[1] Review of the literature reveals that the nature of pore-scale interactions between gas hydrates and porous media remains a matter of controversy. To clarify the situation, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements have been made on methane hydratebearing sandstones. The samples were synthetically prepared within the gas hydrate stability zone, at or near the seafloor in Monterey Bay, California. The method simulated natural hydrate deposition by gas flows that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium with the surrounding earth. The efficiency of hydrate production was variable, as has been observed elsewhere. When substantial hydrate saturations were achieved, NMR relaxation time measurements indicated that hydrate tended to replace water in the largest pore spaces. The relative permeability to water, as determined by an NMR-based correlation, was significantly reduced. The magnitude of this reduction was also consistent with formation of hydrate in the centers of pores, rather than with hydrate coating the grains. The growth habit suggested by these results is consistent with creation of hydrate nodules and lenses in coarse, unconsolidated sediments. It is also consistent with scenarios in which methane gas is delivered efficiently to the atmosphere as a result of seafloor slope failure, thereby strengthening global warming feedback mechanisms.INDEX TERMS: 3022 Marine Geology and Geophysics: Marine sediments-processes and transport; 3094 Marine Geology and Geophysics: Instruments and techniques; 5114 Physical Properties of Rocks: Permeability and porosity; 5194 Physical Properties of Rocks: Instruments and techniques; KEYWORDS: methane hydrate, pore geometry, growth habit, permeability, seafloor stability, climate change Citation: Kleinberg, R. L., C. Flaum, D. D. Griffin, P. G. Brewer, G. E. Malby, E. T. Peltzer, and J. P. Yesinowski, Deep sea NMR: Methane hydrate growth habit in porous media and its relationship to hydraulic permeability, deposit accumulation, and submarine slope stability,

Field experiments were conducted to test ideas for fossil fuel carbon dioxide ocean disposal as a solid hydrate at depths ranging from 349 to 3627 meters and from 8 degrees to 1.6 degrees C. Hydrate formed instantly from the gas phase at 349 meters but then decomposed rapidly in ambient seawater. At 3627 meters, the seawater-carbon dioxide interface rose rapidly because of massive hydrate formation, forcing spillover of the liquid carbon dioxide from the container. A strong barrier between the liquid carbon dioxide and interaction with the sediments was observed. A pool of liquid carbon dioxide on the sea floor would expand in volume more than four times, forming hydrate, which will dissolve.

[1] We have made direct comparisons of the dissolution and rise rates of methane and argon bubbles experimentally released in the ocean at depths from 440 to 830 m. The bubbles were injected from the ROV Ventana into a box open at the top and the bottom, and imaged by HDTV while in free motion. The vehicle was piloted upwards at the rise rate of the bubbles. Methane and argon show closely similar behavior at depths above the methane hydrate stability field. Below that boundary ($520 m) markedly enhanced methane bubble lifetimes are observed, and are attribute to the formation of a hydrate skin. This effect greatly increases the ease with which methane gas released at depth, either by natural or industrial events, can penetrate the shallow ocean layers.

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