• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2011.05a
• /
• pp.151-151
• /
• 2011

Large amounts of natural gas, mainly methane, in the form of hydrates are stored on continental margins. When gas hydrates are dissociated by any environmental trigger, generation of excess pore pressure due to released free gas may cause sediment deformation and weakening. Hence, damage on offshore structures or submarine landslide can occur by gas hydrate dissociation. Therefore, geotechnical stability of gas hydrate bearing sediments is in need to be securely assessed. However, geotechnical characteristics of gas hydrates bearing sediments including small-strain elastic moduli have been poorly identified. Synthesizing gas hydrate in natural seabed sediment specimen, which is mainly composed of silty-to-clayey soils, has been hardly attempted due to their low permeability. Moreover, it has been known that hydrate loci in pore spaces and heterogeneity of hydrate growth in specimen scale play a critical role in determining physical properties of hydrate bearing sediments. In the presented study, we synthesized gas hydrate containing sediments in an instrumented oedometric cell. Geotechnical and geophysical properties of gas hydrate bearing sediments including compressibility, small-strain elastic moduli, elastic wave, and electrical resistivity are determined by wave-based techniques during loading and unloading processes. Significant changes in volume change, elastic wave, and electrical resistivity have been observed during formation and dissociation of gas hydrate. Experimental results and analyses reveal that geotechnical properties of gas hydrates bearing sediments are highly governed by hydrate saturation, effective stress, void ratio, and soil types as well as morphological feature of hydrate formation in sediments.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.424-431
• /
• 2009

This study investigates the difference of sound velocity (compressional wave velocity) between gas hydrate-bearing sediments and nongas hydrate-bearing sediments in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea. We use a dataset measured from one site in the central part of the Ulleung Basin. Sound velocity for gas hydrate-bearing sediment shows the range from 1600 m/s to 2200 m/s. However, the value for nongas hydrate-bearing sediment is mostly around 1500 m/s, being less than 1400 m/s below 140 m subbottom depth. This trend is probably due to the presence of free gas below BSR (Bottom Simulating Reflector). Gas hydrate-bearing sediments show high value (maximum 150 Ohm-m) of resistivity. The physical properties between gas hydrate-bearing sediment and nongas hydrate-bearing sediment are characterized by the different patterns due to the presence of gas hydrate in comparison with those of marine unconsolidated sediments. Therefore, in order to investigate acoustic and physical properties for gas hydrate-bearing sediments, the study for the occurrence type and the amount of gas hydrates should be conducted simultaneously.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.397-406
• /
• 2012

During the 2nd Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition (UBGH2) in 2010, gas-hydrate-bearing sediment cores were recovered at 10 drill sites. Base, on Infrared (IR) thermal image and grain-size analysis of the cores, three distinct types of gas hydrate are classified: Type I (fracture-filling in mud layers), Type II (disseminated in mud layers), and Type III (pore-filling in sand layers). Types I and II gas hydrates occur in mud as discrete veins, nodules or disseminated particles. Type III fills the pore spaces of the sand layers encased in mud layers. In this case, the sand content of hosting sediments shows a general linear relationship with gas hydrate saturation. The degrees of temperature anomalies (${\Delta}T$) from IR images generally increase with gas hydrate saturation regardless of gas hydrate occurrence types. Type I is dominantly found in the sites where seismic profiles delineate chimney structures, whereas Type II where the drill cores are composed almost of mud layers. Type III was mainly recovered from the sites where hemipelagic muds are frequently intercalated with turbidite sand layers. Our results indicate that gas hydrate occurrence is closely related to sedimentological characteristic of gas hydrate-bearing sediments, that is, grain size distribution.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.156-168
• /
• 2013

