Gareth Crutchley

Drivers of focused fluid flow and methane seepage at south Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon, USA

Methane seepage at south Hydrate Ridge (offshore Oregon, United States), one of the best-studied examples of gas venting through gas hydrates, is the seafloor expression of a vigorous fluid flow system at depth. The seeps host chemosynthetic ecosystems and release significant amounts of carbon into the ocean. With new three-dimensional seismic data, we image strata and structures beneath the ridge in unprecedented detail to determine the geological processes controlling the style of focused fluid flow. Numerical fluid flow simulations reveal the influence of free gas within a stratigraphic unit known as Horizon A, beneath the base of gas hydrate stability (BGHS). Free gas within Horizon A increases the total mobility of the composite water-gas fluid, resulting in high fluid flux that accumulates at the intersection between Horizon A and the BGHS. This intersection controls the development of fluid overpressure at the BGHS, and together with a well-defined network of faults, reveals the link between the gas hydrate system at depth and methane seepage at the surface.

Submarine gas seepage in a mixed contractional and shear deformation regime: Cases from the Hikurangi oblique‐subduction margin

Gas seepage from marine sediments has implications for understanding feedbacks between the global carbon reservoir, seabed ecology and climate change. Although the relationship between hydrates, gas chimneys and seafloor seepage is well established, the nature of fluid sources and plumbing mechanisms controlling fluid escape into the hydrate zone and up to the seafloor remain one of the least understood components of fluid migration systems. In this study we present the analysis of new three-dimensional high-resolution seismic data acquired to investigate fluid migration systems sustaining active seafloor seepage at Omakere Ridge, on the Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand. The analysis reveals at high resolution, complex overprinting fault structures (i.e. protothrusts, normal faults from flexural extension, and shallow (<1 km) arrays of oblique shear structures) implicated in fluid migration within the gas hydrate stability zone in an area of 2x7 km. In addition to fluid migration systems sustaining seafloor seepage on both sides of a central thrust fault, the data show seismic evidence for sub-seafloor gas-rich fluid accumulation associated with proto-thrusts and extensional faults. In these latter systems fluid pressure dissipation through time has been favored, hindering the development of gas chimneys. We discuss the elements of the distinct fluid migration systems and the influence that a complex partitioning of stress may have on the evolution of fluid flow systems in active subduction margins.

Gas migration into gas hydrate‐bearing sediments on the southern Hikurangi margin of New Zealand

We present multichannel seismic data from New Zealands Hikurangi subduction margin that show widespread evidence for gas migration into the field of gas hydrate stability. Gas migration along stratigraphic layers into the hydrate system manifests itself as highly reflective segments of dipping strata that originate at the base of hydrate stability and extend some distance toward the seafloor. The highly reflective segments exhibit the same polarity as the seafloor reflection, indicating that localized gas hydrate precipitation from gas-charged fluids within relatively permeable layers has occurred. High-density velocity analysis shows that these layer-constrained gas hydrate accumulations are underlain by thick (up to ~500 m) free gas zones, which provide the source for focused gas migration into the hydrate layer. In addition to gas being channeled along layers, we also interpret gas migration through a fault zone into the field of hydrate stability; in this case, a low-velocity layer within the hydrate stability zone extends laterally away from the fault, which might indicate that gas-charged fluids have also migrated away from the fault along strata. At this site, where both dipping strata and faulting seem to influence fluid migration, we observe anomalously high velocities at the base of hydrate stability that we interpret as concentrated gas hydrates. Our results give insight into how shallow fluid flow responds to permeability contrasts between strata, fault zones, and perhaps also the gas hydrate system itself. Ultimately, these relationships can lead to gas migration across the base of hydrate stability and the precipitation of concentrated hydrate deposits.

Shallow methane hydrate system controls ongoing, downslope sediment transport in a low‐velocity active submarine landslide complex, Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand

Morphological and seismic data from a submarine landslide complex east of New Zealand indicate flow-like deformation within gas hydrate-bearing sediment. This “creeping” deformation occurs immediately downslope of where the base of gas hydrate stability reaches the seafloor, suggesting involvement of gas hydrates. We present evidence that, contrary to conventional views, gas hydrates can directly destabilize the seafloor. Three mechanisms could explain how the shallow gas hydrate system could control these landslides. (1) Gas hydrate dissociation could result in excess pore pressure within the upper reaches of the landslide. (2) Overpressure below low-permeability gas hydrate-bearing sediments could cause hydrofracturing in the gas hydrate zone valving excess pore pressure into the landslide body. (3) Gas hydrate-bearing sediment could exhibit time-dependent plastic deformation enabling glacial-style deformation. We favor the final hypothesis that the landslides are actually creeping seafloor glaciers. The viability of rheologically controlled deformation of a hydrate sediment mix is supported by recent laboratory observations of time-dependent deformation behavior of gas hydrate-bearing sands. The controlling hydrate is likely to be strongly dependent on formation controls and intersediment hydrate morphology. Our results constitute a paradigm shift for evaluating the effect of gas hydrates on seafloor strength which, given the widespread occurrence of gas hydrates in the submarine environment, may require a reevaluation of slope stability following future climate-forced variation in bottom-water temperature.

