Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Faulting of gas-hydrate-bearing marine sediments - contribution to permeability

January 1, 1997

Extensive faulting is observed in sediments containing high concentrations of methane hydrate off the southeastern coast of the United States. Faults that break the sea floor show evidence of both extension and shortening; mud diapirs are also present. The zone of recent faulting apparently extends from the ocean floor down to the base of gas-hydrate stability. We infer that the faulting resulted from excess pore pressure in gas trapped beneath the gas hydrate-beating layer and/or weakening and mobilization of sediments in the region just below the gas-hydrate stability zone. In addition to the zone of surface faults, we identified two buried zones of faulting, that may have similar origins. Subsurface faulted zones appear to act as gas traps.

Publication Year 1997
Title Faulting of gas-hydrate-bearing marine sediments - contribution to permeability
Authors William P. Dillon, W.S. Holbrook, Rebecca Drury, Joseph Gettrust, Deborah Hutchinson, James Booth, Michael Taylor
Publication Type Conference Paper
Publication Subtype Conference Paper
Index ID 70019106
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse