The Implications of Seeping Hydrocarbon Gases in the Gunsan Basin, Central Yellow Sea, off the Southwest of Korea
SCOPUS
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Title
- The Implications of Seeping Hydrocarbon Gases in the Gunsan Basin, Central Yellow Sea, off the Southwest of Korea
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Author(s)
- Cho, Jin Hyung; Lee, Seung Yong; Jang, Seok; Jang, Nam Do; Lee, Cheol Ku; Lee, Seung Hun; Kum, Byung Cheol; Lee, Bo-Ram; Jung, Seom Kyu
- KIOST Author(s)
- Cho, Jin Hyung(조진형); Lee, Seung Yong(이승용); Jang, Seok(장석); Jang, Nam Do(장남도); Lee, Cheol Ku(이철구); Lee, Seung Hun(이승훈); Kum, Byung Cheol(금병철); Lee, Bo-Ram(이보람); Jung, Seom Kyu(정섬규)
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Alternative Author(s)
- 조진형; 이승용; 장석; 장남도; 이철구; 이승훈; 금병철; 이보람; 정섬규
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Publication Year
- 2024-08
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Abstract
- A detailed analysis of high-resolution (3.5 kHz) chirp seismic profiles acquired in the Gunsan Basin of the central Yellow Sea revealed that hydrocarbon gases are actively seeping via the formation of many plumes. The uppermost sedimentary layer was acoustically confirmed to be fully or partially charged with gases. Somewhat favored by the low-tide period, episodic gas seepage is mainly associated with the underlying fault systems of Cretaceous-Cenozoic sedimentary strata in the southwestern part of the basin. Catastrophic gas expulsion seems to have formed a crater at the sidewall of a sedimentary ridge and two diapirs. Here, methane is poorly concentrated but rich in the heavy carbon isotope (δ13C, −52.6‰ to −44.7‰ The Vienna Peedee Belemnite [VPDB]), indicating that methane formed mainly through biodegradation of heavy oils at depth remains in the shallow sediments following its expulsion. Episodic rapid upward advection of porewater is also manifest by unmixed heavy methane trapped in the upper part of the primary biogenic methane (δ13C, about −90‰ VPDB)-filled sediment core. These findings imply that the Gunsan Basin fulfills the requirements for possible generation and preservation of oil and gas, like the petroliferous basins of eastern China and the Yellow Sea.
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URI
- https://sciwatch.kiost.ac.kr/handle/2020.kiost/45906
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DOI
- 10.3390/geosciences14090230
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Bibliographic Citation
- Geosciences (Switzerland), v.14, no.9, 2024
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Publisher
- MDPI Open Access Publishing
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Keywords
- gunsan basin; gas seepage; methane; carbon isotopes; biodegradation of heavy oils
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Type
- Article
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Language
- English
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