On hydrogen degassing in the areas of recent activation of Ukraine

Abstract

In areas of the Earth with active endogenous regimes, degassing of the interior is often observed, usually confined to deep faults. Among the gases arriving at the surface, the highest concentrations are water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrocarbons (mainly methane). Hydrogen is distributed much less. But hydrogen degassing of the Earth may be of practical interest, because it serves as a source for the formation of environmentally friendly fuel deposits. Such deposits are still little known. They are discovered by chance. In the territory of Ukraine, as in many other countries, morphological features (oval depressions), possibly related to the outcrops of hydrogen to the surface, were found. They are located within the larger areas of modern activation. They are diagnosed according to the complex of geological and geophysical methods. But the ways of identifying the most promising areas are still unclear. The article discusses few data on the distribution of deep-seated hydrogen in different regions of Ukraine. Preliminary considerations are given on possible ways to specify search criteria in the platform part of the country, in the Donbas, the Crimea and the Carpathians. It is interesting to study hydrogen in thermal waters of Transcarpathia. In this case, exploitation of a combined geothermal-hydrogen deposits is possible. However, the above considerations are only preliminary. They are based on very limited information. First of all, accumulation of experimental data on hydrogen fluxes at relatively shallow depths in the subsoil layer in the fracture parts of zones of modern activation is necessary. Of interest may be postgeosynclinal zones and those ones located on the platform.