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Seismic characteristics of gas hydrates at Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon

University of Texas at Austin, USA

Corresponding author: dhku{at}chevron.com

Editor's note: Dhananjay Kumar presently is affiliated with Chevron Energy Technology Company, San Ramon, California, USA

Gas hydrate is an ice-like substance that contains low molecular weight gases (mostly methane) in a lattice of water molecules (Sloan, 1998). Gas hydrates are widely present in permafrost and deep oceanic environments around the world. Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon, is one of the areas where hydrates are found in relatively high concentration. In marine environments, methane hydrates are usually stable at temperatures of 0–20° C, water depths greater than 500 m, and in sediments up to 300 m below the seafloor. Small amounts of free gas are often present below the gas-hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). The hydrate-to-free-gas contact gives a strong acoustic impedance contrast, which is evident on seismic sections as a bottom-simulating reflection (BSR). Offshore gas hydrate systems have received attention from the scientific community because of their potential to be: