Classification of mass-transport complexes and distribution of gashydrate-bearing sediments in the northeastern continental slope of the South China Sea

Abstract

The drilling areas in Shenhu and Dongsha, South China Sea, studied from 2007 to 2015, reveal great heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of the gas hydrate reservoir. Various types of mass-transport complexes (MTCs) were developed in the study areas, which served as ideal reservoirs. To conduct exploration in these areas, it is necessary to study the different types of MTCs and the corresponding gashydrate accumulations. By integrating seismic reflection and log coring data, we classified three types of MTCs according to their stress distribution: the tension, extrusion, and shear types, and their corresponding gashydrate accumulation patterns. The results show that the accumulation of the gas-hydrate varies with the type of MTC and stress distribution depending on the MTC’s position (e.g., in the headwall, translational, or toe areas). Owing to this variance of the MTC’s position, the corresponding kinemics situation in the MTCs also varies. Accordingly, we determined the corresponding location in which the gashydrate develops for various types of MTCs. Based on the bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) and the hydrate core and image logging data, the gashydrate reservoir shows an obvious heterogeneity in various types of MTCs. The gashydrate in the tension-type MTCs are mostly borne in the toe and the headwall parts. In extrusion-type MTCs, the translational and toe parts constitute an ideal hydrate reservoir. In shear-type MTCs, the headwall and toe parts’ coarse-grained sediments show an obviously hydrate response. After comparing the gas-hydrate saturation and MTCs morphology statics data, we were able to quantitatively prove that the main factors determining gashydrate accumulation in the different types of MTCs are the fault displacement, sedimentary rate, and flow erosion rate.

Keywords

gas hydrate / accumulation pattern / mass-transport complexes (MTCs) / stress distribution / South China Sea

References

[1] Alves T M, Tiago M, LORENCO, Sérgio, D N (2010). Geomorphologic features related to gravitational collapse: submarine land sliding to lateral spreading on a Late Miocene-Quaternary slope (SE Crete, eastern Mediterranean). Geomorphology, 123(1): 13–33

[2] Alves T M (2015). Submarine slide blocks and associated soft-sediment deformation in deep-water basins: a review. Mar Pet Geol, 67: 262–285

[3] Bouma A H.( 1962). Sedimentology of Some Flysch Deposits. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1–168

[4] Brown H E, Holbrook W S, Hornbach M J, Nealon J (2006). Slide structure and role of gas hydrate at the northern boundary of the Storegga Slide, offshore Norway. Mar Geol, 229(3–4): 179–186

[5] Bryn P, Berg K, Forsberg C F, Solheim A, Kvalstad T J (2005). Explaining the Storegga slide. Mar Pet Geol, 22(1–2): 11–19

[6] Bull S, Cartwright J, Huuse M, 2009. A review of kinematic indicators from mass-transport complexes using 3D seismic data. Mar Pet Geol, 26(7): 1132–1151

[7] Bünz S, Mienert J, Berndt C (2003). Geological controls on the Storegga gas-hydrate system of the mid-Norwegian continental margin. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 209(3–4): 291–307

[8] Cook A E, Goldberg D, Kleinberg R L (2008). Fracture-controlled gas hydrate systems in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Mar Pet Geol, 25(9): 932–941

[9] Chen H, Xie X, Van Rooij D, Vandorpe T, Su M, Wang D (2014). Depositional characteristics and processes of alongslope currents related to a seamount on the northwestern margin of the Northwest Sub-Basin, South China Sea. Mar Geol, 355: 36–53

[10] Daigle H, Dugan B (2010). Origin and evolution of fracture-hosted methane hydrate deposits. J Geophys-Res Sol Ea, 115(B11)

[11] Gee M J R, Gawthorpe R L, Friedmann J S, 2005. Giant striations at the base of a submarine landslide. Mar Geol, 214(1): 287–294

[12] Guan J, Liang D, Wu N, Fan S (2009). The methane hydrate formation and the resource estimate resulting from free gas migration in seeping seafloor hydrate stability zone. J Asian Earth Sci, 36(4–5): 277–288

[13] He Y, Xie X, Kneller B C, Wang Z, Li X (2013). Architecture and controlling factors of canyon fills on the shelf margin in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Mar Pet Geol, 41: 264–276

