Hydrocarbon Gas Hydrates In Sediments Of The Mississippi Canyon Area, Northern Gulf Of Mexico
| Autor: | J.R. Woolsey, Thomas M. McGee, K. Sleeper, Leonardo Macelloni, Alessandro Bosman, Carol B. Lutken, Rudy E. Rogers, J. Dearman, Charlotte A. Brunner |
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| Rok vydání: | 2009 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Journal of the Geological Society (Lond.) 319 (2009): 29–49. doi:10.1144/SP319.4 info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Mcgee T., Macelloni L., Lutken C., Bosman A., Brunner C., Rogers R., Dearman J., Sleeper K., Woolsey JR./titolo:Hydrocarbon Gas Hydrates In Sediments Of The Mississippi Canyon Area, Northern Gulf Of Mexico/doi:10.1144%2FSP319.4/rivista:Journal of the Geological Society (Lond.)/anno:2009/pagina_da:29/pagina_a:49/intervallo_pagine:29–49/volume:319 |
| DOI: | 10.1144/SP319.4 |
| Popis: | The Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium has begun installing a seafloor observatory to monitor gas hydrate outcrops and the hydrate stability zone in Mississippi Canyon Area Lease Block 118. Relevant background information concerning the Mississippi Canyon Area and gas hydrate occurrences in the northern Gulf of Mexico is presented. Microbial influences and possible scenarios of hydrate accumulation are considered. The design of the observatory was based on field data recorded in the Mississippi Canyon Area, principally lease block 118 (MC118) and the vicinity of lease block 798 (MC798). Swath bathymetry by autonomous underwater vehicle played a large part, as did seismic imaging within the hydrate stability zone and core sampling. These data and the results of their analyses are discussed in detail. Discussion and interim conclusions are presented. In an effort to expand the information base on how natural gas hydrates form in sediments and how they affect seafloor stability, the University of Mississippi organized the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium in 1999. Its principal goal is to develop and install a seafloor observatory capable of monitoring a hydrate outcrop and its environment more-or-less continuously for a period of 5–10 years. In 2006, the Consortium included researchers from more than 30 universities and corporations. A Board of Scientific Advisers oversees project management, site selection, geochemical aspects, microbial aspects, seismoacoustic aspects, data quality control and data archiving. A summary of project history, an overview of observatory design and a list of organizations that participate in the scientific Board is given by McGee (2006). A number of possible sites for the observatory were considered by the Site Selection Committee. Data presented here were collected in the vicinity of two sites of known hydrate occurrence in the Mississippi Canyon Area sites; lease block 118 (MC118) and lease block 798 (MC798). A lease block in the northern Gulf of Mexico comprises a square of sides 3 statute miles (5 km). Consortium members voted in October 2004 to select a prominent seafloor mound located in MC118 as the observatory site. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the US Department of Interior reserved the vicinity of the mound exclusively for Consortium activities. Pre-installation studies began in January 2005 and the first monitoring components were installed during May of the same year. Additional components were scheduled for deployment during the following September but the aftermath of hurricane Katrina forced a delay until June 2006. In addition to information on regional contexts, this contribution includes early results and tentative conclusions produced by Consortium activities prior to the resumption of the installation. Quaternary geology of the Mississippi |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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