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Sulfate‐methane transition as a proxy for average methane hydrate saturation in marine sediments
Author(s) -
Bhatnagar Gaurav,
Chapman Walter G.,
Dickens Gerald R.,
Dugan Brandon,
Hirasaki George J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl032500
Subject(s) - methane , clathrate hydrate , geology , saturation (graph theory) , hydrate , sulfate , methane gas , anaerobic oxidation of methane , mineralogy , proxy (statistics) , geochemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , combinatorics , machine learning , computer science , mathematics
We develop a relationship between the sulfate‐methane transition (SMT) and average gas hydrate saturation (AGHS) for systems dominated by methane migration from deeper sources. The relationship is explained by a one‐dimensional numerical model that simulates gas hydrate accumulation in marine sediments. Higher methane fluxes result in shallow SMT depths and high AGHS, while lower methane fluxes result in deep SMTs and low AGHS. We also generalize the variation between AGHS and scaled SMT depth, a procedure that aids prediction of AGHS at different sites from observations of the SMT, such as along Cascadia Margin.