Drilling expedition #1 in 2007 and drilling expedition #2 in 2010 were performed for gas hydrate resources evaluation and optimal site selection of pilot test in Ulleung basin, East Sea, Korea. This study presents to build the 3D spatial distribution models using the estimated sedimentary facies, porosity, and gas hydrate saturation derived by well logs and core analysis data from UBGH1-4, UBGH1-9, UBGH1-10, UBGH1-14, UBGH2-2-1, UBGH2-2-2, UBGH2-6, UBGH2-9, UBGH2-10 and UBGH2-11. The objective of 3D spatial distribution modeling is to build a geological representation of the gas hydrate-bearing sediment that honors the heterogeneity in 3D grid scale. The facies modeling is populating sedimentary facies into a geological grid using sequential indicator simulation. The porosity and gas hydrate saturation modeling used sequential Gaussian simulation to populate properties stochastically into grid cells.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.255-262
• /
• 2009

Conventionally, vertical-seismic-profiling (VSP) survey that provides high-resolution information has mainly performed to obtain the exact depth of the gas hydrate-bearing sediment, which is one of the key factors in the development of the gas hydrate. In this study, we extracted interval velocities and created corridor stacks from the first domestic zero-offset VSP data, which were acquired with three component receivers at UBGH09 borehole in Ulleung Basin where gas hydrate exists. Then we compared the corridor stacks with a CMP stacked section from surface seismic data. First of all, we converted the signals recorded with three component receivers to true vertical and horizontal components by phase rotation, and divided the data into direct waves and reflected waves by wavefield separation processing. The trend of the interval velocity extracted from the zero-offset VSP was similar to that of the sonic log obtained at the same borehole. Because the interval velocity of the gas hydrate-bearing sediment above the BSR was high, and it decreased suddenly through the BSR, we could infer that free gas is accumulated below the BSR. The results of comparing the corridor stacks to the CMP stacked section of the surface seismic data showed that most reflection events agreed well with those in the surface CMP stacked section and that the phase-rotated VSP data corresponded better with the surface seismic data than the VSP data without phase rotation. In addition, by comparing a corridor stack produced from the transverse component with the CMP stacked section of the surface seismic data, we could identify PS mode-converted reflections in the CMP stacked section.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.33-39
• /
• 2013

A drilling exploration in deep sea is being processed to develop new energy resource in the world. In 2007, the presence of the gas hydrate had been confirmed during the UBGH1 (Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition 1) in the Ulleung Basin. Geotechnical properties of the deep marine sediment are important factors for assessing the safety of gas production facility and productivity from the hydrate bearing sediment. In this study, comprehensive laboratory tests are conducted to investigate the geotechnical engineering characteristics of the deep marine sediments recovered from the hydrate occurrence regions during the UBGH2 (Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition 2) in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Korea. The index properties of the specimens including the specific gravity, atterberg limits, specific surface, and particle size distribution are measured, and these are compared to the results reported by previous studies. A zero-lateral strain cell, which houses bender elements, is used to determine stress-dependant characteristics and shear wave velocities with the vertical effective stresses. Furthermore, the hydraulic conductivity is calculated based on the consolidation test results.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.39 no.6 s.181
• /
• pp.711-717
• /
• 2006

In order to study gas hydrate, potential future energy resources, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources has conducted seismic reflection survey in the East Sea since 1997. one of evidence for presence of gas hydrate in seismic reflection data is a bottom simulating reflector (BSR). The BSR occurs at the interface between overlaying higher velocity, hydrate-bearing sediment and underlying lower velocity, free gas-bearing sediment. That is often characterized by large reflection coefficient and reflection polarity reverse to that of seafloor reflection. In order to apply depth migration to seismic reflection data. we need high performance computers and a parallelizing technique because of huge data volume and computation. Phase shift plus interpolation (PSPI) is a useful method for migration due to less computing time and computational efficiency. PSPI is intrinsically parallelizing characteristic in the frequency domain. We conducted conventional data processing for the gas hydrate data of the Ease Sea and then applied prestack depth migration using message-passing-interface PSPI (MPI_PSPI) that was parallelized by MPI local-area-multi-computer (MPI_LAM). Velocity model was made using the stack velocities after we had picked horizons on the stack image with in-house processing tool, Geobit. We could find the BSRs on the migrated stack section were about at SP 3555-4162 and two way travel time around 2,950 ms in time domain. In depth domain such BSRs appear at 6-17 km distance and 2.1 km depth from the seafloor. Since energy concentrated subsurface was well imaged we have to choose acquisition parameters suited for transmitting seismic energy to target area.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.149-157
• /
• 2003

