Abstract
Methane has been detected in several cores of rapidly deposited (> 50 m/my) deep sea sediments. Other gases, such as carbon dioxide and ethane, are commonly present but only in minor and trace amounts, respectively. The methane originates predominantly from bacterial reduction of CO2, as indicated by complimentary changes with depth in the amount and isotopic composition of redox-linked pore water constituents: sulfate-bicarbonate and bicarbonate-methane.
Presently, no precise determination exists of the amount of gas present under in situ conditions in deep sea sediments. Using C13/C12 isotope ratios of the dissolved bicarbonate and methane, and employing kinetic calculations based on Rayleigh distillation equations, the amounts of methane generated by reduction of carbon di-oxide by hydrogen has been estimated. The amounts calculated suggest that a minimum of 20 mmol CH4/kg interstitial water is formed.
A methane concentration of 20 mmol/kg approaches the amount required for the formation of gas hydrates under pressure-temperature conditions corresponding to a water column of about 500 meters, with a temperature of 5°C at the sediment-water interface. Depth of stability of the gas hydrate within the sediment is directly proportional to: hydrostatic pressure, or height of the water column above the sediment, temperature at the sediment surface, the geothermal gradient, and concentration of methane. Under average oceanic conditions, gas hydrates could be stable in sediment under a 3 km water column to depths of approximately 600 meters, if sufficient methane is present.
Gas hydrates have been proposed as the cause of anomalously high acoustic velocities in the upper 500–600 meters of sediment in the Blake-Bahama outer ridge. It is here suggested that acoustic reflectors in gas-rich sediment is associated with temperature-dependent lithologic transitions, which are in part formed by diagenetic processes involving microbiological methane generation.
Under certain conditions, carbonate ion must be removed from solution during methane production to maintain pH equilibrium between the pore water and the sediment. Authigenic carbonates, typically iron-rich nodules and cements, have been observed in the zone of active methane production. This link between methane production and carbonate precipitation may be an important mechanism for lithification of deep sea sediments.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bottinga, Y., Calculated fractionation factors for carbon and hydrogen isotope exchange in the system calcite-carbon dioxide-graphite- methane-hydrogen-water vapor, Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, 33, 49, 1969.
Broecker, W. S., and V. M. Oversby, Chemical Equilibrium in the Earth, 318 pp., McGraw-Hill, 1971.
Bryan, G. M., In situ indications of gas hydrate, in Natural Gases in Marine Sediments edited by I. R. Kaplan, pp. 299–308, Plenum Press, New York, 1974.
Bryant, M. P., Rumer methanogenic bacteria, in Physiology of Digestion in the Ruminant edited by R. W. Dougherty et al., pp. 411–418, Butterworths, Washington, 1965.
Bryant, M. P., E. A. Wolin, M. J. Wolin, and R. S. Wolfe, Methanobacillus omelianskii, a symbiotic association of two species of bacteria, Arch. Mikrobiol., 59, 20, 1967.
Claypool, G. E., B. J. Presley, and I. R. Kaplan, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 19, pp. 879 - 884, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Columbo, U., F. Gazzarrini, R. Gonfiantini, G. Sironi, and E. Tongiorgi, Measurements of C13/C12 isotope ratios on Italian natural gases and their interpretation, in Advances in Organic Geochemistry 1964, edited by G. D. Hobson and M. C. Louis, pp. 279–292, Pergamon Press, New York, 1966.
Craig, H., The geochemistry of stable carbon isotopes, Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, 3, 53, 1953.
Culberson, O. L., and J. J. McKetta, Solubility of methane in water at pressures to 10,000 psi, J. Petrol. Technol., 3, (Trans. AIME), 223, 1951.
Daniels, F., and R. A. Alberty, Physical Chemistry, 767 pp., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1967.
Emery, K. O., and D. Hoggan, Gases in marine sediments, Amer. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 42, 2174, 1958.
Ewing, J. I., and C. D. Hollister, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 11, pp. 951–976, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Goldhaber, M. B., Equilibrium and dynamic aspects of the marine geo-chemistry of sulfur, Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, 1974.
Hammond, D. E., R. M. Horowitz, and W. S. Broecker, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 20, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Hand, J. H., D. L. Katz, and V. K. Verma, Review of gas hydrates with implications for ocean sediments, in Natural Gases in Marine Sediments, edited by I. R. Kaplan, pp. 179–194, Plenum Press, New York, 1974.
Hardin, G., Biology Its Principles and Implications, 77 pp., W. H. Freeman and Co., 1966.
Hitchon, B., Occurrence of natural gas hydrates in sedimentary basins, in Natural Gases in Marine Sediments edited by I. R. Kaplan, pp. 195–225, Plenum Press, New York, 1974.
Hoering, T. C., and P. H. Abelson, Hydrocarbons from kerogen, Annual Rept., Director Geophys. Lab., Carnegie Inst. Wash. Jr. Bk., 62, 229, 1963.
Hoering, T. C., Organic acids from the oxidation of recent sediment, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Jr. Bk., 66, 515, 1968.
Hollister, D. C., J. I. Ewing et al., in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 11, pp. 135–218, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Iannotti, E. L., D. Kafkewitz, M. J. Wolin, and M. P. Bryant, Glucose fermentation products of Ruminococcus albus grown in continuous culture with Vibrio succinogenes: Changes caused by interspecies transfer of H2, J. Bacteriol., 114, 1231, 1973.
Johns, W. D., and A. Shimoyama, Clay minerals and petroleum-forming reactions during burial and diagenesis, Amer. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 56, 2160, 1972.
Kobayashi, R., and D. L. Katz, Methane hydrate at high pressure, Petrol. Technol., 1, (Trans. AIME), 66, 1949.
Koyama, T., Gaseous metabolism in lake sediments and paddy soils, in Advances in Organic Geochemistry, 1962, edited by U. Columbo and G. D. Hobson, pp. 363–375, The Macmillan Co., New York, 1964.
Lancelot, Y., Carbonate diagenesis in the gas-rich Tertiary sediments from the Atlantic North American Basin (Abst.), in 8th Int. Sedimentol. Cong., Heidelberg, 1971.
Lancelot, Y., and J. I. Ewing, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 11, pp. 791–800, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Makogon, Yu. F., V. I. Tsarev, and N. V. Cherskiy, Formation of large natural gas fields in zones of permanently low temperatures, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR (Earth Sci.), English Transl., 205, 215, 1972.
Manheim, F. T., K. M. Chan, and F. L. Sayles, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 5, pp. 501–512, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1970.
Manheim, F. T., F. L. Sayles, and L. S. Waterman, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 10, pp. 615–623, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Méchalas, B. J., Pathways and environmental requirements for biogenic gas production in the ocean, in Natural Gases in Marine Sediments, edited by I. R. Kaplan, pp. 11–25, Plenum Press, New York, 1974.
Miller, S. L., The nature and occurrence of clathrate hydrates, in Natural Gases in Marine Sediments, edited by I. R. Kaplan, pp. 151–177, Plenum Press, New York, 1974.
Nakai, N., Geochemical studies on the formation of natural gases, Ph.D. thesis, Nagoya Univ., Japan, 1961.
Nissenbaum, A., B. J. Presley, and I. R. Kaplan, Early diagenesis in a reducing fjord, Saanich Inlet, British Columbia - I. Chemical and isotopic changes in major components of interstitial water, Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, 36, 1007, 1972.
Oana, S., and E. S. Deevey, Carbon-13 in lake waters, and its possible bearing on paleolimnology, Amer. J. Sci., 258-A, 253, 1960.
Postgate, J. R., Recent advances in the study of the sulfate-reducing bacteria, Bacteriol. Rev., 29, 425, 1965.
Presley, B. J., J. Culp, C. Petrowski, and I. R. Kaplan, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 11, pp. 805–810, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Presley, B. J., and I. R. Kaplan, Changes in dissolved sulfate, calcium and carbonate from interstitial water of near shore sediments, Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, 32, 1037, 1968.
