Cruise and project objectives include (1) calibrating geophysical estimates of location and concentration of hydrate and underlying free gas concentrations; (2) determining physical properties (e.g., strength, permeability, compressibility) of hydrate-bearing and underlying sediments in order to evaluate the relationship between gas hydrates, fluid flow, and sea floor/slope stability; (3) evaluating the sources and transport mechanisms for gas and the physical and chemical mechanisms of hydrate formation near the sea floor and at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone; (4) collecting samples of gas hydrate preserved at in situ pressures for investigation both during and post-cruise; (5) collecting and preserving pore water, gas, and sediment samples for post-cruise geochemical and microbiological investigations; and (6) developing a better basis for understanding the impact of gas hydrates on offshore petroleum drilling and production operations.
Location
Atwater Valley, Keathley Canyon, Gulf of Mexico, United States, North America, North Atlantic;
Summary
Pressurized drilling yielded 210.06 m of core from both Atwater Valley and Keathley Canyon sites. Various geochemical and physical properties analyses were performed on the cores, as well as non-invasive scans using IR cameras, MSCL scanners and X-ray imaging.
Info derived
Samples and chemical analysis; Grain size analysis;
Comments
Sample and Data Distribution: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Miriam Kastner and Neal Driscoll): Porewater Geochemistry, Squeeze Cakes, and repository for split cores; Fugro McClelland Marine Geosciences, Inc. (Gary Humphry and Fabian Hippe): Whole Round samples for Geotechnical Properties; Georgia Institute of Technology (Tae Sup Yun and Guillermo Narsilio Ferrero): Whole Round Samples; Rice University (Brandon Dugan): Whole Round samples and Squeeze Cakes; USGS, Menlo Park (Tom Lorenson and Jennifer Dougherty): Free Gas Geochemistry and Head Space Samples; USGS, Woods Hole (Debbie Hutchinson and Bill Winters): Subsamples for Physical Properties and Pressurized Core samples. Original Center People field contained: Brian Buczkowski, sample curator and data management specialist.
Project = Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Joint Industry Program, Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Joint Industry Program
