RT journal article
T1 Acoustic Evidence of Shallow Gas Occurrences in the Offshore Sinú Fold Belt, Colombian Caribbean Sea
A1 Osorio-Granada, Ana Maria
A1 Jigena Antelo, Bismarck
A1 Vidal Pérez, Juan Manuel
A1 Zambianchi, Enrico
A1 Osorio-Granada, Edward G.
A1 Torrecillas, Cristina
A1 Romero Cózar, Jeanette
A1 León-Rincón, Hermann
A1 Oviedo-Prada, Karem
A1 Muñoz Pérez, Juan José
A2 Ciencias y Técnicas de la Navegación y Construcciones Navales
A2 Física Aplicada
K1 shallow gas occurrences
K1 multibeam bathymetry
K1 high-resolution seismic profiles
AB High-resolution seismic analysis and bathymetry data, used in the Offshore Sinú Fold Belt (OSFB), have revealed seabed and sub-surface anomalies, which were probably caused by the presence of shallow gas within the sedimentary records. Shallow gas is widely detected by the frequent presence of anomalous acoustic reflections including acoustic blanking, enhanced reflections, acoustic plumes, pockmarks, and dome structures. More than 30 anomalies that occur within a subsurface depth of ~65 m were acoustically detected within an area of 1000 km2 on the continental shelf and upper continental slope, in water depths ranging from −20 to −1300 m. Moreover, a map with the spatial distribution of the gas occurrences is shown. A close relationship between the locally elevated seabed (dome structures), pockmarks, and acoustic blanking was found. Most of the active pockmarks may be closely related to the submarine path of the Uramita Fault, indicating that the gas occurrences are controlled by active faulting. The shallow gas occurrence was confirmed by the generation of authigenic carbonate and the occurrence of chemosymbiotic biological communities sampled in the area. Although there is an admixture of biogenic gas, it is believed that many of the features observed relate to thermogenic gas. The identification of these anomalies represents a useful basis for an assessment of marine geohazards and can serve as a hydrocarbon exploration tool.
PB Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
SN 2077-1312
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/31850
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/31850
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 08-nov-2026