A remote station to monitor sea floor stability and gas hydrate outcrops in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

In the Gulf of Mexico, gas hydrate mounds form along intersections of faults with the sea floor. The mounds can change greatly within a matter of days or weeks. A project to install a multisensor station to monitor the sea floor and water column in the vicinity of a gas hydrate mound in the northern Gulf of Mexico has been initiated. The intention is to assemble a station which will monitor physical and chemical parameters of the sea water and bottom sediments on a more-or-less continuous basis over an extended period of time. The result will be a time varying computer model of the station's environment from which stability of the sea floor and factors associated with the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates may be assessed. Also, the data collected will be available for planning hydrate exploration and, eventually, for analyzing the impact of mining hydrates from the ocean floor.