenkampff and
Spangenberg, 2005).
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 325 9/14/10 6:54:28 PM

Table 2. Bulk parameters.

Gas-hydrate Bulk Matrix Median
Depth Porosity saturation density density Permeability grain size
(m) (–) (–) (g/cm3) (g/cm3) (mDarcy) (μm)
893 0.37 0.52 2.01 2.63 796 488
898 0.37 0.53 2.01 2.62 869 488
908 0.39 0.51 1.99 2.65 835 238
912 0.40 0.76 1.97 2.64 4000 455
923 0.34 0.61 1.96 2.49 1000 154
951 0.39 0.47 2.01 2.68 1000 192
956 0.40 0.63 1.97 2.65 710 383
1078 0.26 0.70 2.05 2.47 589 205
1088 0.37 0.39 2.03 2.66 537 307
1094 0.37 0.28 2.04 2.65 458 262
Table 3. Geophysical parameters at in situ conditions.

Relative Relative
Water Compressional Shear compressional shear
Depth Resistivity conductivity velocity velocity amplitude amplitude
(m) (Ohm·m) (S/cm) (m/s) (m/s) (dB/m) (dB/m)
893 122 1.2E-02 1676 918 2926 2852
898 121 6.6E-03 1785 951 2930 2798
908 59 5.1E-03 1651 748 2746 2867
912 159 4.9E-03 1459 793 2946 2832
923 135 5.8E-03 2034 988 2936 2827
951 99 6.9E-03 2193 1122 2611 2974
956 107 6.4E-03 2204 1061 2892 2830
1078 52 1.1E-02 2152 1170 2493 2558
1088 38 1.1E-02 1971 961 2663 2957
1094 55 9.4E-03 2158 1265 2669 2720
Table 4. Geophysical parameters after gas-hydrate decomposition.

Relative Relative
Water Compressional Shear compressional shear
Depth Resistivity conductivity velocity velocity amplitude amplitude
(m) (Ohm·m) (S/cm) (m/s) (m/s) (dB/m) (dB/m)
893 303 5.4E-03 1782 1052 2551 2469
898 259 5.4E-03 1728 1039 2446 2539
908 83 6.2E-03 1561 940 2362 2547
912 241 3.5E-03 1814 1012 2565 2434
923 219 5.1E-03 1519 919 2309 2209
951 151 1613 937 2571 2605
956 268 3.8E-03 1680 948 2473 2226
1078 197 8.6E-03 1789 1011 2459 2400
1088 38 1.1E-02 1767 989 2380 2478
1094 42 1751 970 2450 258
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 326 9/14/10 6:54:32 PM

significantly; only the mechani-

cal strength is lost completely,
causing the strong decrease in
length during depressurization
and a further decrease of ultra-
sonic velocities. The change of
resistivity in Figure 3 is no indi-
cation for gas-hydrate decompo-
sition because it is caused by the
loss of pore water when the pore
pressure is decompressed. No
significant change in resistivity
is observed when the sample is
heated above the stability range
(Figure 4). This is because the
number of conducting ions re-
mains constant although the con-
ducting pore volume becomes
larger when the gas hydrate is
replaced by water and gas. Here,
gas-hydrate decomposition is in-
dicated by the velocity decrease
and the increase of pore pres-
sure after about 3 hr. The length
decrease occurs after 9 hr, when
the pore pressure is released.
Before this pressure release, the
mechanical instability is masked Figure 5. Comparison of laboratory data with wireline logging data (Schlumberger).
by the increasing pore pressure. The sample measurements were taken at in situ conditions (closed circles) and after gas-
The sample volume signal hydrate decomposition (open circles). The diamonds are supplementary measurements from
is superimposed by the expan- samples without gas-hydrate content. GR: gamma ray log (black); Sh: gas-hydrate saturation
sion of the oil in the vessel. Nev- (red), determined with the nmr-tool (CMR) and on preparation remnants; r: resistivity,
ertheless, a short term decrease formation resistivity derived from array induction log (AIT), and sample resistivity; AP, AS:
of about 5 ml at pore pressure Compressional (blue) and shear (red) ultrasonic amplitude loss, determined on samples; VP,
VS: compressional (blue) and shear (red) wave velocity, determined with the dipole sonic log
decompression is significant. It
(DSI) and on samples.
is in accordance with the signal
of the length sensor, consider- The gas-hydrate content and the physical properties
ing an isotropic compression of the sample. of all samples from the Mallik 5L-38 gas-hydrate zones
A strong decrease of the ultrasonic amplitudes occurs were quite similar, with only small variations. These small
when the ice is melting. The amplitudes usually recover variations reflect that the gas-hydrate content and the type
when the gas hydrate decomposes. This happens in spite of of the host sediment are quite uniform. Thus, an empirical
the increasing partial gas saturation that fills the pores af- relationship between gas-hydrate content and resistivity,
ter gas-hydrate decomposition — and not so much before. respectively, ultrasonic parameters cannot be derived from
Therefore, this absorption effect is a mere gas-hydrate ef- the data set.
fect and not primarily caused by gas in larger pores of the Nevertheless, the data provide a basis for the develop-
sediment. A possible reason is a shock absorber effect of ment of petrophysical models that can be used to evalu-
the fluids filling microporous structures of the gas hydrates ate the influence of gas hydrate on ultrasonic and electrical
that have been discovered with the cryo scanning electron rock properties. These properties are strongly related to
microscopy (Kuhs et al., 2004a). the structure and location of the gas hydrate in the pore
space. Our observations imply that the gas hydrate in the
fine-grained terrestrial sediment is filling larger sediment
Conclusions
pores rather than cementing grains. Otherwise, the gas hy-
drate together with the host sediment grains would build a
A viable method for field laboratory investigations of rigid frame that would inhibit strong reactions of the elas-
physical properties of gas hydrate could be established. tic properties on the melting of the ice. The answer of the
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 327 9/14/10 6:54:32 PM

elastic parameters on gas-hydrate decomposition is much Northwest Territories, Canada: Geological Survey of
smaller than on ice melting. This is more an indication for Canada Bulletin 585.
a loose contact between the sediment grains and the gas Kuhs, W. F., G. Genov, E. Goreshnik, A. Zeller, and K. S.
hydrate. Microporous gas hydrates in the pores could act as Techmer, 2004a, The impact of porous microstruc-
coupling and damping elements between sediment grains. tures on their macroscopic properties: International
The electrical resistivity mainly responds to the amount Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering, 14, no. 4,
of liquid water and its ionic strength. Decomposing gas hy- 305–309.
drates release pure water without affecting the total ionic Kuhs, W. F., G. Genov, D. K. Staykova, and T. Hansen,
content. Therefore, the gas-hydrate content is not deduc- 2004b, Ice perfection and onset of anomalous preser-
ible alone from resistivity measurements. vation of gas hydrates: Physical Chemistry Chemical
Physics, 6, 4917–4920.
Kulenkampff, J., and E. Spangenberg, 2005, Physical
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letin 544, 109–124. containing natural gas hydrate from the JAPEX/JNOC/
Kleinberg, R. L., C. Flaum, and T. S. Collett, 2005, Mag- GSC Mallik 2L-38 gas hydrate research well, deter-
netic resonance log of Mallik 5L-38 gas hydrate mined using Gas Hydrate And Sediment Test Labora-
production research well: Gas hydrate saturation, tory Instrument (GHASTLI), in S. R. Dallimore, T. S.
growth habit, relative permeability and control of ac- Collett, and T. Uchida, eds., Scientific results from
cumulation, in S. R. Dallimore and T. S. Collett, eds., JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 gas hydrate research
Scientific results Downloaded
from the25 Mallik
Jun 2012 to 2002 gasRedistribution
95.28.162.50. hydrate subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
well, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada:
production research well program, Mackenzie Delta, Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 544, 241–250.
02181_SEG_GH_C22.indd 328 9/14/10 6:54:35 PM

Chapter 23
Geophysical Properties and Dynamic Response of Methane-

hydrate-bearing Sediments to Hydrate Formation and
Decomposition
Jinhai Yang1 and Bahman Tohidi1
Formation and decomposition of gas hydrates could It has been estimated that marine sediments hold enor-
have a major impact on geophysical and geomechanical mous volumes of gas hydrates that have been considered
properties of hydrate-bearing sediments, therefore, they as a potential energy resource in the future, considering
play a crucial role in seafloor and wellbore stability. Subsea the increasing demand for energy, particularly given that
landslides and wellbore collapses are related to dynamic known fossil fuel reserves like natural gas and crude oil
response of sedimentary formations to any geodynamic are rapidly declining (Kvenvolden, 1988 and 1993). How-
disturbances. ever, there are disagreements with regard to the global esti-
In this study, dynamic responses of methane hydrate- mates of methane hydrate (Milkov, 2004). Seismic surveys
bearing sediments to hydrate formation and dissociation are one of the most common methods used in providing
have been investigated using ultrasonic wave techniques. quantitative estimates of gas hydrates in marine sediments.
The results show that ultrasonic waves can be used to This gives rise to the reported discrepancies on the ac-
investigate the dynamic process of gas-hydrate forma- tual volume of gas hydrates in marine sediments, due to
tion and dissociation in sediments. Geophysical proper- the uncertainty with regards to the accuracy of the various
ties of methane-hydrate-bearing sediments composed of seismic techniques applied. Recent results of 2D and 3D
silica sand, and silica sand with kaolinite or montmoril- seismic surveys showed that the principle uncertainty of
lonite were determined. The results demonstrate that the gas-hydrate saturation is caused by lack of knowledge of
presence of the clays significantly increases the com- the effect of gas hydrates on the seismic properties (West-
pressibility and shear modulus of the sediments. In de- brook et al., 2005).
pressurization tests, geomechanical responses show that Gas hydrates contained within marine sediments may
methane-hydrate-bearing sediments suddenly become also lead to instability of the seafloor (Dawson et al., 1988;
highly compressible at the hydrate dissociation pressure. Kayen and Lee, 1991; Booth et al., 1994). Evidence of gas
Furthermore, the results show that the sediments with the release from the seafloor has led to the suggestion that gas-
clays, especially with montmorillonite, will deform more hydrate dissociation may cause instability of the seafloor
severely than pure silica sand when the system pressure (Blunier, 2000; Kennett et al., 2000). The methane gas es-
reaches the dissociation point of methane hydrates. Large caping from hydrate-bearing sediments under the seafloor
instantaneous strains at the dissociation pressure of meth- may also have an impact on global climate (Houghton et
ane hydrate might be a great risk to trigger large seafloor al., 2001; Dickens et al., 1995). Furthermore, dissocia-
landslides and wellbore collapse. tion of gas hydrates could weaken the strength of hydrate-
bearing marine sediments, which could pose hazards to
deepwater drilling and production, especially given that an
increasing number of oil and gas fields are being developed
1
Centre for Gas Hydrate Research,
Downloaded Institute
25 Jun 2012 toof95.28.162.50.
Petroleum Redistribution subject toin deepwater
SEG andTerms
license or copyright; onshore arctic environments (Barher and
Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh,
United Kingdom
Gomez, 1989; Collett and Dallimore, 2002; Freij-Ayoub
et al., 2007) where gas hydrates are known to exist.
329
02181_SEG_GH_C23.indd 329 9/14/10 6:55:42 PM

The geophysical and geomechanical properties of hy- However, in the above investigations, all the geo-
drate-bearing sediments strongly depend on gas-hydrate physical properties of sediments or rock samples contain-
saturation, distribution, cementing behavior, and mineral- ing gas hydrates were determined under static conditions.
ogy (Ecker et al., 1998; Helgerud et al., 1999). It is pos- There are very limited investigations conducted under
tulated that gas-hydrate crystals may fill part of the pore dynamic conditions (Yang et al., 2004; Tan et al., 2005;
space, reducing the porosity of sediments, while not sig- Priest et al., 2005), although it is believed that most sub-
nificantly altering the geophysical and geomechanical sea landslide and wellbore collapses are usually associ-
properties of the host sediment. On the other hand, gas hy- ated with dynamic processes. Therefore, the dynamic
drates may cement sediment grains leading to significant responses of hydrate-bearing sediments are essential for
increases in sediment strength. better understanding of the impact of gas-hydrate forma-
The complex nature of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments tion and decomposition on its geophysical and geome-
poses major challenges for both qualitatively understand- chanical properties.
ing and quantitatively determining the effect of gas hy- In this work, dynamic response of methane-hydrate-
drate on the geophysical and geomechanical properties bearing sediments to hydrate formation and disso-
of marine sediments. This complexity increasingly at- ciation was preliminarily investigated using ultrasonic
tracts interest and efforts of scientists and researchers in wave transmission techniques. A series of experiments
the world. Anomalous acoustic velocity increase in sedi- were conducted to investigate the effect of clays on the
ments containing gas hydrates was found by Stoll et al. geophysical properties of methane-hydrate-bearing
(1971). Pearson et al. (1986) conducted acoustic and re- sediments, as well as geomechanical response of the
sistivity measurements on rock samples using tetrahydro- sediments to hydrate dissociation by depressurization. In
furan (THF) hydrates. Berge et al. (1999) formed hydrates these experiments, the sediments were composed of silica
using a refrigerant, R11 (CCl3F), as a proxy for hydrates sand and silica sand with two typical clays (kaolinite and
in unconsolidated sands and experimentally determined montmorillonite).
the dependence of acoustic velocity on hydrate fraction.
A gas hydrate and sediment test laboratory instrument
(GHASTLI) was developed by the U. S. Geological Sur- Test Set-Up
vey, which can be used to simulate a wide range of geo-
logical settings and processes, for example, acoustic Figure 1 shows the schematic of the ultrasonic test
property and electrical resistance measurements under set-up. It has a cylindrical cell of 627 cm3 with a pressure
various thermodynamic and geological conditions (Booth rating of 40 MPa. One end of the cell is fixed; the other
et al., 1999). It has also been used to determine geophysi- end houses a movable piston to apply an axial force to
cal properties of sediment samples containing natural and the test sediments simulating the overburden pressure of
laboratory-formed gas hydrates and also the effect of sedi- the seafloor. A cooling jacket connected to a cryostat sur-
ment grain size on the above properties (Winters et al., rounds the test cell, which controls the system temperature,
1999, 2000, 2005). normally within a temperature range 25 – 50°C.
The acoustic unit consists of a pulser/receiver, a digital
storage oscilloscope, and two transducers. The two trans-
ducers are housed in the fixed end cap and the movable
piston end cap. The transducers can be P-wave type, S-
wave type, or combination transducers of P- and S-waves
to satisfy individual test requirements. Additionally, a digi-
tal indicator (Mitutoyo ID-F150E) is mounted on the rod
tail of the movable piston to accurately measure the piston
movements.
A computer-controlled Quizix pump with two in-
dependent cylinders is used to control the pore pressure,
the overburden pressure, as well as the injection and with-
drawal rates of pore fluids during depressurization experi-
ments. A personal computer is also used to acquire test
data, which includes pore pressure, overburden pressure,
sample temperature, displacement of the piston, and to
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectstore
to SEG and
licensedisplay
or copyright;the waveforms
Terms of the ultrasonic signals
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the ultrasonic test system. transmitted and received through the test specimen.
02181_SEG_GH_C23.indd 330 9/14/10 6:55:42 PM

Chapter 23: Geophysical Properties and Dynamic Response of Hydrate-bearing Sediments 331
Results and Discussion compressional velocity decreased slightly with the de-
crease in the system temperature. From point B to point
Dynamic response of P-wave velocity C, the acoustic velocity increased sharply as methane hy-
to methane-hydrate formation and drate was forming. Between point C and point D, there was
dissociation small rise of the velocity, which is caused by the limited
hydrate growth in that period, as shown in Figure 2a.
The sample cell was filled with silica glass beads of Afterward, the velocity significantly rose again from
0.1 mm in diameter. The porosity of the glass bead pack points D to E, corresponding to further growth of methane
was 40.1 vol % after compacting by applying an over- hydrate due to the temperature reduction. The hydrate for-
burden pressure of 15 MPa. Distilled water was satu- mation from points D to E lasted for more than four days.
rated with methane under 27.6 MPa at room temperature Comparing the velocities at point A and point E, the acous-
(around 22°C) and then injected into the cell which was tic velocity increased from 1.599 to 2.111 km/s, that is, by
under a vacuum. During the injection of the methane around 32% after completion of hydrate formation.
saturated water, some methane gas came out of solution As shown in Figure 2b, the acoustic velocity dy-
(due to pressure reduction) and presented as free gas in namically responded to hydrate dissociation from point E
the cell. through point I. Generally, the acoustic velocity decreased
As shown in Figure 2a, the test started at 19.7°C and as the methane hydrate dissociated with the temperature
25.1 MPa (point A, the overburden pressure was 36 MPa), increase. However, the velocity did not decrease smoothly
and the system was cooled down through ABCDE to form as the pressure did in Figure 2a. This suggests that the geo-
hydrates and finally heated up through EFGHIJ to dissoci- physical properties of unconsolidated sediments do not
ate hydrates. The pressure drop between points B and C change gradually but suddenly at certain conditions. In
(15.7 °C, 16.2 MPa) indicated that hydrates started form- Figure 2b, it can be clearly seen that from point G (11.0°C,
ing at point B. More hydrates formed from point D to E 8.1 MPa, 2.086 km/s) to point H (18.5°C, 19.3 MPa, 1.857
(3.5°C, 5.5 MPa) as the system temperature was further km/s), the velocity dropped sharply due to hydrate disso-
reduced. The thin solid line represents methane hydrate ciation, as compared with points E, F, and G. This is likely
phase boundary predicted by the model HWHYD (devel- to suggest that the hydrate cementation started to weaken
oped by the Centre for Gas Hydrate Research at Heriot- (caused by a reduction in hydrate saturation within the
Watt University, Edinburgh, U. K.). In Figure 2a, it can be pores), far away from complete dissociation of the methane
seen that the hydrates were dissociated along the predicted hydrate (point I). This is further evidence that gas hydrates
phase boundary from point F through point I (20.4°C and (at least in silica glass bead pack) are pore filling and do not
24.3 MPa) at which point the methane hydrate was com- have strong cementation effect at low hydrate saturations
pletely dissociated. (Tohidi et al., 2001). Additionally, as indicated by both the
Figure 2b shows the acoustic response to the dynamic pressure in Figure 2a and the velocity in Figure 2b, point
process of methane-hydrate formation and dissociation. I (20.4°C, 24.3 MPa) can be determined as the end point
At the very beginning of the test, from point A to B, the of methane hydrate dissociation, which is consistent with
Figure 2. Acoustic response to gas-hydrate formation and dissociation in unconsolidated sediments.(a) Pressure profile.
(b) P-wave velocity change.
02181_SEG_GH_C23.indd 331 9/14/10 6:55:43 PM

the prediction of the HWHYD model, as shown in Figure measured by loading-unloading tests), P-wave and S-wave
2a. Also, the velocity after hydrate dissociation at point I velocities (VP and VS), shear modulus (G), and bulk modu-
was found to be lower than that at the start point A, which lus (K). Table 1 shows the test results.
could be caused by the presence of more localized small Silica sand, silica sand with 7 mass % of kaolinite,
gas bubbles released from hydrate dissociation. silica sand with 7 mass % of montmorillonite were used in
tests 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The test results are presented
in Table 1. As can be seen, there was always some free gas
Effect of clays on geophysical remaining at the end of hydrate formation. It is very likely
properties that the remaining gas was trapped as small bubbles that
Three tests were conducted using different sediment were wrapped in hydrate crust. These hydrate crusts be-
mineralogies, that is, silica sand, and silica sand with 7 came denser and denser with hydrate growth, which iso-
mass % of two typical clays: kaolinite and montmorillonite. lated the entrapped gas from the water.
Apart from the difference in chemical composition, kaolin- With regard to silica sand containing methane hydrate,
ite has a low shrink-swell capacity, whereas montmorillo- the addition of clays reduced the porosity of the sediments,
nite increases greatly in volume when it absorbs water. hence increasing the density. In tests 2 and 3 (in compari-
The prepared dry sediments were put into the test cell, son to test 1 with silica sand only), the sediments containing
and a vacuum was applied to remove the remaining air. A 7 mass % of the clays had approximately two times higher
certain quantity of methane gas was injected into the cell. compressibility and noticeably higher shear velocity and
The quantity of the methane gas injected was calculated to hence higher shear modulus. There was no significant dif-
achieve a methane-hydrate saturation of 25% pore volume. ference in shear moduli observed between test 2 with 7 mass
The sediments containing methane gas were then com- % of kaolinite and test 3 with 7 mass % of montmorillonite.
pressed under an overburden pressure of 14.5 MPa. Dis- Furthermore, the same percentage of kaolinite resulted in
tilled water was injected into the system using a syringe the higher compressibility and lower bulk modulus than the
pump at an injection rate of 1 cm3/min, until a required montmorillonite, which requires further investigation.
pressure was reached. This procedure has been developed
to achieve optimum distribution of water and gas in the
sediments for water wet systems. Finally, the system was Dynamic response of hydrate-bearing
cooled down directly to a target temperature of 3°C to form sediments to hydrate dissociation
hydrates at a pore pressure of around 10.3 MPa. During
After measuring the geophysical properties, depres-
hydrate formation, more water was injected to maintain the
surization experiments were carried out to investigate the
system pressure. After completion of methane-hydrate for-
geomechanical response of hydrate-bearing sediments to
mation, a variety of sediment parameters were determined,
hydrate decomposition during depressurization. These ex-
including system temperature (T), pore pressure (P p),
periments aimed to simulate scenarios in which methane
porosity (Φ), hydrate saturation (Sh) and remaining free-
gas is recovered by depressurization or in which marine
gas saturation (Sg), density (r), static compressibility (β,
sedimentary formations containing methane hydrate are
being penetrated during deepwater drilling. In the depres-
Table 1. The geophysical properties measured. surization experiments, the overburden pressure was main-
tained at 14 MPa by one cylinder of the Quizix pump. The
Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 temperature was kept constant at 2.9°C. The pore pressure
T, 8C 2.8 2.9 2.9 was gradually reduced by withdrawing fluid out of the cell
Pp, MPa 10.5 11.2 10.8 at a constant rate of 0.05 cm3/min, controlled by another
cylinder of the Quizix pump, as shown in Figure 1.
Φ, vol% 47.5 45.5 45.6 Two concepts were introduced to describe the geome-
Sg, vol% 0.4 2.8 1.1 chanical response, the average strain ē and the instanta-
Sh, vol% 24.6 27.0 26.6 neous strain e, as defined by equation 1
r, g/cm3 2.07 2.15 2.12 xi 2 x0 xi11 2 xi
VP, km/s 1.93 1.90 2.09
e5 e 5 , (1)
l 0 2 x0 l0 2 xi11
VS, km/s 0.96 1.10 1.06
where l0 is the maximum length of the cell, x0 is the origi-
G, 109 Pa 1.9 2.6 2.4 nal position of the piston just before the depressurization,
K, 109 Pa 5.2Downloaded 25 Jun4.3
2012 to 95.28.162.50. 6.1
and xi is the current position of the piston at time i during
β, 10211 1/Pa 7.3 15 12 depressurization. In all the tests, the time interval of data
acquisition was 1 minute, that is, ti11 2 ti 5 1 minute.
02181_SEG_GH_C23.indd 332 9/14/10 6:55:46 PM

Figure 3 shows typical profiles of the pore pressure/ more noticeably by the larger increment of the average
effective pressure (difference between the overburden pres- strains at the dissociation pressure of methane hydrate.
sure and the pore pressure) during depressurization. At the In comparison between Figure 4b and c, with a similar
beginning of depressurization, the pore pressure decreased saturation of methane hydrate, the sediments with 7 mass
sharply (the effective pressure increased sharply) as the flu- % of montmorillonite appeared to have noticeably higher
ids were withdrawn out of the system, which reflects the low average strain and instantaneous strain than that with
compressibility of the mixture of water, methane hydrate, 7 mass % of kaolinite. The sediments with 7 mass % mont-
and solid grains of the sediments in the presence of limited morillonite also showed early instantaneous strains before
quantity of free gas. Once the pressure reached the dissocia- reaching the dissociation point of methane hydrate. This
tion point of methane hydrate (represented by a dotted line suggests that the hydrate-bearing sediments with mont-
and CH4 in Figure 3), the system pressure remained almost morillonite may be more compressible and unstable than
constant for around 75 hr. This is because gas released from
methane-hydrate dissociation compensates the withdrawal
of the fluids. Afterward, the pore pressure declined at a con-
stant rate. At the turning point at about 75 hr, the methane
hydrates were almost dissociated completely.
In test 1 with 100 mass % of silica sand, as shown in
Figure 4a, the average strain gradually increased as the pore
pressure was decreasing and approaching the dissociation
pressure of methane hydrate. Once the dissociation pressure
of methane hydrate was reached, the average strain increased
steeply, which suggests that the hydrate-bearing sediments
suddenly became highly compressible, that is, the bulk
modulus of the sediments became significantly smaller. By
comparing the results in Figure 4a,b,c, it can be seen that the
presence of the clays in sediments caused increased defor- Figure 3. Typical profiles of the pore pressure and effective
mation of the hydrate-bearing sediments, which is indicated pressure during depressurization.
Figure 4. Geomechanical responses of hydrate-bearing

sediments to hydrate decomposition during depressurization.
(a) Silica sand. (b) 7 mass percentage kaolinite plus silica
sand. (c) 7 mass percentage montmorillonite plus silica sand.
02181_SEG_GH_C23.indd 333 9/14/10 6:55:46 PM

the sediments with kaolinite, once the dissociation pressure Berge, L. I., K. A. Jacobsen, and A. Solstad, 1999, Mea-
of methane hydrate was reached. sured acoustic wave velocities of R11 (CCl3F) hydrate
In Figure 4, it is also observed that some large in- samples with and without sand as a function of hydrate
stantaneous strains always occurred once the dissociation concentration: Journal of Geophysical Research, 104,
pressures of methane hydrate were reached. These pulses B7, 15415–15424, doi: 10.1029/1999JB900098.
of instantaneous strain could be regarded as lab scale rep- Blunier, T., 2000, “Frozen” methane escapes from the sea
resentation of mechanisms that may trigger large subsea floor: Science, 288, no. 5463, 68–69, doi: 10.1126/
landslides in nature. science.288.5463.68.
Booth, J. S., W. J. Winters, and W. P. Dillon, 1994, Circum-
stantial evidence of gas hydrate and slope failure asso-
Conclusions ciation on the United States Atlantic continental margin,
Ultrasonic wave propagation techniques have been in E. D. Sloan, J. Happel, and M. A. Hantow, eds., In-
used to investigate the dynamic process of gas-hydrate ternational Conference on Gas Hydrates: Annals of the
formation and dissociation in silica glass beads. Harden- New York Academy of Sciences, 715, 487–489.
ing of the sediments during hydrate formation, reflected by Booth, J. S., W. J. Winters, and W. P. Dillon, 1999, Appara-
an increase of compressional velocity, took over four days. tus investigates geological aspects of gas hydrates: Oil
More importantly, it was found that during dissociation, and Gas Journal, 97, 63–69.
the compressional velocity initially decreased gradually Collett, T. S., and S. R. Dallimore, 2002, Detailed analysis
until the hydrate dissociation approached a certain point in of gas hydrate induced drilling and production hazards:
which the compressional velocity dropped sharply because Proceeding of the 4th International Conference on Gas
of the potential loss of cementing. Hydrates, 47–52.
Methane-hydrate-bearing sediments with 7 mass % Dawson, A. G., D. Long, and D. E. Smith, 1988, The
of kaolinite or montmorillonite show significantly higher Storegga slides: Evidence from eastern Scotland for a
compressibility and shear modulus than the sediments with possible tsunami: Marine Geology, 82, no. 3-4, 271–
100 mass % of silica sand. In the presence of a similar sat- 276, doi: 10.1016/0025-3227(88)90146-6.
uration of methane hydrate the sediments with 7 mass % Dickins, G. R., J. R. O’Neil, D. K. Rea, and R. M. Owen,
of kaolinite seems more compressible than the sediments 1995, Dissociation of oceanic methane hydrate as a
with 7 mass % of montmorillonite. cause of the carbon isotope excursion at the end of the
Results of the depressurization tests show that hydrate- Paleocene: Paleoceanography, 10, no. 6, 965–997, doi:
bearing sediments suddenly become highly compressible 10.1029/95PA02087.
once the system pressure reaches the methane hydrate dis- Ecker, C., J. Dvorkin, and A. Nur, 1998, Sediments with
sociation pressure. By comparison of the sediments with gas hydrates: Internal structure from seismic AVO:
silica sand only, the sediments with clays, especially with Geophysics, 63, 1659–1669, doi: 10.1190/1.1444462.
montmorillonite, will deform more severely at the disso- Freij-Ayoub, R., C. Tan, B. Clennell, B. Tohidi, and J.
ciation pressure of methane hydrate. Large instantaneous Yang, 2007, A wellbore stability model for hydrate
strains occur once the system pressure reaches the disso- bearing sediments: Journal of Petroleum Science
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large seafloor sliding if it occurs in nature. petrol.2005.10.011.
Helgerud, M. B., J. Dvorkin, A. Nur, A. Sakai, and T. S.
Collett, 1999, Elastic-wave velocity in marine sedi-
Acknowledgments ments with gas hydrates: Effective medium modelling:
Geophysical Research Letters, 26, no. 13, 2021–2024,
This work was financially supported by International doi: 10.1029/1999GL900421.
Association for the Promotion of Cooperation with Scien- Houghton, J. T., Y. Ding, D. J. Griggs, M. Noguer, P. J. van
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Union (INTAS) and the U. K. Engineering and Physical 2001, Climate change 2001: The scientific basis: Con-
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American Rock Mechanics Association Symposium tion by depressurisation: An experimental study: Eu-
on Rock Mechanics. ropean Geosciences Union Conference, abstract EGU-
Tohidi, B., R. Anderson, M. B. Clennell, R. W. Burgass, 04-A-07022.
and A. B. Biderkab, 2001, Visual observation of gas-
02181_SEG_GH_C23.indd 335 9/14/10 6:55:51 PM