[14] Horozal S, Lee G H, Yi B Y, Yoo D G, Park K P, Lee H Y, Kim W, Kim H J, Lee K (2009). Seismic indicators of gas hydrate and associated gas in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Japan Sea) and implications of heat flows derived from depths of the bottom-simulating reflector. Mar Geol, 258(1–4): 126–138

[15] Kvalstad T J, Andresen L, Forsberg C F, Berg K, Bryn P, Wangen M (2005). The Storegga slide: evaluation of triggering sources and slide mechanics. Mar Pet Geol, 22(1–2): 245–256

[16] Lee J W, Kwon K K, Azizi A, Oh H M, Kim W, Bahk J J, Lee D H, Lee J H (2013a). Microbial community structures of methane hydrate-bearing sediments in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea. Mar Pet Geol, 47(11): 136–146

[17] Lee J Y, Kim G Y, Kang N K, Yi B Y, Jung J W, Im J H, Son B K, Bahk J J, Chun J H, Ryu B J, Kim D S (2013b). Physical properties of sediments from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea: results from second Ulleung Basin gas hydrate drilling expedition, East Sea (Korea). Mar Pet Geol, 47(11): 43–55

[18] Lee M W, Collett T S (2012). Pore- and fracture-filling gas hydrate reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico Gas hydrate joint industry project leg II Green Canyon 955 H well. Mar Pet Geol, 34(1): 62–71

[19] Matsumoto R, Ryu B J, Lee S R, Lin S, Wu S, Sain K, Pecher I, Riedel M (2011). Occurrence and exploration of gas hydrate in the marginal seas and continental margin of the Asia and Oceania region. Mar Pet Geol, 28(10): 1751–1767

[20] Maslin M, Mikkelsen N, Vilela C, Haq B (1998). Sea-level and gas-hydrate controlled catastrophic sediment failures of the Amazon Fan. Geology, 26(12): 1107–1110

[21] Mienert J, Posewang J (1999). Evidence of shallow- and deep-water gas hydrate destabilizations in North Atlantic polar continental margin sediments. Geo-Mar Lett, 19(1–2): 143–149

[22] Milkov A V, Sassen R (2001). Estimate of gas hydrate resource, northwestern Gulf of Mexico continental slope. Mar Geol, 179(1–2): 71–83

[23] Milkov A V, Sassen R (2000). Thickness of the gas hydrate stability zone, Gulf of Mexico continental slope. Mar Pet Geol, 17(9): 981–991

[24] Nguyen M T, Amtawong J, Smoll K, Chanez A, Yamano M, Dinh G B H, Sengupta S, Martin R W, Janda K C (2016). Gas flow rate and temperature dependence of the Kinetics of Difluoromethane Clathrate Hydrate Formation from CF₂H₂ gas and ice particles. J Phys Chem C, 120(16): 8482–8489

[25] Plaza-Faverola A, Bünz S, Mienert J (2012). The free gas zone beneath gas hydrate bearing sediments and its link to fluid flow: 3-D seismic imaging offshore mid-Norway. Mar Geol, 291–294(4): 211–226

[26] Postma G, Cartigny M J B (2014). Supercritical and subcritical turbidity currents and their deposits—a synthesis. Geology, 42(11):987–990

[27] Riedel M, Collett T S, Park K (2008). Massive gas hydrate occurrences in fractured systems: combined observations from deep drilling campaigns at the Cascadia margin, Krishna-Godhavari Basin, and Ulleung Basin. J Acoust Soc Am, 123(5): 3564

[28] Riestenberg D, West O, Lee S, MacCallum S, Phelps T J (2003). Sediment surface effects on methane hydrate formation and dissociation. Mar Geol, 198(1–2): 181–190

[29] Rothwell R G, Thomson J, Kähler G (1998). Low-sea-level emplacement of a very large Late Pleistocene ‘megaturbidite’ in the western Mediterranean Sea. Nature, 392(6674): 377–380

[30] Sha Z, Liang J, Zhang G, Yang S, Lu J, Zhang Z, McConnell D R, Humphrey G (2015). A seepage gas hydrate system in northern South China Sea: seismic and well log interpretations. Mar Geol, 366: 69–78

[31] Shankar U, Riedel M (2010). Seismic and heat flow constraints from the gas hydrate system in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, India. Mar Geol, 276(1–4): 1–13

[32] Shi X, Qiu X, Xia K, Zhou D (2003). Characteristics of surface heat flow in the South China Sea. J Asian Earth Sci, 22(3): 265–277

