Application of RHIZON samplers to obtain high-resolution pore-fluid records during geochemical investigations of gas hydrate systems

Obtaining accurate, high-resolution profiles of pore fluid constituents is critical for characterizing the subsurface geochemistry of hydrate-bearing sediments. Tightly-constrained downcore profiles provide clues about fluid sources, fluid flow, and the milieu of chemical and diagenetic reactions, all of which are used to interpret where and why gas and gas hydrate occur in the natural environment. Because a profile’s quality is only as good as the samples from which the data are obtained, a great deal of effort has been exerted to develop extraction systems suited to various sedimentary regimes. Pore water from deeply buried sediment recovered by scientific drilling is typically squeezed with a hydraulic press (Manheim, 1966); whereas pore water in near-surface, less consolidated sediment is more efficiently pushed from the sediment using compressed gas (Reeburgh, 1967) or centrifugation.