Constraining the timing of microbial methane generation in an organic-rich shale using noble gases, Illinois Basin, USA

Schlegel, Melissa E.; Zhou, Zheng; McIntosh, Jennifer C.; Ballentine, C. J.; Person, Mark

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2011.04.019

Cited by 56 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Values of λ bio are between 10 −14 s −1 and 10 −12 s −1 , which correspond to characteristic time scales of microbial methanogenesis in the range 0.032–3.2 Ma. These time scales are similar to the age range of microbial methane (0.082–1.2 Ma) estimated in Illinois Basin shales from the 4 He ages of formation waters (Schlegel et al, ).…”

Section: Gas Hydrate Systemsupporting

confidence: 83%

Mechanisms of Methane Hydrate Formation in Geological Systems

You

Flemings

Malinverno

et al. 2019

Reviews of Geophysics

161

110

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Natural gas hydrate is ice‐like mixture of gas (mostly methane) and water that is widely found in sediments along the world's continental margins and within and beneath permafrost and glaciers in a near‐surface depth interval where the pressure is sufficiently high and temperature sufficiently low for gas hydrate to be stable. We categorize the myriad of geological gas hydrate deposits into five characteristic types. We then review the multiple quantitative models that have proposed to describe the genesis of these deposits and describe how each may have formed. We emphasize the importance of coupling multiphase flow (free gas and liquid water) and multicomponent reactive transport with geological history to describe the dynamical processes of gas hydrate formation and evolution in geological systems. A better insight into the kinetics of methane formation from microbial biogenesis and the processes of multiphase flow at the pore scale will advance our knowledge of how these systems form. By understanding the generation and evolution of gas hydrate through time, we will better decipher the role of gas hydrate in the carbon cycle, its potential to contribute to climate change and geohazards, and how to design optimal strategies for gas production from hydrate reservoirs.

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Section: Gas Hydrate Systemsupporting

confidence: 83%

Mechanisms of Methane Hydrate Formation in Geological Systems

You

Flemings

Malinverno

et al. 2019

Reviews of Geophysics

161

110

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“…Evidence of glacially emplaced freshwater into the basins comes from many sources [ Post et al ., ]. Age data from carbon‐14 and noble gases reveal a Pleistocene age for much of the freshwater [ Morrissey et al ., ; Schlegel et al ., ], and oxygen isotope data reveal isotopically light freshwater which is interpreted as water of glacial origin [ Vaikmae et al ., ; McIntosh et al ., ]. In addition, numerical models indicate large volumes of subglacial meltwater may have been driven into basin sediments during Pleistocene glaciations [ Person et al ., , 2012; Post et al ., ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of late Pleistocene glaciations on the hydrogeology of the continental shelf offshore Massachusetts, USA

Siegel

Person

Dugan

et al. 2014

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Multiple late Pleistocene glaciations that extended onto the continental shelf offshore Massachusetts, USA, may have emplaced as much as 100 km 3 of freshwater (salinity <5 ppt) in continental shelf sediments. To estimate the volume and extent of offshore freshwater, we developed a three-dimensional, variable-density model that couples fluid flow and heat and solute transport for the continental shelf offshore Massachusetts. The stratigraphy for our model is based on high-resolution, multichannel seismic data. The model incorporates the last 3 Ma of climate history by prescribing boundary conditions of sea level change and ice sheet extent and thickness. We incorporate new estimates of the maximum extent of a late Pleistocene ice sheet to near the shelf-slope break. Model results indicate that this late Pleistocene ice sheet was responsible for much of the emplaced freshwater. We predict that the current freshwater distribution may reach depths up to 500 meters below sea level and up to 30 km beyond Martha's Vineyard. The freshwater distribution is strongly dependent on the three-dimensional stratigraphy and ice sheet history. Our predictions improve our understanding of the distribution of offshore freshwater, a potential nonrenewable resource for coastal communities along recently glaciated margins.

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“…In such systems, growth and metabolic rates are slow compared to laboratory cultures of methanogens, and thus could allow internal isotopic equilibrium to be reached. For example, in the New Albany Shale, which is similar in age and depositional environment to the Antrim Shale, rates of methane generation are estimated based on accumulations of radiogenic 4 He to have been 10 4 to 10 6 slower than equivalent laboratory manipulations (Schlegel et al, 2011). In the context of the model, MCR would be almost entirely reversible in such settings and thus would generate methane in internal isotopic equilibrium.…”

Section: Implications For Clumped-isotope Thermometry Of Biogenic Metmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing and understanding thermogenic and biogenic sources of methane using multiply substituted isotopologues

Stolper

Martini

Clog

et al. 2015

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

165

240

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Please cite this article as: Stolper, D.A., Martini, A.M., Clog, M., Douglas, P.M., Shusta, S.S., Valentine, D.L., Sessions, A.L., Eiler, J.M., Distinguishing and understanding thermogenic and biogenic sources of methane using multiply substituted isotopologues, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (2015), doi: http://dx. Abstract: Sources of methane to sedimentary environments are commonly identified and quantified using the stable-isotopic compositions of methane. The methane "clumped-isotope geothermometer", based on the measurement of multiply substituted methane isotopologues (13 CH 3 D and 12 CH 2 D 2), shows promise in adding new constraints to the sources and formational environments of both biogenic and thermogenic methane. However, questions remain about how this geothermometer behaves in systems with mixtures of biogenic and thermogenic gases and different biogenic environments. We have applied the methane clumped-isotope thermometer to a mixed biogenic-thermogenic system (Antrim Shale, USA) and to biogenic gas from gas seeps (Santa Barbara and Santa Monica Basin, USA), a pond on the Caltech campus, and methanogens grown in pure-culture. We demonstrate that clumped-isotope based temperatures add new quantitative constraints to the relative amounts of biogenic vs. thermogenic gases in the Antrim Shale indicating a larger proportion (~50%) of thermogenic gas in the system than previously thought. Additionally, we find that the clumped-isotope temperature of biogenic methane appears related to the environmental settings in which the gas forms. In systems where methane generation rates appear to be slow (e.g., the Antrim Shale and gas seeps), microbial methane forms in or near both internal isotopic equilibrium and hydrogen-isotope equilibrium with environmental waters. In systems where methane forms rapidly, microbial methane is neither in internal isotopic equilibrium nor hydrogen-isotope equilibrium with environmental waters. A quantitative model of microbial methanogenesis that incorporates isotopes is proposed to explain these results.

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Constraining the timing of microbial methane generation in an organic-rich shale using noble gases, Illinois Basin, USA

Cited by 56 publications

References 81 publications

Mechanisms of Methane Hydrate Formation in Geological Systems

Mechanisms of Methane Hydrate Formation in Geological Systems

Influence of late Pleistocene glaciations on the hydrogeology of the continental shelf offshore Massachusetts, USA

Distinguishing and understanding thermogenic and biogenic sources of methane using multiply substituted isotopologues

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