Abstract
Seismoacoustic profiling and sonar survey of the North Caspian water area revealed in some areas signs of intense release of methane from the sedimentary sequence. This fact was also supported by submarine videorecording data. Such sites are characterized by hummocky and ridgy morphologies, which accommodate local cone-shaped bodies (up to 1.3–1.5 m high) overgrown with algae, Balanus, and shelly material. Based on dredging data, these rises are composed of hard sandstones and shells. They can cover the seafloor or make up separate interlayers in the bottom sediments down to a depth of 2.7 m. Mineralogical studies demonstrated that the coarse-grained sediments are cemented with Mg-calcite, with δ13C reaching −32.6‰. They also include microcrystalline barite and globular iron sulfides. The results of investigation suggest that the local activation of authigenic mineral formation is related to gas discharge sources.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bezrodnykh, Yu.P., Deliya, S.V., and Lisin, V.P., Application of seismoacoustic and seismic methods for studying gas potential of sediments in the North Caspian, Geoekol. Inzhen. Geol. Gidrogeokhim. Geokriol., 2001, no. 5, pp. 476–480.
Bezrodnykh, Yu.P., Lisin, V.P., and Fedorov, V.I., Geological hazards in the North Caspian bottom: Methods for their identification and estimation during engineeringgeological surveys, in Tezisy konferentsii EAGE “Inzhenernaya geofizika-2011” (Abstracts of papers. EAGE Conference “Engineering Geophysics-2011”), Moscow: Inetseis, 2011.
Bruevich, S.V. and Vinogradova, E.G., Biogenic elements in greoundwaters in the North Caspian, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1946, vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 423–426.
Dvorov, V.A., Termal’nye vody Chelekena i geokhimicheskie osobennosti ikh formirovaniya (Thermal Waters in Cheleken and Geochemical Features of Their Formation), Moscow: Nauka, 1975.
Khrustalev, Yu.P., Turovskii, D.S., Kovalev, V.V., and Khripunov, I.A., Carbonate accumulation in the North Caspian, Litol. Polezn. Iskop., 1981, no. 5, pp. 25–36.
Klenova, M.V., Solov’ev, V.F., Aleksina, I.A., et al., Geologicheskoe stroenie podvodnogo sklona Kaspiiskogo morya (Geological Structure of the Submarine Slope of the Caspian Sea), Moscow: AN SSSR, 1962.
Lavrushin, V.Yu. and Kuleshov, V.N., Oolites of the Caspian Sea: Regularities of distribution, isotope-geochemical features), Lithol. Miner. Resour., 1999, no. 6, pp. 583–604.
Lebedev, L.M., Sovremennye rudoobrazuyushchie gidrotermy (Modern Ore-Forming Hydrotherms), Moscow: Nedra, 1975.
Lein, A.Yu. and Ivanov, M.V., Biogeokhimicheskii tsikl metana v okeane (Biogeochemical Cycle of Methane in the Ocean), Moscow: Nauka, 2009.
Lein, A.Yu., Rusanov, I.I., Kravchishina, M.D., and Ivanov, M.V., Genesis of organic and carbonate carbon in sediments of the North and Central Caspian: Evidence from isotope data, Lithol. Miner. Resour., 2012, no. 4, pp. 305–317.
Shterenberg, L.E., Stepanova, K.A., Turovskii, D.S., and Khrustalev, Yu.P., Mechanism of recent carbonate oolite formation, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Ser. Geol., 1975, no. 9, pp. 113–122.
Shul’ts, S.S., Oolite formation in recent sediments in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, Inform. Sborn. VSEGEI, 1962, no. 57, pp. 61–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © Yu.P. Bezrodnykh, S.V. Deliya, V.Yu. Lavrushin, E.A. Yunin, V.V. Poshibaev, B.G. Pokrovskii, 2013, published in Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, 2013, No. 5, pp. 415–425.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bezrodnykh, Y.P., Deliya, S.V., Lavrushin, V.Y. et al. Gas seeps in the North Caspian water area. Lithol Miner Resour 48, 373–383 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0024490213050027
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0024490213050027