ГЕОЭКОЛОГИЯ


ИНЖЕНЕРНАЯ ГЕОЛОГИЯ. ГИДРОГЕОЛОГИЯ. ГЕОКРИОЛОГИЯ

Обратная связь
Thank You. Your Message has been Submitted
Geoekologiya, 2020, Vol. 3, P. 23-35

CHARACTERIZATION OF ISOTOPIC AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GASES EJECTED FROM MUD VOLCANOES IN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WORLD

V. V. Ershova,# and D. D. Bondarenkoa,##

a Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences,
ul. Nauki, 1B, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 693022 Russia

#E-mail: valery_ershov@mail.ru,
##E-mail: bondarenko_dasha@mail.ru

In this paper, we have generalized and analyzed the data on isotopic and chemical composition of gases eject­ed by terrestrial mud volcanoes (about 700 samples from more than 270 volcanoes). It is shown that for most mud volcanoes methane prevails in the composition of ejected gases - its median concentration is about 92.5vol. %. However, there are also mud volcanoes that eject mainly carbon dioxide or nitrogen. Usually ni­trogen in mud volcanic gases is present as an impurity - its median concentration is about 2 vol. %. For some gas samples (about 150) both nitrogen concentration and oxygen concentration are available. There is a strong positive linear correlation between the concentrations of these gases (r = 0.64). The angular coefficient of this linear dependence is 3.5, which is similar to the ratio of nitrogen/oxygen in atmospheric air (3.7). Therefore, we believe that nitrogen in samples of mud volcanic gases is predominantly atmogenic. The CO2/CH4 ratio in mud volcanic gases suggests that the carbon dioxide flux from mud volcanoes can be 1.1-10.5 million ton per year. We estimate that mud volcanic reservoirs contain about 10 billion tons of carbon (as CO2 and CH4). Based on the isotopic composition of carbon, methane in most cases (about 92% of all gas samples) is ther­mogenic. Isotopic data also suggest that some mud volcanoes (about 10% of all gas samples) may release car­bon dioxide from the upper mantle. More than a third of all gas samples contain carbon dioxide, which is formed during anaerobic biodegradation of petroleum. It was found that the isotopic and chemical composi­tion of mud volcanic gases vary among different regions of the world. This may be related to different tectonic setting. In regions, belonging to subduction zones and manifestations of modern activity of magmatic volca­noes, methane in mud volcanic gases, as a rule, has heavier isotopic composition (§13C-CH4 values range from -35 to -25%o PDB). Here are also mud volcanoes that release mantle or metamorphic carbon dioxide. This is accompanied by a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the mud volcanic gases. It is shown that in terms of the carbon isotopic composition, methane from mud volcanoes is largely identical to anthropogenic methane released into the atmosphere during the extraction of fossil fuels. This contributes to great uncer­tainty for estimates of anthropogenic emissions in the analysis of the global methane budget.

Keywords: mud volcanoes, methane, carbon dioxide, gas geochemistry, stable carbon isotopes, origin of mud vol­canic gases, geographical distribution

DOI: 10.31857/S0869780920030029

REFERENCES

1.Valyaev, B.M., Grinchenko, Yu.I, Erokhin, V.E. et al. Izotopnyi oblik gazov gryazevykh vulkanov [Isotopic character of gases from mud volcanoes]. Litologiya i poleznye iskopayemye, 1985, no. 1, pp. 72-87. (in Rus­sian)

2. Voitov, G.I. Chemical and carbon isotope instabilities in the gryphon gases of mud volcanoes: an example of the southern Caspian and Taman' mud-volcano prov­ince. Geochemistry International, 2001, no. 4, pp. 373­383. (in Russian)

  3. Galimov, E.M. Geokhimiya stabil'nykh izotopov uglero- da [Geochemistry of stable carbon  isotopes]. Moscow, Nedra Publ., 1968, 226 p. (in Russian)

4.Guliev, I., Feizullaev, A.A., Aliev, A.A., Movsumova, U.A. Sostav gazov i organicheskogo veshchestva porod — vybrosov gryazevykh vulkanov Azerbaidzhana [Compo­sition of gases and organic matter of rocks - ejections from mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan]. Geologiya nefti i ga­za, 2005, no. 3, pp. 27-30. (in Russian)

5.Dadashev, A.A., Zor'kin, L.M., Blokhina, G.G. Novye dannye ob izotopnom sostave ugleroda metana prirodnykh gazov gryazevykh vulkanov Azerbaidzhana [New data on the carbon isotope composition of methane in natural gas from mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan]. Doklady Aka- demii nauk SSSR, 1982, vol. 262, no. 2, pp. 399-401. (in Russian)

