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Methane Clathrate Hydrate ProspectingA method of prospecting for methane has been devised. The impetus for this method lies in the abundance of CH4 and the growing shortages of other fuels. The method is intended especially to enable identification of subpermafrost locations where significant amounts of methane are trapped in the form of methane gas hydrate (CH4(raised dot)6H2O). It has been estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey that the total CH4 resource in CH4(raised dot) 6H2O exceeds the energy content of all other fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas from non-hydrate sources). Also, CH4(raised dot)6H2O is among the cleanest-burning fuels, and CH4 is the most efficient fuel because the carbon in CH4 is in its most reduced state. The method involves looking for a proxy for methane gas hydrate, by means of the combination of a thermal-analysis submethod and a field submethod that does not involve drilling. The absence of drilling makes this method easier and less expensive, in comparison with prior methods of prospecting for oil and natural gas. The proposed method would include thermoprospecting in combination with one more of the other non-drilling measurement techniques, which could include magneto-telluric sounding and/or a subsurface-electrical-resistivity technique. The method would exploit the fact that the electrical conductivity in the underlying thawed region is greater than that in the overlying permafrost.
Document ID
20110024019
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Other - NASA Tech Brief
Authors
Duxbury, N.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Romanovsky, V.
(Alaska Univ. Fairbanks, AK, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: NASA Tech Briefs, December 2003
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
NPO-30257
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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