Abstract
This paper discusses the formation of a special mud-volcanic type of gas hydrate accumulation in the deep-water part of the Black Sea. The main conclusions are based on the results of geological and geophysical studies of mud volcanoes carried out in the course of numerous scientific cruises between 1970-2015. Comparison of the Black Sea submarine mud volcanoes with their on-land analogues indicates the possible use of compensatory depressions, called “recessed synclines”, accompanying mud volcanoes, which is revealed in the course of prospecting and exploration of mineral deposits. In the sea they are represented by ring deposits of methane gas hydrates.
Highlights
The Black Sea basin holds great promise of new non-traditional energy sources for the Black Sea countries and most of Europe as well due to the presence of huge methane resources stored in gas hydrates beneath the sea floor
The presence of methane is evident from outbursts of submarine mud volcanoes (MV) that commonly contain ice-like aggregates of gas hydrates as well as many high-intensity gas seeps and gas clouds that release huge quantities of methane, e.g., 4.95 to 5.65 Tg yr-1 into the water column
The MVs were always covered by a thick layer of sea water
Summary
The Black Sea basin holds great promise of new non-traditional energy sources for the Black Sea countries and most of Europe as well due to the presence of huge methane resources stored in gas hydrates beneath the sea floor. The amount of methane is estimated at between 25 and 49 trillion m3, which is several times bigger than known gas reservoirs on Earth. The area of the Black Sea suitable for gas hydrate formation is evaluated at 288100 km, representing about 68% of the total Black Sea or almost 91% of the deep-water basin; the volume of gas hydrates has been estimated at 4.8 km corresponding to 0.1-1·1012 m3 of free methane [1]. Within MVs, its concentration ranges between 93.3 and 99.98%, the rest is represented by heavy and light methane homologues [2]
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