Gases dissolved in pore waters of sediments are ubiquitous although free gases are confined to specific facies and sedimentary environments. Most dissolved gases are derived by equilibration with the atmosphere and their concentrations subsequently modified by diagenetic (principally biological) processes during shallow burial. Free gases, where present, derive from either diagenetic bacterial reactions (indigenous gases) or migration of thermally derived gases from greater depth.
Free gases of indigenous origin include hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methane (CH4), sometimes carbon dioxide (CO2) and more rarely traces of nitrogen (N2) or ammonia (NH3). All of these are formed by microbial communities (see Bacteria in Sediments) operating on organic substrates and are therefore limited to organic-rich sediments, (see Organic Sediments). The relevant diagenetic zones for gas generation are summarized in Figure G1, although local microenvironments may result in disruption of this general...
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© 1978 Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc.
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Clayton, C.J. (1978). Gases in sediments. In: Middleton, G.V., Church, M.J., Coniglio, M., Hardie, L.A., Longstaffe, F.J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3609-5_95
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