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Stratigraphic and structural control on the distribution of gas hydrates and active gas seeps on the Posolsky Bank, Lake Baikal

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Abstract

The distribution and origin of shallow gas seeps in the vicinity of the Posolsky Bank in Lake Baikal were studied based on the integration of detailed seismic, multibeam, and hydro-acoustic water-column investigations. In all, 65 acoustic flares have been detected on the Posolsky Fault scarp near the crest of the bank and in a similar, nearby setting at water depths of −43 to −332 m. The seismic data reveal BSRs (bottom-simulating reflectors) occurring up to water depths of −300 m. Calculations involving hydrate stability, heat flow, and topographic modulation based on BSR occurrence and multibeam bathymetry enabled prediction of a methane–ethane gas mixture and heat-flow values that would account for gas hydrate stability in the lake sediments under prevailing ambient conditions. These predictions are supported by ground truth data. The findings suggest that seeps concentrated along the crest of the Posolsky Bank are fed mainly by gas coming from below the base of the gas hydrate stability zone, which would migrate updip via permeable stratigraphic pathways beneath the bank. Gas would ultimately be released into the water column where these pathways are cut off by faults.

Conceptual seep model for the Posolsky Bank, Lake Baikal

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Acknowledgments

We thank the captains and crews of RV Vereshchagin and RV Titov for their craftsmanship, and all scientists and students involved in this research on Lake Baikal. This work was supported by the Federal Office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs (OSTC project BL/02/R11 phase 2, and IN/RU/005) and the INTAS-2001-2309 project. The multibeam mapping survey was conducted within the framework of RAS (Russian Academy of Sciences) Presidium Program no. 21.8 and FWO (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) Flanders project 1.5.198.09. Thanks go to Boris Schulze (L-3 ELAC Nautik GmbH), Jens Greinert, Jeroen Vercruysse, and Wim Versteeg for preparatory survey assistance, Joerg Bialas and Wili Weinrebe (IFM-GEOMAR) for use of the OCTANS motion sensor, Andrey Habuev, Igor Seminsky, Robbert Casier, Myriam Cuylaerts, Joris Synaeve, Nele Vlamynck, Pavel Generalchenko, Oleg Belousov, Ruslan Gnatovsky, Mikhail Makarov, and Konstantin Kucher for help during the expedition, and Francis Lucazeau for kindly providing his code version for topographic corrections on heat-flow data. Also thanked are IVS 3D (Fledermaus) and SMT (Kingdom Suite) for providing us with academic software licenses. The manuscript benefited from constructive assessments by S. Buenz and D. Orange.

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  1. Lieven Naudts

    Present address: Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Models (MUMM), Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), 3de en 23ste Linieregimentsplein, 8400, Oostende, Belgium

  2. Jeffrey Poort

    Present address: Institut des Sciences de la Terre de Paris (ISTeP), Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) Paris VI, case courrier 129, 4 place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Renard Centre of Marine Geology (RCMG), Universiteit Gent, Krijgslaan 281s8, 9000, Gent, Belgium

    Lieven Naudts, Jeffrey Poort & Marc De Batist

  2. Limnological Institute of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 4199, 664033, Irkutsk, Russian Federation

    Oleg Khlystov & Nick Granin

  3. Irkutsk State Technical University, 664033, Irkutsk, Russian Federation

    Alexander Chensky

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  1. Lieven Naudts
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Correspondence to Lieven Naudts.

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Responsible guest editors: M. De Batist and O. Khlystov

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Online Resource 1

Fig. 1 3D perspective views of Lake Baikal and Posolsky Bank, indicating the most prominent features (illumination from NW). The view directions (a and b) are indicated on Fig. 1 of the main article. The images are constructed by compiling SRTM–derived topography data with bathymetry data from Lake Baikal (INTAS Project 99–1669 Team 2002) and multibeam bathymetry data. (PDF 2021 kb)

Online Resource 2

Fig. 2 Photographs of gas bubbles trapped underneath and within the frozen lake surface above seep sites at Posolsky Bank (pictures courtesy of N. Granin). The lower–right picture shows gas bubbles reaching the lake surface at a seep site close to the Selenga River delta (photograph courtesy of V. Kapitanov). (PDF 1020 kb)

Online Resource 3

Fig. 3 3D perspective view of multibeam bathymetry overlain with bathymetric contours and with flare locations plotted as red dots or shown on an echogram in combination with three sparker profiles (illumination from NE). The top of the gas–bearing layer (TGBL) is shown as depth color–coded surface. This surface starts from or above the flare positions at the scarp of the Posolsky Bank and can be traced down the Posolsky Bank to below the BSR or BGHSZ. (PDF 818 kb)

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Naudts, L., Khlystov, O., Granin, N. et al. Stratigraphic and structural control on the distribution of gas hydrates and active gas seeps on the Posolsky Bank, Lake Baikal. Geo-Mar Lett 32, 395–406 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-012-0286-y

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