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Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

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It has been assumed that the structure of the gas hydrate layer is<br />

simple - that its thickness should gradually increase on moving to deeper<br />

water because gas hydrate becomes stable at higher pressure-temperature<br />

conditions. This assumes that (i) pressure is simply a function of total<br />

depth from the sea surface to a position in the sediments, and (ii) the<br />

chemistry of the pore waters and the thermal gradient are fairly uniform 29 .<br />

3.3. Formation of Methane Hydrates<br />

After generation of methane, its transportation in sediment can be<br />

through various means such as movement of pore-water containing<br />

dissolved gas, free gas flow, and molecular diffusion. When the ascending<br />

methane molecules reach favourable subsurface-thermobaric conditions<br />

(i.e. hydrate stability zone) then, formation of hydrate takes place within<br />

the pore spaces of the sediments in the presence of water molecules. It can<br />

thus be seen that biogenic methane formation may take place both in situ<br />

within the hydrate stability zone (HSZ) and beneath it. Thermogenic<br />

methane on the other hand has to move upwards from depth into the<br />

HSZ. Scientists use various geochemical and isotopic techniques to<br />

identify the origin of methane in hydrate samples. After precipitation<br />

hydrate progressively fills the sediment pore-spaces and fractures, and<br />

eventually cements them to give rise to massive and vein type hydrate<br />

deposits 30 .<br />

It may be noted that the temperature and pressure conditions for<br />

hydrate stability depend on the composition of the gas and on the<br />

presence of salts and other components in seawater. It is generally<br />

believed that pore water has to be fully saturated with methane before<br />

natural hydrate can form. The condition of sufficiently high pore water<br />

methane concentration can 31 be met by i) supply of sufficiently large<br />

amounts of organic matter in the sediments to generate enhanced<br />

methanogenic decomposition; ii) large upward methane fluxes mostly<br />

related to fault zones, or other conduits such as diapirs, mud volcanism<br />

etc.<br />

3.4. Free gas below hydrates<br />

In the context of methane hydrate deposits, often free gas is<br />

mentioned. This free gas refers to methane molecules that exist as gas,<br />

which are neither bound to other molecules (for instance, to form a<br />

complex hydrocarbon) nor trapped within a hydrate. More commonly,<br />

INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 526

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