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  • Gas hydrate  (8)
  • 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous  (7)
  • Sediment transport  (7)
  • Elsevier B.V.  (20)
  • Blackwell Publishing Ltd  (2)
  • American Chemical Society
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Years
  • 1
    Publication Date: 2020-11-18
    Description: Morphologic data for 147 cinder cones in southern Guatemala andwestern El Salvador are comparedwith data from the San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona (USA), Cima volcanic field, California (USA), Michoácan–Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico, and the Lamongan volcanic field, East Java. The Guatemala cones have an average height of 110+/-50 m, an average basal diameter of 660+/-230 m and an average top diameter of 180+/-150 m. The generalmorphology of these cones can be described by their average cone angle of slope (24+/-7), average heightto- radius ratio (0.33+/-0.09) and their flatness (0.24+/-0.18). Although the mean values for the Guatemalan cones are similar to those for other volcanic fields (e.g., San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona; Cima volcanic field, California; Michoácan–Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico; and Lamongan volcanic field, East Java), the range of morphologies encompasses almost all of those observed worldwide for cinder cones. Three new 40Ar/39Ar age dates are combined with 19 previously published dates for cones in Guatemala and El Salvador. There is no indication that the morphologies of these cones have changed over the last 500–1000 ka. Furthermore, a re-analysis of published data for other volcanic fields suggests that only in the Cima volcanic field (of those studied) is there clear evidence of degradation with age. Preliminary results of a numerical model of cinder cone growth are used to show that the range of morphologies observed in the Guatemalan cinder cones could all be primary, that is, due to processes occurring at the time of eruption.
    Description: Support for Walker was provided by NSF MARGINS grant OCE- 0405666.
    Description: Published
    Description: 39-52
    Description: 1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcani
    Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi
    Description: 3.6. Fisica del vulcanismo
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: open
    Keywords: cinder cones ; morphology ; age dating ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.03. Geomorphology ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.09. Structural geology ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.99. General or miscellaneous ; 05. General::05.02. Data dissemination::05.02.03. Volcanic eruptions
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
    Type: article
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2017-04-04
    Description: EMSO has been identified by the ESFRI Report 2006 as one of the Research Infrastructures that European members and associated states are asked to develop in the next decades. It will be based on a European-scale network of multidisciplinary seafloor observatories from the Arctic to the Black Sea with the aim of long-term real-time monitoring of processes related to geosphere/biosphere/hydrosphere interactions. EMSO will enhance our understanding of processes, providing long time series data for the different phenomenon scales which constitute the new frontier for study of Earth interior, deep-sea biology and chemistry, and ocean processes. The development of an underwater network is based on past EU projects and is supported by several EU initiatives, such as the on-going ESONET-NoE, aimed at strengthening the ocean observatories’ scientific and technological community. The EMSO development relies on the synergy between the scientific community and industry to improve European competitiveness with respect to countries such as USA, Canada and Japan. Within the FP7 Programme launched in 2006, a call for Preparatory Phase (PP) was issued in order to support the foundation of the legal and organisational entity in charge of building up and managing the infrastructure, and coordinating the financial effort among the countries. The EMSO-PP project, coordinated by the Italian INGV with participation by 11 institutions from as many European countries, started in April 2008 and will last four years.
    Description: Published
    Description: 21-27
    Description: 1.8. Osservazioni di geofisica ambientale
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: reserved
    Keywords: Marine science and technology ; Multidisciplinary seafloor monitoring ; Permanent underwater network ; European research infrastructures ; 03. Hydrosphere::03.04. Chemical and biological::03.04.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.02. Exploration geophysics::04.02.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.05. Geomagnetism::04.05.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.99. General or miscellaneous
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2017-04-04
    Description: In eastern Elba Island (Tuscany, Italy), a shallow crustal level felsic, tourmaline-bearing, dyke-sill swarm of Late Miocene age is associated with abundant tourmaline-quartz hydrothermal veins and metasomatic masses. Development of these veins and masses in the host rocks demonstrates multiple hydro-fracturing by magmatic, boron-rich saline fluid. Tourmalines in felsic dykes are schorl, whereas in veins and metasomatic masses, tourmaline composition ranges from schorl-dravite through dravite to uvite. This compositional shift is evidence for an increasing contribution to the magmatic boron-rich fluids by a Mg-Ca-Ti-rich external component represented by biotite-rich and amphibolite host rocks. This system can be envisaged as an exposed proxy of the high temperature hydrothermal system presently active in the deepest part of the Larderello-Travale geothermal field (Tuscany).
    Description: Published
    Description: 318-326
    Description: 3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra
    Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei sistemi vulcanici
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: reserved
    Keywords: Hydro-fractures ; geothermal systems ; Magmatism ; southern Tuscany ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.09. Structural geology
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2017-04-04
    Description: On 27 February 2007, two NE–SW and NNW–SSE dike-fed effusive vents opened to the North (at 650 and 400 m above sea level, asl) of the summit craters at Stromboli, forming a fissure parallel to the inner walls of the Sciara del Fuoco (SdF) sector collapse depression. The formation of these vents was soon followed by rapid subsidence of the summit crater area. This partly obstructed the central conduit, temporarily choking the fissure and increasing the deformation of the upper part of SdF. The reactivation of the NNW–SSE vent and the opening of a new vent located at 500 m asl, fed by a second dike, released the internal pressure and surface deformation ceased. The eruption then continued again from the 400 m vent, after a summit explosion on 15 March, until ending in early April after a progressive decrease of magma output. Repeated NE–SW dike intrusions have occurred in recent years, close to the upper SE limit of the SdF. In that zone, named Bastimento, the eruptive fractures traced the discontinuities that borders the SdF, increasing the risk of triggering new sector collapse. Whereas the NE–SW trending structures lie along the regional volcanostructural trend of the Aeolian arc through Stromboli, the NNW–SSE vents are oblique to this trend and may be controlled by the anomalous stress field within the unstable flank of the SdF. Another fundamental aspect of the 2007 eruption is the collapse of the central conduit, due to the rapid and deep magma drainage linked to the opening of the 400 m vent. The intrusion of dikes and development of flank vents during the 2007 eruption could possibly have triggered catastrophic landslides and related tsunami or eruptive paroxysms, but the opening of new effusive vents released the internal pressures, diminishing the hazard.
    Description: Work funded by INGV and Dipartimento Protezione Civile, Italy.
    Description: Published
    Description: 137-144
    Description: 1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcani
    Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva
    Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi
    Description: 3.6. Fisica del vulcanismo
    Description: 4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: reserved
    Keywords: 2007 Stromboli eruption ; Dike-Fed vent ; Volcano-Tectonics ; Conduit collapse ; Flank instability ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.09. Structural geology ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.02. Geodynamics ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.05. Stress ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.07. Tectonics ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.08. Volcanic arcs ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.06. Volcano monitoring ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.08. Volcanic risk ; 05. General::05.08. Risk::05.08.99. General or miscellaneous
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2017-04-04
    Description: Time series clustering is an important task in data analysis issues in order to extract implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful information froma large collection of data. Finding useful similar trends inmultivariate time series represents a challenge in several areas including geophysics environment research. While traditional time series analysis methods deal only with univariate time series, multivariate time series analysis is a more suitable approach in the field of researchwhere different kinds of data are available. Moreover, the conventional time series clustering techniques do not provide desired results for geophysical datasets due to the huge amount of data whose sampling rate is different according to the nature of signal. In this paper, a novel approach concerning geophysical multivariate time series clustering is proposed using dynamic time series segmentation and Self Organizing Maps techniques. This method allows finding coupling among trends of different geophysical data recorded from monitoring networks at Mt. Etna spanning from 1996 to 2003, when the transition from summit eruptions to flank eruptions occurred. This information can be used to carry out a more careful evaluation of the state of volcano and to define potential hazard assessment at Mt. Etna.
    Description: Thisworkwas partially funded by INGV and the DPC-INGV project “Flank”.
    Description: Published
    Description: 65-74
    Description: 1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcani
    Description: 3.6. Fisica del vulcanismo
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: reserved
    Keywords: data mining ; features extraction ; time series clustering ; self organizing maps ; Etna ; summit and flank eruptions ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.02. Geological and geophysical evidences of deep processes ; 04. Solid Earth::04.02. Exploration geophysics::04.02.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.03. Geodesy::04.03.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.06. Seismology::04.06.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.99. General or miscellaneous ; 05. General::05.01. Computational geophysics::05.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 05. General::05.01. Computational geophysics::05.01.01. Data processing ; 05. General::05.01. Computational geophysics::05.01.04. Statistical analysis
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2017-04-04
    Description: Many volcanic edifices are subject to flank failure, usually produced by a combination of events, rather than any single process. From a dynamic point of view, the cause of collapse can be divided into factors that contribute to an increase in shear stress, and factors that contribute to the reduction in the friction coefficient μ of a potential basal failure plane. We study the potential for flank failure at Mount Etna considering a schematic section of the eastern flank, approximated by a wedge-like block. For such geometry, we perform a (steady state) limit equilibrium analysis: the resolution of the forces parallel to the possible basal failure plane allows us to determine the total force acting on the potentially unstable wedge. An estimate of the relative strength of these forces suggests that, in first approximation, the stability is controlled primarily by the balance between block weight, lithostatic load and magmatic forces. Any other force (sea load, hydrostatic uplift, and the uplift due to mechanical and thermal pore-fluid pressure) may be considered of second order. To study the model sensitivity, we let the inferred slope α of the basal surface failure vary between −10° and 10°, and consider three possible scenarios: no magma loading, magmastatic load, and magmastatic load with magma overpressure. We use error propagation to include in our analysis the uncertainties in the estimates of the mechanics and geometrical parameters controlling the block equilibrium. When there is no magma loading, the ratio between destabilizing and stabilizing forces is usually smaller than the coefficient of friction of the basal failure plane. In the absence of an initiating mechanism, and with the nominal values of the coefficient of friction μ = 0.7 ± 0.1 proposed, the representative wedge will remain stable or continue to move at constant speed. In presence of magmastatic forces, the influence of the lateral restraint decreases. If we consider the magmastatic load only, the block will remain stable (or continue to move at constant speed), unless the transient mechanical and thermal pressurization significantly decrease the friction coefficient, increasing the instability of the flank wedge for α 〉 5° (seaward dipping decollement). When the magma overpressure contribution is included in the equilibrium analysis, the ratio between destabilizing and stabilizing forces is of the same order or larger than the coefficient of friction of the basal failure plane, and the block will become unstable (or accelerate), especially in the case of the reduction in friction coefficient. Finally, our work suggests that the major challenge in studying flank instability at Mount Etna is not the lack of an appropriate physical model, but the limited knowledge of the mechanical and geometrical parameters describing the block equilibrium.
    Description: This work was funded by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) and the Italian Dipartimento per la Protezione Civile (DPC) (DPC-INGV project V4 “Flank”).
    Description: Published
    Description: 153-164
    Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva
    Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi
    Description: 3.6. Fisica del vulcanismo
    Description: 4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: reserved
    Keywords: Etna ; dike intrusion ; flank instability ; poro-elasticity ; analytical modelling ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.02. Geological and geophysical evidences of deep processes ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.06. Rheology, friction, and structure of fault zones ; 04. Solid Earth::04.04. Geology::04.04.09. Structural geology ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.02. Geodynamics ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.05. Stress ; 04. Solid Earth::04.07. Tectonophysics::04.07.07. Tectonics ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.03. Magmas ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.06. Volcano monitoring ; 04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.08. Volcanic risk ; 05. General::05.01. Computational geophysics::05.01.99. General or miscellaneous
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 7
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    Blackwell Publishing Ltd
    Publication Date: 2017-04-04
    Description: We present a new crustal model for the European plate, derived from collection and critical integration of information selected from the literature. The model covers the whole European plate from North Africa to the North Pole (20N - 90N) and from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to the Urals (40W - 70E). The chosen parameterization represents the crust in three layers (sediments, upper crust and lower crust), and describes the 3D geometry of the interfaces and seismologically-relevant parameters — isotropic P- and S-wave velocity, plus density — with a resolution of 0.5 × 0.5 degrees on a geographical latitude-longitude grid. We selected global and local models, derived from geological assumptions, active seismic experiments, surface-wave studies, noise correlation, receiver functions. Model EPcrust presents significant advantages with respect to previous models: it covers the whole European plate; it is a complete and internally-consistent model (with all the parameters provided, also for the sedimentary layer); it is reproducible; it is easy to update in the future by adding new contributions; and it is available in a convenient digital format. EPcrust could be used to account for crustal structure in seismic wave propagation modeling at continental scale or to compute linearized crustal corrections in continental-scale seismic tomography, gravity studies, dynamic topography and other applications that require a reliable crustal structure. Because of its resolution, our model is not suited for local-scale studies, such as the computation of earthquake scenarios, where more detailed knowledge of the structure is required. We plan to update the model as new data will become available, and possibly improve its resolution for selected areas in the future.
    Description: Published
    Description: 352-364
    Description: 3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: reserved
    Keywords: Europe ; crust ; crustal properties ; Moho ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.99. General or miscellaneous ; 04. Solid Earth::04.01. Earth Interior::04.01.01. Composition and state
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Ocean Modelling 35 (2010): 230-244, doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2010.07.010.
    Description: Understanding the processes responsible for coastal change is important for managing our coastal resources, both natural and economic. The current scientific understanding of coastal sediment transport and geology suggests that examining coastal processes at regional scales can lead to significant insight into how the coastal zone evolves. To better identify the significant processes affecting our coastlines and how those processes create coastal change we developed a Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere–Wave–Sediment Transport (COAWST) Modeling System, which is comprised of the Model Coupling Toolkit to exchange data fields between the ocean model ROMS, the atmosphere model WRF, the wave model SWAN, and the sediment capabilities of the Community Sediment Transport Model. This formulation builds upon previous developments by coupling the atmospheric model to the ocean and wave models, providing one-way grid refinement in the ocean model, one-way grid refinement in the wave model, and coupling on refined levels. Herein we describe the modeling components and the data fields exchanged. The modeling system is used to identify model sensitivity by exchanging prognostic variable fields between different model components during an application to simulate Hurricane Isabel during September 2003. Results identify that hurricane intensity is extremely sensitive to sea surface temperature. Intensity is reduced when coupled to the ocean model although the coupling provides a more realistic simulation of the sea surface temperature. Coupling of the ocean to the atmosphere also results in decreased boundary layer stress and coupling of the waves to the atmosphere results in increased bottom stress. Wave results are sensitive to both ocean and atmospheric coupling due to wave–current interactions with the ocean and wave growth from the atmosphere wind stress. Sediment resuspension at regional scale during the hurricane is controlled by shelf width and wave propagation during hurricane approach.
    Keywords: Coupled models ; ROMS ; SWAN ; WRF ; Sediment transport
    Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 93 (2011): 142-150, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2011.04.004.
    Description: Simulations of estuarine bathymetric change over decadal timescales require methods for idealization and reduction of forcing data and boundary conditions. Continuous simulations are hampered by computational and data limitations and results are rarely evaluated with observed bathymetric change data. Bathymetric change data for Suisun Bay, California span the 1867–1990 period with five bathymetric surveys during that period. The four periods of bathymetric change were modeled using a coupled hydrodynamic-sediment transport model operated at the tidal-timescale. The efficacy of idealization techniques was investigated by discontinuously simulating the four periods. The 1867–1887 period, used for calibration of wave energy and sediment parameters, was modeled with an average error of 37% while the remaining periods were modeled with error ranging from 23% to 121%. Variation in post-calibration performance is attributed to temporally variable sediment parameters and lack of bathymetric and configuration data for portions of Suisun Bay and the Delta. Modifying seaward sediment delivery and bed composition resulted in large performance increases for post-calibration periods suggesting that continuous simulation with constant parameters is unrealistic. Idealization techniques which accelerate morphological change should therefore be used with caution in estuaries where parameters may change on sub-decadal timescales. This study highlights the utility and shortcomings of estuarine geomorphic models for estimating past changes in forcing mechanisms such as sediment supply and bed composition. The results further stress the inherent difficulty of simulating estuarine changes over decadal timescales due to changes in configuration, benthic composition, and anthropogenic forcing such as dredging and channelization.
    Description: This study was supported by the U.S Geological Survey’s Priority Ecosystems Science program, CALFED Bay/Delta Program, and the University of California Center forWater Resources.
    Keywords: Estuarine geomorphology ; Sediment transport ; Modeling ; Hindcasting
    Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Continental Shelf Research 26 (2006): 2029-2049, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2006.07.022.
    Description: A field experiment was carried out in Massachusetts Bay in August 1998 to assess the role of large-amplitude internal waves (LIWs) in resuspending bottom sediments. The field experiment consisted of a four-element moored array extending from just west of Stellwagen Bank (90-m water depth) across Stellwagen Basin (85- and 50-m water depth) to the coast (24-m water depth). The LIWs were observed in packets of 5–10 waves, had periods of 5–10 min and wavelengths of 200–400 m, and caused downward excursions of the thermocline of as much as 30 m. At the 85-m site, the current measured 1 m above bottom (mab) typically increased from near 0 to 0.2 m/s offshore in a few minutes upon arrival of the LIWs. At the 50-m site, the near-bottom offshore flow measured 6 mab increased from about 0.1 to 0.4–0.6 m/s upon arrival of the LIWs and remained offshore in the bottom layer for 1–2 h. The near-bottom currents associated with the LIWs, in concert with the tidal currents, were directed offshore and sufficient to resuspend the bottom sediments at both the 50- and 85-m sites. When LIWs are present, they may resuspend sediments for as long as 5 hours each tidal cycle as they travel westward across Stellwagen Basin. At 85-m water depth, resuspension associated with LIWs is estimated to occur for about 0.4 days each summer, about the same amount of time as caused by surface waves.
    Description: MBIWE98 was supported by the USGS and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The long-term observations at LT-A and LT-B were conducted under a Joint Funding Agreement between the USGS and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and an Inter-Service Agreement with the US Coast Guard. A. Scotti received support from the WHOI Postdoctoral Scholar program, the Johnson Foundation, the USGS, and ONR through grant N00014-01-1-0172; R. Beardsley through ONR grants N00014-98-1-0059, N00014-00-1-0210 and the WHOI Smith Chair in Coastal Physical Oceanography; and S. Anderson through ONR grant N000140-97-1-0158.
    Keywords: Internal waves ; Sediment transport ; Massachusetts Bay ; Stellwagen Bank
    Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server
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  • 11
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Continental Shelf Research 28 (2008): 257-282, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2007.08.008.
    Description: Massachusetts Bay is a semi-enclosed embayment in the western Gulf of Maine about 50 km wide and 100 km long. Bottom sediment resuspension is controlled predominately by storm-induced surface waves and transport by the tidal- and wind-driven circulation. Because the Bay is open to the northeast, winds from the northeast (‘Northeasters’) generate the largest surface waves and are thus the most effective in resuspending sediments. The three-dimensional oceanographic circulation model Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) is used to explore the resuspension, transport, and deposition of sediment caused by Northeasters. The model transports multiple sediment classes and tracks the evolution of a multilevel sediment bed. The surficial sediment characteristics of the bed are coupled to one of several bottom-boundary layer modules that calculate enhanced bottom roughness due to wave–current interaction. The wave field is calculated from the model Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN). Two idealized simulations were carried out to explore the effects of Northeasters on the transport and fate of sediments. In one simulation, an initially spatially uniform bed of mixed sediments exposed to a series of Northeasters evolved to a pattern similar to the existing surficial sediment distribution. A second set of simulations explored sediment-transport pathways caused by storms with winds from the northeast quadrant by simulating release of sediment at selected locations. Storms with winds from the north cause transport southward along the western shore of Massachusetts Bay, while storms with winds from the east and southeast drive northerly nearshore flow. The simulations show that Northeasters can effectively transport sediments from Boston Harbor and the area offshore of the harbor to the southeast into Cape Cod Bay and offshore into Stellwagen Basin. This transport pattern is consistent with Boston Harbor as the source of silver found in the surficial sediments of Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen Basin.
    Description: We gratefully acknowledge support from the USGS Mendenhall Post-Doctoral Research Program for John C. Warner.
