In-Situ Sampling and Characterization of Naturally Occurring Marine Methane Hydrate Using the D/V JOIDES Resolution

The primary accomplishments of the JOI Cooperative Agreement with DOE/NETL in this quarter were the deployment of tools and measurement systems for testing on ODP Leg 201, which is intended to study hydrate deposits on the Peru margin as part of other scientific investigations. Additional accomplishments were related to the continuing evolution of tools and measurements systems in preparation for deployment on ODP Leg 204, Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon in July 2002. The design for PCS Gas Manifold was finalized and parts were procured to assemble the gas manifold and deploy this system with the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) tool on ODP Leg 201. The PCS was deployed 17 times during ODP Leg 201 and successfully retrieved cores from a broad range of lithologies and sediment depths along the Peru margin. Eleven deployments were entirely successful, collecting between 0.5 and 1.0 meters of sediment at greater than 75% of hydrostatic pressure. The PCS gas manifold was used in conjunction with the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) throughout ODP Leg 201 to measure the total volume and composition of gases recovered in sediment cores associated with methane hydrates. The results of these deployments will be the subject of a future progress report. The FUGRO Pressure Corer (FPC), one of the HYACE/HYACINTH pressure coring tools, and two FUGRO engineers were deployed on the D/V JOIDES Resolution during ODP Legs 201 to field-test this coring system at sites located offshore Peru. The HYACINTH project is a European Union (EU) funded effort to develop tools to characterize methane hydrate and measure physical properties under in-situ conditions. The field-testing of these tools provides a corollary benefit to DOE/NETL at no cost to this project. The opportunity to test these tools on the D/V JOIDES Resolution was negotiated as part of a cooperative agreement between JOI/ODP and the HYACINTH partners. The DVTP, DVTP-P, APC-methane, and APC-Temperature tools (ODP memory tools) were deployed onboard the R/V JOIDES Resolution and used extensively during ODP Leg 201. Preliminary results indicate successful deployments of these tools. An infrared-thermal imaging system (IR-TIS) was delivered to JOI/ODP for testing and use on ODP Leg 201 to identify methane hydrate intervals in the recovered cores. The results of these experiments will be the subject of a future progress report. This report presents an overview of the primary methods used for deploying the ODP memory tools and PCS on ODP Leg 201 and the preliminary operational results of this leg. Discussions regarding the laboratory analysis of the recovered cores and downhole measurements made during these deployments will be covered in a future progress report