[33] Su M, Hsiung K H, Zhang C, Xie X, Yu H S, Wang Z (2015). The linkage between longitudinal sediment routing systems and basin types in the northern South China Sea in perspective of source-to-sink. J Asian Earth Sci, 111: 1–13

[34] Su M, Sha Z, Qiao S, Liang J, Liu J, Yang R, Wu N (2015). Identification of re-deposited sediments and the relationships with heterogeneous distributions of gas hydrates in the Shenhu area. Acta Geol Sin-Engl, 89(1): 270–272

[35] Su M, Sha Z, Zhang C, Wang H, Wu N, Yang R, Liang J, Qiao S, Cang X, Liu J (2017). Types, characteristics and significances of migrating pathways of gas-bearing fluids in the Shenhu area, northern continental slope of the South China Sea. Acta Geol Sin-Engl, 91(1): 219–231

[36] Sun Q, Cartwright J, Lüdmann T, Wu S, Yao G (2017). Three-dimensional seismic characterization of a complex sediment drift in the South China Sea: evidence for unsteady flow regime. Sedimentology, 64(3): 832–853

[37] Sun Q, Cartwright J, Wu S, Zhong G, Wang S, Zhang H (2016). Submarine erosional troughs in the northern South China Sea: evidence for Early Miocene deepwater circulation and paleoceanographic change. Mar Pet Geol, 77: 75–91

[38] Sun Q, Cartwright J, Xie X, Lu X, Yuan S, Chen C (2018). Reconstruction of repeated Quaternary slope failures in the northern South China Sea. Mar Geol, 401: 17–35

[39] Tang X, Yang S, Zhu J, Long Z, Jiang G, Huang S, Hu S (2017). Tectonic subsidence of the Zhu 1 Sub-basin in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea. Front Earth Sci, 11(4): 729–739

[40] Vadakkepuliyambatta S, Hornbach M J , Bünz S, Phrampus B J (2015). Controls on gas hydrate system evolution in a region of active fluid flow in the SW Barents Sea. Ma Pet Geol, 66: 861–872

[41] Vadakkepuliyambatta S, Chand S, Bünz S (2017). The history and future trends of ocean warming-induced gas hydrate dissociation in the SW Barents Sea. Geophys Res Lett, 44(2): 835–844

[42] Wang X, Sain K, Satyavani N, Wang J, Ojha M, Wu S (2013). Gas hydrates saturation using geostatistical inversion in a fractured reservoir in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, offshore eastern India. Mar Pet Geol, 45(4): 224–235

[43] Wang X, Collett T S, Lee M W, Yang S, Guo Y, Wu S (2014). Geological controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate from core, downhole log, and seismic data in the Shenhu area, South China Sea. Mar Geol, 357: 272–292

[44] Yu X, Wang J, Shengli L I, Fang J, Jiang L, Cong X, Liang J, Sha Z (2013). The relationship between tectonic subsidence and BSR of Upper Neogene in the deep-water area of the northern continental slope, South China Sea. Acta Geol Sin-engl, 87(3): 804–818

[45] Yu X, Wang J, Liang J, Li S, Zeng X, Li W (2014). Depositional characteristics and accumulation model of gas hydrates in northern South China Sea. Mar Pet Geol, 56(3): 74–86

[46] Zhong G, Liang J, Guo Y, Kuang Z, Su P, Lin L (2017). Integrated core-log facies analysis and depositional model of the gas hydrate-bearing sediments in the northeastern continental slope, South China Sea. Mar Pet Geol, 86: 1159–1172

[47] Zhou Q, Hu G, Sun Y, Liu X, Song Y, Dong L, Dong C, (2017). Numerical research on evolvement of submarine sand waves in the Northern South China Sea. Front Earth Sci, 11(1): 1–11

[48] Zhou W, Wang Y, Gao X, Zhu W, Xu Q, Xu S, Cao J, Wu J (2015). Architecture, evolution history and controlling factors of the Baiyun submarine canyon system from the middle Miocene to Quaternary in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea. Mar Pet Geol, 67: 389–407

[49] Zhu M, Graham S, Pang X, McHargue T (2010). Characteristics of migrating submarine canyons from the middle Miocene to present: implications for paleoceanographic circulation, northern South China Sea. Mar Pet Geol, 27(1): 307–319

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature