EFFECT OF GRAIN CHARACTERISTICS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF DISSEMINATED METHANE HYDRATE BEARING SEDIMENTS ...

• Main Authors: Kingston, Emily, Clayton, Chris R.I., Priest, Jeffery, Best, Angus I.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The University of British Columbia 2008
• Subjects: Methane hydrate
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0041128; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0041128

Results of seismic surveys are routinely used to assess the presence of methane hydrate in deep ocean sediments. Accurate estimates of hydrate distribution and volume within the sediment are required to assess the potential of gas hydrate as an energy resource, driver for climate change or as a geotechnical hazard. However, seismic velocity may be affected not only by the quantity and morphology of the hydrate, but also by the properties of the host sediment, for example its particle size distribution and grain shape. This paper reports the results of experiments conducted to determine dynamic geophysical properties such as compressional wave velocity (Vp), shear wave velocity (Vs) and their respective attenuation measurements (Qp -1 and Qs -1) of specimens with varying amounts of disseminated methane hydrate within materials with different particle shapes and sizes. The results show that the impact of disseminated hydrate is affected both by mean particle size and by particle sphericity, with the surface ...