Photo by Ian R.

Mac Donald
Contents

• Quaternary morphology in the North Sea

– Sub-glacial melt water channels from seismic interpretation
– Related magnetic anomalies

• Special observations
– Initiations of melt-water channels with gas indications
– Large craters (diameter 500-2000 m, depth 20-200 m)

• Discussion of generation processes:

– Hydrodynamic expulsion by glacial melt water
– Overpressured gas expulsion (blow-out) by gas hydrate
melting

• Relation to gas leakage and migration

62o N

60o N

Study area

Stavanger

58o N

5o E 10o E
Quaternary channel map of the Central north Sea

Interpreted from 3D seismic data Magnetic map (higpass filtered)

2oE
VGVG; TGS-NOPEC
2 km

80 km

Magnetic
anomaly

59 o N high

low
(nT) Magnetic anomaly: ……. observed
2 calculated
1

0 Magnetic Modelling
100 indicates a fairly magnetic
sediment
(m)
Susceptiblity - shale ?
0.008 SI
500
- ashes from an eruption ?
- eroded magnetic basement?
Inline 6533

(ms)

200 ms
Study of channel initiations
Interpreted from 3D seismic data Magnetic map (higpass filt.)
o
2 E

Mapped by: Daniel Carlos

sommer student

Magnetic
anomaly

59 o N high

low
Channel initiation at a location with seismic
brights – probably gas
Magnetic anomaly Magnetic map
(highpass filtered, 5km cut off)
25/6 26/4

High

Magnetic
anomaly
scale

Low
25/9 26/7
Initiation of meltwater channels

• Naturally controlled by meltwater discharge

with the underground

• Occasionally at locations with gas indications (gas leakage?)

caused by ?
– Thermal anomalies ?
– Variations in the sedimentary strength ?
– Gas hydrate melting during at the end of an Ice Age ?
Magnetic
anomaly

Inline 6533

Large craters
2400 m

Magnetic map
200 ms
(highpass filtered, 5km cut-off)
25/6 26/4

Magnetic
anomaly Inline 6533

Random line

High
Ra
lin ndo Magnetic
e m anomaly
scale

Low
25/9 26/7
Seismically mapped shallow craters ( < 400 ms)
in the study area

59030

No data

No
data
590 45

C
B
No data

590 N
10 40 20 E 20 20 20 40
 EXAMPLE B

Craters on
time slices -
just below
500 m sea bottom
 Random seismic section
Start through the craters
Barents Sea seafloor craters with
its origin attributed to blowout of
methan gas.
(Lammers et al., 1995)

500 m

25 m
300 m

Gulf of Mexico:
100 m
Seafloor crater caused by a
catastrophic gas blowout.
(Prior, et al., 1989)
 EXAMPLE C:
Large crater with
seismic brights

2000 m

200

300
 2000 m

Hovland et al. (1997)

Comparison with an Aszerbadsjan mud caldera with

minor mud volcanoes
•Did we had Mud Volcanism in the Quaternary?
•How can we get high pressured gas here?

•Volume expansion by melting of

methane gas hydrates

surface
conditions
+
Gas hydrate Gas Water
1 m3 164 m3 0.8 m3

At 500 m burial depth: 3 m3

Methane gas hydrate stability diagram
(Sloan, 1998)
Pressure (BAR)

Gas hydrate

Thermal gradient
30o / km

Gas and water

Temperature (degree C)
Physical conditions during
an Ice Age Cycle

Lower temperature
Lower
ICE
Sea-level
High pressure
Permafrost

Rapidly increasing temperature

Higher Sea-level

Pressure release
Depth-to-base of gas hydrates
in the North Sea during Ice Ages

Thermal gradient: 30-35oC/km

Thickness of grounded glacier: 0 - 400 m
Depth to base of permafrost (m)
below glacier bed: 0 – 800 m

Base of gas hydrate stability zone

below glacier bed: 400 – 1300 m
Well data - Arctic Sverdrup Basin, Canada

800 m Base of Permafrost

1500 -1800 m Base of Gas Hydrates

(Majorowicz and Osadetz, 2001)

Relation to SHALLOW GAS and GAS LEAKAGE ?
Shallow craters
(< 400 ms)
59030

No data

No
data
590 45

No data

590 N
10 40 20 E 20 20 20 40
 Comparison with very shallow gas occurrences
(2 - 30 m below seabottom; Brekke et al. , 1997)

59030

No data

No
data
590 45

No data

590 N
10 40 20 E 20 20 20 40
 Triassic – Early Cretaceous faults
(From Zannella and Coward, 2003)

59030

No data

No
Utsira High
data
590 45

No data

Viking
Graben
590 N
10 40 20 E 20 20 20 40
Mud cones craters Seep location

Seabottom map
with faults and
seeps in the
Baikal Sea
(Van
Rensbergen et
al., 2001)
Comparison with the location of discoveries
and fields (Eriksen et al., 2003)

58030

No data
Principal
reservoir:

Cenozoic

Jurassic
No
data
580 45

No data

590 N
10 40 20 E 20 20 20 40
Possible generation process for a crater

1 Ice 3 Pressure release by blow out

Permafrost
Gas hydrate stability sone:
Accumulation
of gas hydrates
Active
gas chimney

2
Permafrost (melting slowly)
4 MAP VIEW
Free gas with high
pressure CRATER

CRATER
 Conclusions

• We observe:
– Channel initiations with gas indications
– Large Craters (diameter 500-2000 m, depth 20-200 m)

• We further observe correlation of these features

– with shallow gas locations
– occasionally - with faults and hydrocarbon fields

• We suggest that generation processes may be

– Melt water erosion / hydrodynamic processes combined with
– Overpressured gas expulsion by gas hydrate melting
Conclusions - continued

• Magnetic anomalies:
We observe shallow magnetic anomalies and interpret them as an
expression of the morphology by infill of magnetic sediments.

• This is a way to get magnetic anomalies at hydrocarbon fields,

different to the well known and controversially discussed
diagenetic magnetic mineralisation caused by hydrocarbon
leakage.

• Future use of these observations in

– Geohazard investigations
– Basin scale exploration: Gas migration and leakage
 Acknowledgements

My colleaques for discussion

- especially Hans Konrad Johnsen and Per Arne Bjørkum

Summer student Daniel Carlos for seismic channel mapping

TGS NOPEC for permission to present the VGVG magnetic data

Statoil ASA for permission to present the paper