Hydrate-bearing sediment cores were retrieved from the Joetsu Basin (off Joetsu city, Niigata Prefecture) at the eastern margin of the Japan Sea during the MD179 gas hydrates cruise onboard R/V Marion Dufresne in June 2010. We measured molecular and stable isotope compositions of volatiles bound in the gas hydrates and headspace gases obtained from sediments to clarify how the minor components ...

In this work and in order to consider theoretically the effect of gas hydrates on the mechanical properties of their host sediments, hydrate fraction was introduced as a state variable in the framework of a Critical State model. For the proposed model, the process of de-structuration and softening of natural clay was considered as a proxy for the gas-hydrate-bearing-sediments behaviour. The dev...

Seismic analyses of methane hydrate data from the Blake Outer Ridge indicate high Pwave velocity and anomalously low S-wave velocity in sediments containing methane hydrates. In an attempt to explain this observed P-wave and S-wave velocity structure at the transition from gas to hydrates, the effect of different hydrate models on elastic moduli and velocities are explored. After construction o...

margins contain vast reserves of gas hydrate, a frozen form of natural gas that is embedded in cold, near-seafloor strata. Published estimates suggest that the energy represented by gas hydrate may exceed the energy available from conventional fossil fuel by a factor of 2 or more. Understanding marine hydrate systems has become critical for long-term worldwide energy planning. Groups in several...

Natural gas hydrate, also known as combustible ice, and mainly composed of methane, is identified as a potential clean energy for the 21st century. Due to its large reserves, gas hydrate can ease problems caused by energy resource shortage and has gained attention around the world. In this paper, we focus on the exploration and development of gas hydrate as well as discussing its status and fut...

Gas Hydrates are widely distributed in the near surface at high latitudes and many ocean bottoms. Our laboratory measurements help calibrate the seismic and well log data that are used to ascertain the in situ distribution of hydrates. Ultrasonic velocities are measured in unconsolidated sand specimen under thermobaric conditions comparable to those found in shallow oceanic or permafrost region...

Gas hydrates are crystalline ice-like solid materials enclosing gas molecules inside. The possibility of the presence of gas hydrates with amino acids in the universe is of interest when revealing the potential existence of life as they are evidence of a source of water and organic precursors, respectively. However, little is known about how they can naturally coexist, and their crystallization...

In this study we evaluate the response of oceanic subsurface systems to thermal stresses caused by the flow of warm fluids through non-insulated well systems crossing hydrate-bearing sediments. Heat transport from warm fluids, originating from deeper reservoirs under production, into the geologic media can cause dissociation of the gas hydrates. The objective of this study is to determine wheth...

For almost 30 years. serious interest has been directed toward natural gas hydrate, a crystalline solid composed of water and methane, as a potential (i) energy resource, (ii) factor in global climate change, and (iii) submarine geohazard. Although each of these issues can affect human welfare, only (iii) is considered to be of immediate importance. Assessments of gas hydrate as an energy resou...

CH4/CO2 replacement is of great significance for the exploitation natural gas hydrate resources and CO2 storage. The feasibility this method relies on our understanding efficiency mechanism. In study, experiments were carried out to study distribution characteristics CH4 in hydrate-bearing sediments during after replacement. Similar previously reported data, also implied that process could be d...