Presley, B. J., and I. R. Kaplan, Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol 4, pp. 415–430, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1970.
Presley, B. J., and I. R. Kaplan, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 11, pp. 1009–1012, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1972.
Reeburgh, W. S., Observations of gases in Chesapeake Bay sediments, Limnol. Oceanogr, 143 368, 1969.
Rosenfeld, W. D., and S. R. Silverman, Carbon isotope fractionation in bacterial production of methane, Science, 130 1658, 1959.
Sackett, W. M., S. Nakaparksin, and D. Dalrymple, Carbon isotope effects in methane production by thermal cracking, in Advances in Organic Geochemistrys 1966, edited by G. D. Hobson and G. G. Speers, pp. 37–53, Pergamon Press, New York, 1968.
Sayles, F. L., and F. T. Manheim, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 7, pp. 871–882, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1971.
Sayles, F. L., F. T. Manheim, and K. M. Chen, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 4, pp. 401–414, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1970.
Sayles, F. L., F. T. Manheim, and L. W. Waterman, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 11, pp. 997–1008, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1972.
Sayles, F. L., F. T. Manheim, and L. S. Waterman, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 12, pp. 801–808, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973a.
Sayles, F. L., L. S. Waterman, and F. T. Manheim, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 19, pp. 871–874, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973b.
Sholkovitz, E., Interstitial water chemistry of the Santa Barbara Basin sediments, Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, 373 2043, 1973.
Smith, P. H., and R. A. Mah, Kinetics of acetate metabolism during sludge digension, Appl. Microbiol., 14, 368, 1966.
Stanier, R. Y., M. Doudoroff, and E. A. Adelberg, The Microbial Worlds 873 pp., Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1970.
Steggerda, F. R., and J. F. Dimmick, Effects of bean diets on concentration of carbon dioxide in flatus, Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 19, 120, 1966.
Stoll, R. E., Effects of gas hydrates in sediments, in Natural Gases in Marine Sediments3 edited by I. R. Kaplan, pp. 235–248, Plenum Press, New York, 1974.
Stoll, R. D., J. Ewing and G. M. Bryan, Anomalous wave velocities in sediments containing gas hydrates, J. Geophys. Res., 763 2090, 1971.
Toerien, D. F., and W. H. J. Hattingh, The microbiology of anaerobic digestion, Water Res., 3 385, 1969.
Tuttle, J. H. and H. W. Jannasch, Dissimilatory reduction of inor-ganic sulfur by facultatively anaerobic marine bacteria. J. Bact., 115, 732, 1973.
Vaccaro, R. F., Inorganic nitrogen in sea water, in Chemical Oceanography, edited by J. P. Riley and G. Skirrow, pp. 365–408, Academic Press, New York, 1965.
Waterman, L. S., F. L. Sayles, and F. T. Manheim, in Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 18, pp. 1001–1012, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973.
Weiss, R. F., The solubility of nitrogen, oxygen and argon in water and sea water, Deep Sea Res., 17, 721, 1970.
Whelan, T., Methane and carbon dioxide in coastal marsh sediments, in Natural Gases in Marine Sediments, edited by I. R. Kaplan, pp. 47–61, Plenum Press, New York, 1974.
Wolfe, R. S., Microbial formation of methane, Adv. Microbial. Physiol. 6, 107, 1971.
Zeikus, J. G., and R. S. Wolfe, Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicus sp. n., an anaerobic, autotrophic, extreme thermophile, J. Bacteriol., 109, 707, 1972.
Zobell, C. E., and S. C. Rittenberg, Sulfate-reducing bacteria in marine sediments, J. Marine Res., 7, 602. 1948.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1974 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Claypool, G.E., Kaplan, I.R. (1974). The Origin and Distribution of Methane in Marine Sediments. In: Kaplan, I.R. (eds) Natural Gases in Marine Sediments. Marine Science, vol 3. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2757-8_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2757-8_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-2759-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-2757-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive