Plume Structures in the Central Aleutian Basin

It is widely accepted that deep ocean basins are suitable for gas hydrate formation with appropriate temperature and pressure conditions but the assumption has been that they lack a sufficient source of methane and thus cannot generate gas hydrates. The Aleutian Basin of the Bering Sea, however, may be an exception due to the influx of methane-generating sediment in the region. The basin is unique in this respect because it is enclosed by the Aleutian Arc on the south as well as land on the north. Terrigenous sediments from these land masses reach the basin, and through accumulation over time, become sources of methane. In this study, we are analyzing a newly acquired seismic data set (Scholl et al, 2012) from the central Aleutian Basin to test for the presence of gas hydrates in the region. Previous seismic evidence from the region led to the discovery of VAMPs - velocity amplitude anomaly structures - characterized by pull-ups and push-downs in the seismic horizons. This study is aimed at testing the hypothesis first proposed by Scholl and Hart (1993) that methane plumes are responsible for the velocity push-downs, while gas hydrates (which condense above the plume) cause the pull-ups. We have constructed geologic models based on a velocity analysis obtained from performing inversions on the pre-stack CMP gathers (using GDMI, a recently developed inversion code from the Naval Research Laboratory). We present a one-dimensional geologic model of rock properties for a region within the study area adjacent to a VAMP structure (but itself lacking the characteristic velocity anomalies). We also show a two-dimensional geologic model for the region in which the VAMP structure is present. The interpretation of a flat-lying geology incorporating a methane hydrate plume guided the creation of the two-dimensional model from the velocity analysis. Our next goal, using full-waveform forward seismic modeling (TESSERAL software), is to generate a synthetic seismic section that reproduces the velocity pull-ups and push-downs present in the field data. Ultimately, this study will yield a much better understanding of the geology of the Aleutian Basin as well as its potential for gas hydrates.