Skip to main content
Log in

Rock-physics models of hydrate-bearing sediments in permafrost, Qilian Mountains, China

  • Published:
Applied Geophysics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rock-physics models are constructed for hydrate-bearing sediments in the Qilian Mountains permafrost region using the K–T equation model, and modes I and II of the effective medium model. The K–T equation models the seismic wave propagation in a twophase medium to determine the elastic moduli of the composite medium. In the effective medium model, mode I, the hydrate is a component of the pore inclusions in mode I and in mode II it is a component of the matrix. First, the P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity, density, bulk modulus, and shear modulus of the sediment matrix are extracted from logging data.. Second, based on the physical properties of the main components of the sediments, rockphysics model is established using the K–T equation, and two additional rock-physics models are established assuming different hydrate-filling modes for the effective medium. The model and actual velocity data for the hydrate-bearing sediments are compared and it is found that the rock-physics model for the hydrate-filling mode II well reproduces the actual data.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Dai, J., Xu, H. B., Snyder, F., and Dutta, N., 2004, Detection and estimation of gas hydrates using rock physics and seismic inversion: Examples from the northern deep-water Gulf of Mexico: The leading edge, 23(1), 60–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dvorkin, J. P., and Nur, A. M., 1996, Elasticity of highporosity sandstones: Theory for two North Sea datasets: Geophysics, 61(5), 1363–1370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ecker, C., 2001, Seismic Characterization of Methane Hydrate Structures, US: Stanford University, 68–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, X. W., 2011, Well logging Response Characteristics and Evaluation of Gas hydrae in Qilian mountain permafrost, Beijing: Chinese Academy of Geological Science, 33–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helgerud, M. B., Dvorkin, J., Nur, A., Sakai, A., and Collett, T., 1999, Elastic-wave velocity in marine sediments with gas hydrates: Effective medium modeling: Geophy. Res., 26(13), 2021–2024.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, G. W., Ye, Y. G., Zhang, J., et al., 2010, Micro-models of gas hydrate and their impact on the acoustic properties of the host sediments: Natural gas industry, 30(3), 120–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuster, G. T., and Toksöz, M. N., 1974, Velocity and attenuation of seismic waves in two-phase media-1: Geophysics, 39, 587–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M. W., Hutchinson, D. R., and Dillon, W. P., 1996, Seismic velocities for hydrate-bearing sediments using weighted equation: J. Geophys. Res., 101(B9), 20347–20358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C. H., Zhao, Q., Xu, H. J., et al., 2014, Relation between relative permeability and hydrate saturation in Shenhu area, south china sea: Applied Geophysics, 11(2), 207–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J. Y., and Chen, X. H., 2013, A rock-physical modeling method for carbonate reservoirs at seismic scale: Applied geophysics, 10(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Z. Q., Zhu, Y. H., Zhang, Y. Q., et al., 2010, Basic geological characteristics of gas hydrate in Qilian Mountain permafrost area, Qinghai Province: Mineral deposits, 29(1), 182–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mavko, G., Mukerji, T., and Dvorkin, J., 2003, The rock physics handbook: tools for seismic analysis of porous media, Cambridge University Press.

  • Muhammed, I. E., Nisar, A., Perceiz, K., et al., 2016, An application of rock physics modeling to quantify the seismic response of gas hydrate-bearing sediments in Makran accretionary prism, offshore, Pakistan: Geosciences Journal, 20(3), 321–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, W. F. I., 1982, Effects of microstructure and pore fluids on the acoustic properties of granular sedimentary materials: Ph. D thesis stanford Univ., 144–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pang, S. J, Su, X., He, H., et al., 2012, Geological controlling factors of gas hydrate occurrence in Qilian Mountain permafrost, China: Earth Science Frontiers, 19(1), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sell, K., Saenger, E. H., Falenty, A., et al., 2016, On the path to the digital rock physics of gas hydrate bearing sediments-processing of in-situ synchrotron-tomography data: Solid Earth, 7, 1243–1258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shankar, U., Gupta, D. K., Bhowmick, D., and Sain, K., 2013, Gas hydrate and free gas saturations using rock physics modeling at site NGHP-01-05 and 07 in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, eastern Indian margin: Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 106(6), 62–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song, H. B., Matsubayasgi, O., Yang, S. X., et al., 2002, Physical property models of gas hydrate-bearing Sediments and AVA character of bottom simulating reflector: Chinese J. Geophys. (in Chinese), 45(4), 546–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, C. Y., Zhang M. Y., Niu, B. H., et al., 2003, Micromodels of gas hydrate and their velocity estimation methods: Earth science Frontiers, 10(1), 191–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, J., Wang, H., Yao, Z. A., et al., 2016, Shear wave velocity estimation based on rock physics diagnosis: Oil geophysical prospecting, 51(3), 537–543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, R. W., and King, M. S., 1986, The effect of the extent of freezing on seismic velocities in unconsolidated permafrost: Geophysics, 51(6), 1285–1290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, Y. H., Zhang, Y. Q., Wen, H. J., et al., 2009, Gas hydrates in the Qilian mountain permafrost, Qinghai, northwest China: Acta Geologica Sinica, 83(11), 1763–1772.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, Y. H., Zhang, Y. Q., Wen, H. J., et al., 2010, Gas hydrate in the Qilian mountain permafrost and their basic characteristics: Acta Geoscientica Sinica, 31(1), 7–16.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the support of the Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration (IGGE) CAGS. We also thank the reviewers and editors for their comments and valuable suggestions, and appreciate their help. Best wishes for everyone.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiang-Ping Liu.

Additional information

This work was supported by the Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration (IGGE) CAGS of China (No. WH201207).

Liu Jie, is a post-doctor who received his Ph.D. degree of geodetection and information technology from China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) in 2015. His main interests are rock physics and seismic wave propagation in hydrate-bearing sediments.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, J., Liu, JP., Cheng, F. et al. Rock-physics models of hydrate-bearing sediments in permafrost, Qilian Mountains, China. Appl. Geophys. 14, 31–39 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-017-0608-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-017-0608-y

Keywords

Navigation