02181_SEG_GH_C23.indd 336 9/14/10 6:55:51 PM

Chapter 24
A Resonant Column Study of the Seismic Properties of

Methane-hydrate-bearing Sand
A. I. Best1, J. A. Priest 2, and C. R. I. Clayton2
Effective future exploitation of seafloor methane hy- Seabed methane hydrates are ultimately related to the
drates will require better geophysical estimates of hydrate degree and distribution of subterranean fluid flow that in
content for calculation of in situ reserves, production plan- turn is closely associated with the formation, migration,
ning, reservoir monitoring, and seabed stability. Relating and concentration of methane gas in continental margin
seismic velocity and attenuation to hydrate saturation in sediments. Where the seabed lies within the specific hy-
marine sediments is a key first step in this process. To this drate stability field, usually in water depths greater than
end, a laboratory resonant column was developed for mea- about 300 m and in sediments up to 500 m beneath the sea-
suring the seismic properties of methane-hydrate-bearing bed, then gas and water solidify into hydrate. By inference,
sediments under simulated in situ conditions. Shear and hydrate will only occur where gas migrates, and hence,
longitudinal wave velocities and attenuations were mea- studies of subseabed gas and hydrate occurrences are likely
sured from the fundamental resonance modes in torsion to be mutually beneficial. This is fortunate from a geophys-
and flexure of 14-cm-long cylindrical sand specimens ical standpoint because survey methods can be used that
(7 cm diameter) in the 50–500 Hz frequency range. Hy- exploit the particular physical properties of gas and hydrate
drate saturation was varied between 0% and 35% by dis- for imaging and quantification. For example, gas is highly
persing known volumes of water throughout the sand and compressible, and hence, it strongly affects seismic P-wave
saturating with methane gas before forming hydrate by in- velocity and attenuation, whereas hydrates can increase
creasing the pore fluid pressure to 15 MPa and lowering sediment stiffness and give rise to heightened S-wave ve-
the temperature to 2208C. Subsequent resonant column locities. However, the details of how gas and hydrate af-
measurements at 500 kPa effective pressure (5 MPa pore fect the physical properties of marine sediments are still
fluid pressure) and 38C revealed how hydrate cementa- obscure. This is a research area that requires progress if we
tion rapidly increases seismic velocities and gives rise to are to interpret seismic data accurately in terms of subsea-
an attenuation Q21 peak at 3%–5% hydrate saturation for bed gas and hydrate distributions and concentrations.
P waves and S waves. The VP /VS ratio reduces dramati- Methane hydrates are known to show a range of mor-
cally from 4.85 (0% hydrate) to 1.86 (35% hydrate). The phologies in host marine sediments (Malone, 1985; Brewer
results are directly applicable to seismic exploration and et al., 1997; Clennell et al., 1999; Ruppel, 1997). Clay-rich
monitoring of hydrate reservoir sands. sediments constitute the majority of marine sediments, and
hence, it is important to understand the effect of hydrate
on their geotechnical properties, for example, for assessing
the likelihood of large seafloor landslides. It is also true
that deep water, shallow sand deposits (e.g., buried turbid-
ite sands and channels) are likely to become attractive tar-
1
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, University of gets for economic methane hydrate exploration because of
Southampton Waterfront Campus, Southampton, United Kingdom. their high porosity and permeability, in a similar fashion
E-mail: aib@noc.soton.ac.uk
2
School of Civil Engineering and the Environment, University of
to deep reservoir sandstones. Hence, knowledge of the ef-
Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, United Kingdom. E-mail: fect of methane hydrate on the seismic properties of sands
prieja@soton.ac.uk; cric@soton.ac.uk would be extremely valuable.
337
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 337 9/14/10 7:40:00 PM

There are several experimental approaches that can be (Priest et al., 2005; 2006; Clayton et al., 2005). Their initial
adopted in the laboratory, but all face similar issues. Ei- choice of hydrate specimens was influenced by the need
ther suitable hydrate-sediment samples must be obtained to accurately quantify the hydrate content, which led to a
or synthetic ones must be made. Only recently have tech- sand grain cementing hydrate morphology and to results on
nologies been developed for retrieving intact hydrate cores methane gas saturated hydrate-sand specimens only. Taken
(e.g., European Union HYACE and HYACINTH projects). at face value, the likely applicability of this type of sce-
The increased availability of hydrate cores will be of great nario to in situ hydrates seems to be quite narrow but in
benefit to studies seeking to establish natural seafloor hy- fact the results are highly relevant to methane hydrate res-
drate morphologies and their effect on seismic properties. ervoir exploration and production.
However, there are currently few systems for transfer- It is possible to imagine scenarios in which parts of
ring core samples from the core barrel to laboratory test- a water-saturated hydrate sand reservoir become gas satu-
ing equipment under in situ pressures and temperatures. rated, for example, during gas production when the thermal
Manufacturing synthetic hydrate-bearing sediments offers inertia of hydrate in a dynamic system allows free gas, wa-
a practical solution and has some advantages over using ter, and hydrate to exist concurrently for certain periods of
natural hydrate samples. For example, experiments can be time. It is also possible that some hydrate reservoir sands
designed to simulate specific aspects of supposed natural may be naturally gas saturated; for example, if a gas reser-
hydrate morphologies and to observe the resulting seismic voir with residual water moves on a geological time scale
properties. This information can then be used to develop into the hydrate stability field through burial, subsidence,
theoretical models for interpreting field seismic data. or sea level rise, grain-cementing hydrate will form from
Another issue to resolve is the measurement fre- the residual water leaving the remaining pores saturated
quency. Ideally, it is best to measure the elastic wave prop- with gas. Also, the results give information on the frame
erties of hydrate-bearing sediments at the frequencies used elastic properties often used in fluid substitution models
in marine seismic surveys (10–500 Hz for ocean bottom (e.g., Gassmann, 1951) for predicting the effect of different
seismometers) to remove any ambiguities associated with reservoir fluids.
measurements at different frequencies. Porous rocks and It is worth pointing out that hydrate can form in sedi-
sediments show frequency-dependent velocity and attenua- ments in the absence of free methane gas as long as there
tion, and there is no reason to suppose that hydrates will be is sufficient gas dissolved in the pore water (Zatsepina and
different (e.g., Batzle et al., 2006). Techniques commonly Buffett, 1997). Laboratory experiments using glass micro-
employed for hydrocarbon reservoir characterization use models (Tohidi et al., 2001) and glass beads (Spangenberg
ultrasonic frequencies to measure P-wave and S-wave ve- and Kulenkampff, 2006) have shown that hydrate grown
locity and attenuation on small, homogeneous core plugs. from dissolved methane tends to form within pores rather
Whereas such methods can give insight into wave propaga- than at grain contacts and hence is noncementing.
tion mechanisms, and hence allow predictions of seismic Whereas future research effort must be directed toward
frequency, velocity and attenuation through appropriate natural hydrate samples and clay-rich sediments in particu-
models, ultrasonic measurements may not be suitable for lar (we need to contrast their seismic behavior to that of
heterogeneous hydrate samples, such as for clay-rich sedi- sands), the GHRC is proving to be an excellent research
ments in which hydrate has been observed to form milli- tool for investigating the geophysical and geotechnical
meter-scale to centimeter-scale veins and lenses (Brewer et properties of sediment-hosted gas hydrates.
al., 1997). The wavelengths at ultrasonic frequencies are
of the order of several millimeters that could lead to wave
scattering from hydrate veins. Effective medium models for Methods
predicting hydrate concentration (e.g., Chand et al., 2006;
Helgerud et al., 1999) require information on bulk proper- Design features of the gas-hydrates
ties of hydrate-bearing sediments, and so the wavelength resonant column
must be ideally about 10 times the scale of the heterogene-
ity to be valid (Yin et al., 1995). The resonant column is standard geotechnical equip-
Researchers at Southampton in the United Kingdom ment (Richart et al., 1970; Drnevich et al., 1978) for de-
recently conducted a laboratory experimental study into termining the shear modulus of sediments and rocks under
the seismic properties of methane-gas-hydrate-bearing sed- simulated in situ effective stresses. The sediment specimen
iments as part of the pan-European HYDRATECH project. is formed into a solid cylinder using a mold and mounted on
They developed the gas hydrates resonant column (GHRC) a pedestal inside a pressure cell where it is encased in a rub-
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subjectber membrane.
to SEG A top
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Terms withhttp://segdl.org/
magnets attached to four pro-
to allow seismic frequency testing and published initial re-
sults on synthetic methane-hydrate-bearing sand specimens truding arms is fitted to the specimen, then electromagnetic
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 338 9/14/10 7:40:01 PM

Chapter 24: A Resonant Column Study of the Seismic Properties of Methane-hydrate-bearing Sand 339
coils are positioned carefully around a) b) c)

the magnets, supported by a steel tube
around the specimen.
The GHRC (see Figure 1) has
several enhancements in its design
and construction specifically for test-
ing hydrate-bearing sediments. It is
based on an original Stokoe design for
measuring shear-wave modulus using
torsional vibrations of a solid cylindri-
cal specimen fixed at the base, typi-
cally housed in a pressure cell rated
to a maximum pressure of 3 MPa. The
modifications reported by Cascante Figure 1. Gas hydrate resonant column (GHRC) showing: (a) environmental
et al. (1998) for flexural excitation of chamber and resonant column with cooling jacket surrounding pressure cell;
the specimen were incorporated in the (b) resonant column with pressure cell removed showing stainless steel support
GHRC so that Young’s modulus could cylinder for drive coils; (c) a methane-hydrate-sand specimen immediately after
also be measured. During initial testing the removal of the pressure cell, support cylinder, and butyl membrane. The
on a standard resonant column, it was specimen is starting to dissociate and evolve methane gas which has been ignited
for visual effect. The remaining hydrate is cementing the initially loose sand
discovered that standard calibration
grains and maintaining the specimen shape.
procedures were adequate for soft sedi-
ment specimens but tended to introduce
significant errors for stiffer specimens such as cemented height is at least twice their diameter. The specimen velocity,
sand. This was partly attributed to the relative stiffnesses equivalent to that of an elastic wave propagating in a hypo-
of the instrument and the specimen for stiffer specimens, thetical infinite volume of the specimen, is determined from
the instrument could no longer be assumed to be perfectly the frequency of vibration at resonance (Richart et al., 1970;
rigid. Also, the fixity of the specimen to the base pedestal Drnevich et al., 1978). The torsional resonance frequency
and to the top cap (to which the drive mechanism is at- can vary from 17 to 25 Hz for soft clays (Hardin and Drn-
tached) became an issue for stiffer specimens. Hence, evich, 1972) to 400 Hz for stiff cemented sands (Avramidis
several modifications were made in the GHRC design to and Saxena, 1990) at strain amplitudes below 1026, which
increase the stiffness of the apparatus (Priest, 2004). Some- covers the frequency range and strain levels employed in
what fortuitously, top and base fixity turned out not to be a marine seismic surveys.
problem with hydrate specimens because the top and base
of the specimens actually froze to the base pedestal and top Resonant column theory
cap (although fixity would still be an issue for unfrozen
sandstone samples, for example). Velocity
Particular attention was given to attenuation measure-
ments. In the standard resonant column, it was found that The essential features of the resonant column are shown
instrument damping was of a similar magnitude to that of in Figure 2. The specimen is excited in either torsional or
the specimen, largely caused by the back-emf of the drive flexural vibration by applying a sinusoidal voltage to the
coils/magnets. This problem was overcome by installing drive coils. The interaction of the electromagnetic field pro-
special switching circuitry that allowed the drive coils to be duced by the coils with the fixed magnets attached to the
open-circuited during the free vibration phase of the mea- drive plate induces a similar sinusoidal motion in the drive
surements and hence eliminate any back-emf. plate and top cap that is attached to the top of the specimen.
The resonant column instrumentation was installed in The resonant frequency of the specimen and drive mecha-
a pressure cell rated to 25 MPa that was encased by a cool- nism can be found by controlling the frequency and ampli-
ing jacket, capable of lowering the temperature to 2208C. tude of the applied voltage. This is achieved by monitoring
The whole system was housed in a temperature-controlled the electrical output of an accelerometer mounted on the
environmental chamber with space for preparing and as- drive plate as the drive frequency is increased incremen-
sembling specimens on the base pedestal. tally through a predefined frequency sweep. The resonant
The resonant column utilizes the theory of vibration of frequency of the system can be identified easily by plotting
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SEG accelerometer output
license or copyright; Terms of Use: voltage against the frequency of
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a linearly viscoelastic cylindrical rod. In practice, cylindri-
cal sediment specimens approximate to a long rod if their the drive signal (see Figure 3a).
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 339 9/14/10 7:40:01 PM

Counter Shear-wave velocity is measured by assuming the

weight
Torsional vibrating system obeys the theory of elasticity for small
Accelerometer
Magnet excitation strains in a homogeneous, isotropic solid. According to
Hooke’s law, the observed strains are linearly proportional
Drive coils to the applied stresses. If the specimen is fixed at the base
Top cap and excited in torsion by the drive mechanism, then the
particular solution for the vibrating mass (specimen and
drive mechanism) can be written as
Specimen
5a b tan a b,
14 cm I v nL v nL
(1)
Rubber I0 VS VS
membrane
where I and I0 are the mass polar moments of inertia of the
Support specimen and the drive mechanism, respectively, vn is the
cylinder Base
pedestal angular frequency of the first resonant mode (correspond-
ing to the natural or fundamental resonance frequency fn,
where vn 5 2πfn), VS is the shear wave velocity, and L is
Figure 2. Schematic cross section of the resonant column the length of the specimen. Because of the complex ge-
showing the geometry of the specimen and drive mechanism. ometry of the drive mechanism, the value of I0 is derived
from calibration tests using aluminum rods of known
a) properties in place of the specimen. Thereafter, V S can
0.14
be determined from the resonant frequency and length of
0.12 the specimen. The shear modulus μ is determined with
knowledge of the specimen’s density r (calculated from
Accelerometer output (V)
0.10 the measured values of specimen dimensions and mass)

from the relationship
0.08
0.06
m 5 VS2r (2)
0.04 The analysis of the flexural mode treats the vibrating

system as an idealized cantilever beam with N distributed
0.02 rigid masses mi at its free end. Using Rayleigh’s method,
and assuming there is no bending moment (Cascante et al.,
0.00 1998), the particular solution can be written as
134 135 136 137 138 139 140
Drive frequency (Hz)
b) 3EIb
9 1 Iyi 1 mi yci 2
0.4 vf 5 N
, (3)
L c d
3 33 3mi yei
0.3 mT 1 a mi 1 1
140 L 4L2
Accelerometer output (V)
i51
0.2
0.1 where vf, E, Ib and mT are, respectively, the angular fre-

quency at resonance during flexural excitation (this value
0.0
is not necessarily the same as vn for torsion), the Young’s
-0.1 modulus, the area moment of inertia of the test specimen,
-0.2 and the mass of the test specimen. The parameters yci and
Iyi are, respectively, the center of gravity and the area mo-
-0.3
ment of inertia of each added mass mi. Additional masses
-0.4 are added to the drive mechanism during the calibration
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
procedure to find the value of Iy for the drive mechanism.
Sample number
Equation 3 can then be used to determine the Young’s mod-
Figure 3. Typical resonant column response curves for a sand ulus E with knowledge of the flexural resonance frequency
specimen. (a) FrequencyDownloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
sweep showing torsional resonance of the vibrating system. The longitudinal (flexural) wave
of specimen at about 137 Hz. (b) Free vibration decay curve velocity of the specimen Vlf can then be determined from
showing logarithmic decrease of signal amplitude. the equation
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 340 9/14/10 7:40:03 PM

E Resonant column calibrations

År
Vlf 5 . (4)
Calibration was achieved using a series of cylindri-
The compressional wave velocity VP is calculated from the cal aluminum rods with plates fixed at each end (Priest,
relationship 2004; 2005; 2006). The value of I0 for torsional excita-
tion of each rod was calculated using equation 1 with the
measured value of fn and the value of I calculated from the
12y geometric properties of each rod. A similar technique was
Å 1 1 1 y 2 1 1 2 2y 2
VP 5 Vlf , (5)
employed to find Iy for flexural excitation of the rods using
equation 3.
where y is Poisson’s ratio given by the expression Ideally, the value of I0 for torsional excitation should
remain constant for a given instrument, but in practice I0
2
1 Vlf was observed to vary according to the stiffness of each
y5 a 2 b 2 1. (6) calibration rod. Hence, the rod stiffnesses were chosen to
2 VS
cover the range of values expected in loose and cemented
sands with the value of I 0 determined from the least-
squares regression curve fitted to the calibration rod data.
Attenuation
This approach gave a maximum shear-wave velocity error
The attenuation of a hypothetical elastic wave prop- of 60.9% (628 m/s) for the aluminum rods when com-
agating in an infinite volume of the specimen is derived pared to the value given in standard tables (3097 m/s).
from the decay of the free vibration amplitude after the It was found that the observed values of Iy for flexural
drive voltage has been cut off (once the specimen is vi- excitation not only varied with rod stiffness but also with
brating at resonance). The logarithmic decrement d for the geometry of the rod. Therefore, the least-squares re-
both torsional and flexural modes is calculated from the gression curve for the rod shape that best matched the ge-
equation ometry of the sand specimens was used, and errors were
computed for the minimum and maximum possible values
of Iy (Priest, 2004). Hence, flexural velocity errors var-
b,
1 ui
d5 lna (7) ied between 64.5% (625 m/s) at a resonance frequency
n u i1n
of 50 Hz and 66.3% (6158m/s) at 350 Hz (Priest et al.,
where ui and ui1n are the recorded signal amplitudes of 2005).
cycle numbers i and i 1 n respectively (see Figure 3b). In Additional sources of velocity error include the rigidity
practice, a least squares regression line is fitted to a plot of of the membrane enclosing the specimen and the degree of
ln(ui) versus cycle number i to find the gradient d. Quality fixity between the top cap and the specimen. The membrane
factor Q, or the specific dissipation function Q21, are re- effect was negated by using butyl membranes with a thick-
lated to d through the expression ness of 0.2 mm, equal to about 0.3% of the specimen di-
ameter, well within the 1% criterion specified by Drnevich
1 d (1985). The fixity problem was minimized by satisfying the
5 . (8) fixity criterion of Drnevich (1978) given by the expression
Q p
The measured values lead to estimates of the shear- gm , 0.2sr, (11)

wave attenuation QS21 for torsion and the Young’s modu-
lus attenuation Qlf21 for longitudinal flexure. It is possible where g is the strain level, μ is the shear modulus of the
to derive the value of the compressional-wave attenuation specimen, s9 is the effective pressure, and 0.2 is a suitable
QP21 and bulk modulus attenuation Qk21 with knowledge of coefficient of friction for sediments and rocks. In practice,
Poisson’s ratio y from the following relationships given by the presence of cementing hydrate provided an additional
Winkler and Nur (1979): level of fixity between the specimen and the base plate and
top cap.
1 1 2 y 2 1 1 2 2y 2 11 1 y2 2y 1 2 2 y 2 Signal damping due to the instrument response was re-
5 2 (9) moved from the specimen results using attenuation calibra-
QP Qlf QS
tion curves derived from measurements on the aluminum
and rods. The curves assume zero attenuation in the aluminum
1 1 2 2y 2 21y 1 12
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copyright; errors in both QS and Qlf of the
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3 specimen between about 66% for a Q of 50 or less and
5 2 . (10)
Qk Qlf QS about 619% for a Q of 67 and over.
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 341 9/14/10 7:40:04 PM

0.1 ice was uniformly distributed through the sand. The ice
b) Sand a) Sand was then allowed to melt and to saturate the sand evenly
Ice-water phase boundary

+ Ice + Water through capillary action before the actual specimens were
formed inside the GHRC.
The initial water saturation of the sand was calculated
from the dry density of the sand specimens (mean 1529
kg/m3, standard deviation 626 kg/m3) and the mass of ice
Pore fluid pressure (MPa)
1.0
for each specimen. The specimen was sealed within a bu-
tyl rubber membrane (to minimize gas migration because
the cell pressure was applied using nitrogen gas), and
M
et
thermistors were attached at mid-height to each side of the
ha specimen for temperature measurement. A linear variable
ne
-h
yd displacement transducer was used to monitor the change
10.0 in height of the specimen. A differential stress of approxi-
ra
te
mately 60 kPa was applied to the specimen by connecting

ph
as
the suction from a vacuum pump to the back-pressure line

eb
c) Sand d) Sand
ou
+ Hydrate + Hydrate to maintain specimen integrity before the pressure cell was
nd
put in place.
a
+ Ice
ry
During hydrate formation, it was assumed that all the

100.0 water (ice) would turn to hydrate in the presence of suf-
-10 0 10 20 30 40 ficient methane under the right pressure and temperature
Temperature ( C)
o conditions.
Figure 4. Diagram showing pore fluid (methane) pressure
and temperature transitions while making synthetic methane-
hydrate-sand using the excess gas method. The differential Experimental procedure
pressure on the specimen is kept at 250 kPa during the
illustrated P-T path b–d by continually adjusting the Refer to Figure 4 for the various stages in hydrate
confining (nitrogen gas) pressure. formation. Cell pressure was slowly applied while si-
multaneously releasing the vacuum on the specimen to
provide a starting differential stress level of 250 kPa un-
der atmospheric back pressure (point a in Figure 4). The
Preparation of methane-hydrate-sand temperature of the specimen was then decreased to 2158C
specimens causing the interstitial water to freeze (Point b). Once the
temperature had stabilized, the nitrogen cell and methane
The material used in the experiments was a fraction E back pressures were raised gradually and simultaneously to
Leighton Buzzard sand supplied by the David Ball Group, preserve the 250 kPa isotropic effective stress over a period
Cambridge, U. K. This is a uniform fine sand with 85% of about 1.5 hr until the methane back pressure reached
by weight of grains falling between 90 and 150 μm in di- 15 MPa (Point c). Once the target pressure was reached,
ameter and a grain density of 2650 kg/m3. Its minimum it was held for a period of about 30 min. Hydrate was then
and maximum dry bulk densities were found to be 1331 formed by raising the temperature slowly from 2158C to
and 1624 kg/m3, respectively (Kolbuszewski, 1948; Walter 188C (Points c to d) under undrained conditions at a rate
et al., 1982; Rad and Tumay, 1987; Cresswell et al., 1999). of approximately 15 min per 8C. The effective stress was
Minimum and maximum porosities were calculated to be held constant at all times. Finally, the specimen was main-
0.388 and 0.498, respectively. tained at 18°C for a minimum of 15 hr. The initial back
Methane-hydrate-sand specimens were made with pressure (15 MPa) and temperature (188C) were relatively
known hydrate contents using an excess gas method. Water high to drive the hydrate formation process. After hydrate
ice was made from triply distilled, de-aired water. Blocks formation, the specimen temperature was reduced to 38C
of this ice were then ground using a domestic food blender and the back pressure was reduced to 5 MPa to conserve
inside a chest freezer at 2208C (to prevent melting and an- gas during subsequent effective stress changes. Resonant
nealing). The ice particles were then sieved to 125–300 μm column testing then commenced.
grain diameter, and both sand and ice were stored at 2208C To provide comparative data, specimens of loose
before specimen preparation. The ground ice and cold, dry (porosity 46.5%) and dense (porosity 41.6%) Leighton
sand were passed through a chilled riffle box so that the Buzzard sand were prepared in an identical way to those
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 342 9/14/10 7:40:05 PM

subsequently subjected to methane hydrate formation but Table 1. Physical properties of methane-hydrate-sand
without the introduction of ice. Hydrate saturations and po- specimens tested in the gas-hydrates resonant column at a
rosities are given in Table 1. differential pressure of 500 Kpa (load cycle).
Hydrate Sand Porosity with
Specimen saturation porosity hydrate at
Results number at 500 kPa at 500 kPa 500 kPa
Dependence of velocity and H0D 0 0.416 0.416
attenuation on hydrate saturation H0L 0 0.465 0.465
H1-1 0.011 0.400 0.397
Velocity
H2-2 0.021 0.419 0.419
The velocity results in Figure 5a show that, as ex- H3-2 0.027 0.441 0.431
pected, the methane hydrate acts like a cement, bonding H4-2 0.038 0.430 0.416
the sand grains together with increasing strength as hydrate H5-2 0.049 0.423 0.403
saturation increases. This behavior has been observed in
H10-1 0.096 0.432 0.413
cemented sands using ice/epoxy (Dvorkin and Nur, 1993)
and Portland cement (Saxena et al., 1988). Only very small H20-1 0.180 0.426 0.351
amounts of cement are required to dramatically increase H40-1 0.352 0.428 0.279
the elastic wave velocities VS, Vlf. and VP.
In Figure 5a, velocity increases steeply up
a)
to about 3% hydrate saturation, flattens off 3000
between 3% and 5% hydrate (and possibly Methane saturated sand with hydrate
reaches a local maximum at 4% hydrate), at 500 kPa (load cycle)
2500
then continues to rise with hydrate satura-
tion above 5% hydrate, although at a lower
2000
and steadily decreasing rate than below 5%
Velocity (m/s)
hydrate. The initial steep rise in velocity is

thought to be caused by increasing numbers 1500
of grain contacts becoming cemented un-
til all grain contacts are cemented at about 1000
3%–5% hydrate. The reason for the appar-
ent local maximum at 4% is unclear. 500 VS
Vlf
The measured velocities VS and Vlf cor- VP
respond to the shear and longitudinal-flex- 0
ural wave velocities of the framework of 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
hydrate-cemented sand grains (the hydrate Hydrate saturation
sand was methane saturated). It is instruc-
b)
tive to convert these velocities into theoreti- 3000
cal values for water-saturated hydrate-sand
specimens using the Gassmann fluid substi-
2500
tution model (Gassmann, 1951). The water
2000
Velocity (m/s)
1500
Figure 5. Resonant column results at a
differential pressure of 500 kPa (load cycle) 1000
for elastic wave velocity as a function of
synthetic methane hydrate saturation in sand Hypothetical water saturated sand
500
(excess gas method). (a) Velocities measured VP (Water saturation)
with hydrate at 500 kPa (load cycle)
on methane saturated sand with hydrate. (b) VS (Water saturation)
Theoretical velocitiesDownloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution0 subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
for a water saturated
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
sand with hydrate. Error bars are indicated.
Hydrate saturation
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 343 9/14/10 7:40:06 PM