Investigation of the role of gas hydrates in continental slope stability west of Fiordland, New Zealand

Abstract Sediment weakening due to increased local pore fluid pressure is interpreted to be the cause of a submarine landslide that has been seismically imaged off the southwest coast of New Zealand. Data show a distinct and continuous bottom‐simulating reflection (BSR)—a seismic phenomena indicative of the presence of marine gas hydrate—below the continental shelf from water depths of c. 2400 m to c. 750 m, where it intersects the seafloor. Excess pore fluid pressure (EPP) generated in a free gas zone below the base of gas hydrate stability is interpreted as being a major factor in the slopes destabilisation. Representative sediment strength characteristics have been applied to limit‐equilibrium methods of slope stability analysis with respect to the Mohr‐Coulomb failure criterion to develop an understanding of the features sensitivity to EPP. EPP has been modelled with representative material properties (internal angle of friction, bulk soil unit weight and cohesion) to show the considerable effect it has on stability. The best estimate of average EPP being solely responsible for failure is 1700 kPa, assuming a perfectly elastic body above a pre‐defined failure surface in a static environment.

Insights into active deformation in the Gulf of Cadiz from new 3-D seismic and high-resolution bathymetry data

The nature of active deformation in the Gulf of Cadiz is important for developing a better understanding of the interplate tectonics and for revealing the source of the 1755 Great Lisbon earthquake. New, high-resolution 3-D seismic data reveal a classic pull-apart basin that has formed on an east striking fault in the Southern Lobe of the Gulf of Cadiz accretionary wedge. Geometrical relationships between an array of faults and associated basins show evidence for both dextral and sinistral shear sense in the Southern Lobe. Strike-slip faulting within the lobe may provide a link between frontal accretion at the deformation front and extension and gravitational sliding processes occurring further upslope. Inception of the strike-slip faults appears to accommodate deformation driven by spatially variant accretion or gravitational spreading rates, or both. This implies that active deformation on strike-slip faults in the Southern Lobe is unrelated to the proposed modern inception of a transform plate boundary through the Gulf of Cadiz and underscores the importance of detailed bathymetric analysis in understanding tectonic processes.

EROSION OF SEAFLOOR RIDGES AT THE TOP OF THE GAS HYDRATE STABILITY ZONE, HIKURANGI MARGIN, NEW ZEALAND – NEW INSIGHTS FROM RESEARCH CRUISES BETWEEN 2005 AND 2007.

It was proposed that erosion of subsea ridges on the Hikurangi margin may be linked to a fluctuating level of the top of gas hydrate stability in the ocean. Since publication of this hypothesis, three field campaigns were conducted in the study area. Here we summarize relevant results from these cruises. We found that water temperature fluctuations occur at lower frequencies and higher amplitudes than previously thought, making it more likely that temperature changes reach sub-seafloor gas hydrates. Dredge samples encountered numerous consolidated mudstones. We speculate that gas hydrate “freeze-thaw” cycles may lead to dilation of fractures in mudstones due to capillary forces, weakening the seafloor. Ubiquitous gas pockets beneath the ridge may lead to overpressure that may also contribute to seafloor fracturing.

High-resolution seismic velocity analysis as a tool for exploring gas hydrate systems: An example from New Zealand’s southern Hikurangi margin

AbstractThe existence of free gas and gas hydrate in the pore spaces of marine sediments causes changes in acoustic velocities that overprint the background lithological velocities of the sediments themselves. Much previous work has determined that such velocity overprinting, if sufficiently pronounced, can be resolved with conventional velocity analysis from long-offset, multichannel seismic data. We used 2D seismic data from a gas hydrate province at the southern end of New Zealand’s Hikurangi subduction margin to describe a workflow for high-resolution velocity analysis that delivered detailed velocity models of shallow marine sediments and their coincident gas hydrate systems. The results showed examples of pronounced low-velocity zones caused by free gas ponding beneath the hydrate layer, as well as high-velocity zones related to gas hydrate deposits. For the seismic interpreter of a gas hydrate system, the velocity results represent an extra “layer” for interpretation that provides important informa...

Submarine Slope Instabilities Coincident with Shallow Gas Hydrate Systems: Insights from New Zealand Examples

The potential of gas hydrate systems to play a role in submarine slope failure has been well-documented since the late 1970s. Several conceptual models exist for how the gas hydrate-free gas system might weaken submarine sediments, but there is no definitive evidence for gas hydrate-related processes being the primary cause of a particular submarine slope failure. We present a review of coincident gas hydrates and submarine slope instabilities on New Zealand’s active margins. The examples we show represent different failure modes in a range of slope environments, including the upper continental slope and tectonic ridges, with the common factor being that the base of gas hydrate stability approaches the seafloor in these regions. We synthesise several proposed sediment weakening mechanisms and draw comparisons to other global models for gas hydrate-related slope instability. This contribution highlights diverse influences that gas hydrate systems could have on submarine sediment strength, while acknowledging gaps in our understanding of the potential role of gas hydrates, free gas and fluid flow on slope stability.

Shallow Gas and the Development of a Weak Layer in Submarine Spreading, Hikurangi Margin (New Zealand)

Submarine spreading is a type of mass movement that involves the extension and fracturing of a thin surficial layer of sediment into coherent blocks and their finite displacement on a gently sloping slip surface. Its characteristic seafloor signature is a repetitive pattern of parallel ridges and troughs oriented perpendicular to the direction of mass movement. We map ~30 km2 of submarine spreads on the upper slope of the Hikurangi margin, east of Poverty Bay, North Island, New Zealand, using multibeam echosounder and 2D multichannel seismic data. These data show that spreading occurs in thin, gently-dipping, parallel-bedded clay, silt and sandy sedimentary units deposited as lowstand clinoforms. More importantly, high-amplitude and reverse polarity seismic reflectors, which we interpret as evidence of shallow gas accumulations, occur extensively in the fine sediments of the upper continental slope, but are either significantly weaker or entirely absent where the spreads are located. We use this evidence to propose that shallow gas, through the generation of pore pressure, has played a key role in establishing the failure surface above which submarine spreading occurred. Additional dynamic changes in pore pressure could have been triggered by a drop in sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum and seismic loading.