6.Erokhin, V.E., Titkov, G.A. Pervye rezul'taty izucheniya izotopnogo sostava vodoroda v mentane gazov gryazevykh vulkanov Azerbaidzhana i Turkmenii [First results on the analysis of hydrogen isotopic composition of methane in gases from mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan and Turk­menistan]. Doklady Akademii nauk SSSR, 1983, vol. 262, no. 3, pp. 715-717. (in Russian)

7.Ershov, V.V., Shakirov, R.B., Obzhirov, A.I. Isotopic­geochemical characteristics of free gases of the South Sakhalin mud volcano and their relationship to regional seismicity. Doklady Earth Sciences, 2011, vol. 44, no 1, pp. 1334-1339. (in Russian)

8.Kikvadze, O.E., Lavrushin, V.Yu., Pokrovskii, B.G., Polyak, B.G. Isotope and chemical composition of gas­es from mud volcanoes in the Taman Peninsula and problem of their genesis. Litology and Mineral Resourc­es, 2014, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 491-504. (in Russian)

9.Lavrushin, V.Yu., Polyak, B.G., Pokrovskii, B.G. et al. Isotopic-geochemical peculiarities of gases in mud vol­canoes in eastern Georgia. Litology and Mineral Re­sources, 2009, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 183-197. (in Russian)

10.Lavrushin, V.Yu., Polyak, B.G., Prasolov, E.M., Kamenskii, I.L. Istochniki veshchestva v produktakh gryazevogo vulkanizma (po izotopnym, gidrokhimich- eskim i geologicheskim dannym) [Sources of material in mud volcano products (based on isotopic, hydrochem­ical, and geological data)]. Litologiya i poleznye iskopae- mye, 1996, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 557-578. (in Russian)

11.Lagunova, I.A. O genezise CO2 v gazakh gryazevykh vul- kanov Kerchensko-Tamanskoi oblasti [Genesis of CO2 in gases from mud volcanoes of the Kerch-Taman Re­gion]. Geokhimiya, 1974, no. 11, pp. 1711-1716. (in Russian)

12.Lagunova, I.A. and Gemp, S.D. Gidrogeokhimicheskiye osobennosti gryazevykh vulkanov [Hydrogeochemical features of mud volcanoes]. Sovyetskaya Geologia, 1978, no. 8, pp. 108-125. (in Russian)

13.Prytkov, A.S., Vasilenko, N.F., Ershov, V.V. Simulation of the 2011 South Sakhalin mud volcano eruption based on the GPS data. Russian Journal of Pacific Geology, 2014, vol. 8, pp. 224-231. (in Russian)

14.Siryk, I.M. Neftegazonosnost' vostochnykh sklonov Za- padno-Sakhalinskikh gor [Oil and gas potential of the eastern slopes of the West Sakhalin Mountains]. Mos­cow, Nauka Publ., 1968, 248 p. (in Russian)

15.Chelnokov, G.A., Zharkov, R.V., Bragin, I.V. et al. Geochemical characteristics of subterranean fluids of the southern Central Sakhalin Fault. Russian Journal of Pacific Geology, 2015, no. 5, pp. 81-95. (in Russian)

16.Baciu, C., Ionescu, A., Etiope, G. Hydrocarbon seeps in Romania: Gas origin and release to the atmosphere. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2018, vol. 89, pp. 130­143.

17.Baylis, S.A., Cawley, S.J., Clayton, C.J., Savell, M.A. The origin of unusual gas seeps from onshore Papua New Guinea. Marine Geology, 1997, vol. 137, pp. 109­120.

18.Burton, M.R., Sawyer, G.M., Granieri, D. Deep car­bon emissions from volcanoes. Reviews in mineralogy and geochemistry, 2013, vol. 75, pp. 323-354.

19. Capozzi, R., Picotti, V. Fluid migration and origin of a mud volcano in the Northern Apennines (Italy) - the role of deeply rooted normal faults. Terra Nova, 2002, vol. 14, pp. 363-370.

20. Chao, H.-G., You, C.-F., Sun, C.-H. Gases in Taiwan mud volcanoes: Chemical composition, methane car­bon isotopes, and gas fluxes. Applied Geochemistry, 2010, vol. 25, pp. 428-436.

21.Chiodini, G., D'Alessandro, W., Parello, F. Geochem­istry of gases and waters discharged by the mud volca­noes at Paterno, Mt. Etna (Italy). Bulletin of Volcanolo­gy, 1996, vol. 58, pp. 51-58.

22. Dai, J.X., Wu, X.Q., Ni, Y.Y. et al. Geochemical char­acteristics of natural gas from mud volcanoes in the southern Junggar Basin. Science China Earth Sciences, 2012, vol. 55, pp. 355-367.