saturated bulk modulus of the hydrate-sand ksat is given by calculated from the measured values of VS, Vlf, and dry
the equation (methane-saturated) density r of the hydrate sand,
kd 2 r 5 1 1 2 w 2 rq 1 wSh rh 1 w 1 1 2 Sh 2 rg,
a1 2
b
(13)
km
w 1 1 2 Sh 2 1 2 w 1 1 2 Sh 2
ksat 5 kd 1 , (12) where, rq, rh, and rg are the densities of quartz (2650 kg/
kd
1 2 2 m3), hydrate (910 kg/m3), and methane (0.717 kg/m3), re-
kw km km spectively. The value of the mineral bulk modulus km must
be estimated from the weighted average (Hill, 1952) of the
where w is porosity of the sand pack, Sh is hydrate satu- proportions of quartz and hydrate using the expression
ration (i.e., volume fraction of the sand pack’s pore space
occupied by solid hydrate; here, the hydrate is taken to be
attached to the solid quartz sand grains), kw is the bulk mod- 1 11 2 w2 wSh
C
2 3 1 2 w 1 1 2 Sh 24 3 1 2 w 1 1 2 Sh 24 h
ulus of water (2.25 GPa), and kd is the frame bulk modulus km 5 kq 1 k
a)
0.7
Methane/water saturated sand Water Sat. (Theory) 1
11 2 w2
0.6 with hydrate at 500 kPa (load cycle) Methane Sat. (Experiment) 1 ,
a b
wSh S
3 1 2 w 1 1 2 Sh 24 kq 3 1 2 w 1 1 2 Sh 24 kh
0.5
1
Poisson’s ratio
0.4
(14)
0.3
0.2
where kq and kh are the bulk moduli of quartz
0.1 (36.6 GPa) and methane hydrate (7.9 GPa),
respectively.
0.0 The water-saturated shear and compres-
-0.1
sional-wave velocities V S(sat) and V P(sat) are
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 then calculated using
Hydrate/water saturation
msat
VS1sat2 5
Å rsat
b) , (15)
6
Hypothetical water saturated sand
with hydrate at 500 kPa (load cycle) with μsat 5 μ (dry frame shear modulus), and
5
4m
VP /VS (Water saturation)
4 ksat 1
3
VP1sat2 5
ã
. (16)
rsat
3
The density of the water-saturated hydrate-
2 sand rsat is given by
1 rsat 5 1 1 2 w 2 rq 1 wShrh 1 w 1 1 2 Sh 2 rw.
(17)
0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
Hydrate saturation The results plotted in Figure 5b show that
the water-saturated velocities vary in much
Figure 6. GHRC results at a differential pressure of 500 kPa (load cycle) the same way as the dry (methane-saturated)
for (a) water- (theoretical) saturated and methane- (experimental) saturated velocities except that their magnitudes are
Poisson’s ratios, and (b) theoretical water saturated VP/VS as functions of higher, as would be expected. Although the
synthetic methane hydrate saturation in sand (created using the excess gas rate of increase of VS(sat) with hydrate satura-
method). tion is similar to that of VS (dry) in Figure 5a,
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 344 9/14/10 7:40:07 PM

the rate of increase of the water-saturated P-wave velocity highly attenuating than the same specimens after hydrate
VP(sat) is much more subdued compared to VP (dry). dissociation when they are partially saturated with water.
In Figure 6a, the value of the theoretical water-saturated For example, in Figure 7b, QS21 has values of about 0.01
Poisson’s ratio ysat, obtained from the relationship (QS 5 100) for the dissociated specimens while Qs21 is al-
ways greater than about 0.015 (QS less than 67) in the same
VP21sat2 2 2VS21sat2 hydrate-bearing specimens; similar results are seen for Qlf
2 1 VP21sat2 2 VS21sat2 2
ysat 5 , (18) (not shown). Unlike our treatment of the seismic veloc-
ity results, there is no equivalent theory to the Gassmann
ranges between 0.48 at zero hydrate content to about 0.30 model that can be used to predict the water-saturated atten-
at 40% hydrate saturation, consistent with literature val- uation of these methane-saturated specimens. Instead, fur-
ues for sand and cemented rocks (Hamilton, 1979). The ther experiments to generate water-saturated hydrate-sand
large error bars (624%) are unavoidable,
although the actual values of y sat vary
quite smoothly with hydrate saturation. a)
0.070
By contrast, the experimental methane Methane saturated sand with hydrate 1/QS
saturated values of y (from equation 6) 0.060 at 500 kPa (load cycle) 1/Qlf
show considerable scatter, particularly 1/QP
at low (< 5%) hydrate saturations (and 1/Qk
0.050
their error bars are smaller, 612%). As
expected, water saturated V P /VS in Fig- 0.040
1/Q
ure 6b mimics the general trend seen

in Figure 6a with values falling steeply 0.030
from 4.85 at zero hydrate content (dense
packed sand) to 2.26 at 3% hydrate satu- 0.020
ration, flattening off between 3% and 5%
hydrate, then decreasing slowly to 1.86 0.010
at 35% hydrate saturation. A similar pla-
teau between 3% and 5% hydrate is evi- 0.000
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
dent in Figure 6a for the water-saturated
Hydrate saturation
Poisson’s ratio.
b)
0.030
Methane saturated sand with hydrate/water
Attenuation at 500 kPa (load cycle)
0.025
The attenuation results in Figure 7a
are unexpected insofar as there is a clear 0.020
attenuation peak (possibly a double peak)
1/Q s
at hydrate saturations between 3% and 0.015

5%. This peak corresponds to the small
velocity maximum seen in Figure 5 and 0.010
to the Poisson’s ratio and V P /V S pla-
teaus seen in Figure 6. As suggested by 0.005 1/QS (Hydrate)
Winkler and Nur (1979), the values of 1/QS After hydrate dissociation
QS, Qlf, Qk, and Qp calculated from equa- 0.000
tions 9 and 10 should and do satisfy the 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
Hydrate/water saturation
inequalities
Figure 7. Resonant column results for attenuation Q21 of (a) measured
QS . Qlf . QP . Qk. (19) resonance modes (shear wave subscript s and longitudinal flexure wave
subscript lf) and calculated modes (compressional wave subscript p, and
It is difficult to know the precise at- bulk modulus subscript k) as functions of hydrate saturation in sand at
tenuation mechanism in these hydrate- 500 kPa differential pressure (load cycle). (b) Comparison of QS21 in
cemented sands, although there is a clear methane saturated hydrate-sand specimens with the same sand specimens
relationship with hydrate saturation. (for each hydrate saturation) after hydrate dissociation under partial water/
Moreover, the hydrate sand is always more methane saturation.
02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 345 9/14/10 7:40:09 PM

specimens in the GHRC should provide further insight into References

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the interpretation of the observed velocity and attenuation Avramidis, A. S., and S. K. Saxena, 1990, A modified
behavior in the methane-saturated hydrate sands are pre- ‘‘stiffened’’ Drnevich resonant column: Soil and Foun-
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Conclusions D. L. Orange, J. McFarlane, and W. Kirkwood, 1997,
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The gas hydrates resonant column (GHRC) was spe-
from a remotely operated vehicle: Geology, 25, no. 5,
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hydrate-bearing marine sediments. The main advantages
OFTOM>2.3.CO;2.
of this system are (1) it allows accurate measurements of
Cascante, G., C. Santamarina, and N. Yassir, 1998, Flex-
shear- and compressional-wave velocity and attenuation
ural excitation in a standard torsional-resonant col-
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long, 7-cm-diameter) can be used that give sufficient
Chand, S., T. A. Minshull, J. A. Priest, A. I. Best, C. R.
scope to mimic possible in situ hydrate morphologies in
I. Clayton, and W. F. Waite, 2006, An effective me-
marine sediments (and also use cores of natural hydrate
dium inversion algorithm for gas hydrate quantifi-
in future).
cation and its application to laboratory and borehole
An initial study mapped out the relationships between
measurements of gas hydrate bearing sediments: Geo-
seismic velocity (VS, Vlf) and attenuation (QS21, Qlf21) and
physical Journal International, 166, no. 2, 543–552,
hydrate saturation Sh in synthetic methane hydrate-bearing
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Clayton, C. R. I., J. A. Priest, and A. I. Best, 2005, The ef-
ane gas. The synthetic methane hydrate was prepared us-
fects of disseminated methane hydrate on the dynamic
ing an excess gas method that produced a grain-cementing
stiffness and damping of a sand: Geotechnique, 55, no.
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Clennell, B. M., M. Hovland, J. S. Booth, P. Henry, and
dramatic rise in both shear-wave and compressional-wave
W. J. Winters, 1999, Formation of natural hydrates in
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Furthermore, the results show fine details of variations in
growth conditioned by host sediment properties: Jour-
seismic properties with hydrate saturation that may prove
nal of Geophysical Research, 104, no. B10, 22985–
insightful for determining wave propagation mechanisms
23003, doi:10.1029/1999JB900175.
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Cresswell, A., M. E. Barton, and M. R. Brown, 1999, De-
More research is needed to discover the physical prop-
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tial resonant column results on gas-saturated sands could be
and solutions: Dynamic Geotechnical Testing: ASTM
of direct use to seismic exploration of seafloor gas-hydrate
Special Technical Publication, 654, 394–398.
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Drnevich, V. P., B. O. Hardin, and D. J. Shippy, 1978,
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and Physical Sciences Research Council (Jeffrey Priest, future of energy gases: U. S. Geological Survey Vol.
Ph.D. studentship). 1570, 293–311.
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02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 347 9/14/10 7:40:10 PM

02181_SEG_GH_C24.indd 348 9/14/10 7:40:10 PM

Chapter 25
Wave Theory, Simulation, and Determination of Gas-hydrate

Content in Sediments
José M. Carcione1, Davide Gei1, and Giuliana Rossi1
Abstract interaction and grain cementation with decreasing tem-

perature. The original theory, proposed by Leclaire et al.
We present a Biot-type theory for wave propaga- (1994), has been confirmed by Leclaire et al. (1995) with
tion through gas-hydrate saturated media at all frequency laboratory experiments. The theory has been further gen-
ranges, including the effects of attenuation, partial satura- eralized by Gei and Carcione (2003) to include the effects
tion, and effective pressure. The differential equations are of pore pressure, partial saturation (gas and water), and the
suitable to compute synthetic seismograms in inhomoge- presence of dissipation mechanisms of different natures.
neous media. An amplitude versus angle analysis of the Carcione and Seriani (2001) designed a modeling
bottom-simulating reflector allows us to infer qualitative algorithm based on the previous theory in which they have
information about the concentration of gas hydrates, sat- introduced realistic attenuation by using viscoelastic mem-
uration of gas, and grain cementation. We estimate quan- ory variables, implying additional differential equations.
titatively the concentration and saturations from log and However, the differential equations solved by Carcione
vertical seismic profile (VSP) data and traveltime reflec- and Seriani (2001) hold for uniform porosity. The equa-
tion tomography, based on the Biot-Gassmann equation to tions for variable porosity are derived by Biot (1962), in
model the seismic velocity. Finally, we obtain the P-wave which he proposes the displacements of the matrix and
quality factor by attenuation tomography, which consti- the variation of fluid content as generalized coordinates.
tutes an additional technique to obtain information about Following this approach, Carcione et al. (2003) obtained
the presence of fluids and structure of the porous media. the constitutive equations and the equations of momen-
tum conservation of the frozen porous medium by using
the analogy with the corresponding two-phase equations
Introduction of motion and the complementary energy theorem under
small variations of the stresses. Similarly, Carcione et al.
A rock saturated with gas hydrates is a partially frozen (2005b) obtained the stress-strain relation and proposed a
porous medium. Freezing has a remarkable effect on wave generalization of Gassmann’s bulk modulus (Gassmann,
velocities. Hence, seismic and acoustic methods constitute 1951) for a multimineral porous medium because rocks
a suitable way for quantifying the amount of gas hydrates such as sandstones are rarely clean and may contain clay,
and water. feldspar, dolomite, etc.
A Biot-type three-phase theory based on first princi- Using the previously mentioned theories, we estimate
ples has been proposed by Leclaire et al. (1994). The the- the concentration of gas hydrate at the Mallik 2L-38 re-
ory, which assumes that there is no direct contact between search well and at the Norwegian-Svalbard continental
the sand grains and ice, predicts three compressional waves margin (Carcione and Gei, 2004; Carcione et al., 2005a).
and two shear waves and can be applied to unconsolidated The estimation uses P-wave and S-wave velocities ob-
and consolidated porous media. Carcione and Tinivella tained from well logging, vertical seismic profiles (VSP)
(2000) have generalized the theory to include grain-ice in the first case and from single-channel and ocean-bottom
seismograph (OBS) data in the second case. The OBS data
1
Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS). has been processed by using traveltime reflection tomogra-
Borgo Sgonico, Trieste, Italy. E-mail: jcarcione@ogs.trieste.it phy. The discrepancies between the tomographic velocity
349
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 349 9/14/10 8:55:32 PM

profile and the velocity for water-filled, normally com- where fs and fh are the proportions of sand grains and ice.
pacted, marine sediments are interpreted as caused by the For a given fs, the range of I is 0 , I , 1 2 fs. Alterna-
presence of gas hydrate (positive anomalies) and free gas tively, the ice content (or saturation) can be defined as I9 5
(negative anomalies). These anomalies can be translated in V3/(V2 1 V3). Then,
terms of concentration of clathrate and free gas, knowing
the velocity trend versus gas hydrate and free gas content, ff 5 1 1 2 Ir 21 1 2 fs 2 ,
although uncertainties may occur when free gas is present
above the BSR. fh 5 Ir 1 1 2 fs 2 , (2)
with 0 # I9 # 1. Note that by porosity we mean the fluid

Differential Equations of Motion proportion ff and not the porosity when the rock is com-
pletely unfrozen. The latter is the actual rock porosity,
The Lagrangian formulation used by Leclaire et al. given by fh 1 ff 5 1 2 fs.
(1994), and consequently, the differential equations solved
by Carcione and Seriani (2001) hold for uniform porosity
because the average displacements of the solid and fluid Velocity-stress formulation
phases are used as Lagrangian coordinates, and the re- The numerical algorithm requires to recast the equation
spective stress components are used as generalized forces. of motion in the velocity-stress formulation. The velocity-
These equations are analogous to Biot’s 1956 equations stress formulation is the first-order differential equations
(Biot, 1956) describing wave propagation in a two-phase (in the space and time variables), where the unknown
porous medium, which hold for constant porosity. The variables are the particle velocities and stress components
equations for variable porosity are derived by Biot (1962), (see Appendix). The equations of momentum conservation
where he proposes the displacements of the matrix and the (A-1) can then be rewritten using equations A-13, A-14,
variation of fluid content as generalized coordinates. In this and A-16:
more general case, the corresponding generalized forces
#
are the total stress components and the fluid pressure. The v 1i1 2 5 g11P i11 2 1 g12P i12 2 1 g13P i13 2,
equations in Biot (1962) are the correct ones for describing
#
wave propagation in an inhomogeneous medium because v 1i3 2 5 g21P i11 2 1 g22P i12 2 1 g23P i13 2, (3)
they are consistent with Darcy’s law and the boundary $
conditions at interfaces separating media with different wi 5 g31P i11 2 1 g32P i12 2 1 g33P i13 2,
properties.
Here, we describe the constitutive equations and the where
equations of momentum conservation of the frozen porous
j 2 1 b13 1 Ib12 2 1 vi 2 vi 2 1 1 b12 /ff 2 w i,
P i112 5 sij,
112 112 132 #
medium (Carcione et al., 2003). The approach is illustrated
by Santos et al. (1990a,b) for a partially saturated porous
j 2 3 b13 1 1 1 2 I 2 b23 4 1 vi 2 vi 2 1 1 b23 /ff 2 wi,
medium and by Biot (1962) and Carcione (2007) for a sat- P i122 5 sij,
132 112 132 #
urated porous medium.
Pi132 5 2pf, i 2 1 hw/k 2 3 w i 1 ff 1 I 2 k/ki 2 1 vi132 2 vi112 24 .
Let us indicate by 1, 2, and 3 the field variables re- #
lated to the rock frame, fluid phase, and ice frames, respec-
tively (the subindices s, f, and h refer to the sand grains, (4)
fluids, and ice particles). Hereafter, the subscripts i and j
refer to the spatial variables, and m indicates the constitu- A dot above a variable denotes time differentiation and
ent. Consider an elementary volume of porous material, spatial derivatives with respect to a variable xi is indicated
where Ωm are the partial volumes and Ω is the total volume. by the subscript i. gij are the components of the following
The amount of ice per unit volume of solid is denoted by matrix
I. That is, I 5 V 3 / 1 V 1 1 V 3 2 , and the fluid proportion is
r11 1 1 1 2 I 2 r12
f f 5 V 2 /V 5 V 2 / 1 V 1 1 V 2 1 V 3 2 .
r13 1 Ir12 r12 /ff 21
The following relations hold ° r13 1 1 1 2 I 2 r23 r33 1 Ir23 r23 /ff ¢ , (5)
rw1 rw3 c
fs 1 fh 1 ff 5 1,
f f 5 1 2 fs / 1 1 2 I 2 , (1) where c is given by equation A-18.
The equations for the stress components are obtained by
fh 5 I 1 1 2 ff 2 , differentiating equation A-36 with respect to the time variable

I 5 fi / 1 fs 1 fh 2 , and using the relations eij1m2 5 1 vi,1mj2 1 vi,1mj2 2 /2, m 5 1, and 3.
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 350 9/14/10 8:55:33 PM

Chapter 25: Wave Theory, Simulation, and Determination of Gas-hydrate Content in Sediments 351
The velocity-stress differential equations can be written in Seismic Velocities and

matrix form as
Attenuation
#
v 5 Mv 1 s, (6) Wave velocities and attenuation are two important
properties that can give information about lithology, sat-
where uration, and the in situ conditions of rocks. Therefore, it
is important to obtain a relation between these properties
v 5 3 vi112, vi132, wi, sij112, sij132, pf 4 T
# (7) and gas-hydrate concentration, porosity, pore and confin-
ing pressures, frequency, and gas and water saturation.
is the unknown velocity-stress vector of dimension 22 in The effect of partial saturation on velocity and attenuation
3D space and dimension 13 in 2D space depends on the frequency range. At low frequencies, the
fluid has enough time to achieve pressure equilibration
s 5 3 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, sij112, sij132, sij122 4 T
(relaxed regime) within the dominant seismic period. In
(8)
this case, Wood’s model for the bulk modulus of the fluid
mixture yields results that agree with the experiments. On
is the source vector (3D space), and M is the propagation the other hand, at high frequencies the fluid cannot relax
matrix containing the spatial derivatives and material prop- and this state of unrelaxation induces a stiffening of the
erties. (Sources are added to the stress components and pore material, which increases the wave velocity consider-
fluid pressure.) ably (Cadoret et al., 1995). This effect implies an uneven
The theory predicts additional compressional and distribution of fluids in the pore space, which is normally
shear waves. The predictions were confirmed experimen- termed patchy saturation. In the present model, we use a
tally by Leclaire et al. (1995). Denoting by P and S the modified empirical fluid mixing law proposed by Brie
compressional and shear waves, the nature of the differ- et al. (1995), which gives Wood’s modulus at low frequen-
ent wave modes is the following. P1 and S1 are the usual cies and Voigt’s modulus at high frequencies, which con-
waves which we observe in acoustics of material media. stitute a low and high bound. Attenuation is described by
They correspond to all the phases moving in phase and using a constant-Q model for the dry-rock moduli (e.g.,
propagate irrespective of the value of the viscosity and Carcione et al., 2002). The constant-Q kernel is the most
permeabilities. P2 is the Biot slow wave, and S2 is a slow simple model based on only one parameter. We assume that
shear mode. They are propagation modes for zero fluid vis- the lower the frame stiffness moduli, the lower the quality
cosity and infinite permeability, and quasi-static modes if factor (i.e. the higher the attenuation). Using this property,
we assume realistic values of the viscosity and the perme- we assign a Q factor to the frame bulk modulus and obtain
ability. These modes become waves with increasing freez- the Q factor associated to the shear modulus.
ing and are strong in the ice frame. P3 is quasi-static mode
at zero and full water saturations, even in the absence of
friction between the phases. This wave could probably be Seismic velocities
observed in synthetic partially frozen materials and under
very particular conditions, for example, a fluid of negligi- Wave velocity is an important property that can give
ble viscosity (obviously not water) and a highly permeable information about lithology, saturation, and the in situ con-
porous medium. The condition of no slow-wave motion in ditions of rocks. Carcione and Tinivella (2000) modeled
the solid/solid case (the case of a totally frozen medium) the acoustic properties of gas-hydrate bearing sediments
is found for very low water saturation (the velocities of P3 saturated with water in the framework of Biot’s theory of
and S2 vanish). poroelasticity. The original theory, for frozen porous me-
In the process of freezing, two major events are the dia, was proposed by Leclaire et al. (1994; 1995) have
formation of ice crystals (nucleation) and the subsequent confirmed it with laboratory experiments. Unlike previous
increase in size of these crystals. In rocks, this process oc- theories simply based on slowness and/or moduli averag-
curs first in the larger pores (because of surface-tension ing or two-phase models, the Biot-type three-phase theory
effects). Hence, the degree of freezing is not spatially uni- considers the existence of two solids (grains and gas hy-
form. This situation can be modeled with a fractal distribu- drate) and a fluid. The resulting P-wave dispersion rela-
tion of the water (or ice) content (Carcione et al., 2003). In tion constitutes a generalization of Gassmann equation for
this case, mesoscopic loss mechanisms can be important two frames and one fluid (Carcione and Gei, 2004). The
at seismic frequencies (e.g., Carcione and Picotti, 2006). model is based on the assumption that hydrate fills the pore
Numerical simulations Downloaded
based25on
Jun the
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to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution
theory can be subject tospace and
SEG license showsTerms
or copyright; interconnection. (This structure has been
used to predict the attenuation at different frequency ranges observed in the Mallik 2L-38 cores; Katsube et al., 1999;
due to the presence of these mechanisms. Uchida et al., 1999).
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 351 9/14/10 8:55:35 PM

In the low-frequency limit of the theory, grains, hy- above for variation of VP and VS with clay content, porosity,
drate, and water are in the isostrain state, implying the con- and hydrate saturation ranging from 0 to 1. All the mod-
ditions of a closed system. In this case, the equations have els predict a similar range of VP and VS for hydrate-free
a simplified form. If Ksm and Khm (equation A-27) denote saturated sediments, although details of their variation with
the bulk moduli of the rock and hydrate frames, the bulk porosity and clay content are different. Predicted velocities
modulus of the closed system can be expressed as for hydrate-bearing saturated sediments also vary little, but
the pattern of velocity variation with hydrate saturation dif-
Khm 2
KG 5 Ksm 1 Khm 1 a1 2 b M,
Ksm fers between models.
2 (9) The TPB includes poroviscoelasticity and viscody-
Ks Kh
namic effects to model the realistic attenuation values
where observed in rocks from low to high frequencies. The model
predicts the behavior of real sediments in many respects.
Khm 1 21
M 5 c afs 2 b 1 1 afh 2 b d , (10)
Ksm 1 f For instance, (1) wave velocity increases considerably at
Ks Ks Kw Kh Kh high frequencies compared to low frequencies; (2) there
is a strong decrease of the velocity and Q factor with
where f 5 f h 1 f w is the actual rock porosity, and Ks, decreasing effective pressure; (3) the dissipation factor
Kh, and Kw are the bulk moduli of the grains, hydrate, and has a maximum value at the Biot relaxation peak, ranging
water, respectively. from sonic frequencies for gas to ultrasonic frequencies
The modulus KG is a generalization of the Gassmann with a peak value around 40% water saturation; and (4) in
(low-frequency) modulus of the classical Biot theory (e.g., general, velocity increases and attenuation decreases with
Carcione, 2007). The shear modulus of the system is sim- increasing gas-hydrate concentration.
ply the sum of the moduli of the rock and hydrate frames,
μsm and μhm, respectively, (equations A-30 and A-31):
mm 5 msm 1 mhm. (11) Bottom-simulating Reflector —

AVA Analysis
The P and S velocities are then
Amplitude versus angle (AVA) analysis determines the
KG 1 4mm /3 mm variation of the reflection amplitude of the seismic signal
Å Å r
VP 5 and VS 5 , (12)
r as a function of reflection angle (or receiver offset).
The analysis of BSR amplitude versus offset is a valid
where option for estimating the amount of hydrate and gas. The
BSR is assumed to be a layer partially saturated with free
r 5 fsrs 1 fwrw 1 fhrh (13) gas beneath a hydrate-bearing sediment and overlying a
sediment fully saturated with water. Our objective here is
is the bulk density and rs, rh , and rw are the densities of the to study the reflection and transmission coefficients of the
grains material, hydrate, and water, respectively. top and bottom of the free gas zone. These are calculated
by first computing the wave velocities from the Biot-type
three-phase theory described in the Appendix and then us-
Comparison of the three-phase Biot ing a single phase model that includes attenuation effects
theory with other theories (e.g., Carcione, 1997). The anelasticity is described by two
standard linear solid elements associated with dilatational
Gas-hydrate content can be estimated on the basis of and shear deformations, in which the relaxation times are
P-wave and S-wave velocity and attenuation anomalies, expressed as a function of the respective minimum quality
that is, observed deviations of these properties from those factors Q1 and Q2 and the center frequency f0 of the relax-
predicted with theoretical models. ation peaks.
Chand et al. (2004) compared the results of four models: It is important to point out here that by using a single-
the empirical weighted equation (WE) (Lee et al., 1996), phase model for computing the reflection coefficients, we
the three-phase effective medium theory (TPEM) (Dvorkin ignore the presence of two additional compressional waves
et al., 1991; 1994; Dvorkin and Nur, 1996; Ecker et al., and a second shear wave.
1998, 2000), the three-phase Biot theory (TPB) (Carcione Properties of the sediment and of its individual con-
and Tinivella, 2000; Gei and Carcione,
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to2003) the dif- subjectstituents
andRedistribution
95.28.162.50. causing
to SEG license or copyright;the BSR
Terms of Use:are given in Table 1. The data
http://segdl.org/
ferential effective medium theory (DEM) (Jakobsen et al., correspond to Berea sandstone, with the properties given
2000). They analyzed the theoretical models mentioned by Timur (1968) and Winkler (1985).
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 352 9/14/10 8:55:36 PM

AVA variations for various models corresponding to grain cementation. The curves are similar for low concen-
the top of the BSR are displayed in Figure 1. We assume trations but differ for high concentrations. In this case, the
that the quality factors of the hydrate-bearing sediments AVA anomaly is always positive.
are Q1 5 Q2 5 30, and those of the free gas-bearing sedi- Figures 3 and 4 represent the reflection coefficients
ments are Q1 5 Q2 5 20. The AVA anomalies can be of RPP and RPS at 25 Hz for various saturations. In part (a) of
type II, III, and IV according to the classification given each figure, the hydrate concentration is fixed at 10%, and
by Castagna and Swan (1997). We recall that for type II in part (b) of each figure the free-gas saturation is fixed
anomalies the amplitude may increase or decrease with off- at 10%. According to Figure 3, the free gas saturation can
set (there is a change of sign in the reflection coefficient), be determined from reflection amplitude but not from the
for type III anomalies the reflection coefficient is negative
and its absolute value increases with offset, and for type IV
anomalies the coefficient is negative and its absolute value Table 1. Material properties of Berea sandstone and pore infill.
decreases with offset. Here, the anomalies are class IV for Grain Bulk modulus, Ks 38.7 GPa
very high concentrations of gas hydrate and classes II and
Shear modulus, μs 39.6 GPa
III for relatively low concentrations.
As stated by Minshull et al. (1994), for low saturations, Density, rs 2650 kg/m3
the behavior is quite different in the presence and in the ab- Gas hydrate Bulk modulus, Kh 8.27 GPa
sence of free gas. Increasing free-gas saturation causes an Shear modulus, mh 3.39 GPa
increase in the magnitude of the reflection coefficient with Density, rh 920 kg/m3
increasing offset. However, for a given gas saturation, it is
Water Bulk modulus, Kw 2.93 GPa
difficult to evaluate the amount of gas-hydrate at low satu-
rations. Ecker et al. (1996) show from an AVO analysis and Density, rw 1030 kg/m3
a rock physics model, that gas-hydrate–bearing sediments Free gas Bulk modulus, Kg 23.6 MPa
from the Blake Outer Ridge (offshore South Carolina) Density, rg 116 kg/m3
seem to be not cemented. In order to evaluate the influence Rock frame Bulk modulus, Ksm 1.095 GPa
of this factor on the reflection amplitudes, we represent in Shear modulus, μsm0 1.19 GPa
Figure 2 the curves corresponding to Figure 1 but without
Figure 1. Variations of BSR