    Keywords: Sediment transport ; Three-dimensional numerical model ; Storms ; Northeasters ; Multiple grain sizes ; USA ; Gulf of Maine ; Massachusetts Bay
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  • 12
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 25 (2008): 942-951, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.01.016.
    Description: Pore waters extracted from 18 piston cores obtained on and near a salt-cored bathymetric high in Keathley Canyon lease block 151 in the northern Gulf of Mexico contain elevated concentrations of chloride (up to 838 mM) and have pore water chemical concentration profiles that exhibit extensive departures (concavity) from steady-state (linear) diffusive equilibrium with depth. Minimum δ13C dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) values of −55.9‰ to −64.8‰ at the sulfate–methane transition (SMT) strongly suggest active anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) throughout the study region. However, the nonlinear pore water chemistry-depth profiles make it impossible to determine the vertical extent of active AOM or the potential role of alternate sulfate reduction pathways. Here we utilize the conservative (non-reactive) nature of dissolved chloride to differentiate the effects of biogeochemical activity (e.g., AOM and/or organoclastic sulfate reduction) relative to physical mixing in high salinity Keathley Canyon sediments. In most cases, the DIC and sulfate concentrations in pore waters are consistent with a conservative mixing model that uses chloride concentrations at the seafloor and the SMT as endmembers. Conservative mixing of pore water constituents implies that an undetermined physical process is primarily responsible for the nonlinearity of the pore water-depth profiles. In limited cases where the sulfate and DIC concentrations deviated from conservative mixing between the seafloor and SMT, the δ13C-DIC mixing diagrams suggest that the excess DIC is produced from a 13C-depleted source that could only be accounted for by microbial methane, the dominant form of methane identified during this study. We conclude that AOM is the most prevalent sink for sulfate and that it occurs primarily at the SMT at this Keathley Canyon site.
    Description: This work was supported by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, and the Naval Research Laboratory. J.W.P was supported by a USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program during preparation of this manuscript.
    Keywords: Gas hydrate ; Methane ; Anaerobic methane oxidation ; Sulfate ; Brine ; Gulf of Mexico
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  • 13
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 25 (2008): 969-976, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.01.020.
    Description: In the northern Gulf of Mexico, a series of seafloor mounds lie along the floor of the Mississippi Canyon in Atwater Valley lease blocks 13 and 14. The mounds, one of which was drilled by the Chevron Joint Industry Project on Methane Hydrates in 2005, are interpreted to be vent-related features that may contain significant accumulations of gas hydrate adjacent to gas and fluid migration pathways. The mounds are located not, vert, similar150 km south of Louisiana at not, vert, similar1300 m water depth. New side-scan sonar data, multibeam bathymetry, and near-bottom photography along a 4 km northwest–southeast transect crossing two of the mounds (labeled D and F) reveal the mounds' detailed morphology and surficial characteristics. Mound D, not, vert, similar250 m in diameter and 7–10 m in height, has exposures of authigenic carbonates and appears to result from a seafloor vent of slow-to-moderate flux. Mound F, which is not, vert, similar400 m in diameter and 10–15 m high, is covered on its southwest flank by extruded mud flows, a characteristic associated with moderate-to-rapid flux. Chemosynthetic communities visible on the bottom photographs are restricted to bacterial mats on both mounds and mussels at Mound D. No indications of surficial gas hydrates are evident on the bottom photograph
    Description: Partial support for the research cruises that collected the data for this study was provided by the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Lab.
    Keywords: Gas hydrate ; Seafloor mounds ; Side-scan sonar ; Multibeam bathymetry ; Near-bottom photography ; Chemosynthetic communities
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  • 14
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Chemical Geology 339 (2013): 242-250, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2012.09.033.
    Description: As a consequence of contemporary or longer term (since 15 ka) climate warming, gas hydrates in some settings may presently be dissociating and releasing methane and other gases to the ocean–atmosphere system. A key challenge in assessing the impact of dissociating gas hydrates on global atmospheric methane is the lack of a technique able to distinguish between methane recently released from gas hydrates and methane emitted from leaky thermogenic reservoirs, shallow sediments (some newly thawed), coal beds, and other sources. Carbon and deuterium stable isotopic fractionation during methane formation provides a first-order constraint on the processes (microbial or thermogenic) of methane generation. However, because gas hydrate formation and dissociation do not cause significant isotopic fractionation, a stable isotope-based hydrate-source determination is not possible. Here, we investigate patterns of mass-dependent noble gas fractionation within the gas hydrate lattice to fingerprint methane released from gas hydrates. Starting with synthetic gas hydrate formed under laboratory conditions, we document complex noble gas fractionation patterns in the gases liberated during dissociation and explore the effects of aging and storage (e.g., in liquid nitrogen), as well as sampling and preservation procedures. The laboratory results confirm a unique noble gas fractionation pattern for gas hydrates, one that shows promise in evaluating modern natural gas seeps for a signature associated with gas hydrate dissociation.
    Description: Partial support for this research was provided by Interagency Agreements DE-FE0002911 and DE-NT0006147 between the U.S. Geological Survey Gas Hydrates Project and the U.S. Department of Energy's Methane Hydrates Research and Development Program.
    Keywords: Gas hydrate ; Noble gas ; Methane ; Stable isotopes ; Mass-fractionation
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  • 15
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Continental Shelf Research 30 (2010): 761-780, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2010.01.011.
