Electrical Resistivity Investigation of Gas Hydrate Distribution in Mississippi Canyon Block 118, Gulf of Mexico
Electrical methods offer a geophysical approach for determining the sub-bottom distribution of hydrate in deep marine environments. Methane hydrate is essentially non-conductive. Hence, sediments containing hydrate are more resistive than sediments without hydrates. To date, the controlled source el...
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| Language: | unknown |
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2014
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| Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1116988 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1116988 https://doi.org/10.2172/1116988 |
| Summary: | Electrical methods offer a geophysical approach for determining the sub-bottom distribution of hydrate in deep marine environments. Methane hydrate is essentially non-conductive. Hence, sediments containing hydrate are more resistive than sediments without hydrates. To date, the controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) method has been used in marine hydrates studies. This project evaluated an alternative electrical method, direct current resistivity (DCR), for detecting marine hydrates. DCR involves the injection of direct current between two source electrodes and the simultaneous measurement of the electric potential (voltage) between multiple receiver electrodes. The DCR method provides subsurface information comparable to that produced by the CSEM method, but with less sophisticated instrumentation. Because the receivers are simple electrodes, large numbers can be deployed to achieve higher spatial resolution. In this project a prototype seafloor DCR system was developed and used to conduct a reconnaissance survey at a site of known hydrate occurrence in Mississippi Canyon Block 118. The resulting images of sub-bottom resistivities indicate that high-concentration hydrates at the site occur only in the upper 50 m, where deep-seated faults intersect the seafloor. Overall, there was evidence for much less hydrate at the site than previously thought based on available seismic and CSEM data alone. |
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