ficureelow are figures discussed in class about Methane Clathrates. Use the data
ID: 115390 • Letter: F
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ficureelow are figures discussed in class about Methane Clathrates. Use the data in the figure to answer the questions below. OCEAN a) PERMAFROST b) 0 20 0.20 0.40 0.60r onns 0.80 1.00S 080 .40 -15 0 15 30 TEMPERATURE (C) 30 -15 15 30 TEMPERATURE (C) (5 pts) Fundamentally, in simplest terms, why is there methane production in the deep sea? (5 pts) Using (b) above, If there is methane present in the sediments, approximately (within 100m) what depth are you likely to begin seeing clathrates form? (10 pts) The figure on the far right points to locations of clathrate deposits all around the continental margins. Why don't you see clathrate deposits in the abyssal plain or on the continental shelves? (10 pts) Based on what you see here, if a company wanted to begin mining clathrates for a business, will it need to dig into the deep sea sediments deeper than 1 km below the seafloor? Will its mining equipment need to operate in deep ocean waters >4km deep? Why or why not?Explanation / Answer
Methane clathrates are nothing but methane trapped in ice like structure known as clathrates, these clathrates are only stable under low temperature condition and high pressure condition which exist in deep sea hence there is apart from this high geothermal gradient present in deep ocean assist in production of methane from the sediments hence there is methane production in deep sea.
The clathrates are seen around 1.2 kilometer of depth because in upper part the pressure is not enough to keep methane under clathrates structure but with depth around 1.2 kilometer the hydrostatic pressure in enough to keep methane inside clathrates structure. Apart from this the hrdrothermal gradient is lowest at 1.2 kilometer which makes the temerature due to water to the lowest at this position. Hence both of these conditions favour clathrates formation at 1.2 kilometer.
The Abyssal plain and continental shelves are deeper when they are compared with continental margin and hence methane clathrates are not stable in these places due to high geothermal gradient temperature conditions prevailing in abyssal plain and continental shelves.
No, the company don't have to dig deeper than 1 kilometer because the clathrates are stable only around the ocean floor as shown in figure b(1.2 kilometer being the depth from the ocean surface, while the blue zone is at ocean floor) hence only shallow drilling is required below the sea floor.
Again company don't need equipment to go beyond 4 kilometers of water depth because economic methane clathrates reserves are are only availabe in continental margin as shown previously.
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