    Description: Sediment transport and the potential for erosion or deposition have been investigated on the Palos Verdes (PV) and San Pedro shelves in southern California to help assess the fate of an effluent-affected deposit contaminated with DDT and PCBs. Bottom boundary layer measurements at two 60-m sites in spring 2004 were used to set model parameters and evaluate a one-dimensional (vertical) model of local, steady-state resuspension, and suspended-sediment transport. The model demonstrated skill (Brier scores up to 0.75) reproducing the magnitudes of bottom shear stress, current speeds, and suspended-sediment concentrations measured during an April transport event, but the model tended to underpredict observed rotation in the bottom-boundary layer, possibly because the model did not account for the effects of temperature–salinity stratification. The model was run with wave input estimated from a nearby buoy and current input from four to six years of measurements at thirteen sites on the 35- and 65-m isobaths on the PV and San Pedro shelves. Sediment characteristics and erodibility were based on gentle wet-sieve analysis and erosion-chamber measurements. Modeled flow and sediment transport were mostly alongshelf toward the northwest on the PV shelf with a significant offshore component. The 95th percentile of bottom shear stresses ranged from 0.09 to 0.16 Pa at the 65-m sites, and the lowest values were in the middle of the PV shelf, near the Whites Point sewage outfalls where the effluent-affected layer is thickest. Long-term mean transport rates varied from 0.9 to 4.8 metric tons m−1 yr−1 along the 65-m isobaths on the PV shelf, and were much higher at the 35-m sites. Gradients in modeled alongshore transport rates suggest that, in the absence of a supply of sediment from the outfalls or PV coast, erosion at rates of not, vert, similar0.2 mm yr−1 might occur in the region southeast of the outfalls. These rates are small compared to some estimates of background natural sedimentation rates (not, vert, similar5 mm yr−1), but do not preclude higher localized rates near abrupt transitions in sediment characteristics. However, low particle settling velocities and strong currents result in transport length-scales that are long relative to the narrow width of the PV shelf, which combined with the significant offshore component in transport, means that transport of resuspended sediment towards deep water is as likely as transport along the axis of the effluent-affected deposit.
    Description: These studies were funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency Palos Verdes Super fund remediation project
    Keywords: Sediment transport ; Erodibility ; DDT ; PCBs ; Numerical model ; USA ; California ; Palos Verdes
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  • 16
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Ocean Modelling 33 (2010): 299-313, doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2010.03.003.
    Description: A variety of algorithms are available for parameterizing the hydrodynamic bottom roughness associated with grain size, saltation, bedforms, and wave–current interaction in coastal ocean models. These parameterizations give rise to spatially and temporally variable bottom-drag coefficients that ostensibly provide better representations of physical processes than uniform and constant coefficients. However, few studies have been performed to determine whether improved representation of these variable bottom roughness components translates into measurable improvements in model skill. We test the hypothesis that improved representation of variable bottom roughness improves performance with respect to near-bed circulation, bottom stresses, or turbulence dissipation. The inner shelf south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, is the site of sorted grain-size features which exhibit sharp alongshore variations in grain size and ripple geometry over gentle bathymetric relief; this area provides a suitable testing ground for roughness parameterizations. We first establish the skill of a nested regional model for currents, waves, stresses, and turbulent quantities using a uniform and constant roughness; we then gauge model skill with various parameterization of roughness, which account for the influence of the wave-boundary layer, grain size, saltation, and rippled bedforms. We find that commonly used representations of ripple-induced roughness, when combined with a wave–current interaction routine, do not significantly improve skill for circulation, and significantly decrease skill with respect to stresses and turbulence dissipation. Ripple orientation with respect to dominant currents and ripple shape may be responsible for complicating a straightforward estimate of the roughness contribution from ripples. In addition, sediment-induced stratification may be responsible for lower stresses than predicted by the wave–current interaction model.
    Description: Funding was provided through the Office of Naval Research Ripples DRI and U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program.
    Keywords: Sediment transport ; Roughness ; Bottom-boundary layer ; Model skill
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  • 17
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Continental Shelf Research 42 (2012): 51–63, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2012.05.001.
    Description: Long Bay is a sediment-starved, arcuate embayment located along the US East Coast connecting both South and North Carolina. In this region the rates and pathways of sediment transport are important because they determine the availability of sediments for beach nourishment, seafloor habitat, and navigation. The impact of storms on sediment transport magnitude and direction were investigated during the period October 2003–April 2004 using bottom mounted flow meters, acoustic backscatter sensors and rotary sonars deployed at eight sites offshore of Myrtle Beach, SC, to measure currents, water levels, surface waves, salinity, temperature, suspended sediment concentrations, and bedform morphology. Measurements identify that sediment mobility is caused by waves and wind driven currents from three predominant types of storm patterns that pass through this region: (1) cold fronts, (2) warm fronts and (3) low-pressure storms. The passage of a cold front is accompanied by a rapid change in wind direction from primarily northeastward to southwestward. The passage of a warm front is accompanied by an opposite change in wind direction from mainly southwestward to northeastward. Low-pressure systems passing offshore are accompanied by a change in wind direction from southwestward to southeastward as the offshore storm moves from south to north. During the passage of cold fronts more sediment is transported when winds are northeastward and directed onshore than when the winds are directed offshore, creating a net sediment flux to the north–east. Likewise, even though the warm front has an opposite wind pattern, net sediment flux is typically to the north–east due to the larger fetch when the winds are northeastward and directed onshore. During the passage of low-pressure systems strong winds, waves, and currents to the south are sustained creating a net sediment flux southwestward. During the 3-month deployment a total of 8 cold fronts, 10 warm fronts, and 10 low-pressure systems drove a net sediment flux southwestward. Analysis of a 12-year data record from a local buoy shows an average of 41 cold fronts, 32 warm fronts, and 26 low-pressure systems per year. The culmination of these events would yield a cumulative net inner-continental shelf transport to the south–west, a trend that is further verified by sediment textural analysis and bedform morphology on the inner-continental shelf.
