Complex of Geophysical Studies of the Seyakha Catastrophic Gas Blowout Crater on the Yamal Peninsula, Russian Arctic

Vasily Bogoyavlensky,Aleksei Kishankov,Igor Bogoyavlensky,Roman Nikonov

doi:10.3390/geosciences10060215

Abstract

This article describes the main results of two Arctic expeditions in 2017–2018 to study the Seyakha Crater in the north of Western Siberia, Yamal Peninsula. It was formed on a place of a pingo-like feature (PLF) by huge blowout, self-ignition, and explosion of gas on 28 June 2017. In 2018, for the first time, the integration of geophysical studies on the Yamal Peninsula revealed in detail an Arctic gas-blowout crater within a river channel and adjacent land with permafrost. On the basis of unmanned aerial vehicle photography, echo sounding, and ground penetrating radar survey data processing, a 3D digital elevation model (DEM) of the crater and the structure of near-surface deposits was created. A previously unknown uplift inside the permafrost layers, probably connected with the processes of gas chamber formation, was revealed. A long period of continuous gas emission (mainly, biogenic methane) from the Seyakha C11 Crater (2017–2019) and other existing data show evidence for a gas-dynamic mechanism of the PLF growth and a volcanic type of eruption.

Highlights

The presence of cryolithosphere and permafrost (PF) in most parts of Russian territory has caused major problems for human activities, the construction of living and industrial objects, and the development of hydrocarbon fields
The development of hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic and Subarctic regions involves risks associated with the harsh land and climatic conditions and the presence of cryohydro- and cryolithospheres, which have been covered in numerous studies, databases, and geoinformation systems for different regions of the world [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]
Various types of geophysical equipment allowed us to study the flooded area of the Seyakha C11 Crater and the adjacent land including the “DJI Mavic” drone, “Garmin Striker Plus 7cv”, and “Deeper Smart Sonar”

Summary

Introduction

The presence of cryolithosphere and permafrost (PF) in most parts of Russian territory (about two thirds) has caused major problems for human activities, the construction of living and industrial objects, and the development of hydrocarbon fields. PF and gas hydrates, which are widespread in the Arctic onshore and offshore areas [6,31,38,39,49], constrain permanent degassing of the Earth, acting as seals for subvertical gas migration. This is why under thick PF ( inside PF) and/or gas hydrate layers, huge free gas volumes are accumulated, forming abnormally high formation pressures [19,50], which can break seals and eject large volumes of gas with massive fragments of frozen ground and ground ice

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Conclusion