23. Deville, E., Battani, A., Griboulard, R. et al. The origin and processes of mud volcanism: New insights from Trinidad. Geological Society, 2003, vol. 216, pp. 475­490.

24. Etiope, G., Baciu, C.L., Schoell, M. Extreme methane deuterium, nitrogen and helium enrichment in natural gas from the Homorod seep (Romania). Chemical Ge­ology, 2011, vol. 280, pp. 89-96.

25. Etiope, G., Feyzullayev, A., Baciu, C.L. Terrestrial methane seeps and mud volcanoes: A global perspec­tive of gas origin. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2009, vol. 26, pp. 333-344.

26. Etiope, G., Feyzullayev, A., Milkov A.V. et al. Evidence of subsurface anaerobic biodegradation of hydrocar­bons and potential secondary methanogenesis in terres­trial mud volcanoes. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2009, vol. 26, pp. 1692-1703.

27. Etiope, G., Klusmann R.W. Geologic emissions of methane to the atmosphere. Chemosphere, 2002, vol.49, pp. 777-789.

28. Etiope, G., Martinelli, G., Caracausi, A., Italiano, F. Methane seeps and mud volcanoes in Italy: Gas origin, fractionation and emission to the atmosphere. Geo­physical Research Letters, 2007, vol. 34. doi: 10.1029/2007GL030341.

29. Etiope, G., Milkov, A.V. A new estimate of global methane flux from onshore and shallow submarine mud volcanoes to the atmosphere. Environmental Geol­ogy, 2004, vol. 46, pp. 997-1002.

30. Etiope, G., Nakada, R., Tanaka, K., Yoshida, N. Gas seepage from Tokamachi mud volcanoes, onshore Ni­igata Basin (Japan): Origin, post-genetic alterations and CH4-CO2 fluxes. Applied Geochemistry, 2011, vol.26, pp. 348-359.

31. Falkowski, P., Scholes, R.J., Boyle, E. et al. The global carbon cycle: A test of our knowledge of Earth as a sys­tem. Science, 2000, vol. 290, pp. 291-296.

32. Feyzullayev, A.A. Mud volcanoes in the South Caspian basin: Nature and estimated depth of its products. Nat­ural Science, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 445—453.

33. Grassa, F., Capasso, G., Favara, R., Inguaggiato, S. Molecular and isotopic composition of free hydrocar­bon gases from Sicily, Italy. Geophyslcal Research Let­ters, 2004, vol. 31. doi: 10.1029/2003GL019362.

34. Kikvadze, O., Lavrushin, V., Pokrovskii, B., Polyak, B. Gases from mud volcanoes of western and central Cau­casus. Geofluids, 2010, vol. 10, pp. 457-594.

35. Mazzini, A., Svensen, H., Planke, S. et al. When mud volcanoes sleep: Insight from seep geochemistry at the Dashgil mud volcano, Azerbaijan. Marine and Petro­leum Geology, 2009, vol. 26, pp. 1704-1715.

36. Mazzini, А., Svensen, H., Etiope, G. et al. Fluid origin, gas fluxes and plumbing system in the sediment-hosted Salton Sea Geotermal System (California, USA). Jour­nal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2011, vol.205, pp. 67-83.

37. Ray, J.S., Kumar, A., Sudheer, A.K. et al. Origin of gas­es and water in mud volcanoes of Andaman accretion- ary prism: implications for fluid migration in forearcs. Chemical Geology, 2013, vol. 347, pp. 102-113.

38. Saunois, M., Bousquet, P., Poulter, B. et al. The global methane budget: 2000-2012. Earth System Science Da­ta, 2016, vol. 8, pp. 697-751.

39. Sherwood, O.A., Schwietzke, S., Arling, V.A., Etiope, G. Global inventory of gas geochemistry data from fos­sil fuel, microbial and burning sources, version 2017. Earth System Science Data, 2017, vol. 9, pp. 639-656.

40. Sun, C.-H., Chang, S.-C., Kuo, C.-L. et al. Origins of Taiwan's mud volcanoes: Evidence from geochemistry. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 2010, vol. 37, pp. 105­116.

41. Wan, Z., Shi, Q., Guo, F. et al. Gases in Southern Junggar Basin mud volcanoes: Chemical composition, stable carbon isotopes, and gas origin. Journal of Natu­ral Gas Science and Engineering, 2013, vol. 14, pp. 108­115.

42. Yang, T. F., Yeh, G.-H., Fu C.-C. et al. Composition and exhalation flux of gases from mud volcanoes in Tai­wan. Environmental Geology, 2004, vol. 46, pp. 1003­1011.

43. Zheng, G., Ma, X., Guo, Z. et al. Gas geochemistry and methane emission from Dushanzi mud volcanoes in the southern Junggar Basin, NW China. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 2017, vol. 149, pp. 184-190.