    Description: This research was funded by the South Carolina Coastal Erosion Project(http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3041/), a cooperative study supported by the US Geological Survey and the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium(Sea Grant Project no:R/CP-11).
    Keywords: Sediment transport ; Long Bay ; South Carolina ; Storm fronts
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  • 18
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 25 (2008): 906-918, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.01.012.
    Description: The Keathley Canyon sites drilled in 2005 by the Chevron Joint Industry Project are located along the southeastern edge of an intraslope minibasin (Casey basin) in the northern Gulf of Mexico at 1335 m water depth. Around the drill sites, a grid of 2D high-resolution multichannel seismic data designed to image depths down to at least 1000 m sub-bottom reveals 7 unconformities and disconformities that, with the seafloor, bound 7 identifiable seismic stratigraphic units. A major disconformity in the middle of the units stands out for its angular baselapping geometry. From these data, three episodes of sedimentary deposition and deformation are inferred. The oldest episode consists of fine-grained muds deposited during a period of relative stability in the basin (units e, f, and g). Both the BSR and inferred gas hydrate occur within these older units. The gas hydrate occurs in near-vertical fractures. A second episode (units c and d) involved large vertical displacements associated with infilling and ponding of sediment. This second interval corresponds to deposition of intercalated fine and coarse-grained material that was recovered in the drill hole that penetrated the thin edges of the regionally much thicker units. The final episode of deposition (units a and b) occurred during more subdued vertical motions. Hemipelagic drape (unit a) characterizes the modern seafloor. The present-day Casey basin is mostly filled. Its sill is part of a subsiding graben structure that is only 10–20 m shallower than the deepest point in the basin, indicating that gravity-driven transport would mostly bypass the basin. Contemporary faulting along the basin margins has selectively reactivated an older group of faults. The intercalated sand and mud deposits of units c and d are tentatively correlated with Late Pleistocene deposition derived from the western shelf-edge delta/depocenter of the Mississippi River, which was probably most active from 320 ka to 70 ka [Winker, C.D., Booth, J., 2000. Sedimentary dynamics of the salt-dominated continental slope, Gulf of Mexico: integration of observations from the seafloor, near-surface, and deep subsurface. In: Proceedings of the GCSSEPM Foundation 20th Annual Research Conference, Deep-water Reservoirs of the World, pp. 1059–1086]. The presence of sand within the gas hydrate stability zone (in units c and d) is not sufficient to concentrate gas hydrate even though dispersed gas hydrate occurs deeper in the fractured mud/clay-rich sections of units e and f.
    Description: Partial support for the field and interpretive aspects of this project were provided by the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Lab (NETL).
    Keywords: Gulf of Mexico ; Gas hydrate ; Methane hydrate ; Geologic framework ; Joint industry projects ; JIP
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  • 19
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 25 (2008): 819-829, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.02.007.
    Description: The Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates Joint Industry Project (JIP) is a consortium of production and service companies and some government agencies formed to address the challenges that gas hydrates pose for deepwater exploration and production. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and with scientific assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey and academic partners, the JIP has focused on studies to assess hazards associated with drilling the fine-grained, hydrate-bearing sediments that dominate much of the shallow subseafloor in the deepwater (〉500 m) Gulf of Mexico. In preparation for an initial drilling, logging, and coring program, the JIP sponsored a multi-year research effort that included: (a) the development of borehole stability models for hydrate-bearing sediments; (b) exhaustive laboratory measurements of the physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments; (c) refinement of new techniques for processing industry-standard 3-D seismic data to constrain gas hydrate saturations; and (d) construction of instrumentation to measure the physical properties of sediment cores that had never been removed from in situ hydrostatic pressure conditions. Following review of potential drilling sites, the JIP launched a 35-day expedition in Spring 2005 to acquire well logs and sediment cores at sites in Atwater Valley lease blocks 13/14 and Keathley Canyon lease block 151 in the northern Gulf of Mexico minibasin province. The Keathley Canyon site has a bottom simulating reflection at not, vert, ~ 392 m below the seafloor, while the Atwater Valley location is characterized by seafloor mounds with an underlying upwarped seismic reflection consistent with upward fluid migration and possible shoaling of the base of the gas hydrate stability (BGHS). No gas hydrate was recovered at the drill sites, but logging data, and to some extent cores, suggest the occurrence of gas hydrate in inferred coarser-grained beds and fractures, particularly between 220 and 330 m below the seafloor at the Keathley Canyon site. This paper provides an overview of the results of the initial phases of the JIP work and introduces the 15 papers that make up this special volume on the scientific results related to the 2005 logging and drilling expedition.
