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Science 9 April 1993:
Vol. 260. no. 5105, pp. 204 - 207
DOI: 10.1126/science.260.5105.204
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Articles

Velocity Structure of a Gas Hydrate Reflector

Satish C. Singh 1, Timothy A. Minshull 2, and George D. Spence 3

1 British Institutions Reflection Profiling Syndicate, Bullard Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, United Kingdom
2 Bullard Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, United Kingdom
3 School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2YZ, Canada

Seismic reflection profiles across many continental margins have imaged bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs) parallel to the seabed; these are often interpreted as the base of a zone in which methane hydrate "ice" is stable. Waveform inversion of seismic reflection data can be used to estimate from seismic data worldwide the velocity structure of a BSR and its thickness. A test of this method at a drill site of the Ocean Drilling Program predicts that sediment pores beneath the BSR contain free methane for approximately 30 meters. The hydrate and underlying gas represent a large global reservoir of methane, which may have economic importance and may influence global climate.

Submitted on November 30, 1992
Accepted on February 2, 1993


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Geochemistry of gas hydrates and associated fluids in the sediments of a passive continental margin. Preliminary results of the ODP Leg 164 on the Blake Outer Ridge.
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