Summary Information for Field Activity 2005-017-FA

Area of Operations: Atwater Valley, Keathley Canyon, Gulf of Mexico, United States, North America, North Atlantic

Dates: April 15, 2005 to May 21, 2005

Chief scientist: Deborah Hutchinson

GoM Hydrates JIP

Objectives: Cruise and project objectives include (1) calibrating geophysical estimates of location and concentration of hydrate and underlying free gas concentrations; (2) determining physical properties (e.g., strength, permeability, compressibility) of hydrate-bearing and underlying sediments in order to evaluate the relationship between gas hydrates, fluid flow, and sea floor/slope stability; (3) evaluating the sources and transport mechanisms for gas and the physical and chemical mechanisms of hydrate formation near the sea floor and at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone; (4) collecting samples of gas hydrate preserved at in situ pressures for investigation both during and post-cruise; (5) collecting and preserving pore water, gas, and sediment samples for post-cruise geochemical and microbiological investigations; and (6) developing a better basis for understanding the impact of gas hydrates on offshore petroleum drilling and production operations.

Type of Activity: Pressurized Drilling; Sampling; Vertical Seismic Profiling;Pressurized Drilling
Vertical Seismic Profiling

Information to be derived: Samples and chemical analysis; Grain size analysis;

Summary: Pressurized drilling yielded 210.06 m of core from both Atwater Valley and Keathley Canyon sites. Various geochemical and physical properties analyses were performed on the cores, as well as non-invasive scans using IR cameras, MSCL scanners and X-ray imaging.

Contact: Brian Buczkowski (bbuczkowski@usgs.gov)

Platform Info:

UNCLE JOHN

Publications resulting from these data

Ruppel, C., Boswell, R., and Jones, E.,2008, Scientific results from Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates Joint Industry Project Leg 1 drilling; introduction and overview: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 25, no. 9: p. 819-829. (Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.02.007)

Lee, J.Y., Santamarina, J.C., and Ruppel, C.,2008, Mechanical and electromagnetic properties of northern Gulf of Mexico sediments with and without THF hydrates: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 25, no. 9: p. 884-895. (Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.01.019)

Hutchinson, D.R., Hart, P.E., Collett, T.S., Edwards, K.M., Twichell, D.C., and Snyder, F.,2008, Geologic framework of the 2005 Keathley Canyon gas hydrate research well, northern Gulf of Mexico: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 25, no. 9: p. 906-918. (Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.01.012)

Winters, William J., Dugan, Brandon, and Collett, Timothy S.,2008, Physical properties of sediments from Keathley Canyon and Atwater Valley, JIP Gulf of Mexico gas hydrate drilling program: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 25, no. 9: p. 896-905. (Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.01.018)

Wilcox-Cline, R., and Winters, W.J,2011, The Influence of Grain Size on the Formation of Natural Gas Hydrate [abs.]: 2011 Fall Meeing of the American Physical Society-American Assoc. for Physics Teachers-Society of Physics Students

Data Types and Locations:

Logs

Photos

Samples