PP-wave viscoelastic reflection
coefficient with angle of
incidence for different free-gas
and gas-hydrate saturations
(Biot-type three-phase model
with grain cementation). (After
Carcione and Tinivella, 2000).
Used by permission.
Figure 2. Computed
variations of BSR PP-wave
viscoelastic reflection
coefficient with angle of
incidence for different free-gas
and gas-hydrate saturations
(Biot-type three-phase model
without grain cementation).
(After Carcione and Tinivella,
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 353 9/14/10 8:55:37 PM

type of anomaly. Moreover, the gas-hydrate content can be particularly high for all the saturations at far offsets. This
determined when the concentration is high. On the other indicates that much of the energy is lost by interference.
hand, RPS is a good indicator of high amounts of free gas
and gas hydrate.
Finally, Figure 5 represents the reflection coefficients Numerical Algorithm for Wave
RPP, phases, and interference coefficients corresponding to Propagation
the bottom of the free gas zone (the frequency is 25 Hz).
We assume that the quality factors of the water-saturated The solution to equation 6 subject to the initial condi-
sediment are Q1 5 Q2 5 30. Small amounts of free gas tion v(0) 5 v0 is formally given by
can be determined from the amplitude strength, although
v 1 t 2 5 exp 1 tM 2 v0 1 e0 exp 1 tM 2 s 1 t 2 t 2 dt,
t
all the saturations present the same type of anomaly. The (14)
interference between the incident and reflected P waves is
where exp(tM) is called evolution operator. The eigen-
values of M have negative real parts and differ greatly in
magnitude due to the viscosity terms. The presence of large
eigenvalues, together with small eigenvalues indicates that
the problem is stiff. The differential equations can be solved
with the splitting algorithm used by Carcione and Seriani
(2001). The propagation matrix can be partitioned as
M 5 Mr 1 Ms, (15)
where subscript r indicates the regular matrix and subscript

s the stiff matrix. We discretize the time variable as t 5
Figure 3. PP-reflection coefficients versus incidence ndt, where dt is the time step. The evolution operator can
angle, calculated for sediments with (a) 10% gas-hydrate be expressed as exp(Mr 1 Ms)t. It is easy to show that the
concentration and (b) 10% free-gas saturation. (After product formula
Carcione and Tinivella, 2000). Used by permission.
exp 1 Mdt 2 5 expa Ms dtbexpa Mr dtbexpa Ms dtb
1 1 1
2 2 2
(16)
is second-order accurate in dt. Equation 16 allows us to

solve the stiff part separately. Using the Kronecker prod-
uct ⊗ of two matrices, the stiff matrix in 2D space can be
expressed as
I2 z S
Ms 5 a b,
0
(17)
0 0
Figure 4. PS-reflection coefficients versus incidence
angle, calculated for sediments with (a) 10% gas-hydrate where I2 is the 2 3 2 identity matrix. We should solve
concentration and (b) 10% free gas saturation. (After
#
Carcione and Tinivella, 2000). Used by permission. w i 5 Sw i, (18)
Figure 5. PP-reflection
coefficients, phases, and
interference coefficients versus
incidence angle for various
free gas saturations. The
interface corresponds to the
bottom of the free gas zone.
(After Carcione and Tinivella,
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 354 9/14/10 8:55:46 PM

for each Cartesian component i, where
wi 5 3 vi112, vi132, wi 4 T, (19)
and the components of S are
S11 5 ag11 1 cg12 1 3 Ib 2 1 1 2 I 2 d 4 g13,
S12 5 2S11,
S13 5 bg11 1 dg12 2 3 1 b 1 d 2 /fw 4 g13,
S21 5 ag21 1 cg22 1 3 Ib 2 1 1 2 I 2 d 4 g23,
S22 5 2S21, (20)
S23 5 bg21 1 dg22 2 3 1 b 1 d 2 /fw 4 g23,
S31 5 ag31 1 cg32 1 3 Ib 2 1 1 2 I 2 d 4 g33,
S32 5 2S31,
S33 5 bg31 1 dg32 2 3 1 b 1 d 2 /fw 4 g33,
where Figure 6. Snapshots of the rock-frame vertical particle-

velocity component at 37 μs. The mesh has 357 3 357 grid
a 5 2 1 b13 1 Ib12 2 , b 5 b12 /fw,
points, and the source is applied at grid point (178, 178).
(21)
The compressional waves are labeled P1, P2, and P3, and
c 5 b13 1 1 1 2 I 2 b23, d 5 b23 /fw, the shear waves are labeled S1 and S2 (from Carcione et al.,
and bij are friction coefficients (equations A-2).
Because matrix S has two linearly dependent columns,
one of its eigenvalues is zero. The other two eigenvalues are Velocity and Attenuation
l1 5 3 tr 1 S 2 2 "4 1 S13 2 S23 2 S31 1 1 S21 1 S33 2 S11 2 2 4 ,
1 Tomographic Inversion
2
(22) When no direct measurements are available, detailed
knowledge of the seismic properties of the formations is
l2 5 tr 1 S 2 2 l1. essential for quantitative estimations of gas hydrate and
free gas in the pore space. Seismic tomography is a tech-
The time stepping method is a Runge–Kutta fourth-order nique that provides a reliable velocity field in depth. In
algorithm, and the spatial derivatives are calculated with fact, traveltime seismic tomography, compared to con-
the Fourier method by using the FFT. This spatial approxi- ventional seismic velocity analysis (stacking), is able to
mation is infinitely accurate for band-limited periodic func- consider complex geometrical models and lateral velocity
tions with cutoff spatial wave numbers which are smaller variations (Böhm et al., 1997). Another advantage com-
than the cutoff wave numbers of the mesh. Due to the split- pared to the traditional approach is the possibility to use
ting algorithm, the modeling is second-order accurate in all the waves recorded in a seismic experiment: reflected,
the time discretization. The method is illustrated in detail refracted, and direct waves (Vesnaver, 1996). Moreover,
in Carcione and Helle (1999) for a two-phase medium and it is possible to invert P, S, and PS converted waves, cre-
in Carcione and Seriani (2001) for a three-phase medium. ating a multiparameter model (Rossi and Vesnaver, 2001;
Figure 6 shows snapshots in a sandstone where the dis- Böhm et al., 2002). If the seismic pulse frequency content
tribution of ice is fractal. The average size of the heteroge- is analyzed, other properties, such as attenuation, may be
neities is 1 mm. We have considered an ideal fluid (zero obtained, adding new information for a more complete and
viscosity) in order to appreciate the scattering effects in the correct interpretation.
At the
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license
slow modes also. The energy of the slow waves P2, S2, and basis Terms
or copyright; of the tomographic
of Use: http://segdl.org/ method, there is the
P3 propagate mainly in the ice frame. Besides scattering, fact that the traveltime is related through a line integral
mode conversion occurs at heterogeneities. along the raypath to the wave velocity of the media crossed
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 355 9/14/10 8:55:53 PM

by the ray. The tomographic inversion consists in minimiz- The measure of the spectral frequency shift therefore
ing the difference (Δt) between the observed time (tOBS) and is given by equation 27, where fs and fr are the spectral
the calculated one (tCALC), using as a parameter the seismic barycenter or centroid of the wavelet at the source and at
velocity. the receiver, respectively. For instance,
The main equation of the tomographic method is equa-
tion 23 below, in which the line integral has been substi-
`
fAs 1 f 2 df
As 1 f 2 df
fs 5 3 , (26)
tuted by a summation over the j voxels because usually a 0
discrete blocky model is adopted: Δs is therefore the ray
segment within one of the voxels and Δu is the reciprocal where As(f) is the amplitude spectrum of the wavelet at
of the relative velocity (slowness): the source. If s2s is the spectral variance of the pulse at the
source (Quan and Harris, 1997):
Dt 5 tOBS 2 tCALC 5 a Dsj Duj. (23)
j fs 2 fr
The velocity is generally assumed constant within the j5 . (27)
s2s
voxels that may be based on a regular or on an irregular
gridding. The latter has the advantage that may be finer The technique is therefore relatively simple and fast
where there is more information or when the velocities because the times picked for the traveltime analysis may
change rapidly and coarser where there is less data or the be used as a reference for the frequency analysis, to pro-
velocities are constant (Böhm et al., 1997). The stagger- vide information on the attenuation of the same events ana-
ing procedure that averages the tomographic field obtained lyzed to obtain the seismic velocities. For a more detailed
from coarse, slightly staggered grids enables us to achieve description of the method to estimate the spectral centroid
a higher resolution without losing the reliability of the in- shift and the attenuation tomographic inversion, see Rossi
version (Vesnaver and Böhm, 2000). When dealing with et al. (2007).
reflected or refracted waves, the shape and position of the
reflecting/refracting surfaces that constitute the base and
top of the voxels are obtained through an iterative process
based on the principle of minimal dispersion and assum- Estimation of Gas-hydrate
ing continuity of the geological interfaces (Carrion et al., Concentration
1993; Rossi et al., 2001). Because of seismic attenuation of
the material, the high-frequency part of the spectrum of the The discrepancies between the inverted velocity profile
pulse decreases faster than the low-frequency part, so that and the velocity for water-filled, normally compacted ma-
pulse broadening can be observed. Time rise or the spec- rine sediments are interpreted as caused by the presence of
tral frequency shift are used to quantify the phenomenon gas hydrate (where positive anomalies are present) and free
(Kjartansson, 1979; Zucca et al., 1994; Quan and Harris, gas (where negative anomalies are present). These anomalies
1997). Frequency analysis seems to be more robust com- can be translated in terms of concentration of clathrate and
pared to the methods based on amplitude decay because free gas if the velocity trend versus gas hydrate and free-gas
the frequency shift is not affected by far-field geometrical content is known. Ambiguities may arise from the fact that
spreading and transmission/reflection losses. A test of the both hydrate and free gas may coexist above the BSR.
robustness of this approach can be found in Picotti and
Carcione (2006). Mallik 2L-38 research well, Mackenzie
In particular, a relationship similar to equation 23
Delta, Canada
relates the spectral frequency shift (j) and the attenuation
a. It follows that The JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 gas-hydrate re-
search well was drilled in the Canadian Artic to investigate
Dj 5 jOBS 2 jCALC 5 a Dsj Da0j, (24) gas hydrate in a permafrost setting. The well is located in the
j
Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada (Figure 7)
where Δs is the ray segment in the voxels and Δa0 is the and penetrates 1150 m of sands and sandstones interbedded
attenuation factor, i.e. a 0 is a/f where f is the frequency, with silt/clay layers. The upper part has 640 m of permafrost.
what implying a simplification that may be safely used The multidisciplinary study included permafrost and gas-
within the frequency range of a seismic experiment: hydrate coring, comprehensive downhole geophysical log-
ging and measurement, and a deep electromagnetic survey. A
a0Downloaded
5 p/Qv, 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
(25) vertical seismic profiling survey VSP was carried out at zero
and offset-source positions with multicomponent receiver
where Q is the quality factor and v the wave velocity. tools and multipolarized vibrator sources (Walia et al., 1999).
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 356 9/14/10 8:55:57 PM

Gas hydrate occurs from 897 to 1110 m. Water-saturated two-phase medium (grains and water) because gas hydrate
zones are interpreted below each gas hydrate zone, begin- concentration is unknown a priori (this approximation is
ning at 897, 952, 1010, and 1075 m (Miyairi et al., 1999). good enough, and corrections due to the presence of hy-
We consider the low-frequency limit of the Biot-type drates are not significant). All the logs are averaged with
three-phase theory, thus neglecting dissipation. At this a window of 15 m length for comparison to the results ob-
limit, grains, hydrate, and water are in the isostrain state, tained from the VSP velocities.
implying the conditions of a closed system. The moduli Figure 8 shows the porosity, bulk density, clay content,
and density of the single constituents are given in Table 2. permeability, and sonic-log and VSP (P-wave and S-wave)
The porosity is derived from the density log by using a velocities and estimated hydrate concentrations. The
S-wave velocities of the VSP are not reliable, mainly in
the interval between 900 and 950 m, where the differences
with the sonic-log velocities are too large. This difference
cannot be attributed to velocity dispersion. On the other
hand, the estimations based on the P-wave velocities are
Table 2. Material properties of permafrost at Mallik 2L-38

research well.
Quartz* Bulk modulus, Kq 36 GPa

Shear modulus, μp 45 GPa
Density, rq 2650 kg/m3
Clay* Bulk modulus, Kc 20.9 GPa
Shear modulus, μc 6.8 GPa
Density, rc 2580 kg/m3
Gas hydrate* Bulk modulus, Kh 7.7 GPa
Shear modulus, μh 3.2 GPa
Density, rh 900 kg/ m3
Water Bulk modulus, Kw 2.3 GPa
Figure 7. Location of the Mallik 2L-38 gas hydrate Density, rw 1030 kg/ m3
research well (from Miyairi et al., 1999). Used by
permission. *Helgerud et al. (1999)
Figure 8. Porosity, bulk density,

clay content, permeability, and
sonic-log and VSP (P-wave and
S-wave) velocities and hydrate
concentrations at the Mallik
2L-38 research site. The black
curves correspond to the sonic-log
estimations, and the gray curves to
the VSP estimations. The dashed
lines are the wet-rock velocities
estimated from the log profiles,
where the rock is assumed to be
fully saturated with water. The
black bars in column H indicate
zones where the hydrate is present.
Gray zones in the lithologic
column (L) indicate sandstones,
and black zones indicate shaley
sandstones. For comparison,
we show discrete saturation
values estimated from hydrate
dissociation modeling (triangles)
(from Carcione and Gei, 2004).
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 357 9/14/10 8:55:58 PM

acceptable. We obtain hydrate concentrations up to 75%, diapirism mainly observed at the west of Svalbard margin
average values of 37% and 21% from the VSP P- and (Brown, 1990).
S-wave velocities, respectively, and 60% and 57% from the The area to the north of the ridge has been surveyed
sonic-log P- and S-wave velocities, respectively. These av- by the R. V. Jan Mayen of the University of Tromsø during
erages are computed between 897 and 1110 m, excluding the summer of 2001. The study area lies between the Mol-
the zones where there is no gas hydrate. For comparison, loy transform and the Vestnesa ridge on the northern part
we show discrete saturation values estimated by Wright of the Knipovich ridge (Figure 9). Data acquisition con-
et al. (1999) from hydrate dissociation modeling (trian- sisted of single-channel high-resolution seismic and OBS
gles). Our results are lower than these saturation values but data. The distance between seismic lines is 200 m, and 20
are in good agreement with estimates obtained from Archie OBS are positioned on a regular grid, 400-m-spaced (off-
methods (Collet et al., 1999; Guerin and Goldberg, 2002). sets up to 5 km are obtained). The source consisted of two
sleeve guns (0.65 l per gun) towed at 4-m-depth below the
surface. The frequency range of the source is 30,450 Hz,
Norwegian-Svalbard continental margin with spectral notches at 180 and 360 Hz. The reflections
The Knipovich Ridge, located between the Greenland beneath the BSR are characterized by a polarity reversal,
and Svalbard margins, represents the extension of the mid- high amplitudes, and low-frequency content, which can be
Atlantic Ridge (Lundin and Dorè, 2002) (Figure 9). In attributed to the accumulation of free gas below the hydrate
this area, with a total organic content of nearly 1% (Butt zone. These features can be observed in Figure 10, which
et al., 2000), gas generation and flow is responsible for the shows (a) down-slope and (b) along-slope seismic profiles.
presence of methane gas hydrate and bottom-simulating These profiles are indicated by thick lines in the zoomed
reflectors (BSR) at a depth of nearly 100–200 m below area of Figure 9. The BSR, although discontinuous, is
sea bottom (Posewang and Mienert, 1999; Vanneste et al., clear in the down-slope profile between 2 and 2.4 s (nearly
2002). Moreover, the combination of overpressured gas 200-m-below the sea bottom) and cuts obliquely across the
and neotectonic activity is the probable cause of mud bedding reflectors. Moreover, the lower frequency response
Figure 9. Bathymetric map of the western Svalbard Figure 10. Seismic profiles 1 (a) and 2 (b) indicated in
margin and study area (Vanneste et al., 2002). The thick Figure 9. The BSR can be seen. The data have a lower
perpendicular lines correspond to the seismic profiles used frequency content below this reflection (from Carcione et al.,
in this work. Used by permission. 2005a). Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 358 9/14/10 8:56:01 PM

due to gas-charged beds is identifiable below the BSR in compacted marine sediments are interpreted as caused by
both seismic sections. the presence of gas hydrate (positive anomalies) and free
We have processed the OBS data by using traveltime gas (negative anomalies). As before, we consider the low
tomography and obtained a P-wave velocity cube (see frequency limit of the Biot-type three-phase, assuming that
Westbrook et al., 2005). In order to define the velocity grains, hydrate, and water move in phase.
changes above and below the BSR, and therefore to iden- The model needs calibration of the dry-rock bulk and
tify the presence of gas hydrates and free gas below them, rigidity modulus of the host sediment at full water satura-
a total number of 10 events were chosen (four above the tion. The nearest calibration point is the ODP well 986 (see
BSR and six below it). S waves generated by P-to–S con- location in Figure 9; Jansen et al., 1996). Four holes were
version on reflection are shown clearly on the records from drilled with a maximum penetration of 964 mbsf. The sedi-
the horizontal seismometers, so the corresponding horizons ments recovered are predominantly fine-grained to coarse-
were picked also on the horizontal components. Because of grained siliclastics with varying amounts of gravel. Unit II
the different raypaths, the volumes in which it is possible to (98–562 mbsf), where the BSR is located, is composed of
map the 3D seismic P and S velocities in depth are differ- silty clays with dropstone inclusions. The data indicate a
ent because the S information is limited to the S segments temperature gradient of 100°C/km (Vanneste et al., 2005),
of the PS converted waves: the resulting S-wave velocity which is used to obtain the bulk modulus and density of
cube coincides with the central core of the P-wave cube free gas (assumed to be pure methane) from the van der
(Rossi et al., 2005; Westbrook et al., 2005). We observe Waals equation (Gei and Carcione, 2003). Moreover, a
a positive P-wave velocity anomaly above the BSR and a sediment core 5.4-m-long has been collected from the sea
marked negative velocity anomaly below it, within an inter- bottom. XRD analyses on this core provide the following
val about 100–150-m-thick. The velocity values vary from information: clay content, 48%; calcite content, 11%; and
1470 to 1760 m/s above the BSR to 1560–1900 m/s below quartz content, 41%. Thus, we consider the solid grains be-
it. On the contrary, S-wave velocity increases with depth ing formed by a mixture of quartz, clay, and calcite and the
without marked increase or decrease above and below the bulk modulus of the solid material is equal to the average
BSR, although the rate of increase with depth is reduced in of the upper and lower Hashin-Shtrikman bounds (Hashin
the section immediately beneath the BSR. Two vertical sec- and Shtrikman, 1963). Table 3 shows the material proper-
tions of the P-wave velocity cube are shown in Figure 11. ties of the constituents.
They correspond to the central part of the seismic profiles The porosity value of 45% has been obtained from
shown in Figure 10. Figure 25 of Jansen et al. (1996).
The discrepancies between the tomographic veloc- Figure 12 compares the tomographic P-wave velocity
ity profile and the velocity for water-filled, normally (solid line), the reference velocity (dashed line, corresponding
Figure 11. Tomographic

P-wave velocity sections
corresponding to the seismic
lines shown in Figure 10 (from
Carcione et al., 2005a). Used
by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 359 9/14/10 8:56:03 PM

to full water saturation), and Hamilton’s reference velocity obtained hydrate concentrations up to 25% and an average
(dotted line; Hamilton, 1979) at the intersection between the value of 7.2%. The higher value and average value of free-
seismic profiles shown in Figure 9. The reference curve is gas concentration are 0.42% and 0.16%, respectively. The
obtained by tomographic inversion in an area near Svalbard, gas-hydrate content varies significantly across the section.
where there is no evidence of BSR. The agreement with The highest gas-hydrate concentration is obtained near the
Hamilton’s curve is good. The BSR is approximately lo- BSR. Gas-hydrate concentrations cannot be confirmed
cated at 1580-m-below the sea level, where the tomographic
P-wave velocity abruptly decreases. The reference veloc-
ity profile, assuming fully water-saturated sediments, is as-
sumed to be constant all over the survey area. Discrepancies
between the reference and the tomographic velocities are
related to the presence of hydrate and free gas in the pores
above and below the BSR, respectively.
The sections of gas-hydrate concentration (blue) and
free-gas saturation (red) are shown in Figure 13. We have
Table 3. Material properties of the sediments at the

Norwegian-Svalbard continental margin.
Grain Bulk modulus, Ks 29.8 GPa

Shear modulus, μs 18.0 GPa
Density, rs 2623 kg/m3
Gas hydrate Bulk modulus, Kh 7.7 GPa
Shear modulus, mh 3.2 GPa
Density, rh 910 kg/m3
Water Bulk modulus, Kw 2.24 GPa Figure 12. Tomographic velocity profiles (solid lines),
Density, rw 1030 kg/m3 reference velocity (dashed curve), and Hamilton velocity
profiles (dotted curve) (Hamilton, 1979) at the intersection
Free gas Bulk modulus, Kg 21 MPa
between the seismic profiles shown in Figure 9 (from
Density, rg 130 kg/m3 Carcione et al., 2005a). Used by permission.
Figure 13. Sections of gas-

hydrate concentration (blue)
and free-gas saturation (red)
corresponding to the velocity
sections shown in Figure 11.
The solid line indicates the sea
bottom (from Carcione et al.,
2005a). Used by permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 360 9/14/10 8:56:08 PM

Figure 14. Sections of P-wave quality factor. The solid line

indicates the sea bottom.
with direct measurements because there are no well data

of the survey area. However, comparable results have been
obtained in the Storegga area by using a different rock-
Figure 15. Vertical Q profiles extracted from the
physics model (Bünz and Mienert, 2004).
P-wave (blue) and S-wave (red) cubes, respectively.
The gas-saturation values are highly dependent on
the type of model used to obtain the velocity of the par-
tially saturated sediment. Figure 13 corresponds to Wood’s
model, that is, a uniform mixture of gas and water within 2003). However, there is a debate about whether the pres-
the pore space. If we use the patchy saturation model (Hill’s ence of gas hydrate increases or decreases seismic wave
model), the maximum free-gas saturation is nearly 9%. attenuation (see, e.g., Lee, 2006). The attenuation increase
The Q factors for P (QP) and S (QS) waves have been in gas-hydrates bearing sediments is supported mainly
calculated with the centroid frequency shift method, by us- by sonic waveforms analyses (e.g., Guerin and Goldberg,
ing the first arrivals to estimate the reference source spec- 2002, 2005; Matsushima, 2006) and laboratory experi-
trum. Figure 14 shows the QP section corresponding to ments (Priest et al., 2006), whereas VSP data analysis (e.g.,
Figure 11, whereas Figure 15 displays the vertical profiles Wood et al., 2000; Lee, 2006; Matsushima, 2006) or OBS
from the QP and QS cubes. data analysis as in this study, show opposite results. The
The QP shows a strong decrease below the BSR, in cor- discrepancy in the measurements may be explained or as a
respondence with the free gas, and relatively high values frequency dependence of attenuation in gas-hydrates-bear-
above BSR, where hydrates should be present. The QS does ing sediments (Matsushima, 2006) that would be in agree-
not show strong variations, showing low values where QP ment with the mechanism proposed by Chand and Minshull
is high, and increasing again in the low part of the profile. (2004) or as caused by the superposition of source coupling
The possibility of directly comparing VP, VS, QP, and effects in sonic waveform amplitude loss (Lee, 2006).
QS vertical and horizontal distributions is important to un-
derstand the mechanisms that rule the origin and migration
of free gas and of gas hydrates within the sediments. The Conclusions
good agreement between the QP and the VP variations is no-
ticeable with higher values in the gas-hydrate bearing zone Our theory to study the gas-hydrate problem is based
and low values in the free-gas-bearing sediments. Whereas on seismic waves. In addition to a rock physics model that
VP can be compared with the Hamilton’s reference veloci- is useful for petrophysical interpretation of wave veloci-
ties, there is no such a reference curve for QP because of ties obtained from well logs and surface seismic data, the
the absence of measurements out of the gas-hydrates sta- model provides the differential equation for computing
bility zone. synthetic seismograms in inhomogeneous media, from the
The Q P values that we obtained in this area are in seismic to the ultrasonic frequency bands, including the ef-
agreement with the data reported by Wood et al. (2000) fects of attenuation, partial saturation, and effective pres-
and with theories that hypothesize a cementation of the sure. The theory, which is based on first principles and is
rock frame in the presence of hydrates (Gei and Carcione, compatible with Biot/Gassmann theory, predicts additional
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 361 9/14/10 8:56:15 PM

(slow) modes that could be the cause of mesoscopic loss, In the absence of logs and VSP data, the 3D distribu-
that is, conversion of fast-wave energy to slow-diffusive tion of the seismic wave velocity is obtained by reflec-
modes. Unlike in Biot’s two-phase theory, the secondary tion tomography. It uses reflected P waves and converted
(slow) waves are propagation modes in the seismic range. PS waves. We have estimated the concentration of gas hy-
In particular, this occurs for high concentrations of gas hydrate and saturation of free gas at the western Svalbard
drate. Then, events caused by these waves may be present margin. We obtain hydrate concentrations up to 25% and
in the seismic records. free gas saturations up to 0.42% (Wood’s model) and 9%
The AVA analysis shows that grain cementation, simu- (Hill’s model). The prediction relies on the tomographic P-
lated with a percolation model, is important for high con- wave velocities and the calibration (evaluation of the dry-
centrations of ice (gas hydrate). Small quantities of gas in sediment bulk modulus) is based on the inverse Gassmann
the pore space cause a dramatic change in the amplitude equation at full water saturation and in situ pressure condi-
of the compressional wave. Increasing free-gas saturation tions. Finally, we have obtained the P-wave quality factor
causes an increase in the magnitude of the near-offset re- by attenuation tomography, indicating that the presence of
flection coefficient. However, for a given gas saturation, hydrates increases the quality factor in the seismic range,
it is difficult to evaluate the amount of gas hydrate at low compared to the case of full water saturation.
concentrations. For high concentrations, the AVA anomaly The observed values are comprised in the wide interval
is negative. The AVA anomaly is always positive when the reported in the literature for fine-grained sediments. How-
grains are not cemented. The curves show a strong posi- ever, without having at disposal direct measurements of at-
tive anomaly for high concentrations of gas hydrate when tenuation in hydrate-free sediments, we cannot definitely
the grains are uncemented. It is not possible to evaluate the conclude that the cementation of the grains due to the pres-
amount of free gas, but the amount of gas hydrate can be ence of gas hydrate decreases the attenuation, although this
determined from the AVA curves. The saturation of free appears to be the case in this study.
gas can be determined from the reflection amplitude but
not from the type of anomaly. The amount of gas hydrate
can be determined when the concentration is high. The P to Appendix
S reflection coefficient is a good indicator of high amounts
of free gas and gas hydrate. Conservation of momentum
We estimate the concentration of gas hydrate at the
Mallik 2L-38 research site using P- and S-wave veloci- The 3D equations of momentum conservation, deduced us-
ties. We obtain hydrate concentrations up to 75%, average ing Lagrange’s equations, can be expressed as
values of 37% and 21% from the VSP P-wave and S-wave
#
j 5 r 11v i 1 r 12v i 1 r 13v i 2 b 12 1 vi 2 vi 2
velocities, respectively, and 60% and 57% from the sonic- 11 2
s ij, 11 2 12 2 #
13 2 #
12 2 11 2
2 b13 1 vi132 2 vi112 2 ,

log P-wave and S-wave velocities, respectively. These av-
erages are computed from 897 to 1110 m, excluding the
j 5 r12v i 1 r22v i 1 r23v i 1 b12 1 vi 2 vi 2

zones where there is no gas hydrate. The above averages 122 112# 122 #
132 122 #112
are similar to estimations obtained from hydrate dissocia- sij,
tion modeling and Archie methods. 1 b23 1 vi122 2 vi132 2 , (A-1)
Figure A-1. Three-

dimensional plots of the
(a) P-wave velocity and (b)
dissipation factor versus
effective pressure and water
saturation. The gas-hydrate
fraction is 0.3, and the
frequency is 30 Hz (from Gei
and Carcione, 2003). Used by
permission.
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 362 9/14/10 8:56:21 PM

