A GEOLOGICAL MODEL FOR SHALLOW GAS HYDRATES ACCUMULATION ASSOCIATED WITH MUD VOLCANO

The mud volcanism in deep-water setting may provide transporting media and migration pathway for methane movement from the deep to the shallow, that may provide unique opportunities for gas hydrate to form and accumulate near the mud volcanoes. Some theoretical hypotheses concerning the resource potential and the climatic impact of such gas hydrates have been reported, but less discussion is available concerning its engineering aspects. This study made a review on the research progress and the accumulating mechanism of some typical marine mud volcano-gas hydrate systems around the world. Combined with the survey results in China's sea territory, we worked out in this paper a geological model for the gas hydrate accumulations associated with mud volcanoes. The geological records of the elements of the model are worked out, and the signatures of 3G anomalies, which indicate the gas hydrates associated with the mud volcano, are acquired. Upon the basis, some suggestions are summed up for practical exploration of this type of gas hydrates in the sea.