Dynamics of the gas flux from shallow gas hydrate deposits: interaction between oily hydrate bubbles and the oceanic environment

Decomposition of methane hydrates on the continental margins is a potentially significant source of atmospheric methane, but the input depends upon the poorly understood fate of the hydrocarbon bubbles rising from the sea floor. During a field trip to the Gulf of Mexico, three different seepages were imaged and analyzed. Three different imagine techniques were tried (side, front, and back illumination), of which back illumination produced the best results. The images were analyzed and the size-dependent bubble distribution, mass flux, and rise speeds determined. The total observed gas flux was 62.3 X 10(-3) Mol s(-1), primarily methane, of which a single vent produced seven times the next largest vent. Of this major vent, 50% of the bubble mass was contained in the largest bubbles, r > 5500 mum. The vertical velocities demonstrated that these bubbles were heavily contaminated with oil, which was also corroborated by bubble shape and oscillation observations. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.