Figure A-2. Three-

dimensional plots of (a)
the P-wave velocity and (b)
dissipation factor versus water
saturation and frequency. The
gas-hydrate fraction is 0.3, and
the differential pressure is 0.6
MPa (from Gei and Carcione,
Figure A-3. Three-

dimensional plots of
(a) the S-wave velocity and
(b) dissipation factor versus
water saturation and frequency.
The gas-hydrate fraction is 0.3,
and the differential pressure
is 0.6 MPa (from Gei and
Carcione, 2003).
j 5 r13v i 1 r23v i 1 r33v i 2 b23 1 vi 2 vi 2

132 #
112 122 # 132 122# 132 where ks0 and kh0 are reference values.
sij,
1 b13 1 vi132 2 vi112 2 ,
The introduction of high-frequency viscodynamic ef-
fects implies
(Leclaire et al., 1994), where subscripts i, j 5 1, 2, and 3 hff2f
represent the x, y, and z spatial variables, the ss are macro- bjj 5 c d Fj 1 v 2 , j 5 1, 3, (A-4)
kj
scopic stress components, the vs are macroscopic particle
velocities (per unit volume of porous material), the rs are
where F1 and F3 are viscodynamic functions correspond-
density coefficients, and the bs are friction coefficients.
ing to the interaction between the rock frame and gas-hy-
The superscripts (1), (2), and (3) refer to solid grain, fluids,
drate matrix with the fluids, and k1 5 ks and k3 5 kh (Biot,
and ice, respectively. A dot above a variable denotes time
1962). Johnson et al. (1987) obtained an expression for the
differentiation and spatial derivatives with respect to a vari-
viscodynamic function, which provides a good descrip-
able xi is indicated by the subscript i.
tion of both the magnitude and phase of the exact dynamic
The friction coefficients are
tortuosity of large networks formed from a distribution of
b12 5 hf ff2 /ks, (A-2) random radii (see also Carcione, 2007). The viscodynamic
b23 5 hf ff /kh,2 functions can be expressed as
Fj 1 v 2 5
where hf and ff are the viscosity and proportion of the fluid 4iTj2kj h f ff
Å 2 , xj 5 vk r , j 5 1, 3,
phase, and ks and kh are the rock- and ice-frame perme- 12 (A-5)
xjLj ff j f
abilities given by
ks 5 ks0 ff3 1 1 2 fs 2 3,
where Lj is a geometrical parameter, with 2/Lj being the
(A-3)
surface-to-pore volume ratio of the pore-solid interface. T1
kh 5 kh 0 3 1 1 2 fs 2 /fi 4 2 1 ff /fs 2 3, and T3 represent the tortuosity of the fluid flowing through
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 363 9/14/10 8:56:24 PM

a13 5 a br 1 1, a31 5 a br 1 1, (A-10)

the rock frame and the tortuosity of the fluid flowing fsrs fs rs
through the gas-hydrate matrix, respectively, v is the an- fs rs 13 fh rh 31
gular frequency and rf is the density of the fluid phase. The
following relation between Tj, kj, and Lj can be used: where
jjTj kj /ff L2j 5 1, (A-6) fh r h 1 f s r s
rs 5 . (A-11)
where jj describes the shape of the pore network; jj 5 12 fh 1 fs
for a set of canted slabs of fluid, and jj 5 8 for a set of
nonintersecting canted tubes. Equation A-10 should be used with caution, and it is con-
The friction terms in equation A-1 have the opposite venient in most of the cases to use a13 and a31 as free pa-
sign of those given in Leclaire et al. (1994); otherwise, rameters, as well as the friction coefficient b13 between the
the equations are physically unstable (wave amplitude in- sand grains and the ice.
creases with time). The signs here coincide with those of The relative displacement of the fluid relative to the
Biot’s differential equations (Biot, 1962; Carcione, 2007) rock and ice frames (taken as a composite) is
in the limit of full water saturation.
The components of the density matrix are w i 5 f f 3 ui12 2 2 1 1 2 I 2 ui11 2 2 Iui13 2, (A-12)
r11 5 fs rs a13 1 1 a21 2 1 2 ff rf 1 1 a31 2 1 2 fh rh, where the us denote the macroscopic displacements
r12 5 2 1 a21 2 1 2 ff rf, 1 v 5 u# 2 , ff is the fluid phase proportion, and I is the ice
content. Substituting equation A-12 into equation A-1, we
r13 5 2 1 a13 2 1 2 fsrs 2 1 a31 2 1 2 fh rh, (A-7) obtain for the solid phases:
r22 5 1 a21 1 a23 2 1 2 ff rf,
j 5 3 r 11 1 1 1 2 I 2 r 12 4 v i 1 1 r 13 1 Ir 12 2 v i
11 2 # 11 2 # 13 2
r23 5 2 1 a23 2 1 2 ff rf,
s ij,
1 1 r12 /f f 2 w i 1 1 b13 1 Ib12 2 1 vi11 2 2 vi13 2 2
$
r33 5 fh rh a31 1 1 a23 2 1 2 ff rf 1 1 a13 2 1 2 fs rs,
2 1 b12 /ff 2 wi,
# (A-13)
where rs, rh, and rf are the density of the sand grains, ice,
and the fluid phase, respectively. The expressions for the and
j 5 3 r 13 1 1 1 2 I 2 r 23 4 v i 1 1 r 33 1 Ir 23 2 v i
density components include the interaction between the 13 2
s ij,
# 11 2 # 13 2
grains and the ice, assuming that the grains flow through
1 1 r23 /f f 2 w i 1 1 b13 1 Ib23 2 1 vi11 2 2 vi13 2 2
the ice matrix (described by the tortuosity a13) and the ice $
flows through the rock-frame (described by a31). As is well 2 1 b23 /ff 2 w# i. (A-14)
known, the tortuosity is related to the difference between
the microvelocity and macrovelocity fields. If they are The second equation A-1 can be rewritten as
similar (i.e., for relatively rigid materials like solids), the
tortuosities equal one and the contributions vanish. How- hf hf
ever, we assume that these terms contribute to the kinetic 2pf, i 5 rw1v# 1i12 1 rw3v# i132 1 cw$ i 1 a bw# 1i12 1 a bw# i132.
ks ki
energy when the solid and ice matrices are unconsolidated
or relatively unconsolidated, for which the tortuosities are (A-15)
greater than one. As in Biot theory, we neglect the contribu-
tions caused by the interaction between the solid and fluid Alternatively, equation A-15 can be expressed as
2pf, i 5 rw1v# i112 1 rw3v# i132 1 cw$ i

phases (related to the tortuosity a12 and a32).
We express the tortuosities as (Leclaire et al., 1994):
1 a b cw# i 1 ff aI 2 b 1 vi132 2 vi112 2 d .

hf k
(A-16)
a21 5 a br21 1 1, a23 5 a br 1 1,
fs r fs rr k ki
(A-8)
ff r f ff rf 23
where pf is the fluid pressure, satisfying
where
f f r f 1 fh r h ff r f 1 fs r s s122 5 2ff pf , (A-17)
rw1 5 rf 3 I 1 1 2 a21 2 1 a23 1 1 2 I 2 4 ,
r5 , rr 5 , (A-9)
ff 1 fh ff 1 fs
and r21 and r23 characterize the geometrical features of the rw3 5 rf 2 rw1,
pores, 1/2 for spheres (see Berryman, [1980]). By analogy,
we consider that c 5 rf 1 a21 1 a23 2 1 2 /fw, (A-18)
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 364 9/14/10 8:56:31 PM

and is the average bulk modulus and Ks, Kh, and Kf are the bulk
ks kh moduli of the solid grains, of the hydrate, and of the fluid
k5 (A-19) phase, respectively. The consolidation coefficients of the
ks 1 kh rock and ice frames are
is the effective permeability.
Defining the total stress as c1 5 Ksm /fs Ks, (A-26)
c3 5 Khm /fhKh,
sij 5 sij112 1 sij132 2 ff pf dij, (A-20)
where fs, fh are the proportions of the sand grains and ice,
respectively, Ksm is the bulk modulus of the rock frame,
its divergence can be obtained by using equations A-13,
and
A-14, A-16, and A-17. It gives
Khm 5 Kmax 3 fh / 1 1 2 fs 2 4 3.8 (A-27)
sij, j 5 1 1 2 I 2 3 1 1 2 ff 2 rs 1 rf ff 4 v# i112
1 I 3 1 1 2 ff 2 rh 1 rf ff 4 v i132 1 rf wi.
# $
(A-21)
is the bulk modulus of the ice frame, where Kmax is Kuster–
Toksöz’s bulk modulus of the ice matrix.
The diagonal coupling moduli are
In the case that the two frames move in phase and their
properties are similar, we have vi132 5 v i112, and equations K1 5 3 1 1 2 c1 2 fs 4 2Kav 1 Ksm,
A-16 and A-21 reduce to the equations of motion of the
K2 5 f2f Kav, (A-28)
two-phase case.
K3 5 3 1 1 2 c3 2 fh 4 2Kav 1 Khm.
Stress-strain relations The components of the rigidity matrix are

The 3D stress-strain relations for constant porosity are m11 5 3 1 1 2 g1 2 fs 4 2mav 1 msm,
given by
m13 5 1 1 2 g1 2 1 1 2 g3 2 fsfhmav, (A-29)
sij112 5 1 K1u 1 1 C12u 2 1 C13u 3 2 dij 1 2m1dij112 1 m13dij132,
m33 5 3 1 1 2 g3 2 fh 4 2mav 1 mhm,
122
s 5 C12u 1 1 K2u 2 1 C23u 3, (A-22)
sij132 5 1 K3u 3 1 C23u 2 1 C13u 1 2 dij 1 2m3d ij132 1 m13d ij112,
where
msm 5 3 msmKT 2 msm0 4 3 fh / 1 1 2 fs 2 4 3.8 1 msm0, (A-30)

where
u m 5 eii1m2,
(Arbabi and Sahimi, 1988) is the shear modulus of the rock
frame, μsmKT is the Kuster–Toksöz shear modulus of the
dij1m2 5 eij1m2 2 dij u m,
1
(A-23) rock frame, μsm0 is the shear modulus of the rock frame at
3 full water saturation,
eii 5 1 ui, j 1 uj,1mi2 2 , m 5 1, 3
1m 2 1 1m 2
2 mhm 5 mmax 3 fh / 1 1 2 fs 2 4 3.8 (A-31)
are the dilatations, deviatoric components of strain and
strain components, respectively (implicit summation over is the shear modulus of the ice frame, μ max is Kuster–
the repeated index i is assumed), and dij represents Kro- Toksöz’s shear modulus of the ice frame, and
necker’s delta.
The off-diagonal coupling moduli are mav 5 3 1 1 2 g1 2 fs /ms 1 ff /ivhf 1 1 1 2 g3 2 fh /mh 4 21
C12 5 1 1 2 c1 2 fsff Kav,

(A-32)
C13 5 1 1 2 c1 2 1 1 2 c3 2 fsfhKav, (A-24) is the average shear modulus with v being the angular fre-
quency, and μs and μh being the shear moduli of the sand
C23 5 1 1 2 c3 2 fhff Kav, grains and ice, respectively.
The consolidation coefficients of the rock and ice
where frames are
Kav 5 31 1 2 c1 2 fs /Ks 1 ff /Kf 1 1 1 2 c3 2 fh /Kh 4 21 g1 5 msm /fsms, (A-33)

(A-25) g3 5 mhm /fhmh.
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 365 9/14/10 8:56:34 PM

We introduce the variation of fluid content as the diver- The modulus K G is a generalization of the Gassmann
gence of the relative displacement vector defined in equa- (low-frequency) modulus of the classical Biot theory.
tion A-12: Equations A-13, A-14, A-16, and A-20 constitute the
equations of motion of the three-phase porous medium
z 5 2div w 5 2 5 ff 3 ui122 2 1 1 2 I 2 ui112 2 Iui132 4 6,i, valid for variable porosity because they are expressed in
(A-34) terms of the stress components of the solid phases, fluid
pressure, and variation of fluid content. A justification
which, for constant porosity, becomes that these are the correct generalized coordinates, based
on the complementary energy theorem is given in Car-
z 5 2ff 3 u 2 2 1 1 2 I 2 u 1 2 Iu 3 4 .
cione et al. (2003).
(A-35)
Substituting f2 by 1 1 2 I 2 u 1 1 Iu 3 2 z/ff into equations Seismic velocities

A-22 yields
The theory developed by Leclaire et al. (1994) explic-
sij112 5 3 1 KG1 2 a1M 1 1 2 I 2 ff 2 u 1 1 M 1 a1 2 1 1 2 I 2 ff 2 itly takes into account the presence of three phases. The
1 a3u 3 2 z 24 dij 1 2m11dij112 1 m13d ij132,

theory predicts three compressional waves and two shear
waves and can be applied to unconsolidated and consoli-
pf 5 M 1 z 2 a1u 1 2 a3u 3 2 ,
dated media. The three compressional velocities of the
(A-36) three-phase frozen porous medium are given by
sij132 5 3 1 KG3 2 a3MIff 2 u 3 1 M 1 a3 2 Iff 2 vpi 5 3 Re 1 "Li 2 4 21, i 5 1, 2, 3, (A-41)

3 1 a1u 1 2 z 2 4 dij 1 2m 33dij13 2 1 m 13d ij11 2,
where Re denotes the real part and Li are obtained from the
following characteristic equation:
where
AL3 2 3 r11B 1 r22C 1 r33D 2 2E 1 2F 4 L2
KG1 5 Ksm 1 a12M,
KG3 5 Khm 1 a23 M, 1 3 bR11 1 cR22 1 dR33 2 2e 1 2f 4 L 2 a 5 0. (A-42)
M 5 K2 /f2f 5 Kav, (A-37)
The velocities of the two shear waves are given by
a1 5 1 2 Ksm /Ks 2 I,
vSi 5 3 Re 1 "Vi 2 4 21, i 5 1, 2,
a3 5 1 2 Khm /Kh 2 1 1 2 I 2 .
(A-43)
where Ωi are obtained from the second-order equation

The total stress (A-20) is then given by
V2r22 1 m11m33 2 m13 2 2 V 1 m11b 1 m33d 2 2m13r13r22
sij 5 3 1 KG1 1 a1a3M 2 u 1 1 1 KG3 1 a1a3M 2 u 3
1 2m13r12r23 2 1 a 5 0. (A-44)
2 M 1 a1 1 a3 2 z 4 dij 1 1 2m11 1 m13 2 dij132 1 1 2m33 1 m13 2 dij112.
(A-38) The coefficients in equations A-42 and A-44 are
A 5 R11R22 R33 2 R223 R11 2 R212R33 2 R213 R22
The analogy between these equations and those correspond- 1 2R12 R23R13,
ing to a two-phase porous medium is evident. Equation 2
A-36 and equation A-38 correspond to similar equations in B 5 R22R33 2 R23 ,
Carcione (2007), the KGm, m 5 1 and 3 are analogous to C 5 R11R33 2 R213,
the Gassmann’s modulus, and the am are analogous to the
D 5 R11R22 2 R212,
effective stress coefficients predicted by Biot theory.
If we consider the isostrain state, u1 5 u2 5 u3 and z 5 E 5 R11R23 r23 1 R33 R12 r12 1 R22 R13 r13,
0 we have the conditions of a closed system. In this case, F 5 R12R13 r23 1 R23R12 r13 1 R23R13r12,
the bulk modulus is
a 5 r11r22 r33 2 r223 r11 2 r212 r33 2 r213r22,
KG 5 Ksm 1 Khm 1 a2M, (A-39) b 5 r22r33 2 r223, (A-45)
where c 5 r11r33 2 r213,

a 5 a1 1 a3 5 1 2 Ksm /Ks 2 Khm /Kh. (A-40) d 5 r11r22 2 r212,
02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 366 9/14/10 8:56:37 PM

e 5 r11r23R23 1 r33r12R12 1 r13r22R13, where
K sm 1 z, p 2
f 5 r12 r13 R23 1 r23r12 R13 1 r13r23 R12,
K sm 1 z 2
4 QK 5 Q 0, (A-48)
R11 5 K1 1 m11,
3
R12 5 C12, where Q0 is the loss parameter of the frame, and Ksm(z) is
R22 5 f2f Kav, the bulk modulus at full water saturation and hydrostatic
pore pressure. The corresponding Q factors for the shear
2 modulus are given by
R23 5 C13 1 m13,
msm 1 z, p 2
3
msm 1 z 2 K
4 Qm 5 Q , (A-49)
R33 5 K3 1 m33,
3
and
r ij are the components of the density matrix (equation
A-7), ci and gi are the consolidation coefficients given by msm S msm M 1 v, Qm 2 . (A-50)
equations A-26 and A-33, respectively. Moreover, μij are
the rigidity matrix components (equations A-29), Ci are Equation A-49 implies that the lower the modulus the
the off-diagonal coupling moduli (equations A-24), K i higher the attenuation. Equations A-48 and A-49 should
are the diagonal coupling moduli (equations A-28), Kav is be considered with caution because for unconsolidated
the average bulk modulus (equation A-25), and f f is the sediments (suspensions), the bulk and shear moduli of
fluid proportion. the frame are zero. In this case, the attenuation can be de-
Leclaire et al. (1994) also provide a thermodynamic scribed by the theory of sound absorption in suspensions
relation between the water proportion and temperature. (e.g., McCann, 1969; Urick, 1948).
On the other hand, Santos et al. (1990a,b) presented a The theory we consider implies that attenuation de-
theory describing wave propagation in a porous medium creases with increasing hydrate concentration. In fact, the
saturated with a mixture of two immiscible, viscous, inclusion of a medium stiffer than water (hydrate) and
compressible fluids. We use this theory for calculating the grain cementation with increasing hydrate content makes
wave velocities of sediments partially saturated with gas the porous medium more cohesive and attenuation should
and water. decrease.
There are, however, other theories that predict an in-
crease of attenuation in presence of gas hydrates (Chand
Attenuation and Minshull, 2004; Dvorkin and Uden, 2004; Guerin and
Goldberg, 2005) based on squirt-flow effects or grain-
Constant-Q models provide a simple parameterization hydrates viscous friction.
of seismic attenuation in rocks in oil exploration and in
seismology. By reducing the number of parameters, they
allow an improvement of seismic inversion.
Moreover, there is physical evidence that attenuation References
is almost linear with frequency (therefore, Q is constant)
in many frequency bands. Bland (1960) and Kjartansson Arbabi, S., and M. Sahimi, 1988, Elastic properties of
(1979) discuss a linear attenuation model with the required three-dimensional percolation networks with stretch-
characteristics, but the idea is much older (Scott-Blair, ing and bond-bending forces: Physical Review B:
1949). The attenuation kernel corresponding to a constant Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, 38, no. 10,
Q over all frequencies is 7173–7176, doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.38.7173.
Berryman, J. G., 1980, Confirmation of Biot’s theory:
Applied Physics Letters, 37, no. 4, 382–384, doi:
M 1 v, Q 2 5 a b, l 5 tan21 a b, (A-46)
iv 1 1 10.1063/1.91951.
v0 p Q Biot, M. A., 1956, Theory of propagation of elastic waves
in a fluid-saturated porous solid, I: Low-frequency
where v0 is a reference frequency. Attenuation is described range: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Amer-
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shear frame moduli. Then,
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02181_SEG_GH_C25.indd 372 9/14/10 8:56:43 PM

Chapter 26
The Impact of Hydrate Saturation on the Mechanical, Electrical,

and Thermal Properties of Hydrate-bearing Sand, Silts, and Clay
J. Carlos Santamarina1 and Carolyn Ruppel2
Abstract upper and lower bounds. When hydrate forms from dis-
solved phase guest molecules, the resulting mathematical
Proper understanding of the physical properties of trends for all physical properties require that the hydrate
hydrate-bearing sediments is required for interpretation saturation Sh in pore space, which is a quantity between 0
of borehole logs and exploration geophysical data, the # Sh # 1.0, be raised to a power greater than 1. This sig-
analysis of borehole and submarine slope stability, and the nificantly reduces the impact of low-hydrate saturations on
formulation of reservoir simulation and production mod- the measured physical parameters, an effect that is particu-
els. Yet current knowledge of geophysical and geotechni- larly pronounced at the hydrate saturations characteristic of
cal properties of hydrate-bearing sediments is still largely many natural systems (,0.2 of pore space).
derived from laboratory experiments conducted on dispa-
rate soils at different confining pressures, degrees of water
saturation, and hydrate concentrations and with hydrates Introduction
formed by methods unlike those that predominate in na-
ture. We conducted a comprehensive laboratory program Numerous published studies report on laboratory mea-
using sand, silts, and clay subjected to various confining surements of the geophysical and geotechnical properties
effective stress levels in standardized geotechnical labo- of hydrate-bearing sediments, but fundamental challenges
ratory devices and containing carefully controlled satura- remain in using this information to interpret borehole logs
tions of tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate formed from the or other field data obtained in provinces with known hy-
dissolved phase. Here, we undertake complete analysis drate occurrences. Some of the difficulties with these
of the trends in the measured geophysical and geotechni- studies include the small subset of physical properties mea-
cal properties (e.g., seismic velocities, strength, electrical sured, a limited range of tested sediment types, adoption of
conductivity and permittivity, and thermal conductivity) as a nonrepresentative state of effective stress, and the use of
a function of hydrate saturation, soil characteristics, and ef- a variety of hydrate formation techniques that bias the lo-
fective stress. Results reveal that the electrical properties cus of hydrate nucleation and growth. The thermodynamic
of hydrate-bearing sediments are not very sensitive to the conditions required to maintain hydrate-bearing sediments
laboratory method used to form hydrate, which controls within the stability field have also complicated laboratory
the pore-scale arrangement of hydrate and sediment grains, experiments, leading to the construction of specialized de-
but are sensitive to hydrate saturation. Mechanical proper- vices that are difficult to reproduce. This also reduces the
ties are strongly influenced by both soil properties and the possibility of replicating experiments under the same set of
hydrate formation method. Thermal conductivity depends experimental conditions.
on the complex interplay of a variety of factors, including Starting in 2002, we undertook an exhaustive series of
formation history, and cannot be easily predicted by vol- laboratory measurements to determine the large-strain and
ume average formulations but will remain within physical small-strain mechanical properties, thermal properties, and
electrical/electromagnetic properties of hydrate-bearing
1
soils using standardized geotechnical devices and test pro-
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Downloaded 25 Jun Georgia,Redistribution
2012 to 95.28.162.50. Institute ofsubject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
tocols (Table 1). With sponsorship from the Chevron Joint
Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. E-mail: carlos@ce.gatech.edu
2
U. S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. E-mail: Industry Project (JIP) on Methane Hydrates through the
cruppel@usgs.gov U.S. Department of Energy, we conducted experiments on
373
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 373 9/21/10 7:06:31 PM

Table 1. Hydrate saturations (Sh) and effective stress states for the parameters directly measured (see nomenclature) in the
laboratory experiments using a triaxial device (T), oedometer cell (O), and high pressure cell (C). This matrix of tests was run
for the sand, precipitated silt, and kaolinite sediments. For crushed silt, we ran the tests only with Sh 5 0 and Sh 5 1.
Effective
Stress s9z vs. E50 Su s9z vs. DV VP VS s K
Sh (MPa) ez (MPa) (MPa) ez Cc (m3) Cex (m/s) (m/s) (S/m) k9 (Wm21K21)
0.01 T T T O O O O O O, C O O O
0
2.00 O C O
0.5
2.00 O C O
1.0
2.00 O C O
soils with a range of grain sizes subject to effective stress up The original version of this work was presented at
to 2 MPa and with well-controlled saturations of synthetic the 6th International Conference on Gas Hydrates and is
hydrate (Santamarina et al., 2004; Ruppel et al., 2008). The available only on limited-distribution CD-ROM (Santa-
goal of this research was to provide an internally consis- marina and Ruppel, 2008). Here, we adopt much of the
tent, systematically acquired data set that could assist in same text but correct errors, include additional references,
reservoir assessment, geomechanical analyses, hazards update mathematical relationships and discussions of the
evaluation (e.g., borehole stability models of Birchwood et results to reflect modifications since 2008, and explicitly
al., 2007), and development of production methodologies. consider the application of laboratory data to interpret
For our laboratory studies, we used both sandy and fine- field results.
grained sediments to cover the full range of sediments that
were anticipated to be encountered during drilling of the
northern Gulf of Mexico gas hydrate province by the DOE/ Methods
Chevron JIP (Ruppel et al., 2008; Hutchinson et al., 2008;
Jones et al., 2008). The suite of experiments we conducted on hydrate-
In this paper, we first describe the methodology and bearing sediments was designed to satisfy three basic
approach for the laboratory experiments. We then pres- criteria. First, in light of the grain-size dependent behav-
ent an overview of the results, emphasizing general trends ior and properties of soils, we sought to test a range of
that can be extracted from the data based on a basic un- soils comparable to those that might be encountered in
derstanding of the dependence of various physical proper- natural hydrate-bearing systems. Second, we used a well-
ties on hydrate saturation, grain size/specific surface, and instrumented, but otherwise standard, set of geotechnical
effective stress, among other factors. Detailed compari- laboratory devices whose characteristics are well under-
sons with data obtained by other laboratories are provided stood. Third, we focused on forming hydrate from dis-
in the papers and theses produced by our group and cited solved phase, as is probably most common within the
herein (Martin, 2005; Yun et al., 2005; Lee, 2007; Lee hydrate stability zone in marine settings (e.g., Buffett and
et al., 2007; Yun et al., 2007; Cortes et al., 2009; Lee et al., Zatsepina, 2000). This focus led us to adopt a hydrate for-
2010a, c; Lee et al., 2010b). The recent compendium by Waite mer (THF) and a laboratory protocol that permitted close
et al. (2009) of availableDownloaded
physical25properties
data from labora- control of hydrate saturations and reasonable confidence
tory and field studies of hydrate-bearing sediments comple- that the hydrate was well-distributed within the resulting
ments this manuscript. samples.
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 374 9/21/10 7:06:31 PM