    Description: Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, under award DE-FC26-01NT41330
    Keywords: Gas hydrate ; Hazard ; Ocean drilling ; Borehole ; Gulf of Mexico
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  • 20
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 28 (2011): 589-607, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2009.12.004.
    Description: Data acquired at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, drilled in the Milne Point area of the Alaska North Slope in February, 2007, indicates two zones of high gas hydrate saturation within the Eocene Sagavanirktok Formation. Gas hydrate is observed in two separate sand reservoirs (the D and C units), in the stratigraphically highest portions of those sands, and is not detected in non-sand lithologies. In the younger D unit, gas hydrate appears to fill much of the available reservoir space at the top of the unit. The degree of vertical fill with the D unit is closely related to the unit reservoir quality. A thick, low-permeability clay-dominated unit serves as an upper seal, whereas a subtle transition to more clay-rich, and interbedded sand, silt, and clay units is associated with the base of gas hydrate occurrence. In the underlying C unit, the reservoir is similarly capped by a clay-dominated section, with gas hydrate filling the relatively lower-quality sands at the top of the unit leaving an underlying thick section of high-reservoir quality sands devoid of gas hydrate. Evaluation of well log, core, and seismic data indicate that the gas hydrate occurs within complex combination stratigraphic/structural traps. Structural trapping is provided by a four-way fold closure augmented by a large western bounding fault. Lithologic variation is also a likely strong control on lateral extent of the reservoirs, particularly in the D unit accumulation, where gas hydrate appears to extend beyond the limits of the structural closure. Porous and permeable zones within the C unit sand are only partially charged due most likely to limited structural trapping in the reservoir lithofacies during the period of primary charging. The occurrence of the gas hydrate within the sands in the upper portions of both the C and D units and along the crest of the fold is consistent with an interpretation that these deposits are converted free gas accumulations formed prior to the imposition of gas hydrate stability conditions.
    Keywords: Mount Elbert well ; Gas hydrate ; Alaska North Slope ; Milne Point ; Sagavanirktok formation
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  • 21
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 28 (2011): 561-577, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.03.016.
    Description: The BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was an integral part of an ongoing project to determine the future energy resource potential of gas hydrates on the Alaska North Slope. As part of this effort, the Mount Elbert well included an advanced downhole geophysical logging program. Because gas hydrate is unstable at ground surface pressure and temperature conditions, a major emphasis was placed on the downhole-logging program to determine the occurrence of gas hydrates and the in-situ physical properties of the sediments. In support of this effort, well-log and core data montages have been compiled which include downhole log and core-data obtained from the gas-hydrate-bearing sedimentary section in the Mount Elbert well. Also shown are numerous reservoir parameters, including gas-hydrate saturation and sediment porosity log traces calculated from available downhole well log and core data.
    Keywords: Gas hydrate ; Alaska ; Resources ; Logs ; Core ; North Slope ; Drilling
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  • 22
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 28 (2011): 361-380, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.01.008.
    Description: This study characterizes cored and logged sedimentary strata from the February 2007 BP Exploration Alaska, Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey (BPXA-DOE-USGS) Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The physical-properties program analyzed core samples recovered from the well, and in conjunction with downhole geophysical logs, produced an extensive dataset including grain size, water content, porosity, grain density, bulk density, permeability, X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineralogy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and petrography. This study documents the physical property interrelationships in the well and demonstrates their correlation with the occurrence of gas hydrate. Gas hydrate (GH) occurs in three unconsolidated, coarse silt to fine sand intervals within the Paleocene and Eocene beds of the Sagavanirktok Formation: Unit D-GH (614.4 m–627.9 m); unit C-GH1 (649.8 m–660.8 m); and unit C-GH2 (663.2 m–666.3 m). These intervals are overlain by fine to coarse silt intervals with greater clay content. A deeper interval (unit B) is similar lithologically to the gas-hydrate-bearing strata; however, it is water-saturated and contains no hydrate. In this system it appears that high sediment permeability (k) is critical to the formation of concentrated hydrate deposits. Intervals D-GH and C-GH1 have average “plug” intrinsic permeability to nitrogen values of 1700 mD and 675 mD, respectively. These values are in strong contrast with those of the overlying, gas-hydrate-free sediments, which have k values of 5.7 mD and 49 mD, respectively, and thus would have provided effective seals to trap free gas. The relation between permeability and porosity critically influences the occurrence of GH. For example, an average increase of 4% in porosity increases permeability by an order of magnitude, but the presence of a second fluid (e.g., methane from dissociating gas hydrate) in the reservoir reduces permeability by more than an order of magnitude.
    Description: This work was supported by the Coastal and Marine Geology, and Energy Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey and funding was provided by the Gas Hydrate Program of the U.S. Department of Energy.
    Keywords: Gas hydrate ; Sagavanirktok Formation ; Milne Point ; Physical properties ; Grain size ; Mineralogy ; Porosity ; Permeability
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