Estimation of Seismic Attenuation and Gas Hydrate Concentration From Surface Seismic Data at Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia Margin

Abstract

AbstractAn improved understanding of the effects of gas hydrate presence on seismic attenuation is important for accurate hydrate characterization and quantification. Based on a rock‐physics model recently presented for gas hydrate‐bearing fine‐grained clay‐dominated sediments, here we establish an integrated workflow for surface seismic data from extracting seismic attenuation to estimating gas hydrate concentration (Ch) in the sediment. We apply this workflow to the high‐resolution seismic data acquired at southern Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon, to reveal the hydrate distribution and clarify the controlling factor of hydrate formation. We first present an adaptive‐bandwidth spectral ratio method to robustly measure attenuation. The attenuation measurements show that the presence of hydrate suppresses the attenuation of the host sediment. We then calculate Ch by applying the rock‐physics model to the attenuation measurements. The estimated Ch are mostly low (<5%) in Hydrate Ridge and agrees well with the in‐situ Ch measured from core‐ or well log‐based data. Our result also suggests that the lithology and stratigraphic structures together control the distribution of gas hydrate at Hydrate Ridge, where relatively high Ch is found in the region where a gas‐charged conduit exists and in an anticlinal structure overlying a strong bottom simulating reflection. Adjacent to the anticline, however, a low amount of gas hydrate appears present, possibly due to the gas migration blocked by the anticlinal structure or the lack of gas conduits. Our study offers an effective strategy for detecting and quantifying gas hydrate in fine‐grained clayey sediments through surface seismic data.