Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone
© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Widespread seafloor methane venting has been reported in many regions of the world oceans in the past decade. Identifying and quantifying where and how much methane is being released into the ocean remains a major challenge and a critical gap...
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ftmit:oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/132996 2023-06-11T04:14:01+02:00 Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone Fu, Xiaojing Jimenez-Martinez, Joaquin Nguyen, Thanh Phong Carey, J William Viswanathan, Hari Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis Juanes, Ruben 2021-10-15T15:16:33Z application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132996 en eng Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 10.1073/PNAS.2011064117 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 1091-6490 0027-8424 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132996 Xiaojing Fu, Joaquin Jimenez-Martinez, Thanh Phong Nguyen, J. William Carey, Hari Viswanathan, Luis Cueto-Felgueroso, Ruben Juanes, Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2020, 117 (50) 31660-3166 Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. PNAS Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2021 ftmit 2023-05-29T08:34:57Z © 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Widespread seafloor methane venting has been reported in many regions of the world oceans in the past decade. Identifying and quantifying where and how much methane is being released into the ocean remains a major challenge and a critical gap in assessing the global carbon budget and predicting future climate [C. Ruppel, J. D. Kessler. Rev. Geophys. 55, 126-168 (2017)]. Methane hydrate (CH4 · 5.75H2O) is an ice-like solid that forms from methane-water mixture under elevated-pressure and low-temperature conditions typical of the deep marine settings (>600-m depth), often referred to as the hydrate stability zone (HSZ). Wide-ranging field evidence indicates that methane seepage often coexists with hydrate-bearing sediments within the HSZ, suggesting that hydrate formation may play an important role during the gas-migration process. At a depth that is too shallow for hydrate formation, existing theories suggest that gas migration occurs via capillary invasion and/or initiation and propagation of fractures (Fig. 1). Within the HSZ, however, a theoretical mechanism that addresses the way in which hydrate formation participates in the gas-percolation process is missing. Here, we study, experimentally and computationally, the mechanics of gas percolation under hydrate-forming conditions. We uncover a phenomenon-crustal fingering-and demonstrate how it may control methane-gas migration in ocean sediments within the HSZ. Article in Journal/Newspaper Methane hydrate DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) |
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description |
© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Widespread seafloor methane venting has been reported in many regions of the world oceans in the past decade. Identifying and quantifying where and how much methane is being released into the ocean remains a major challenge and a critical gap in assessing the global carbon budget and predicting future climate [C. Ruppel, J. D. Kessler. Rev. Geophys. 55, 126-168 (2017)]. Methane hydrate (CH4 · 5.75H2O) is an ice-like solid that forms from methane-water mixture under elevated-pressure and low-temperature conditions typical of the deep marine settings (>600-m depth), often referred to as the hydrate stability zone (HSZ). Wide-ranging field evidence indicates that methane seepage often coexists with hydrate-bearing sediments within the HSZ, suggesting that hydrate formation may play an important role during the gas-migration process. At a depth that is too shallow for hydrate formation, existing theories suggest that gas migration occurs via capillary invasion and/or initiation and propagation of fractures (Fig. 1). Within the HSZ, however, a theoretical mechanism that addresses the way in which hydrate formation participates in the gas-percolation process is missing. Here, we study, experimentally and computationally, the mechanics of gas percolation under hydrate-forming conditions. We uncover a phenomenon-crustal fingering-and demonstrate how it may control methane-gas migration in ocean sediments within the HSZ. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fu, Xiaojing Jimenez-Martinez, Joaquin Nguyen, Thanh Phong Carey, J William Viswanathan, Hari Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis Juanes, Ruben |
spellingShingle |
Fu, Xiaojing Jimenez-Martinez, Joaquin Nguyen, Thanh Phong Carey, J William Viswanathan, Hari Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis Juanes, Ruben Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone |
author_facet |
Fu, Xiaojing Jimenez-Martinez, Joaquin Nguyen, Thanh Phong Carey, J William Viswanathan, Hari Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis Juanes, Ruben |
author_sort |
Fu, Xiaojing |
title |
Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone |
title_short |
Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone |
title_full |
Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone |
title_fullStr |
Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone |
title_full_unstemmed |
Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone |
title_sort |
crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone |
publisher |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132996 |
genre |
Methane hydrate |
genre_facet |
Methane hydrate |
op_source |
PNAS |
op_relation |
10.1073/PNAS.2011064117 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 1091-6490 0027-8424 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132996 Xiaojing Fu, Joaquin Jimenez-Martinez, Thanh Phong Nguyen, J. William Carey, Hari Viswanathan, Luis Cueto-Felgueroso, Ruben Juanes, Crustal fingering facilitates free-gas methane migration through the hydrate stability zone, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2020, 117 (50) 31660-3166 |
op_rights |
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. |
_version_ |
1768391517612802048 |