• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.138-149
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• 2023

In geoscience and engineering the geological characteristics of sediment strata is crucial and possible if reliable borehole logging and seismic data are available. To investigate the characteristics of the shallow strata in the Korea Strait, laboratory sonic logs were obtained from deep borehole data and seismic section. In this study, we integrated and analyzed the sonic log data obtained from the drilling core (down to a depth of 200 m below the seabed) and multichannel seismic section. The correlation value was increased from 15% to 45% through time-depth conversion. An initial model of P-wave impedance was set, and the results were compared by performing model-based, band-limited, and sparse-spike inversions. The derived P-impedance distributions exhibited differences between sediment-dominant and unconsolidated layers. The P-impedance inversion process can be used as a framework for an integrated analysis of additional core logs and seismic data in the future. Furthermore, the derived P-impedance can be used to detect shallow gas-saturated regions or faults in the shallow sediment. As domestic deep drilling is being performed continuously for identifying the characteristics of carbon dioxide storage candidates and evaluating resources, the applicability of the integrated inversion will increase in the future.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.2 s.171
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• pp.165-176
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• 2005

Natural gas in deep sediment may occur in three phases based on the physical and chemical conditions. If the concentration of gas in pore water is less than the solubility, gas is dissolved. If the concentration of gas is greater than its solubility (water is saturated or supersaturated with gas), gas occurs as a fee gas below the gas hydrate stability Lone (GHSZ) and is present as solid hydrate within the GHSZ. The knowledge of gas concentration in deep sediment appears critical to determine the phase of natural gases and to understand the formation and distribution of gas hydrate. However, reliable data on gas concentration are usually available only from the upper section of marine sediment by the headspace gas technique, which is widely used for sampling of gases from the sediments. The headspace gas technique represents only a fraction of gases present in situ because sediments release most of the gases during recovery and sampling. The PCS (Pressure Core Sampler) is a downhole tool developed to recover a nominal $1{\cal}m$ long, $4.32{\cal}cm$ diameter core containing $1,465cm^3$ of sediment, pore water and gas at in situ pressure up to 68.9 MPa. During Leg 204, the PCS was deployed at 6 Sites. In situ methane gas concentration and distribution of gas hydrate was measured by using PCS tool. Characteristics of methane concentration and distribution is different from site to site. Distribution of gas hydrate in the study area is closely related to characteristics of in situ gas concentration measured by PCS.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.419-423
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• 2006

Basic studies on natural gas hydrates in the East Sea were been carried out by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) from 2000 to 2004 involving 2D multichannel seismic lines and piston coring. 27 piston cores recovered from the deed-water Ulleung Basin of the East Sea were analyzed in this study. In piston cores cracks generally developed parallel to bedding suggest significant gas content. The core analyses showed high total organic carbon (TOC) content, sedimentation rate and heat flow of sediments. The cores recovered from the southern study area show also high residual hydrocarbon gas concentrations for the formation of natural gas hydrates. This study indicates that there is the potential for the generation of biogenic gas and the formation of natural gas hydrates in the near seafloor sediments of the study area.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2007

The MH21 Research Consortium has conducted a high-resolution 3D seismic survey and a seafloor geochemical survey, to explore methane hydrate reservoirs in the eastern Nankai Trough, offshore Japan. Excellent geological information about shallow formations was obtained from the high-resolution 3D seismic survey, which was designed to image the shallow formations where methane hydrates exist. The information is useful in constructing a geological and geochemical model, and especially to understand the complex geology of seafloor, including geochemical manifestations and the structure of migration conduits for methane gas or methane-bearing fluid. By comparing methane seep sites observed by submersibles with seismic sections, some significant relationships between methane hydrate reservoirs, free gas accumulations below the seafloor, and seafloor manifestations are recognised. Bathymetric charts and seafloor reflection amplitude maps, constructed from seismic reflections from the seafloor, are also useful in understanding the relationships over a vast area. A new geochemical seafloor survey targeted by these maps is required. The relationships between methane hydrate reservoirs and seafloor manifestations are becoming clearer from interpretation of high-resolution 3D seismic data. The MH21 Research Consortium will continue to conduct seafloor geochemical surveys based on the geological and geochemical model constructed from high-resolution 3D seismic data analysis. In this paper, we introduce a basis for exploration of methane hydrate reservoirs in Japan by fusion of 3D seismic exploration and seafloor geochemical surveys.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.46-66
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• 2002