Chapter 26: The Impact of Hydrate Saturation on the Mechanical, Electrical, and Thermal Properties 375
Soils
a) Sand b) Precip. Silt
Figure 1 shows photomicrographs of the four soils
(sand, crushed silt, precipitated silt, and kaolinite) that
we tested. The soils were selected to cover the range of
grain size, specific surface, and mineralogy for litholo-
gies present in natural hydrate-bearing systems. The char-
acteristics of these soils are summarized in Table 2. The
100 μm 0.2 μm
D50 value (see Appendix A for meaning of all variables)
ranges from 1.1 μm (kaolinite) to 120 μm (sand). The
corresponding range in specific surface is 0.019 m2g21
(sand) to 120 m2g21 (precipitated silt). c) Crushed silt d) Clay
Despite the same D 50 values for precipitated and
crushed silt, the specific surface of precipitated silt is
three orders of magnitude greater than that of crushed silt.
Similar to diatoms, which have been associated with local-
ized concentrations of hydrate within fine-grained sedi-
ments (e.g., Kraemer et al., 2000), precipitated silt is a dual
10 μm 1 μm
porosity medium having internal porosity. The dual po-
rosity characteristic alters the pore-scale properties of the
samples formed from precipitated silt.
Figure 1. Photomicrographs of the four soil types used for
Considering grain and pore size differences, many of
experiments. Soil characteristics are summarized in Table 2
the physical properties we describe in this paper are ex- and in Yun et al. (2007).
pected to reveal an ordering of clay-silt-sand. As will be
shown below, the properties we measure are in some cases
more strongly dependent on specific surface, and thus the Table 2. Properties of soils used for preparing hydrate-
properties of the specimens containing precipitated silt do bearing specimens.
not always follow grain-size ordering. Therefore, fitting
global trends to the data we acquired on precipitated silt Specific
Specific
specimens has sometimes proved difficult. Yet this type of Soil D50 (mm) surface
gravity
soil merits inclusion in the analysis and further future study (m2g21)
owing to the common occurrence of dual porosity materi- Sand (F110) 120 2.65 0.019
als in natural sediments. Precipitated silt
20 2.2 120
(Silica zeofree 5161)
Crushed silt
20 2.65 0.113
Hydrate formation and hydrate former (Sil Co Sil 106)
Kaolinite (SA1) 1.1 2.6 36
As noted above, numerous published studies on the
laboratory physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments
have produced results that are sometimes difficult to compare
with the properties measured by or inferred from real field 2005) or from unsaturated conditions (e.g., Winters et al.,
data. A key problem is the role that the experimental method 2005) — a priori control in which the hydrate will nucle-
for hydrate formation in the laboratory plays in controlling ate in porous samples and therefore systematically bias
the resulting physical properties. As mentioned in a previous some physical parameters, particularly mechanical proper-
section, most methane hydrate in marine settings probably ties (Yun et al., 2005; Lee, 2007; Yun et al., 2007; Cortes
forms from methane in the dissolved phase. Yet laboratory et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2010a; Lee et al., 2010b).
techniques that efficiently and consistently produce meth- Figure 2 provides an illustrative example of the impact
ane hydrate in porous samples at controllable saturations are of laboratory hydrate formation techniques on measured
still in their infancy (Spangenberg et al., 2005; Spangenberg shear -and compressional-wave velocities of hydrate-bearing
and Kulenkampff, 2006; Stern et al., 1996) and cannot be sediments. Although differences among the soil types and
routinely applied for the measurement of suites of physi- other parameters in these experiments render exact com-
cal properties for a range of fine-grained
Downloaded to coarse-grained
25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject toparison
SEG licenseof resultsTerms
or copyright; difficult, the trends in Figure 2 show that
hydrate-bearing soils. Other methods of forming methane hydrate formed from unsaturated conditions (including
hydrate — from ice seeds (Stern et al., 1996; Priest et al., the ice–seed method) increases skeletal stiffness at lower
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 375 9/21/10 7:06:31 PM

a) We used THF as the hydrate former for this study. Lee

5000 et al. (2007) provide an exhaustive discussion of the na-
ture of the THF molecule relative to methane and review
experimental issues associated with use of THF for hy-
P-wave velocity (m/s)
4000
drate studies. A major conclusion of that paper is that THF,
a structure II hydrate former, is an appropriate proxy for
3000
methane hydrate, a structure I former, particularly for ex-
Dissolved (THF) periments measuring the mechanical properties of hydrate-
2000 bearing sediments. The main advantage of using THF over
methane is its complete miscibility with water. This makes
1000 it possible to form THF hydrate from the dissolved phase
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 and to control the final saturation of hydrate (Sh) in the
b) sample through the choice of the appropriate initial water-
THF combination used to saturate the soil.
2000 For our experiments, end-member hydrate saturations
S-wave velocity (m/s)
were attained using water alone (Sh 5 0) or the appropriate

1500 Ice seed stoichiometric solution of 81% water combined with 19%
THF by mass for Sh 5 1 (100% of pore space). For the case
1000 of Sh 5 0.5 (50% of pore space), we used excess water (9%
THF and 91% water initial solution) for some properties
Dissolved (THF) and excess THF (57% THF and 43% water initial solution)
500
for others. Excess THF is preferred to avoid ice formation,
a problem in excess water experiments. However, excess
0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 water must be used for the appropriate measurement of
Sh
electrical properties in hydrate-bearing sediments. Further
discussion of stoichiometric mixtures with respect to the
Figure 2. Comparison of (a) P-wave and (b) S-wave THF hydrate phase diagram and of the challenges associ-
velocities measured on hydrate-bearing sands as a function of ated with using THF (e.g., overcoming problems related
Sh for different methods of forming hydrate in the laboratory. to evaporation) can be found in Lee et al. (2007) and Yun
Black triangles denote data for THF hydrate formed et al. (2007).
from dissolved phase (Yun et al., 2005). Gray squares are
measurements by Spangenberg and Kuhlenkampff (2005)
for hydrate formation from dissolved phase methane. The
ice seed results are from Priest et al. (2005) and are shown Laboratory cells and test devices
as black squares. Unsaturated data, shown in gray triangles,
The porosity, skeletal stiffness, strength, and dilative
were reported by Winters et al. (2005). Different sands were
tendency of sediments are controlled by the state of ef-
used for each experiment, and other experimental conditions
fective stress. Therefore, sediments for our laboratory ex-
also varied. Yun et al. (2005) discuss the morphology of these
curves with respect to pore filling verses cementation modes
periments are confined in cells (Figure 3) that allow the
of hydrate formation, and Lee (2007) and Lee et al. (2010b) application of effective stresses. Two boundary conditions
provide greater detail about the role of hydrate formation are simulated. (1) A zero-lateral strain loading condition
method on measured VP and VS. is used to study thermal properties, sediment stiffness on
loading, volume change during dissociation, and electro-
magnetic and elastic wave propagation. We use two oe-
hydrate saturations, which reflects preferential hydrate for- dometers for this work, shown in Figure 3a and b. For the
mation at menisci between grains and early cementation of first, the steady state fluid pressure is atmospheric pres-
grains. Hydrate formed from the dissolved phase does not sure; the other has been adapted to allow us to control fluid
increase skeletal stiffness significantly until hydrate satura- pressure up to 20 MPa. During loading, the state of effec-
tion exceeds ~0.4 (e.g., Berge et al., 1999; Yun et al., 2005: tive stress in the specimen is the applied vertical stress srz ,
Yun et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2010b). Despite the difficulty of and the ensuing effective horizontal stress is sxr 5 k0 szr,
drawing an exact comparison among the different experi- where k0 is the effective stress ratio at rest. Hydrate is
ments compared in Figure 2, the general trends highlighted formed after reaching the desired vertical effective stress,
there underscore the need to carefully consider the forma- which corresponds to the point at which any excess pore
tion history in the interpretation of properties gathered for pressure caused by loading has dissipated. (2) The triaxial
synthetic hydrate-bearing sediments. test configuration (Figure 3c) is used for the determination
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 376 9/21/10 7:06:33 PM

of Coulomb strength pa- a) b) c)

rameters. The cylindrical
specimen is held in a latex
membrane between two
metal end caps. The test
starts with the application of
the desired isotropic effec-
tive stress sr0 , and hydrate
is formed at this point. The
deviatoric load sdr is then
applied on the hydrate-bear-
ing sediment until failure is
reached.
Figure 3. Devices used to measure the physical properties of specimens in which

THF hydrates were formed. (a) Low pressure oedometer used for thermal conductivity,
Results and shear-wave velocity, electrical conductivity, electrical permittivity, and volume change
measurements; (b) High pressure oedometer used for measurement of compressional and
Interpretations shear-wave velocity and volume change measurements; and (c) Triaxial chamber used for
F i g u r e 4 s h ow s ex - strength and moduli determinations.
ample data for the small-
strain mechanical (shear-
and compressional-wave velocities), large-strain me- applicable to predicting or evaluating the physical proper-
chanical (undrained shear strength), electrical properties ties of saturated soils containing gas hydrate formed from
(permittivity and conductivity), and thermal conductiv- dissolved phase. An additional note of caution applies to
ity measurements acquired during this series of experi- soils having low-hydrate saturations (,40% of available
ments. The figure shows only the results for sand and pore space or Sh , 0.4). We tested only three hydrate satu-
clay specimens over a range of effective stress states rations (Sh 5 0.0, 0.5, 1.0). Thus, saturations less than 0.5,
and for Sh of 0%, 100%, and, in some cases, 50%. The which are probably the most relevant in natural settings,
original data and analyses are reported in Santamarina have not been fully characterized by our experiments.
et al. (2004) and subsequent manuscripts cited in each sec-
tion of this paper. Our laboratory studies used only these
three Sh values (0, 0.5, and 1.0) for the suite of physical Small strain stiffness
properties, effective stress, and soils tested. Our additional
study of seismic velocities conducted at more closely Shear-wave velocity is directly related to the small-
spaced incremental hydrate saturations in sands (Yun strain stiffness of materials. The raw shear-wave veloc-
et al., 2005) also informs our understanding of the impact ity data we obtained are reported in Lee (2007) and Lee
of increasing hydrate saturations on the state of soils and et al. (2010b) for a range of soils and in Yun et al. (2005)
their physical properties. In some parts of the following for sands. For all soils, the shear-wave velocity without hy-
discussion, we are able to extrapolate from the lessons of drates satisfies a power equation of the effective stresses
Yun et al. (2005) to infer natural break points that mark acting in the direction of wave propagation (subscript ||)
major changes in physical properties with increasing hy- and particle motion (subscript'):
drate saturation, despite not having a full suite of data for
s r 1 s'r b
b ,
closely spaced increments of Sh. i
VS 5 aa (1)
In the following sections, we place emphasis on iden- 2 kPa
tifying robust trends in the global physical properties data
sets, as a function of soil type, soil parameters, and/or hy- where a is the shear-wave velocity at 1 kPa and the expo-
drate saturation. Instead of providing merely empirical nent b captures the sensitivity of the velocity to the state of
functional fits (e.g., linear, log, quadratic) to the data and stress. In all sediments, b is inversely related to a.
associated coefficients, we focus on producing mathemati- The shear-wave velocity VS – hbs in hydrate-bearing sed-
cal relationships among key parameters to provide physi- iments (subscript hbs) is stress dependent at low-hydrate
cal insight into the processes
Downloaded 25controlling the observations.
saturation, but it becomes hydrate-controlled at high-
Although empirical results are the basis of these new math- hydrate saturation. When the data for all soils and stress
ematical expressions, the relationships should in theory be levels are plotted against hydrate saturation, the trend
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 377 9/21/10 7:06:33 PM

shows a minor increase up to a) b)

Sh 5 0.5 and major increase
as the hydrate saturation 4000 Sand 4000
Kaolinite
approaches Sh 5 1, follow-
Shear velocity (m/s)
P-wave velocity (m/s)

ing the trend described by Sh 3000
3000
Yun et al. (2005). Following 0 0.5 1
these data-based observa- 2000 2000
tions and adopting the form
of theoretical expressions 1000 1000
for cemented soils (Fernan-
dez and Santamarina, 2001), 0 0
we fit the data with 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Effective stress (MPa) Effective stress (MPa)
VhSh2 2
5a b u1
2
c) d)
VS2hbs 12 40
n
Undrained shear strength (MPa)
10 35
s r 1 s'r b 2
caa b d ,
i 30
8
2 kPa
Permittivity
25
(2) 6 20
where the factor u captures 4 15

the hydrate habit in the pore 10
2
space, and a and b can be 5
extracted from tests con- 0 0
ducted on sediment without 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
hydrates (S h 5 0). When Effective stress (MPa) Effective stress (MPa)
hydrate forms in unsaturated e) f) Thermal Conductivity (W m⫺1 K⫺1)

specimens, we expect u to 0.30 5
Electrical conductivity (S/m)
be larger than for our experi- 0.25

4
ments owing to the preferred
loci for hydrate nucleation 0.20
3
at interparticle contacts 0.15
(menisci). Measured and 2
0.10
predicted values for all sedi-
ments, hydrate content, and 0.05 1
effective stress levels are
0.00 0
plotted in Figure 5, with fit- 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
ting parameters for (2) given Effective stress (MPa) Effective stress (MPa)
in the figure caption. Figure 4. Sample data obtained on sand (diamonds) and kaolinite (squares) with various
The P-wave velocity Sh and effective stress values. Open, gray, and solid symbols refer to Sh of 0, 0.5, and 1,
V P – hbs in hydrate-bearing respectively. (a) Shear-wave velocity; (b) compressional-wave velocity; (c) undrained shear
sediments can be computed strength; (d) permittivity; (e) electrical conductivity; and (f) thermal conductivity.
from the shear-wave velocity
of the hydrate-bearing sedi-
ment VS – hbs, and the volume fraction and bulk stiffness B where subscripts sk, m, h, and w denote granular skeleton,
of the component phases. Following a Biot-Gassmann-type mineral grains that make up the sediment, hydrate, and wa-
formulation, for low skeletal stiffness Bsk /Bw<<1 (e.g., San- ter, respectively. The mass density of the hydrate-bearing
tamarina et al., 2001), sediment is computed as the volume average of the mass
densities of the components
a2 1 b1
2 1 1 v sk
rb 5 n 1 rwSw 1 rhSh 2 1 1 1 2 n 2 rm.
2 2
VP2hbs 5 VS2hbs
3 1 2 2vsk (4)
1 2 Sh 21
c bd ,
1 12n Sh Note that the small strain Poisson’s ratio vsk for the skel-
1 na 1 (3)
rhbs Bm Bh Bw eton is typically 0.1 6 0.05 for low hydrate saturation
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 378 9/21/10 7:06:35 PM

(Sh , 0.4) and may increase to vsk 5 0.2 6 0.05 as hydrate on the data and bound most observations. Therefore, the
saturation exceeds Sh , 0.5. expression should only be used for preliminary analyses.
More details about the determination of secant stiffness
and an extensive analysis of the laboratory strength and
High strain stiffness and strength stress-strain results are given in Yun et al. (2007).
Effective stress data for low hydrate concentration
sediments (i.e., S h , 0.5) show an increase in dilative
tendency proportional to the hydrate volume fraction Sh,
very low or no cohesion intercept, and critical state fric- 2500
tion angle similar to the sediment without hydrate (Masui
et al., 2005). 2000
Our data place emphasis on high-hydrate concentra-
Measured VS (m/s)
tion sediments (Sh $ 0.5). Because of the diminished hy-
1500
draulic conductivity in these circumstances, we impose
the deviatoric stress sdr under undrained conditions and
report the total undrained stress response. The original 1000
data we collected on the strength and high-strain stiffness
Sand
of hydrate-bearing sediments are reported in Yun et al. 500 Crushed slit
(2007). Precip. slit
The deviatoric stress versus strain response Kaolinite
1 sdr verses e 2 is characterized by increased secant stiffness, 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
undrained strength, and brittleness with increasing hydrate Predicted VS (m/s)
concentration. In particular, the analysis of the strength
data leads to the following observations: (1) The undrained Figure 5. Measured versus estimated shear-wave velocities
shear strength at low-hydrate concentration is determined for all soils, Sh and effective stress levels. Parameters are
by the effective stress-dependent frictional strength; (2) a 5 80 m/s, b 5 0.25, and u 5 0.15 for sand; a 5 50 m/s,
the contribution of the hydrate strength increases nonlin- b 5 0.26, and u 5 0.12 for crushed silt; a 5 10 m/s, b 5
0.35, and u 5 0.13 for precipitated silt; and a 5 23 m/s,
early with hydrate concentration, gaining relevance at high
b 5 0.35, and u 5 0.07 for kaolinite. Open, gray, and solid
S h; and (3) in the case of fine-grained soils, the effect of
symbols refer to Sh of 0, 0.5, and 1, respectively.
hydrate tends to be more pronounced at low porosity —
changes in porosity with effective confinement are very
minor in coarse-grained sediments. The following expres-
sion for Su captures these observations:
10
Sh 2
Su 5 asr0 1 bqh a b , (5)
n
Predicted Su (MPa)
where a nominal value for the hydrate strength qh 5 8

MPa is assumed; this value is within the range reported in 1
the literature (Durham et al., 2005). The coefficient a cap-
tures friction and pore pressure generation in the sediment, Sand
Crushed slit
whereas b is an indication of the hydrate’s ability to con- Precip. slit
tribute to the strength of the hydrate-bearing sediment. In Kaolinite
other words, b is expected to reflect the formation method/ 0.1
0.1 1 10
habit of hydrate in a given soil. Measured and predicted
values for all sediments, hydrate content, and effective Measured undrained strength S u (MPa)
stress level are plotted in Figure 6, and fitting parameters Figure 6. Measured versus predicted undrained shear
for equation 5 given in the figure’s caption. strength Su for all soils, Sh and effective stress levels.
As in most materials, the data exhibit proportionality Open, gray, and solid symbols refer to Sh of 0, 0.5, and 1,
between the longitudinal secant stiffness half way to fail- respectively. Parameters are a 51.55 and b 5 0.14 for sand;
ure E50 and the peak strength Su, as shown in Figure 7. A a 51.55 and b 5 0.16 for crushed silt; a 5 0.9 and b 5 0.5
simple linear relation E50 < %Su is often assumed, where for precipitated silt; and a 5 0.5 and b 5 0.07 for kaolinite.
the proportionality coefficient % ranges between less than Open, gray, and solid symbols refer to Sh of 0, 0.5, and 1,
50 to more than 500. These two ranges are superimposed respectively.
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 379 9/21/10 7:06:36 PM

10000 1.000
Secant stiffness E50 (MPa)
1000
Electrical conductivity (S/m)

100 0.100
10
Sand
1 Crushed slit 0.010
Precip. slit
Sand
Kaolinite
0.1 Crushed slit
Precip. slit
0.1 1 10
Kaolinite
Measured undrained strength Su (MPa) 0.001
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Figure 7. Proportionality between secant stiffness E50
Fluid filled porosity n(12Sh)
and peak strength. Data are for all soils, with and without
hydrates, and at all effective stresses. The two lines Figure 8. Measured electrical conductivity at 0.2 GHz for all
correspond to E50 < %Su for % 5 50 and % 5 500. Open, gray, soils, Sh, and effective stress levels plotted here as a function
and solid symbols refer to Sh of 0, 0.5, and 1, respectively. of fluid-filled porosity n(1 2 Sh). Trends are computed using
Archie’s equation (6) for a 5 1, x 5 1.4, and sel 5 0.4 Sm21
(solid curve), 0.18 S m21 (long dashed curve), and 0.04 Sm21
(short dashed curve), respectively. Open, gray, and solid
Electrical conductivity symbols refer to Sh of 0, 0.5, and 1, respectively.
The electrical conductivity of hydrate-bearing sedi-

80
ments s hbs at radio frequencies is determined by the vol-
ume fraction of the unfrozen pore fluid and the pore 70
fluid conductivity so that an expression of the form
shbs < sw n 1 1 2 Sh 2 is an adequate first approximation. 60
Real permittivity κ'
Our data confirm the decrease in electrical conductivity 50

associated with lower porosity and increased hydrate satu-
ration (Lee et al., 2010a). Archie-type expressions can be 40
used to closely match any given data set 30
shbs 5 asw 3 n 1 1 2 Sh 2 4 x. (6) 20 Sand

Crushed slit
10 Precip. slit
Parameters used in the hydrate literature are in the 0.7 # a Kaolinite
# 1.4 and 1 # x # 2.8 range (e.g., Collett and Ladd, 2000; 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Jin et al., 2002; Waite et al., 2009). Selecting a mean value
Fluid filled porosity n(12Sh)
of a < 1 simplifies the equation and makes s 5 sw at n 5
1, and Shyd 5 0. Trends for an exponent x < 1.4 are super- Figure 9. Measured real permittivity at 1 GHz for all
imposed on all our data in Figure 8. Our results highlight soils, Sh, and effective stress levels. The reference line is the
the critical role of pore fluid conductivity sw and model linear volume average of equation (7). Open, gray, and solid
parameters. The results also underscore the need for cau- symbols refer to Sh of 0, 0.5, and 1, respectively.
tion in applying Archie-type expressions to monitor pore
water freshening during hydrate dissociation, particularly
in clayey sediment. proportional to n 1 1 2 Sh 2 krw , where krw is the relative per-
mittivity of the free water. This is readily observed in our ex-
Permittivity perimental results shown in Figure 9 and discussed in detail
by Lee et al. (2010a). Except for the Sh 5 0.5 data for pre-
The electrical permittivity in the microwave frequency cipitated silt, which is a dual porosity medium, all other data
range is determined by Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
the polarization of the free, unfrozen tend to plot near or below the volume average line given by:
water. The permittivity of hydrate-bearing sediments krhbs is
therefore related to the amount of free water and must be krhbs 5 5 1 70n 1 1 2 Sh 2 . (7)
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 380 9/21/10 7:06:38 PM

A more predictive expression is obtained using CRIM- 1

type models, 1.05
1.1
"krhbs 5 1 1 2 n 2 "krm 1 n QSh"krh 1 Sw"krw R
0.8
1.5
5 1 1 2 n 2 "k mr 1 nSh"k hr 1 n 1 1 2 Sh 2 "krw 0.6

1.75
Shf/Sh
(8)
0.4 2
< 3 1 5.9n 2 7.2nSh
Equation 8 adequately fits all the data, with the exception 0.2
of Sh 5 0.5 data for precipitated silt, which is a dual po-
rosity medium. The expression also satisfies the extreme
conditions for pure mineral (n 5 0), pure water (n 5 1 and 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sh 5 0), and pure hydrate (n 5 1 and Sh 5 1).
Sh
Figure 10. The impact of exponential operations on Sh

Thermal conductivity in the mathematical expressions derived to describe our
The thermal conductivity was determined using the laboratory data. The y-axis shows the ratio between Sh
and the original value of Sh, where f is the exponent that
needle probe technique in sediments subjected to vertical
labels each curve. For Sh , 0.2, power-law relationships
loading under zero lateral strain conditions (Cortes et al.,
significantly reduce the role of Sh in controlling the trends
2009). An overview of data trends is presented in Figure 4f,
in physical properties.
and Cortes et al. (2009) provide a detailed analysis. The data
show that the thermal conductivity increases with decreas-
ing sediment porosity. All data, regardless of soil, effective to the data. A key observation is that Sh, which can range
stress conditions, and/or hydrate saturation, are bound be- from 0 to 1, is raised to a power greater than 1 in mixture
tween the Hashin-Shtrikman upper and lower bounds. expressions reported here. Mathematically, this means that
Whereas the thermal conductivity of hydrate is very the impact of hydrate on physical properties is greatly re-
similar to that of water, there are marked changes in ther- duced in sediments having low Sh values, as illustrated in
mal conductivity when hydrates form in soils. Complex Figure 10. The impact of the exponential terms is particu-
underlying particle-level processes are inferred based on larly striking for 0 < Sh < 0.2, a common Sh range in some
the complete data set (Cortes et al., 2009). In most cases, fine-grained natural hydrate systems.
we notice an increase in thermal conductivity after hy- The power-law trends that have emerged from our lab-
drate formation, particularly in sediments with high initial oratory data imply that higher values of Sh are needed to
porosity. For example, a 40% increase in thermal con- produce a marked effect on measured properties of hydrate-
ductivity is observed in soft clays with initial porosity of bearing sediments. These trends also provide a natural ex-
~50%. We infer cryogenic suction (Cortes et al., 2009; Lee planation for the difficulty often encountered in assessing
et al., 2010c) and hydrate segregation as potential causes sediments with low Sh using geophysical data or borehole
for this change in thermal properties. On the other hand, logs in field settings. Taken together, these observations
the thermal conductivity increase associated with hydrate support the need for more extensive laboratory research on
formation in dense coarse-grained sands and in crushed silt the properties of hydrate-bearing sediments with Sh 5 0 to
is less than 20%. In some cases, we even find a reduction in 0.5, a range of saturations that our data set samples only
thermal conductivity after hydrate formation. We interpret at the end members. Future laboratory programs should
this phenomenon to be a consequence of increasing grain pay close attention to (a) the grain size, specific surface,
separation caused by hydrate formation and fluid volume surface charge, and grain morphology of soils chosen for
expansion. the experiments and (b) the impact of laboratory hydrate
formation technique on the loci of hydrate formation at the
pore scale and the resulting laboratory-scale to field-scale
Discussion measured properties.
The electrical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments
Throughout this analysis, we have emphasized the behave largely as bulk medium properties, which implies
determination of dataDownloaded
trends 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
using physically based math- that the volume fraction of hydrate Sh is more important
ematical relationships that combine material parameters than chemomechanical interactions between the hydrate
instead of merely fitting generic mathematical functions and the mineral grains. Thus, the laboratory method used
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 381 9/21/10 7:06:39 PM

to form hydrate in sediment samples is less important for predictably different properties that reflect the loci of hy-
electrical properties than is carefully controlling Sh and drate nucleation and growth at the pore/particle scale (e.g.,
producing a homogeneous sample. Note that our work has Yun et al., 2005; Lee, 2007; Yun et al., 2007; Lee et al.,
demonstrated that the use of THF, instead of methane, as 2010a; Lee et al., 2010b).
the hydrate former in these experiments should not bias the This paper focuses on the physical properties that are
electrical properties measurements, nor affect our overall directly measured in the laboratory. Numerous additional
conclusion or interpretation (Lee et al., 2007, 2010a). parameters can be determined indirectly from the data set.
Measured thermal properties might also be expected For example, measured seismic P-wave and S-wave veloci-
to reflect the properties of the bulk medium. However, our ties can be used to calculate undrained Poisson’s ratio and
results indicate that this is not the case. The consequences the small-strain shear and bulk moduli (e.g., Lee, 2007; Lee
of grain separation, cryogenic suction, and lensing during et al., 2010b). In all cases, the validity of inferred param-
formation of hydrate to high Sh produce thermal conductiv- eters is limited by the applicability of models to the bound-
ity values that cannot be predicted well with volume aver- ary conditions imposed in laboratory tests.
age formulations. A full exploration of these phenomena is
found in Cortes et al. (2009).
The loci of hydrate formation, which depends on the
method used to form hydrate in the laboratory, and soil Acknowledgments
characteristics play critical roles in controlling large-strain
D. D. Cortes, J. Y. Lee, F. Francisca, A. I. Martin, and
and small-strain (including seismic velocities) mechani-
T. S. Yun acquired the laboratory data used for this analy-
cal properties of hydrate-bearing sediments, as clearly re-
sis. From 2002 to 2009, this research was supported at the
flected by the trends that emerge from our data. Attempts
Georgia Institute of Technology from the Chevron Joint
to isolate the impact of the hydrate-formation technique
Industry Project on Methane Hydrates under contract DE-
on properties such as strength (e.g., Figure 10 of Yun et al.
FC26-01NT41330 from the U. S. Department of Energy.
(2007) and seismic velocities (Figure 4.17 of Lee, 2007)
However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recom-
are hampered by the different soils and experimental con-
mendations expressed herein are those of the authors and
ditions researchers have used to collect such data.
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of
The properties gathered for precipitated silt (with or
Energy or the U. S. Geological Survey. Additional sup-
without hydrate) do not always follow the expected grain-
port for J. C. S. was provided by the Goizueta Foundation
size dependent ordering of clay-silt-sand. Thus, the expres-
Chair. W. Waite and B. Dugan provided comments on an
sions reported here only partially capture the properties of
earlier version of this manuscript. Any use of a trade, prod-
this dual porosity sediment, particularly at Sh 5 0.5. As nat-
uct, or firm name is for descriptive purposes only and does
ural sediments often contain grains with internal porosity
not imply endorsement by the U. S. Government.
and dual porosity pore structures (e.g., diatoms), trends ob-
tained using homogeneous specimens made of solid grains
in typical laboratory studies may not always be applicable
for predicting the properties of or interpreting physical
Appendix A: Mathematical
properties measurements in natural sediments. notation
a Coefficient in strength expression
Conclusions b Coefficient in strength expression
B Bulk stiffness [MPa]
This chapter reports, in concise form, the extensive Cc Compression coefficient [ ]
physical properties data set that we have collected on THF Cex Expansion coefficient [ ]
hydrate-bearing clay, silt (precipitated and crushed), and D50 Mean grain size [μm]; 50% of sample by
sand at different effective stress levels and with different mass is smaller than D50
hydrate concentration, using standardized geotechnical de- E50 Secant longitudinal stiffness at half the fail-
vices and test protocols. ure strength [MPa]
Within the scope of this manuscript, we do not com- f Exponent in Figure 10
pare our results to those of other workers, apart from em- h Subscript denoting pure hydrate
phasizing that careful consideration must be given to the hbs Subscript denoting hydrate-bearing sediment
method adopted for hydrate formation in the laboratory. k 0 Effective stress ratio at rest [ ]
Particularly for mechanical measurements, we have in- K Thermal conductivity [Wm21K21]
ferred that different hydrate formation techniques (e.g., m Subscript denoting mineral grains
from dissolved phase, ice seeds, or unsaturated) produce n Porosity [ ]
02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 382 9/21/10 7:06:41 PM

