Pleistocene slope instability of gas hydrate-laden sediment on the Beaufort Sea margin

In oceanic areas underlain by sediment with gas hydrate, reduction of sea level initiates disassociation along the base of the gas hydrate, which, in turn, causes the release of large volumes of gas into the sediment and creates excess pore-fluid pressures and reduced slope stability. Fluid diffusion properties dominate the disassociation process in fine-grained marine sediment. Slope failure appears likely for this sediment type on moderate slopes unless pressures can be adequately vented away from the gas hydrate base. Pleistocene eustatic-sea level regressions, likely triggered seafloor landslides on the continental slope of the Beaufort Sea and other margins where gas hydrate is present in seafloor sediment. -from Authors