High-resolution multichannel seismic data were collected in the coastal area near the Gori nuclear power plant to investigate Quaternary fault pattern and timing. A 12 channel streamer, a sparker, and a portable recorder were used for data acquisition. Because the group interval of the streamer was 6.25 m and the sparker can generate acoustic waves with the frequency content of up to 500 Hz, the data show a significant improvement both in horizontal and vertical resolution. The area surveyed is covered with 30-40 m thick Holocene sediments that constitute the mud belt along the southeastern coast of Korea. The survey area is characterized by the well discriminated Pleistocene and Holocene boundary and shallow gas-charged zones. A number of Quaternary faults were found in the sediment column, that are nearly vertical and extend north-south. The Quaternary faults, arranged at a spacing of a few hundred meters, suggest that they were formed in response to compression, although some of them reveal extensional characteristics. Locally, faults disrupt Incised-channel fills that are interpreted to have formed in the early stage of transgression after the beginning of the Holocene. Seismic sections suggest that shallow gas in the mud belt sediments made its way upward through the fractured fault planes. The tectonism responsible for the opening of the East Sea has not persisted since the late Miocene, but vigorous Quaternary faulting activity in the vicinity of the southeastern Korean Peninsula indicates that tectonic stability has yet to be achieved in this region underlain by the hotter than normal mantle.

• 한국석유지질학회:학술대회논문집
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• autumn
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• pp.56-62
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• 2001

울릉분지 남서부 해역에서 채취한 두 개의 피스톤 코어 (piston core) 시료를 이용하여 퇴적학 및 지화학적 특성을 연구하였다. 코어는 제4기말의 이질 퇴적물로 대부분 구성되어 있고, 테프라 (tephra layer)와 사질 퇴적물이 일부 협재되어 나타난다. 기존 확인된 울릉분지의 테프라를 이용하여 층서 대비를 한 결과, 두 코어는 대양보다는 높은 퇴적률 (10-12cm/kyr)을 갖는다. 이는 코어가 약 4만 4천년 전의 기록부터 시작하고 있음을 의미한다. 동위원소 층서 2 (마지막 빙기) 중에 형성된 구간에서는 저탁류의 영향을 많이 받은 여러 종류의 퇴적상들이 교호하여 나타난다. 코어의 하부 구간에서는 가스의 방출에 의하여 형성된 것으로 사료되는 수평균열이 다수 관찰된다. 두 코어에서 측정된 유기탄소 (organic carbon) 함량은 평균 $1.8\% $(0.1-4.5\%)$으로 열린 바다 (open sea) 퇴적물의 유기탄소 함량보다 높다. 이는 Termination I 시기 때 해수면 상승으로 인해 산소가 다소 결핍된 환경으로 전이되면서 유기탄소의 양이 증가하였음을 보여주는 것으로 해석된다.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.216-230
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• 2014

Based on the interpretation of 3D seismic profiles acquired in the northwestern area of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, the shallow sediments consist of five seismic units separated by regional reflectors. An anticline is present in the study area that documents activity of many faults. Bottom simulating reflectors are characterized by high RMS amplitude. Acoustic blanking with low RMS amplitude is distinctively recognized in the gas hydrate stability zone. Seismic attribute analysis shows that if gas hydrates are underlain by free gas, the high reflection strength and the low instantaneous frequency are displayed below the boundary between them. Whereas, if not, the reflection strength is low and instantaneous frequency is high continuously below the gas hydrate zone. Based on the spectral decomposition of the bottom simulating reflector, the high envelope at the specific high frequency range indicates the generation of the tuning effect due to the lower free gas content. Four models for the occurrence of the gas hydrate are suggested considering the slope of sedimentary layers as well as the presence of gas hydrate or free gas.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.622-625
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• 2005