qh Strength of pure hydrate [MPa] Collett, T. S., and J. Ladd, 2000, Detection of gas hydrate
Sh Hydrate saturation in pore space [ ]; 0 # Sh with downhole logs and assessment of gas hydrate con-
# 1, corresponding to 0% to 100% of pore centrations (saturations) and gas volumes on the Blake
space Ridge with electrical resistivity log data: Proceedings
Su Peak undrained shear strength [MPa] of the ODP Scientific Results 114, B11103.
ΔV Volume change for phase transformation [m3] Cortes, D., A. I. Martin, T. S. Yun, F. M. Francisca, J. C.
Vh Shear-wave velocity of pure hydrate Santamarina, and C. Ruppel, 2009, The thermal con-
Vp Compressional-wave velocity [m/s] ductivity of hydrate-bearing sediments: Journal of
VP – hbs Compressional-wave velocity [m/s] for Geophysical Research, 114, B11103.
hydrate-bearing sediment [m/s] Durham, W. B., L. A. Stern, S. H. Kirby, and S. Circone,
VS Shear-wave velocity [m/s] 2005, Rheological comparisons and structural imag-
VS – hbs Shear-wave velocity for hydrate-bearing sedi- ing of sI and sII endmember gas hydrates and hydrate/
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w Subscript denoting liquid in the pore fluid tional Conference on Gas Hydrates.
a Shear-wave velocity at 1 kPa [m/s] Fernandez, A., and J. C. Santamarina, 2001, The effect of
b Coefficient representing sensitivity of shear- cementation on the small strain parameters of sands:
wave velocity to state of stress in (1) and (2) Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 38, no. 1, 191–199,
d Coefficient in Archie relationship doi: 10.1139/cgj-38-1-191.
e Strain [ ] Hutchinson, D., D. Shelander, T. Latham, D. McConnell,
u Coefficient [ ] in shear-wave velocity C. Ruppel, E. Jones, B. Shedd, J. Hunt, M. Frye, R.
expression (2) Boswell, K. Rose, B. Dugan, and W. Wood, 2008, Site
kr Relative permittivity [ ] selection for DOE/JIP drilling in the northern Gulf of
l Porosity exponent, Archie relationship Mexico: Proceedings of the 6th International Confer-
Vsk Small-strain Poisson ratio for soil skeleton [ ] ence on Gas Hydrates.
sr Effective stress [MPa] (always primed) Jin, Y. K., M. W. Lee, and T. S. Collett, 2002, Relationship
sr i Stress in direction of propagation [MPa] of gas hydrate concentration to porosity and reflection
s'r Stress in direction of particle motion [MPa] amplitude in a research well, Mackenzie Delta, Can-
sdr Deviatoric stress [MPa] ada: Marine and Petroleum Geology, 19, no. 4, 407–
s0r Isotropic effective stress [MPa] 415, doi: 10.1016/S0264-8172(02)00011-9.
shr Effective horizontal stress [MPa] Jones, E., T. Latham, D. McConnell, M. Frye, J. Hunt, W.
szr Applied vertical stress [MPa] Shedd, D. Shelander, R. Boswell, K. Rose, C. Ruppel,
s Electrical conductivity [S/m] D. Hutchinson, T. Collett, B. Dugan, and W. Wood,
% Coefficient in secant stiffness relationship [ ] 2008, Scientific objectives of the Gulf of Mexico gas
x Exponent in Archie relation [ ] hydrate JIP Leg II drilling: OTC Paper 19501.
Kraemer, L. M., R. M. Owen, and G. R. Dickens, 2000,
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02181_SEG_GH_C26.indd 384 9/21/10 7:06:42 PM

Index
A borehole logging methods, 247–248, 250, 256 elastic impedance inversion, 115–116
electromagnetic studies, 152, 157 full waveform prestack inversion, 117
accretionary prism environments, 2 Arctic gas-hydrate surveys. See also Arctic sand hydrate concentration and distribution studies,
acoustic impedance (AI) inversion, 109–112 and sandstone reservoirs; Mallik well site; 58, 60
acoustic velocity permafrost environments infrared thermal imaging, 217
borehole logs, 239, 240 efficiency of gas production from gas-hydrate ODP explorations, 2
gas-hydrate formation and decomposition, reservoirs, 7 rock physics modeling, 308, 353
330, 331 seafloor heat flux measurement, 291 seismic attenuation, 41
advanced piston corer (APC), 289 survey considerations, 174 seismic data collection and analysis, 42, 44
advanced piston corer temperature (APCT) tool, Arctic sand and sandstone reservoirs, 24–25 total-organic-carbon values, 6
289–291, 292 Athy’s law, 56 vertical seismic profiles, 123–127, 138
aeromagnetic surveys, 203–205 attenuation. See seismic attenuation blanking zones. See also amplitude blanking;
Alaska, North Slope Atwater Valley, Gulf of Mexico Bullseye Vent; vent structures
borehole logging studies, 236, 246 controlled-source electromagnetic surveys, 158 3D modeling, 187–188
gas-hydrate exploration, 26–27 full waveform prestack inversion, 116–117 gas-hydrate assessment, 54, 59, 61, 63,
gas-hydrate production tests, 7, 8 hydrate concentration and distribution studies, 186, 190
gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 24–25 60 magnetic susceptibility, 146, 209
research programs, 3 AVA (amplitude versus angle) analysis, 352–353, research questions, 63
seismic data collection, 43 362. See also amplitude versus offset (AVO) seismic characteristics, 54–56, 61
volumetric estimates, 3–4 analysis borehole imaging tools, 252–256
water availability and gas migration, 6 AVO analysis. See amplitude versus offset (AVO) borehole logging, 11
amplitude. See amplitude versus offset (AVO) analysis advantages and limitations, 235–236, 239
analysis; bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs); AVO intercept-gradient method, 112–113 methods, 235, 246–256
seismic amplitude azimuthal anisotropy. See anisotropy permafrost environments, 246
amplitude blanking, 39, 123. See also blanking borehole pressure coring, 263
zones; vent structures future of, 276–277
amplitude versus angle (AVA) analysis, 352–353, B gas-hydrate concentration, 271–276
362. See also amplitude versus offset (AVO) band-pass filtering, 101 gas-hydrate distribution, 269–271
analysis Barkley Canyon, Vancouver Island, Canada, 1, 7, recovering gas hydrate in pressure cores,
amplitude versus offset (AVO) analysis 25–26 266–269
advantages and limitations, 73–74, 77–78, Bayesian inversion, AVO analysis, 78–84, 84–90 wireline pressure coring systems, 263–266
110 Bayes’ rule, 78–79 bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs), 9. See also
AVO intercept-gradient method, 112–113 Beaufort Sea-Mackenzie Delta, Canada BSR−AVA analysis; BSR−AVO studies
elastic parameter studies, 45 amplitude versus offset studies, 76 advantages and limitations, 26, 35, 36, 62–63,
free gas concentration and, 73, 75–78, 83–84, gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 24 145, 149, 279
90–91 geohazard studies, 5 amplitude versus offset analyses and, 75–84
marginal probability distributions, 81–90 long-offset transient electromagnetic borehole logging and, 251
marine and permafrost environments, 75–84, methods, 171 frequency dependence, 48–50
90–91, 110 Bering Sea, 48, 55 future of, 28
theory, 74–75 biogenic methane production, 5–6 gas-hydrate BSR forms, 5, 46–56
versus normal moveout velocity analysis, 80, 89 Biot-type three-phase theory, 57, 349–352 gas-hydrate cementation and, 105
anisotropic resistivity, 170–171 Black Sea imaging challenges, 35
anisotropy bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, lack of, and gas hydrate presence, 47
fracture filling and, 41 50, 52 multiple, 50–52
fracture orientation and, 128, 130–131 seismic data collection, 43, 44 non-hydrate-related, 47–48
S-wave velocity and, 39 source gas, 5 paleoBSRs, 51
vertical transverse isotropy, 126 Blake-Bahama Ridge, 79–80 reflection coefficients, 76
annular pressure measurement (PWD), 240 Blake Ridge, offshore South Carolina reflections above and below, 39, 52–53, 63
Antarctica, 43, 174 acoustic impedance studies, 110, 111 seafloor heat flux measurement, 279,
APC (advanced piston corer), 289 amplitude blanking, 54 293–298
APCT (advanced piston corer temperature) tool, amplitude versus offset studies, 77, 353 thermodynamic equilibrium and, 293, 294
289–291, 292 borehole logging studies, 241, 253 traveltime inversion and, 102
Archie’s equations Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution
borehole pressure subject
coring,to264
SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
waveform inversion studies, 131
artificial gas-hydrate-bearing sediment studies, bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, 49, Bremen Heat Probe, 283
316–317 50, 51–53 BSR-AVA analysis, 352
385
02181_SEG_GH_IDX.indd 385 9/24/10 10:05:28 PM

386 Index
BSR-AVO studies cements D

Bayesian inversion, marine gas hydrates, composition, 206
78–84, 91 sediment diagenesis, 213 Davis-Villinger temperature-pressure probe
three-phase Biot theory, 352 chemical structure of gas hydrates, 1–2 (DVTP-P), 289
bulk modulus, 146, 255–256 Chile Davis-Villinger temperature probe (DVTP), 289,
bulk properties of sediment. See sediment bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, 48 291, 292
properties, bulk electromagnetic methods, 145, 158 DC removal, OBS data processing, 101, 104
bulk resistivity seismic data collection, 43, 44 decomposition. See gas-hydrate dissociation
borehole methods, 236, 247–248 clamping, VSP receivers, 123, 125, 139 deconvolution, 101, 110
controlled-source electromagnetic imaging and, clathrate structure, 22, 213 Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), 241–245
149, 156, 159 clay Deep Towed Acoustic/Geophysics System. See
gas hydrate presence and, 149 effects of hydrate saturation on, 373–382 DTAGS
Bullseye Vent, Vancouver Island, northern geophysical properties of hydrate-bearing deepwater deposits. See marine environments
Cascadia margin sediment, 332–334 DEM (differential effective medium theory), 352
controlled-source electromagnetic imaging, heterogeneous hydrate layers, 170 density, gas hydrates versus water ice, 8
153, 156, 157 material properties, 357 density, pure methane hydrate, 40
gas-hydrate concentration and distribution rock-physics models, 309, 310 density logs, 246–247, 256
studies, 57, 59 clay-dominated systems density-magnetic resonance (DMR) method,
IODP drilling expeditions, 54 borehole studies, 246, 247, 250, 270 249–250
magnetic susceptibility, 146, 209 geotechnical properties, 337 depressurization analysis of pressure cores,
potential productivity of, 61 magnetic susceptibility, 209, 210–211 271–276
resistive anomalies, 150, 186 productivity of, 26 depressurization testing, 7–8
seafloor compliance studies, 181–189 climate change, 4 detrital magnetite, 206, 211
vertical seismic profiles, 138 CMG-STARS simulator, 8 diagenetic analysis
coherency filtering, OBS data processing, 101 gas-hydrate formation, 213
cold vents. See also vent structures marine environments, 211–212
C blanking zones as indicators of, 54 multiple BSRs, 52
Canada. See also Beaufort Sea; Cascadia Margin; controlled-source electromagnetic permafrost environments, 207
Mackenzie Delta; Mallik well site; Vancouver characterization, 10 differential effective medium theory (DEM), 352
differential global positioning system (DGPS)
Island resistivity anomalies and, 156
navigation, 99
Arctic permafrost studies, 58 seafloor compliance imaging, 181, 186, 190
differential pressure gauge (DPG), 182
fault systems, 56 Columbia margin, 48
dimensional analysis, CSEM imaging, 149–151
NEPTUNE network, 181, 182, 188–189 compressional velocity (VP). See P-wave velocity
dipole-dipole systems, 145, 151–152
offshore OBS data, 96–97 concentration. See free gas concentration;
disseminated gas hydrate, 224–225, 228
Cascadia Margin gas-hydrate concentration; natural gas
dissipation factor, 352, 362–363
below-BSR reflections, 53 concentration in gas hydrates
dissociation. See gas-hydrate dissociation
borehole logging studies, 241, 252–253, conductive heat flux. See seafloor heat flux
distributed-temperature-sensors (DTS), 235–236,
254, 255 measurement
291–292
bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, 5, conductivity, electrical, 373, 380. See also
DMR (density-magnetic resonance) method,
48, 50 electromagnetic methods; resistivity of
249–250
electric dipole-dipole methods, 151 sediment
DN (Dvorkin and Nur) model, 308, 310
electromagnetic methods, 145, 152–153, conductivity, thermal. See thermal conductivity
double bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs),
156–157, 159 CONEFIT program, 292
50–52
geophysical exploration, 10 conservation of momentum, 362–365
downcore temperature profiles
hydrate concentration and distribution studies, constant-offset VSPs (vertical seismic profiles),
advantages and limitations, 225, 229
57, 59, 63 122, 123, 127–128
future improvements, 229, 230
infrared thermal imaging, 12, 224 continental gas hydrates. See marine environments
methods, 223, 226
magnetic surveys, 197, 208–212 controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM)
downhole logs, 223, 297
ODP explorations, 2 imaging, 149–151
DPG (differential pressure gauge), 182
seafloor compliance studies, 180, advantages and limitations, 159–160
DSDP (Deep Sea Drilling Project), 241–245
181–190 gas-hydrate assessment, 10, 149
DSDP Leg 84, Guatemala margin, 241, 289
seafloor heat flux measurement, 297 methods, 151–159
DTAGS (Deep Towed Acoustic/Geophysics
seismic data collection, 42, 44 with seafloor compliance studies, 186,
System), 44, 97–98
source of gas, 6, 7 188–190
dual porosity, 374
vent structure characterization, 54, 56 transmitters and receivers, 154
Dvorkin and Nur (DN) model, 308, 310
vertical seismic profiles, 138 cores
DVTP (Davis-Villinger temperature probe), 289,
water availability and gas migration, 6 infrared thermal imaging of, 220–223,
291, 292
Caspian Sea, 5 228, 229
DVTP-P (Davis-Villinger temperature-pressure
cementation laboratory measurements on, 321–328
probe), 289
Biot-type three-phase modeling, 353 seismic log data integration, 240–241
elastic properties and, 40 thermal conductivity determination, 285–286
gas-hydrate formation and decomposition, coring methods E
330, 331, 334 heat flux measurement and, 289–291 effective-medium model, 308
resonant column studies, 343 seismic log-core data integration, 252–253 effective stress, 376
rock-physics models, 58, 79 in situ measurements, 63, 236, 240–241 elastic anisotropy. See anisotropy
sediment strength and, 4, 46, 58 Costa Rica, 47, 282 elastic heterogeneity of sediment, 41
S-wave velocity and, 59, 100, 105, 343 coupling issues, geophone, 100–101, 129 elastic impedance (EI), 109, 113–114
02181_SEG_GH_IDX.indd 386 9/24/10 8:22:01 PM

Index 387
elastic impedance (EI) inversion, 110, 113–116 free gas distribution sediment properties and, 329–330, 332–334
elastic moduli, 8 studies, 58–63 gas-hydrate distribution. See also fracture
elastic properties of sediment. See sediment vertical seismic profiles, 123, 127, 251 pathways; vertical seismic profiles (VSPs)
properties free gas presence borehole logging studies, 241, 252–254
elastic wave attenuation. See seismic attenuation bottom-simulating reflectors, 26, 46–56 borehole pressure coring, 263, 269–271
electrical conductivity, 373, 380. See also electromagnetic methods and, 10, 149, 158 grain size and, 24, 26, 40–41, 60, 85, 203, 319
electromagnetic methods; resistivity of impedance contrast, 310 infrared thermal imaging, 223–225
sediment logging-while-drilling measurements, 240 lateral extent, 63, 95, 111, 132–135, 175,
gas-hydrate saturation and, 380 within regional hydrate stability field, 56, 186 252–253
electrical permittivity, 380–381 release by vents, 54–55, 61–62 mapping, 9, 11
electrical resistivity. See resistivity of sediment seafloor compliance and, 179, 186, 190 patchy distributions, 134–135, 138, 241,
electric dipole-dipole methods, 145, 151–152 sediment properties and, 4–5, 9, 40 253, 351
electromagnetic logs, 248–249 seismic attenuation and, 46 research questions, 62
electromagnetic methods. See also controlled- seismic data inversion, 102, 115, 118 studies, 58–61
source electromagnetic (CSEM) imaging; shear waves, 100 S-wave velocities and, 40, 41, 58, 250,
long-offset transient electromagnetics freezing, 171, 349, 351 357–358, 372
(LOTEM) method frequency vertical extent, 26, 54, 95
advantages and limitations of, 10 Biot-type three-phase analysis, 356 gas-hydrate formation
marine and permafrost environments, 145, 149, bottom-simulating reflectors and, 48–50 HWHYD model, 331, 332
163 effect on velocity and attenuation, 351–352 iron sulphides and, 197, 198, 213
transmitters and receivers, 154, 165–166, P-wave velocity and, 362–363 laboratory techniques, 303–304, 375–376, 382
174–175 seismic attenuation and, 39, 41 seafloor and wellbore stability, 329–334
emissivity of sediment, 219, 228–229 seismic survey measurement, 329, 338 sediment properties and, 4, 8–9, 254–256, 329,
energy resource potential of gas hydrates, 3–4, S-wave velocity and, 41 332–333, 337
23, 24 Fugro pressure corer (FPC), 265, 266–267, gas-hydrate material properties, 8, 357
erosion, seafloor heat flux and, 282–283, 288 272–273 gas-hydrate model (GHM), 308. See also rock
Fugro rotary pressure corer (FRPC), 265, 266, 267 physics modeling
full waveform inversion (FWI), 110 gas-hydrate morphologies, 6–7, 223–225, 337
F advantages and limitations, 118 gas-hydrate petroleum system, 5
fault systems, vent chimneys and, 56 elastic parameters and gas-hydrate gas-hydrate production, 8
ferrimagnetic iron sulphides (FIS), 187, 197, characterization, 116–117 gas-hydrate proxy, 13, 376
199–203, 206, 210–211 of zero-offset VSP, 131 gas-hydrate reservoirs, productivity of, 7–8,
finite-difference models, 3D, 187–188, 190 24–26
f-k filtering, OBS data processing, 101 gas-hydrate saturation
FLECAS (field laboratory experimental core G in artificial gas-hydrate-bearing sediment,
analysis system), 304, 321, 322 gas chimney model 316–319
focused gas migration, 6 bottom-simulating reflectors, 55, 56 attenuation and, 41, 62, 345–346, 351
formation factor (FF), 247 seafloor compliance data and, 187–188, 190 density-magnetic resonance method, 249–250
formation micro-imager (FMI) tools, 252 gas-hydrate abundance. See gas-hydrate resonant column studies, 343
formation micro scanner (FMS) tools, 252 concentration; gas-hydrate distribution; rock physics modeling, 311
forward modeling approaches, 75–78, 101 gas-hydrate saturation sediment properties and, 330, 373–382
fractionation, methane composition and, 6 gas-hydrate boundary types, modeling, 85, 89 seismic velocities and, 351
fracture pathways gas-hydrate characterization, 8–13 shear wave velocity and, 343–345
anisotropy and, 41, 128, 130–131 gas-hydrate concentration gas-hydrates resonant column (GHRC), 338
blanking and, 39 amplitude versus offset analysis, 83–85, 89–90 attenuation and hydrate saturation, 345–346
borehole logging, 235 Biot-type three-phase analysis, 356–362 calibrations, 341
diagenesis and, 207, 213 borehole pressure coring, 271–276 design features, 338–339
gas-hydrate distribution in, 57, 62, 63, 254 bottom-simulating reflectors, 76 preparation and procedure, 342–343
gas-hydrate morphologies and, 6–7 calculation from seismic data, 56–58 theory, 339–341
interpretation of cold vent features, 190 controlled-source electromagnetic imaging, velocity and hydrate saturation, 343–345
orientation and anisotropy variation, 128, 157–158 gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 7, 24–26
130–131 grain size and, 24, 26, 40–41, 60, 85, 203, 319 gas-hydrate stability curve, 294
S-wave velocities and, 39 infrared thermal imaging, 217, 219, gas-hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). See also
walkaway vertical seismic profiles, 128 225–227, 230 thermodynamic stability
water availability and focused gas migration, 6 marine environments, 4, 39 borehole measurements, 235–236
wireline electrical imaging, 252 pore-water freshening, 12 BSR depth and, 293, 294
free gas concentration research questions, 61–62 depth to base estimation, 46–47
amplitude versus offset analysis and, 73, 75–78, rock physics modeling, 307–312 mapping techniques, 11
83–84, 90–91 seismic attenuation and, 41 marine offshore environments, 2, 212
Biot-type three-phase modeling, 353 slowness and, 102 multiple-BSR mechanisms, 51
borehole logs, 256 studies, 58–61 permafrost environment, 2, 46, 203
bottom-simulating reflectors and, 76–78 total-organic-carbon values and, 6 pressure and temperature dependence, 2, 46
BSR-AVO inversion, 78–84, 91 gas-hydrate dissociation gas-hydrate structure, molecular, 1–2
calculation of, 56–58 core recovery and processing, 217, 218, 236, gas-hydrate textures, 217, 218, 224
rock-physics models, 309–311 325–328 gas-hydrate volume estimates, 3–4
studies, 58–63 HWHYD model, 331, 332 gas migration, water availability and, 6
subBSR, 39, 47, 56 seafloor and wellbore stability, 329–334 gas plumes, 189
02181_SEG_GH_IDX.indd 387 9/24/10 8:22:02 PM

388 Index
gas production from gas-hydrate reservoirs, 7–8 hydrate cementation. See cementation IODP Expedition 311, Vancouver Island, Canada
gas recycling, 6 HYDRATECH consortium, 61, 338 borehole logging studies, 241, 252–253
gas voids, infrared thermal imaging of, 230 Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia margin, Oregon borehole pressure coring, 264, 265, 271
geochemical observations, 206–207, 211 borehole logging studies, 241, 254, 255 controlled-source electromagnetic studies,
geohazards, 4, 5, 304 borehole pressure coring, 264, 265 152–153
geophones bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, gas-hydrate concentration and distribution
coupling challenges, 100–101, 129 50, 52 studies, 59
DC offset noise, 104 controlled-source electromagnetic surveys, 158 gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 25
source and receiver configurations, 97 electric dipole−dipole methods, 151 infrared thermal imaging, 218, 219–220,
geophysical exploration techniques, 8–13, hydrate concentration and distribution 222–224, 227, 228
145–147 studies, 59 magnetic surveys, 197, 208–211
geophysical imaging, 145–147 infrared thermal imaging, 218–220, 224, 225, seafloor compliance studies, 179, 187
geophysical properties. See sediment properties 228, 230 vertical seismic profiles, 138
geotechnical properties. See sediment properties magnetic surveys, 208 ionic conduction of sediment, 8–9
GHASTLI (gas hydrate and sediment testing seafloor heat flux measurement, 290, 297 IPTC (instrumented pressure testing chamber),
laboratory instrument), 304, 322, 330 seismic data analysis, 46 276–277
GHM (gas-hydrate model), 308. See also rock seismic data collection, 42, 44 iron sulphides
physics modeling vent structure characteristics, 54–55 distribution, 206–207, 211
GHRC. See gas-hydrates resonant column vertical seismic profiles, 124, 127–128, 138 formation, 199–203, 207, 211–212
(GHRC) water availability and gas migration, 6 gas-hydrate formation and, 197, 198, 213
global carbon budget, 3 hydrophones, 96
grain size hyperspectral infrared cameras, 230–231
clay-silt-sand ordering, 375, 382 J
ferrimagnetic iron sulphides and, 210, 213 Japanese Ministry of International Trade and
gas-hydrate concentration, 24, 26, 40–41, 60,
I Industry (MITI), 58
85, 203, 319 IASPEI (International Association of Seismology Japan Sea. See Nankai Trough, Japan
seismic velocities and, 187 and Physics of the Earth’s Interior), 279 JAPEX/KNOC/GSC et al. See Mallik well site
gravimeter, 182, 183 IHFC (International Heat Flow Commission), 279 JIP Leg 1, Gulf of Mexico, 218, 220, 222
Green Canyon, Gulf of Mexico, 27, 60 impedances. See elastic impedance (EI); P-wave Joint Industry Program (JIP), 60, 137
Greenland, 285 impedance Juan de Fuca plate, Vancouver Island, Canada, 188
greigite, 197, 199–203, 206 India, offshore
ground surveys, permafrost environments, borehole pressure coring, 264, 271
203–205 gas-hydrate concentration calculation, 57 K
Guatemala margin, 241, 289 gas-hydrate distribution studies, 63 Keathley Canyon, Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 25, 26 full waveform prestack inversion, 116–117
data analysis methods, 46 infrared thermal imaging, 146, 218–220, 222, gas-hydrate exploration, 27
electromagnetic studies, 145, 151, 158 223, 226–228 hydrate concentration and distribution
full waveform inversion, 116–117 vertical seismic profiles, 139 studies, 60
gas-hydrate exploration, 27, 28 Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP-01) vertical seismic profiles, 137
gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 25, 26 borehole pressure coring, 264, 271 Knipovich Ridge, 358–361
hydrate concentration and distribution infrared thermal imaging, 218–220, 222, 223, Korea, offshore
studies, 60 226–228 blanking zones, 54, 55
infrared thermal imaging, 218, 220, 222 infrared (IR) thermal imaging, 217–218 gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 25, 26
ocean-bottom cable use, 9 camera systems, 11–12, 218–219, 228, 230–231 infrared imaging, 146
seismic data collection, 42, 43, 44 challenges, 228–229
source gas, 5 direct imaging of sediment surfaces, 221–223
future directions, 229–231 L
structure H occurrence, 1
vertical seismic profiles, 137, 139 gas-hydrate assessment, 146, 217–218 laboratory studies, 13, 303–305
volumetric estimates, 3–4 gas-hydrate morphologies, 223–225 challenges of, 338, 373, 375
water availability and gas migration, 6 methods, 219–221 in situ conditions and, 313–315, 321–327
Gulf of Oman, 109–110 principles, 218–219 Lake Baikal, Siberia, 48, 49
tracks, 220, 222 Lamé parameters, seismic methods and, 146
in situ measurements, 239, 256 lateral heterogeneity studies, 132–134, 236
H coring methods, 63, 236, 240–241 layered models, 169, 180
Haddock Channel, Canada, 97 laboratory approximation of, 313–315, 321–327 Lee’s equation, 318
Hashin-Shtrikman (HS) bound, 308 LWD/MWD approaches, 235–236 lithology
heat flux surveys. See seafloor heat flux seismic attenuation, 40 bottom-simulating reflectors and, 47, 61
measurement seismic velocities, 95 elastic anisotropy and, 41
HFRED heat flux processing scheme, 288 temperature and thermal conductivity, magnetic properties of sediment, 197, 203, 211
high-strain stiffness, strength and, 379–380, 382 284–288, 292 seismic attenuation, 41, 62
Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand, 151, 159 instrumented pressure testing chamber (IPTC), logging-while-drilling (LWD), 11, 235
Hot Ice Number 1 well, 138 276–277 advantages and limitations, 239–240
HWHYD model, 331, 332 International Association of Seismology and electromagnetic tools, 248
HYACINTH system, 263, 265–266 Physics of the Earth’s Interior (IASPEI), 279 infrared thermal imaging, 225
Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50.
future of pressure coring, 276–277 InternationalRedistribution
Heat Flowsubject to SEG license
Commission or copyright;
(IHFC), 279 Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
long-offset transient electromagnetics (LOTEM)
nondestructive core measurements, interval velocity anomalies, 27, 28 method, 164–166
269–271, 272 inverse attenuation, 40 1D model resolution, 166–169
02181_SEG_GH_IDX.indd 388 9/24/10 8:22:02 PM

