Progress in Global Gas Hydrate Development and Production as a New Energy Resource

Natural gas hydrates have been hailed as a new and promising unconventional alternative energy,especially as fossil fuels approach depletion,energy consumption soars,and fossil fuel prices rise,owing to their extensive distribution,abundance,and high fuel efficiency.Gas hydrate reservoirs are similar to a storage cupboard in the global carbon cycle,containing most of the world's methane and accounting for a third of Earth's mobile organic carbon.We investigated gas hydrate stability zone burial depths from the viewpoint of conditions associated with stable existence of gas hydrates,such as temperature,pressure,and heat flow,based on related data collected by the global drilling programs.Hydrate-related areas are estimated using various biological,geochemical and geophysical tools.Based on a series of previous investigations,we cover the history and status of gas hydrate exploration in the USA,Japan,South Korea,India,Germany,the polar areas,and China.Then,we review the current techniques for hydrate exploration in a global scale.Additionally,we briefly review existing techniques for recovering methane from gas hydrates,including thermal stimulation,depressurization,chemical injection,and CH4-CO2 exchange,as well as corresponding global field trials in Russia,Japan,United States,Canada and China.In particular,unlike diagenetic gas hydrates in coarse sandy sediments in Japan and gravel sediments in the United States and Canada,most gas hydrates in the northem South China Sea are non-diagenetic and exist in fine-grained sediments with a vein-like morphology.Therefore,especially in terms of the offshore production test in gas hydrate reservoirs in the Shenhu area in the north slope of the South China Sea,Chinese scientists have proposed two unprecedented techniques that have been verified during the field trials:solid fluidization and formation fluid extraction.Herein,we introduce the two production techniques,as well as the so-called"fbur-in-one"environmental monitoring system employed during the Shenhu production test.Methane is not currently commercially produced from gas hydrates anywhere in the world;therefore,the objective of field trials is to prove whether existing techniques could be applied as feasible and economic production methods for gas hydrates in deep-water sediments and permafrost zones.Before achieving commercial methane recovery from gas hydrates,it should be necessary to measure the geologic properties of gas hydrate reservoirs to optimize and improve existing production techniques.Herein,we propose horizontal wells,multilateral wells,and cluster wells improved by the vertical and in dividual wells applied during existing field trials.It is noteworthy that relatively pure gas hydrates occur in seafloor mounds,within near-surface sediments,and in gas migration conduits.Their extensive distribution,high saturation,and easy access mean that these types of gas hydrate may attract considerable attention from academia and industry in the future.Herein,we also review the occurrence and development of concentrated shallow hydrate accumulations and briefly introduce exploration and production techniques.In the closing section,we discuss future research needs,key issues,and major challenges related to gas hydrate exploration and production.We believe this review article provides insight on past,present,and future gas hydrate exploration and production to provide guidelines and stimulate new work into the field of gas hydrates.

Rare-earth element geochemistry reveals the provenance of sediments on the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep

The hadal zone represents one of the last great frontiers in modern marine science,and deciphering the provenance of sediment that is supplied to these trench settings remains a largely unanswered question.Here,we examine the mineralogical and geochemical composition of a sediment core(core CD-1)that was recovered from the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench.Major element abundances and rare-earth element patterns from these sediments require inputs from both terrigenous dust and locally sourced volcanic debris.We exploit a two-endmember mixing model to demonstrate that locally sourced volcanic material dominates the sediment supply to the Challenger Deep(averaging^72%).The remainder,however,is supplied by aeolian dust(averaging^28%),which is consistent with adjacent studies that utilized Sr-Nd isotopic data.Building on a growing database,we strengthen our understanding of Asian aeolian dust input into the northwestern Pacific,which ultimately improves our appreciation of sedimentation in,and around,the hadal zone.

Contribution of Mountain River Materials to the Continental Shelf off Southeastern Hainan Island Since the Mid-Holocene

The concentrations of rare earth elements(REEs)in the bulk sediment of Core X2,which was collected from southeastern Hainan Island,were analyzed to investigate the relative contributions of various provenance regions since mid-Holocene.The results show that sediments in Core X2 were primarily derived from Hainan Island with lesser amounts from Taiwan and limited input from the Pearl River.Based on the application of quantitative inversion to model the REE data,the average contributions of river materials from southeastern Hainan Island and southwestern Taiwan to the study area were 68%and 32%,respectively.Furthermore,starting at 4.0 kyr BP,the transport of fluvial sediments from Taiwan to the study region increased due to enhanced hydrodynamics in South China Sea(SCS).These results indicate that the contributions of mountain river materials from Hainan Island and Taiwan to the continental shelf of northern SCS are non-negligible.Furthermore,these results demonstrate that mountain rivers can play an important role in the material cycle of continental margins and may feature a greater impact than large river systems in specific continental shelf areas.

扬子东南缘“湘潭式”锰矿的地球化学特征及成矿机制

湖南“湘潭式”锰矿是华南扬子地块东南缘南华纪沉积型锰矿的重要组成部分。含锰岩系赋存于大塘坡组底部碳酸锰层中,矿石类型主要为致密块状、条带状和互层状碳酸锰矿石。菱锰矿呈显微“球粒”状,多具3层圈层构造,类似“薄皮鲕”的特征。锰矿石MnO含量为12.08%~40.02%,平均28.93%,具有较低的Fe/Mn值(0.01~0.32)和较高的P含量(0.058%~0.190%),从工业用途的角度,属低Fe高P型锰矿。“湘潭式”锰矿石微量元素相对PAAS具有明显的Co、Mo、Sr富集和V、Cr、Ni、U等亏损,中稀土元素相对轻、重稀土元素富集,呈“帽式”配分模式。“湘潭式”锰矿与黔东“大塘坡式”锰矿具有相似的微量元素富集亏损特征和稀土元素配分模式,反映了它们可能存在相似的成矿背景。“湘潭式”锰矿石较低的Al/Mn(0.02~0.35)、Al/(Al+Fe+Mn)值(<0.35)和较高的(Fe+Mn)/Ti值(>25),表明锰质主要来源于海底热液活动,但锰矿石Ce正异常及弱的Eu负异常表明其并非典型的海相热水沉积,且Al_(2)O_(3)-SiO_(2)图解显示锰矿石为正常海水沉积。综合认为,“湘潭式”锰矿的锰质来源于非成矿期的海底热液活动。锰矿石Fe、Mn分离显著,U、V亏损和Mo富集的特征表明Mn沉淀时水体环境可能较为氧化。锰矿石具有明显的Ce正异常,且Ce/Ce^(*)值与Mn含量之间表现为显著正相关关系,表明Mn是在氧化环境中,以氧化物或氢氧化物的形式沉淀富集,具有与现代海底水成Fe-Mn结核类似的沉淀成因机制。与“大塘坡式”锰矿床类似,“湘潭式”锰矿具有负的δ^(13)C_(carb)值(−9.9‰~−4.3‰),锰矿石中Mn含量和δ^(13)C_(carb)值具有显著相关性,同时考虑到锰矿石S元素的陆源特征、黄铁矿的缺乏和新元古代海水中较低的SO_(4)^(2−)含量,有机质早期成岩阶段,锰氧化物作为主要电子受体氧化有机质为锰碳酸盐岩沉淀提供了HCO_(3)^(−)。但锰矿石δ^(13)C_(carb)明显高于其有机碳库δ^(13)C_(org)(−34.4‰~−32.58‰),且比地质历史时期重要碳酸锰矿床的δ^(13)C_(carb)值更为集中,说明海水可能提供了更多的碳源,锰碳酸盐岩沉淀可能发生在靠近海水–沉积物界面的位置。