본 연구의 목적은 동해 울릉분지 천부퇴적층의 공극수와 메탄의 특징 및 상호작용을 규명하는데 있다. 울릉분지에서 채취한 코어에서 공극수를 추출하여 분석한 결과, 공극수의 황산염 농도가 퇴적물의 심도가 증가할수록 감소하며, 감소하는 경향은 크게 세 가지 (직선성, concave down, upward kink)로 나뉨을 알 수 있었다. 이는 모든 코어에서 황산염 환원작용이 일어나고 있음을 지시한다 황산염 농도의 수직적 구배를 이용하여 SMI (sulfate-methane interface) 심도를 계산하면, 남부울릉분지가 북부울릉분지보다 낮은 값을 갖는다. 반면에 메탄 농도는 퇴적물의 심도가 증가할수록 전반적으로 증가하며, 공간적으로는 남부 울릉분지가 북부울릉보지보다 높다. 또한 남부울릉분지에서 메탄가스 농도는 SMI 심도 아래에서 급격히 증가한다 메탄가스의 탄소 안정동위원소$(\delta^{13}C)$ 분석 값들은 대부분 $-60\%_{\circ}$이하로서 이는 메탄가스가 열기원 보다는 박테리아기원임을 지시해준다 또한 남부 울릉분지에서 메탄의 탄소 안정동위원소 분석 값들은 메탄농도가 증가할수록 낮은 값을 보여 주는 데 이러한 결과들은 남부 울릉분지에서 무산소 메탄 산화작용이 일어나고 있음을 지시하고, 메탄의 상향 분산 (diffusion)량이 북부 울릉분지보다 많이 일어난다는 것을 의미한다. 공극수내 황산염 이온 농도 구배와 메탄가스 농도를 종합적으로 고려할 때, 울릉분지에서 가스하이드레이트의 부존가능성은 북부 울룽분지보다 남부 울릉분지가 높은 것으로 추정된다.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.50-53
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• 2006

Regional geophysical surveys and geological cal studies on natural gas hydrate (NGH) in the East Sea were carried out by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) from 2000 to 2004. 16 piston cores, 2270 L-km of multi-channel reflection seismic (MCRS) data and 730 L-km of 3.5kHz Chirp data obtained from the southwestern part of the deep-water Ulleung Basin were analyzed in this study. In piston cores, cracks generally developed parallel to bedding suggest significant gas content. The core analyses showed high total organic carbon (TOC) content, sedimentation rate and heat flow of sediments. These are in favor of the general ion of substantial biogenic methane, which can form the NGH within the stability zone of the near seafloor sediments in the study area. The cores generally show also high residual hydrocarbon gas concentrations for the formation of natural gas hydrates The geophysical indicators of the presence of gas and/or NGH such as bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs), seismic blank Bones, pockmarks and gas seeping features were well defined on the MCRS and Chirp data.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.597-599
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• 2007

Studies on the hydrocarbons in shallow sediments of the East Sea of Korea have been carried out by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) since 2000. 4946 L-km of 2D multichannel reflection seismic data, 3250 L-km of high-resolution Chirp profiles and 16 selected piston cores were analyzed to determine the presence of hydrocarbons in shallow sediments of the western deep-water Ulleung Basin. The seismic data show a number of blanking zones that probably reflect widespread fluid and gas venting. The blanking zones are often associated with velocity pull-up structures. These upwelling structures are interpreted to be the result of high-velocity natural gas hydrate. There are also several bottom-simulating reflectors that are associated with free gas and probably overlying gas hydrate. Numerous pockmarks were also observed in the Chirp profiles. They are seafloor depressions caused by the removal of near-seafloor soft sediments by escaping of fluid and gas. In piston cores, cracks generally oriented parallel to bedding suggest significant gas content some of which may have been contained in gas hydrate in situ.