scholarly journals Formation of Gas-Emission Craters in Northern West Siberia: Shallow Controls

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Evgeny Mikhailovich Chuvilin ◽  
Natalia Sergeevna Sokolova ◽  
Boris Aleksandrovich Bukhanov ◽  
Dinara Anvarovna Davletshina ◽  
Mikhail Yurievich Spasennykh

Gas-emission craters discovered in northern West Siberia may arise under a specific combination of shallow and deep-seated permafrost conditions. A formation model for such craters is suggested based on cryological and geological data from the Yamal Peninsula, where shallow permafrost encloses thick ground ice and lenses of intra- and subpermafrost saline cold water (cryopegs). Additionally, the permafrost in the area is highly saturated with gas and stores large accumulations of hydrocarbons that release gas-water fluids rising to the surface through faulted and fractured crusts. Gas emission craters in the Arctic can form in the presence of gas-filled cavities in ground ice caused by climate warming, rich sources of gas that can migrate and accumulate under pressure in the cavities, intrapermafrost gas-water fluids that circulate more rapidly in degrading permafrost, or weak permafrost caps over gas pools.

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeny Chuvilin ◽  
Julia Stanilovskaya ◽  
Aleksey Titovsky ◽  
Anton Sinitsky ◽  
Natalia Sokolova ◽  
...  

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and the abrupt degassing events that recently have formed large craters on the Russian Arctic Yamal and Gydan Peninsulas have caused major concern. Here we present field data on cover sediments and evolution of a gas-emission crater discovered in the Erkuta–Yakha River valley in the southern Yamal Peninsula in June 2017. The crater is located south of other similar craters discovered over the past decade in northern West Siberia. Data were collected during a field trip to the Erkuta crater in December 2017 which included field observations and sampling of permafrost soil and ground ice from the rim of the crater. All soil and ice samples were measured for contents of methane and its homologs (ethane and propane) and carbon dioxide. The contents of carbon dioxide in some samples are notably higher than methane. The strongly negative δ13С of methane from ground ice samples (−72‰) is typical of biogenic hydrocarbons. The ratio of methane to the total amount of its homologs indicate a component of gases that have migrated from a deeper, thermogenic source. Based on obtained results, a potential formation model for Erkuta gas-emission crater is proposed, which considers the combined effect of deep-seated (deep gas migration) and shallow (oxbow lake evolution and closed talik freezing) causes. This model includes several stages from geological prerequisites to the lake formation.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5345
Author(s):  
Vasily Bogoyavlensky ◽  
Igor Bogoyavlensky ◽  
Roman Nikonov ◽  
Vladimir Yakushev ◽  
Viacheslav Sevastyanov

The article is devoted to the four-year (2017–2020) monitoring of gas emissions from the bottom of the Seyakha Crater, located in the central part of the Yamal Peninsula (north of Western Siberia). The crater was formed on 28 June 2017 due to a powerful blowout, self-ignition and explosion of gas (mainly methane) at the site of a heaving mound in the river channel. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of expeditionary geological and geophysical data (a set of geophysical equipment, including echo sounders and GPR was used) and remote sensing data (from space and with the use of UAVs), the continuing nature of the gas emissions from the bottom of the crater was proven. It was revealed that the area of gas seeps in 2019 and 2020 increased by about 10 times compared to 2017 and 2018. Gas in the cryolithosphere of the Arctic exists in free and hydrated states, has a predominantly methane composition, whereas this methane is of a biochemical, thermogenic and/or mixed type. It was concluded that the cryolithosphere of Yamal has a high level of gas saturation and is an almost inexhaustible unconventional source of energy resources for the serving of local needs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksey Sidorchuk

The Yamal Peninsula occupies the northern part of the West Siberian Plain in Russia. This territory has rapidly developed due to the exploitation of several gas fields. At the same time, the Yamal Peninsula is one of the most severely gullied landscapes in the Arctic. The potential risk of damage to the environment or structures and the cost of such damages are very high there. The erosion potential is the cumulative erosion by runoff above critical, calculated for each point at a catchment. Calculations take into account the geomorphic, lithological, and vegetation cover thresholds, realized in the form of critical runoff depth of erosion initiation. It also takes into account action of all flows between the critical and maximum runoff. The calculations for several gullied catchments on the Yamal Peninsula show the uneven distribution of erosion potential level with the maximum of gully erosion on the steep banks of the river valleys and on gully heads with bare soil. The area with potential erosion in these catchments varies within the range of 17–33%. The erosion on the Yamal Peninsula is mainly of natural origin. It occurs on steep slopes and at the heads of gullies. These landforms are not used for exploitation camps and settlements. Nevertheless, the linear structures, such as railways, roads and pipelines, can cross these unstable landforms with the risk of damage. Erosion potential increases at the spots with bare soil, which appear due to both construction work and natural processes, such as slumping.


2019 ◽  
pp. 88-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasily I. Bogoyavlensky ◽  
◽  
Oleg S. Sizov ◽  
Aleksandr V. Mazharov ◽  
Igor V. Bogoyavlensky ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Arzyutov

This article deals with the ethnographic analysis of the history and social life of electricity among Nenets in the Yamal Peninsula. Based on historical documents and field data the author reconstructs a history of the electrification of the northern part of the peninsula. This work also includes the reflections on social and cultural meanings of electricity among Nenets in and out the tundra. Through these historical and current dynamics, the author suggests analysing the life of electricity in off-the-grid settings through the lens of transnational technological entanglements in the Arctic


Author(s):  
Yuriy V. Erokhin ◽  
Kirill S. Ivanov ◽  
Anatoliy V. Zakharov ◽  
Vera V. Khiller

The results of studying the mineralogy of metamorphic schists from the Pre-Jurassic base of the Arctic part of the West Siberian plate are presented. The accessory and ore mineralization of schists from the Zapadno-Yarotinsky license area located in the southern part of the Yamal Peninsula is studied. The schists was uncovered by the Zapadno-Yarotinskaya No. 300 well at a depth of 2762 m. Above the section, the metamorphic rocks are overlain by a young Meso-Cenozoic cover. The schists are mainly composed of quartz, plagioclase (albite), carbonates (dolomite and siderite), mica (muscovite) and chlorite (donbassite). The discovered accessory and ore minerals in the metamorphic schists of the Zapadno-Yarotinsky area can be divided into two groups. The first group includes minerals that were formed during the metamorphism of schists, or were preserved as detrital matter. These minerals include zircon, fluorapatite, and rutile as the most stable compounds. The remaining mineralization (pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, cubanite, galena, cobaltite, barite, xenotime-(Y), goyazite, synchysite-(Nd), native silver and copper) is clearly secondary and was formed as a result of superimposed metasomatic processes. Judging from the described mineralogy, the schists underwent changes as a result of superimposed propyllitization. The temperature range of this process is determined by the formation of cubanite in association with chalcopyrite at a temperature of 200-210 оС.


Author(s):  
Vladimir Sergeevich PONOMAREV ◽  
◽  
Yuriy Viktorovich EROKHIN ◽  
Kirill Svyatoslavich IVANOV ◽  
Nadezhda Nikolaevna FARRAKHOVA ◽  
...  

Relevance of the work. The Arctic part of the West Siberian megabasin is the main source of oil and gas in Russia, therefore, the study of the geological structure of this region is extremely important. Recently, Russia has lodged an application to extend its territory in the Arctic Ocean along the ridges that stretch from the continental shelf. Unfortunately, at the same time, we know little about the geological structure of the Arctic in the region of Western Siberia, where the thickness of the sedimentary cover is very high (about 3–4 km), therefore, the study of the basement of the Yamal Peninsula seems to be extremely urgent. The purpose of this work is mineralogical, petrological and geochemical study of dolerites from the pre-Jurassic basement of the Bovanenkovskaya area (well No. 114) within the territory of the gas condensate field of the same name, located in the western part of the Yamal Peninsula. Scope of the work. This work can be useful in constructing geological maps of the pre-Jurassic basement of the Yamal Peninsula. Results and conclusions. We have studied the mineralogical and geochemical features of dolerites from the pre-Jurassic basement of the Bovanenkovskaya area (well No. 114, sampling depth – 3210 m) of the West Siberian megabasin. The mineralogy of the rocks is represented by augite, diopside, albite, magnesian chamosite, ferrous hornblende, calcite, siderite, dolomite, anorthoclase, grossular, zeolite (gmelenite-K), pyrite, chalcopyrite, and rare lead chloride – cotunnite. The rocks underwent minor transformations in the conditions of the lower greenschist metamorphism, as well as secondary alterations in the form of superimposed propylitization. As a result of this low-temperature metasomatic process, zeolite, carbonate (calcite, dolomite, and siderite) and sulfide mineralization composed of pyrite and chalcopyrite, as well as cotunnite, which apparently replaced the dissemination of galena, were formed in the rock. Judging by geological position of the region, these dolerites are most likely formed at shallow depths during continental rifting. Remelting of the Paleozoic island arc substrate during the Early Triassic rifting and volcanism provided some closeness to the island arc trend in the geochemical features of these rift volcanics.


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