Index 389
gas-hydrate resistivity, subpermafrost, 10 gas-hydrate stability studies, 5 MPDs (marginal probability distributions), 81–90
resistivity distributions, complex, 169–174 geohazard studies, 5 MT (magnetotelluric) surveys, 10, 11
survey considerations, 174–175 geological setting, 163–164 multichannel seismic (MCS) surveys, 42–43, 329
transmitters and receivers, 165–166, 174–175 geophysical exploration, 10, 11
LWD. See logging-while-drilling infrared thermal imaging, 223
laboratory core measurements, 321–328
N
long-offset time-domain electromagnetic Namibia, Africa, 5
M Nankai Trough, Japan
surveys, 163–169
Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. magnetic mapping, 11 borehole logging studies, 236, 246, 250, 256
See also Mallik well site magnetic surveys, 197, 203–207, 211–212 borehole pressure coring, 264
amplitude versus offset studies, 76 magnetic susceptibility, 146, 205–206 bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, 48,
borehole logging studies, 246 research programs, 1, 3 50, 51, 53
gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 24 seismic data collection, 36, 44 gas-hydrate concentration studies, 40–41, 58–59
geohazard studies, 5 thermal stimulation testing, 7 gas-hydrate exploration, 28
geophysical exploration, 11 vertical seismic profiles, 125, 128–135, 138 gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 25
long-offset transient electromagnetic water availability and gas migration, 6 seismic data collection and analysis, 40–44, 46
methods, 171 well-logging measurements, 203, 205 vertical seismic profiles, 125, 136–137, 138
magnetic surveys, 203–207, 209 marcasite, 199, 200–201 volumetric estimates, 3
rock physics modeling, 308 marginal probability distributions (MPDs), 81–90 natural gas concentration in gas hydrates, 1
seismic attenuation, 40–41 marine environments. See also borehole navigation, ocean-bottom seismic methods,
seismic data collection, 43, 44 logging; borehole pressure coring; infrared 99–100
source of gas, 5 (IR) thermal imaging; seafloor heat flux needle probe, marine heat flux measurement,
mackinawite, 199, 200–201 measurement 280–281, 284–286
magnetic minerals, 198–203 amplitude versus offset analyses, 75–91, 110 NEPTUNE Canada network, 181, 182, 188–189
magnetic parameters, 199, 206, 210 climate change and methane, 4 neutron porosity log, 246
magnetic surveys, 10–11, 146, 197–198 electromagnetic methods, 145, 149–159, 163 New Zealand, 145, 159
advantages, 197, 203 magnetic surveys, 197, 208–212 NGHP Expedition 01, India. See Indian National
aeromagnetic and ground, 203–205 resonant column studies, 337–346 Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP-01)
magnetic parameters, 198, 199 stability zones, 2 Nig seep, Mackenzie Delta, 204–205, 209
marine environments, 197, 208–212 marine sand reservoirs, 24–25, 26–28 NMO (normal moveout velocity analysis), 80, 89
permafrost environments, 203–207 Markov chain analysis, 79 NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) imaging, 235
magnetic susceptibility Marquardt inversion, 167–168, 172, 173 NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) logs, 249–250
blanking zones, 146, 209 measurement-while-drilling (MWD), 235 nodular gas hydrate, 224
methane, 197, 198, 207, 213 methane nonuniqueness, geophysical data, 9, 10
sediment composition and, 205–207, 209–211 climate change, 3–4 normal moveout (NMO) velocity analysis, 80, 89
smythite, 197 composition and source gas, 5–6 Norwegian margin
magnetization, lateral contrasts in, 203–205, 207 formation of pore space hydrate, 313–315 bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, 47,
magnetotelluric (MT) surveys, 10, 11 magnetic susceptibility and, 197, 198, 207, 213 48, 50, 52
Malaysia, 26 methane hydrate. See gas hydrate topics fault systems, 56
Mallik 2L-38 well Methane Hydrate Exploitation Program (MH21), gas-hydrate concentration estimates,
borehole logging studies, 248–249 136 358–361, 362
gas-hydrate concentration estimates, METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry) geohazard studies, 5
356–358, 362 drilling programs, 58, 136 geophysical exploration, 9
laboratory core measurements, 321–328 Metropolis-Hastings approach, 79 hydrate concentration and distribution studies,
vertical seismic profiles, 125, 128–131, 138 MH-21HYDRES code, 8 60–61
Mallik 3L-38 well microbolometer technology, 219 non-hydrate-related BSR, 47–48
infrared thermal imaging, 223 Middle America margin, 57 ocean-bottom seismic studies, 106
vertical seismic profiles, 125, 128, 131–135, 138 mid-Norway margin, 46–48, 50, 52, 60–61 sediment properties, 360
Mallik 5L-38 well, 164, 203 Milne Point Unit, Alaska North Slope, 25–27 seismic data analysis, 46
acoustic impedance inversion, 111–112 mineral diagenesis. See diagenetic analysis seismic data collection, 42–43
amplitude versus offset analysis, 73, 85, 87, 88 minerals, magnetic, 198–203 Nova Scotia margin, eastern Canada, 56
borehole logging studies, 246, 251–252, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging, 235
254–256 (METI) drilling programs, 58, 136 nucleation, 351
laboratory measurements on fresh cores, Ministry of International Trade and Industry
321–328 (MITI), 58, 136
thermal stimulation testing, 7 Mississippi Canyon Block, Gulf of Mexico, 60.
O
Mallik well site, Northwest Territories, Canada, See also Atwater Valley, Gulf of Mexico ocean-bottom cables (OBC)
164, 203 model-based acoustic impedance inversion, advantages and limitations, 9, 96
acoustic impedance studies, 110, 111–112 109–112 studies using, 42–43
amplitude versus offset analysis, 73, 84–90, morphologies of natural gas-hydrate occurrences, S-wave imaging, 104–105
85, 88 6–7, 223–225, 337 ocean bottom gravimeter, 182, 183
borehole logging studies, 236, 246, 248–252, Mount Elbert well site, Alaska North Slope ocean-bottom hydrophones (OBH), 96
254–256 borehole studies, 236 ocean-bottom seismic methods
gas-hydrate concentration estimates, gas-hydrate exploration, 27 advantages and limitations, 95–96, 105
356–358, 362 Downloaded 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50. Redistribution
gas-hydrate subjecttests,
production to SEG7,license
8 or copyright; Terms of Use:analysis
data http://segdl.org/
methods, 101–105
gas-hydrate production tests, 7–8 research programs, 3 experiment design, 96–101
gas-hydrate resource pyramid, 25 water availability and gas migration, 6 future developments, 105–106
02181_SEG_GH_IDX.indd 389 9/24/10 8:22:02 PM

390 Index
ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS), 42–43, 96 pore-water freshening, 12, 223, 227 Q

advantages of, 9 pore water resistivity (Rw), 247
data processing, 101 porosity logs, 246–247 quality factor Q, 40
hydrate surveys using, 44 porosity of sediment, 203. See also Athy’s law
seafloor compliance measurements, 182 amplitude versus offset studies, 85 R
source-receiver configurations, 97–98 controlled-source electromagnetic data, 186 RAB (resistivity at the bit) borehole data, 150
oceanic gas hydrates. See marine environments density-magnetic resonance method, 249–250 receivers. See sources and receivers, seismic
ODP Leg 146, Vancouver Island, Canada gas-hydrate formation and, 8–9 methods
controlled-source electromagnetic studies, impedance changes and, 54 relaxation times (T2), 248–249
152–153, 156–157 magnetic properties and, 213 reservoir rocks, gas-hydrate morphologies and, 7
magnetic surveys, 208 porosity-velocity relations, 57 reservoirs, productivity of, 7–8, 24–26
vertical seismic profiles, 121, 123, 138 resonant column studies, 343 resistivity anomalies, seafloor compliance and,
ODP Leg 164, Blake Ridge. See also Blake Ridge rock physics modeling, 308, 311 186, 190
borehole pressure coring, 264 variable, Biot-type three-phase theory, resistivity at the bit (RAB) borehole data, 150
infrared thermal imaging, 217 349, 350 resistivity logs, 247–248, 256
vertical seismic profiles, 123–127 water-filled, 117 resistivity of sediment. See also controlled-
ODP Leg 201, Peru margin porosity reduction model, 57 source electromagnetic (CSEM) imaging;
borehole pressure coring, 264 PR. See Poisson’s ratio electromagnetic methods; long-offset transient
infrared thermal imaging, 218, 220 pressure. See also in situ measurements; electromagnetics (LOTEM) method
ODP Leg 204, Hydrate Ridge thermodynamic stability Archie’s law and, 152
borehole logging studies, 241, 254 laboratory measurements on cores, 321–324 artificial gas-hydrate-bearing sediment, 313, 317
borehole pressure coring, 264, 265 and stability of borehole pressure cores, 5, gas-hydrate formation and, 9
infrared thermal imaging, 218–219, 220, 224– 267–269 gas-hydrate occurrence, 145, 235, 313
225, 228, 230 pressure core analysis, 263, 269–276. See also heterogeneity, 169–171, 225
magnetic surveys, 208 borehole pressure coring large scale resistivity structures, 171–174
seafloor heat flux measurement, 290, 297 Pressure Core Barrel (PCB), 263 seafloor compliance and, 186, 190
vertical seismic profiles, 124, 127–128 Pressure Core Sampler (PCS), 263–264 resonance scattering analysis of VSP data, 132–
offset VSPs (vertical seismic profiles), 122, 123, nondestructive core measurements, 271, 274 134, 139
127–128 recovering gas hydrate in pressure cores, 266 resonant column studies, 337–346
oil and gas industry, 2 pressure-drawdown technique, 1, 8 Richards Island, Canada. See Mallik well site
opal A/CT reaction, 47–48 Pressure Temperature Coring Sampler (PTCS), rock physics modeling
Opouawe Bank, New Zealand, 159 263, 264–265 amplitude versus offset analysis, 75, 79–80
Oregon, offshore, 76. See also Hydrate Ridge prestack full waveform inversion. See full characterization of gas-hydrate systems, 13
waveform inversion (FWI) coring data and, 303
prospecting targets, remote characterization of,
P 27–28
gas-hydrate concentration calculation, 58
Poisson’s ratio, 309, 310, 312
Pakistan, 109–110 pseudo-3D (p3D) seismic surveys, 42–44 seismic resolution and, 311–312
paleoBSRs (bottom-simulating reflectors), 51 pseudosections, hydrate in, 309–311
paramagnetic pyrite, 197 PTCS (Pressure Temperature Coring Sampler),
passive margin environments, 2 263, 264–265 S
patchy distributions, 134–135, 138, 241, 253, 351 P-wave impedance, 45, 309–312 safety issues, 5, 240
PCB (Pressure Core Barrel), 263 P-wave velocity, 9. See also seismic velocities salinity, 2, 5
PCS. See Pressure Core Sampler amplitude versus offset studies, 85, 86–90 sand
permafrost environments. See also Mackenzie of artificial gas-hydrate-bearing sediment, 313, heterogeneous hydrate layers in, 170, 205
Delta 317–319 hydrate saturation effects, 373–382
amplitude versus offset analyses, 84–90, 91, Biot-type three-phase theory, 352 magnetic susceptibility, 205–207
110 borehole logging studies, 250, 256 sand- and sandstone-dominated sites
borehole logging studies, 246 BSR−AVO studies, 73–77, 81–84 magnetic susceptibility, 209
BSR-AVO studies, 73–77, 81–84 free gas concentration and, 40 resource potential of, 23, 24–25
electromagnetic methods, 145, 163 in fresh gas-hydrate-bearing cores, 323–324 SCS (single-channel seismic) surveys, 42–43
magnetic measurements, 197, 203–207 gas-hydrate concentration and, 40, 41, 56–57, seabed methane hydrates. See marine
stability zones, 2 357–358, 362 environments
vertical seismic profiles, 123 gas-hydrate formation and decomposition, 330, seafloor compliance, 179–181
permeability. See porosity of sediment 331–332, 334 3D numerical finite-difference models, 187–188
permittivity, 373, 380–381 of gas hydrate versus water ice, 8 advantages and challenges, 10–11, 179
Peru margin OBS methods, spatial sampling, 98–99 data analysis, 183–186
borehole pressure coring, 264 of pure methane hydrate, 40 instrumentation, 182–183
infrared thermal imaging, 218, 220 research questions, 63 theory, 181–182
seismic data collection, 43 resonant column studies, 343 seafloor conductivity, 151–152
petrographic observations, 206–207, 211 rock physics modeling, 79, 308 seafloor heat flux measurement
physical properties of sediment. See sediment seismic data analysis, 44, 45 bottom-simulating reflection estimations, 279,
properties synthetic hydrate formation methods, 376 293–298
Poisson’s ratio (PR) three-phase Biot theory, 366 data reduction, 286–288
amplitude versus offset analysis, 76–77, 80 traveltime inversion, 102 in deep boreholes, 288–293
rock physics modeling, 309,Downloaded
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pressuresubject to SEG license
measurement), 240or copyright; Terms of Use:and,
erosion http://segdl.org/
282–283, 288
Porangahau Ridge, New Zealand, 159 pyrite, 197, 199–201 technique, 283–286
pore-fluid chemistry, 2, 5 pyrrhotite, 200–203 theoretical background, 279–283
02181_SEG_GH_IDX.indd 390 9/24/10 8:22:02 PM

Index 391
seafloor mounds, productivity of, 25–26 seismic amplitude blanking. See amplitude smythite, 199–203
seafloor stability, 5, 329–334 blanking; blanking zones magnetic susceptibility and, 197
seafloor topography, heat flux measurement and, seismic anisotropy. See anisotropy properties, 187, 200, 201–202, 211
282–283 seismic attenuation, 351 Snell’s Law, 74, 76
sediment, artificial, 303–304 acoustic impedance inversion and, 112 SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), 165, 166
properties, 373 Biot-type three-phase theory, 349, 367 solute exclusion, 207, 213
velocity and resistivity measurements, 313–319 determination of, 46 sonic logs, 250–252
sedimentation, heat flux measurement and, gas-hydrate concentration and, 40–41, 62 sonic wave velocity. See P-wave velocity
282–283, 288 gas-hydrate formation and, 41 source gas, 2, 5–6
sediment cementation. See cementation gas-hydrate presence and, 62 sources and receivers, seismic methods
sediment core. See cores; infrared (IR) thermal hydrate-bearing versus gassy sediments, 41 ocean-bottom seismic methods, 44, 96–98, 104
imaging resonant column measurements, 339, 341, vertical seismic profiles, 121–122, 139
sediment properties 345–346 South Carolina, United States. See Blake Ridge
attenuation (See seismic attenuation) rock physics modeling, 310 South China Sea, 26, 110
compressional velocity (see P-wave velocity) seismic frequencies and, 39, 41 South Pole, 174
effective stress, 376 vertical seismic profile data, 130 South Shetland margin, 43, 53
elastic moduli, 8 seismic-blanking zones. See amplitude blanking; sparse-spike deconvolution technique, 110
electrical conductivity, 373, 380 blanking zones spatial sampling, OBS methods, 98–99
electrical resistivity (See resistivity of sediment) seismic bottom-simulating reflectors. See bottom- squirt-flow mechanisms, 41
emissivity, 219, 228–229 simulating reflectors (BSRs) stability. See gas-hydrate stability zone;
formation strength, 254–255, 256, 373 seismic data analysis methods, 44–46 thermodynamic stability
grain size (See grain size) seismic data collection methods, 42–46 stacking, 355
heterogeneity, 41 seismic frequency, 39, 41 stiffness, strength and, 377–380
magnetic properties, 197–199, 198, 203, seismic imaging, 9, 35–36. See also sources and Storegga Slide region, Norwegian margin
205–206, 210, 211, 213 receivers, seismic methods; specific seismic bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, 47,
mineralogical composition, 309 techniques 48, 50, 52
permeability (See porosity of sediment) advantages and challenges, 36, 61, 146, 179, hydrate concentration and distribution studies,
permittivity, 373, 380–381 197 60–61
porosity (See porosity of sediment) data collection and analysis, 42–46 seismic data analysis, 46
P-wave velocity (See P-wave velocity) gas-hydrate distribution and concentration, STORP-HYD code, 8
resistivity (See resistivity of sediment) 56–61 stress-strain relations, 365–366
seismic velocities (See seismic velocities) seismic inversion techniques, 78–90, 109–118, Svalbard continental margin, Norway
shear velocity (See S-wave velocity) 131 gas-hydrate concentration estimates, 358–362
S-wave velocity (See S-wave velocity) seismic log−core data integration, 240–241 material properties, 360
thermal conductivity (See thermal conductivity) seismic resolution, 311–312 seismic data collection, 42–43
sediment properties, bulk seismic tomography, 103, 355–356. See also S-wave analysis of OBS data, 102–103
gas-hydrate concentration calculation, 58 tomographic analysis S-wave velocity
gas-hydrate formation and, 8 seismic velocities, 351. See also P-wave velocity amplitude versus offset studies, 85, 86–90, 110
laboratory measurement of, 325–327 gas-hydrate concentration and, 40, 41, 56 Biot-type three-phase theory, 352
sediment properties, geohazards and, 304 gas-hydrate saturation and, 373 borehole logging studies, 250, 256
sediment properties, in gas-hydrate assessment no-hydrate, no-gas reference profile, 56–57 BSR−AVO studies, 73–74, 76, 77, 82–84, 110
azimuthal anisotropy, 41 wave theory, 349–352, 366 elastic impedance inversion and, 115
borehole methods, 235 shear modulus of sediment free gas concentration and, 40, 250
bulk properties, 325–327 gas-hydrate concentration, calculating, 58 in fresh gas-hydrate-bearing cores, 323–324
clays, 332–334 gas-hydrate formation and, 8 gas-hydrate concentration and distribution, 39,
effective stress, 376 gas-hydrate resonant column measurements, 40, 41, 58, 100, 250, 357–358, 372
FLECAS measurements, 304, 321, 322 338, 340 gas-hydrate formation and decomposition, 332
free gas presence, 4–5, 9, 40 seafloor compliance and, 179, 186, 190 gas-hydrate resonant column measurements,
gas-hydrate dissociation, 4–5, 328, seismic methods and, 146 340, 343–345
329–330–334 shear waves, OBS methods, 100–101 gas-hydrate saturation and, 343–345
gas-hydrate formation, 4, 8–9, 95, 329–332, 337 shear wave velocity. See S-wave velocity OBS methods, spatial sampling, 98–99
gas-hydrate saturation, 316–319, 330, 373–382 shooting track layout, OBS methods, 99, 100 of pure methane hydrate, 40
GHASTLI measurements, 304, 322, 330 shot spacing, 62, 98–100 research questions, 63
impedance, 311 Shuey approximation, 74–75, 113 rock physics modeling, 79, 308
measurement challenges, 321 Siberia, 48, 49 sediment rigidity and, 100
rock physics modeling, 58, 309–312 signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), 165, 166 seismic anisotropy and, 39
seafloor compliance, 179–180 silt seismic data analysis, 44–46
sediment sampling programs, heat flux gas-hydrate formation, 213 small-strain stiffness and, 377–378
measurements, 284 gas-hydrate saturation, 373–382 synthetic hydrate formation methods, 376
sediment surfaces. See infrared (IR) thermal magnetic susceptibility, 205–207 three-phase Biot theory, 366
imaging precipitated, 374, 382
seismic amplitude. See also amplitude versus siltstones, 206
offset (AVO) analysis; bottom-simulating single-channel seismic (SCS) surveys, 42–43 T
reflectors (BSRs) slides, gas-hydrate occurrence and, 5 TEM (transient electromagnetics), 171
data collection methods, Downloaded
43 25 Jun 2012 to 95.28.162.50.
slowness, Redistribution
traveltimesubject to SEG
inversion license or102
methods, copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
temperature measurement. See also seafloor heat
as gas-hydrate indicator, 41, 44, 95 slumps, 5, 288 flux measurement
marine gas prospecting, 27, 28 small-strain stiffness, 377–379, 382 on cores, 217, 267–269, 321, 323
02181_SEG_GH_IDX.indd 391 9/24/10 8:22:02 PM

392 Index
gas-hydrate stability field mapping, 11 traveltime seismic tomography, 355. See also veins, gas hydrate, 224. See also fracture
in situ, 284–288, 292 tomographic analysis pathways; gas-hydrate distribution
tetrahydrofuran (THF), 13, 304, 374–376, 382 troilite, 201–203 velocity-amplitude anomaly structures
TFIT program, 292 2D and pseudo-3D seismic surveys, 43–44 (VAMPs), 55
thermal conductivity. See also seafloor heat flux 2D data sets vent structures. See also Bullseye Vent; cold
measurement multichannel marine reflection surveys, 42–43 vents
gas-hydrate saturation and, 381 traveltime inversion and, 101, 102 3D modeling, 187–188
heat flux determination, 294–296 2D high-frequency seismic surveys, 43–44, 329 characteristics, 54–56, 61–62
of laboratory-formed hydrates, 373 2D multichannel marine reflection surveys, magnetic observations, 208–209
in situ measurements, 284–288, 292 42–43, 329 vertical seismic profiles (VSPs)
thermal IR imaging. See infrared (IR) thermal advantages and challenges, 123, 138–139
imaging methodology, 121–122
thermal simulation testing, 7–8 U resonance scattering analysis, 132–134, 139
thermodynamic stability. See also gas-hydrate UBGH Expedition 01, Korea, 146 sonic logs, 251
stability zone Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea, 54, 55 surveys, 42–43, 123–138, 356–358, 362
climate change and, 4 ultrasonic velocities. See P-wave velocity; S-wave zero-offset, 121–122, 123–127, 131, 133
in laboratory core measurements, 315 velocity vertical transverse isotropy (TI), 126–127, 138
pressure and temperature conditions, 2, 46 ultrasonic wave transmission, 329, 330, 334 volumetric estimates of gas hydrate, 3–4
pressure coring techniques, 267–269 United Kingdom, deep sea, 48 Voring plateau, Norwegian margin, 47
THF (tetrahydrofuran), 13, 304, 374–376, 382 United States. See also Blake Ridge; Hydrate Ridge VULCAN electric field recorder, 158
Thomsen parameters, 126 Atlantic continental slope, 5
3D data sets, 43, 101–102 Middle America margin, 57 W
3D hydrate structures, 181
3D multichannel seismic surveys, 43, 329 Wairarapa Coast, New Zealand, 159
3D numerical finite-difference models, V walkaway VSPs, 122, 123, 125–127, 128, 138
187–188, 190 VAMPs (velocity-amplitude anomaly structures), Walker Ridge, Gulf of Mexico, 27, 28
three-phase Biot theory (TPB), 352. See also 55 water availability, gas migration and, 6
Biot-type three-phase theory Vancouver Island, Canada, northern Cascadia waveform analysis, 103–104
three-phase effective medium theory (TPEM), 352 margin waveform inversion. See full waveform
TI (transverse isotropy), 126–127, 138 amplitude versus offset data inversion, 91 inversion
time average approach, Wyllie, 307–308, 317 borehole logging studies, 241, 252–253 wave propagation, Biot-type three-phase
time-lapse infrared imaging, 223 borehole pressure coring, 264, 265, 271 modeling, 338, 354–355
tomographic analysis, 103, 355–356 bottom-simulating reflector characteristics, 48, wave velocities. See P-wave velocity; S-wave
total-organic-carbon content (TOC) of 49, 53 velocity
sediments, 6 BSR-AVO data inversion, 83–84 wellbore stability, 5, 329–334
TOUGH + HYDRATE code, 8 controlled-source electromagnetic studies, well-logging techniques. See borehole logging
TPEM (three-phase effective medium theory), 352 152–153, 156–157 West Greenland, 285
TP-Fit program, 292 gas-hydrate concentration and distribution wireline logging
transient electromagnetics (TEM), 171 studies, 57, 59 advantages and limitations, 12–13, 235, 239
transmitters and receivers, electromagmetic gas-hydrate morphology, 1, 7 electromagnetic tools, 248, 250, 252
methods, 154, 165–166, 174–175 gas-hydrates resource pyramid, 25–26 laboratory data comparisons, 327
traveltime analysis of OBS data geophysical exploration, 9 pressure coring systems, 263–266
band-pass filtering, 101 infrared thermal imaging, 218, 219–220, Wood’s equation, 57, 318
spatial sampling, 98 222–224, 227, 228 Wyllie’s time average (WTA), 307–308, 317
S-wave analysis, 102–103 magnetic surveys, 197, 208–212
traveltime inversion magnetic susceptibility, 146, 209 X
ocean-bottom seismic methods, 44–45, 101–103 potential productivity, 61 XCB coring, 289
seismic anisotropy and, 46 resistive anomalies, 150, 186
traveltimes seafloor compliance studies, 179, 181–189
hydrate presence and, 95, 307–308 tomographic analysis, 103 Z
seismic attenuation and, 46 vent structure characteristics, 54, 56 zero-offset VSPs, 121–127, 131, 133
shooting track layout and, 100 vertical seismic profiles, 121, 123, 138 Zoeppritz equation, 74
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Geophysical Characterization of Gas Hydrates: Edited by Michael Riedel Eleanor C. Willoughby Satinder Chopra

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Geophysical Characterization of Gas Hydrates: Edited by Michael Riedel Eleanor C. Willoughby Satinder Chopra

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Geophysical Characterization

SEG Geophysical Developments Series No. 14

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Geophysical characterization of gas hydrates / edited by Michael Riedel,

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About the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Chapter 1: Gas Hydrates — Geophysical Exploration Techniques and Methods . . . 1

Chapter 2: Motivations for the Geophysical Investigation of Gas Hydrates . . . . . . . 23

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Section 1: Seismic Imaging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 3: Introduction to Seismic Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Chapter 4: Seismic Indicators of Natural Gas Hydrate and

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Chapter 5: Seismic AVO for Gas-hydrate-related Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Chapter 6: Analysis of Gas-hydrate Provinces by Ocean-bottom

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Methods of Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Chapter 7: Inversion of Seismic Data for Elastic Parameters: A Tool for

Chapter 8: Vertical Seismic Profiles through Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediments . . . . 121

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Gulf of Mexico Joint Industry Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Section 2: Geophysical Imaging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Chapter 9: Introduction to Geophysical Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Chapter 10: Marine Controlled-source Electromagnetics and

Chapter 11: Resolving an Onshore Gas-hydrate Layer with

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Conclusions and Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Chapter 12: Seafloor Compliance Imaging of Marine Gas-hydrate Deposits . . . . . 179

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Discussion of marine gas-hydrate magnetism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Chapter 14: Infrared Imaging of Gas-hydrate-bearing Cores:

Section 3: Borehole Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Chapter 15: Introduction to Borehole Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

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Chapter 16: Evaluation of Natural Gas-hydrate Systems Using

Chapter 17: Borehole Pressure Coring Techniques and Core Analysis

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Chapter 18: Seafloor Marine Heat Flux Measurements and Estimation of

Section 4: Laboratory Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Chapter 19: Introduction of Laboratory Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Chapter 20: Round Table: Rock Physics of a Gas-hydrate Reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . 307

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An Effective-Medium Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Chapter 21: Velocity and Resistivity Measurements of Artificial

Chapter 22: Laboratory Measurements on Fresh Terrestrial

Chapter 23: Geophysical Properties and Dynamic Response of Methane-

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Effect of clays on geophysical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Chapter 24: A Resonant Column Study of the Seismic Properties of

Chapter 25: Wave Theory, Simulation, and Determination of Gas-hydrate

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Seismic velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

Chapter 26: The Impact of Hydrate Saturation on the Mechanical,

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Michael Riedel graduated from the University of Victoria in September

Eleanor C. Willoughby is a research associate in the Marine Geophysics

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Satinder Chopra received M.Sc. and M.Phil. degrees in physics from

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