Deep sea core samples were taken in the southwestern part of the Ulleung Basin in order to characterize the properties of shallow gases in the sediment. Amount of shallow gases in the sediments were calculated by head space techniques, and chemical and isotopic compositions of hydrocarbon gases were analyzed. Geochemical analyses were carried out on the gas bearing sediments to find out relationship between natural gas contents and organic characteristics of the sediments. Seismic characteristics of shallow gases in the sediments were also examined in this study. The amount of the hydrocarbon gases in the sediments range from 0.01% to 11.25%. Calculation of volume of gas per volume of wet sediment varies from 0.1 to 82.0 ml HC/L wet sediment. Methane consists 98% of the total hydrocarbon gases except for two samples. Based on the methane content and isotopic composition$(\delta^{13}c)$: -94.31$\textperthousand$~-55.5$\textperthousand$), the hydrocarbon gases from the sediments are generated from bacterial activities of methanogenic microbes. Contents of hydrocarbon gases are variable from site to site. Volume of shallow gases in the sediments shows no apparent trends vs. either characteristics of organic matter or particle sizes of the sediments. Gas concentration is high in the area of seismic anomalies such as blanking zone or chimney structures in the section. Physicochemically the pore water and the formation water systems are saturated with gases in these areas. Concentration of hydrocarbon gases in the sediments in these area shows favorable condition for generation of gas hydrate, as far as the other conditions are satisfied.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.53-62
• /
• 2015

To elucidate the microbial consortia responsible for the anaerobic methane oxidation in the methane hydrate bearing sediments, we compared the geochemical constituents of the sediment, the rate of sulfate reduction, and microbial biomass and diversity using an analysis of functional genes associated with the anaerobic methane oxidation and sulfate reduction between chimney site (UBGH2-3) on the continental slope and non-chimney site (UBGH2-10) on the basin of the Ulleung Basin. From the vertical profiles of geochemical constituents, sulfate and methane transition zone (SMTZ) was clearly defined between 0.5 and 1.5 mbsf (meters below seafloor) in the UBGH2-3, and between 6 and 7 mbsf at the UBGH2-10. At the UBGH2-3, the sulfate reduction rate (SRR) in the SMTZ exhibited was appeared to be $1.82nmol\;cm^{-3}d^{-1}$ at the depth of 1.15 mbsf. The SRR in the UBHG2-10 showed a highest value ($4.29nmol\;cm^{-3}d^{-1}$) at the SMTZ. The 16S rRNA gene copy numbers of total Prokaryotes, mcrA, (methyl coenzyme M reductase subunit A), and dsrA (dissimilatory sulfite reductase subunit A) showed the peaks in the SMTZ at both sites, but the maximum mcrA gene copy number of the UBGH2-10 appeared below the SMTZ (9.8 mbsf). ANME-1 was a predominant ANME (Anaerobic MEthanotroph) group in both SMTZs of the UBGH2-3 and -10. However, The sequences of ANME-2 were detected only at 2.2 mbsf of the UBGH2-3 where high methane flux was observed because of massive amount of gas hydrate at shallow depth. And Desulfosarcina-Desulfococcus (DSS) that is associated with ANME-2 was detected in 2.2 mbsf of the UBHG2-3. Overall results demonstrate that ANME-1 and ANME-2 are considered as significant archaeal groups related to methane cycle in the subsurface sediment of the East Sea, and ANME-2/DSS consortia might be more responsible for methane oxidation in the methane seeping region than in non-seeping region.