Go to content
  • cecnewsNews
  • cecPublicationsPublications
  • cecResearchResearch
  • cecInfrastructureInfrastructure
  • cecCruiseCruise logs
  • cecStidentTrainees
  • Events
  • cecsitemapAbout

Alt Text! Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate,
Environment and Climate

Open menu

In-situ horizontal pressure measurements at deep marine seafloor methane emission off west-Svalbard

Why gas emissions from the seafloor have stopped thousands of years ago in some areas along the Vestnesa sedimentary ridge, while persisting exclusively on the eastern part of the ridge, is the question that drives our scientific objectives in this campaign.

 

Text: Andreia Plaza-Faverola, leader. SEAMSTRESS project.

 

The answer to this question is likely related to the type of sediment and the disposition of the sediment to fracture. To investigate this further we need to measure sediment properties such as in-situ pore fluid pressures, horizontal stress and shear strength. Conducting these measurements is not so easy because it requires expensive and technically challenging instrumentation. The SEAMSTRESS project assumes the challenge of conducting the geotechnical experiments that are lacking to understand the pressure behavior at deep marine seafloor seepage systems in our favorite Arctic laboratory: The Vestnesa Ridge. These challenging experiments are the core of SEMSTRESS which main objective is to advance knowledge on the pressure (stress) field that controls seafloor methane emissions.

In a collaboration with MSH – Marine Sampling Holland and the Marchetti laboratory we are planning to deploy the Medusa dilatometer designed by the Marchetti Lab to measure in-situ the pressure of the Earth at ease and therefore the horizonal stress. To deploy this instrument offshore there is need for a seafloor sort of rig. We intend to use Geomil’s Manta 200 rig, an instrument designed for conducting cone penetration tests in the soil. Geomil started developing this type of instrumentation in the 30s to help the Netherland overcome a struggle with railway failures due to soft sediment.

Manta is a big machine, heavier than anything that has been deployed so far from R/V Kronprins Haakon. The machine also has a power supply requirement that differs from what the ship can provide. Our mission therefore starts with a few days in the fjord working hard to overcome all the technical challenges to get the machine ready for deployment before sailing offshore.

 

The Geomil’s Manta-200 rig for Cone Penetration Test (CPT) in position while the MSH team together with the ship crew prepare the winches and solvent challenges with the power supply.

1. October 2021

CAGE21-5, Cruise blog

Contact

Andreia Plaza-Faverola

Researcher & Project Leader
77 64 57 02
andreia.a.faverola@uit.no

Andreia is a researcher within ‘Gas Hydrates and Free Gas Reservoirs‘ at CAGE, and leader of the project SEAMSTRESS – Tectonic Stress Effects on Arctic Methane Seepage

Read more about Andreia Plaza-Faverola

16. August 2021

Return from the forest of the 10,000 flares

News archive

CAGE, Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate

  • Research areas
  • People
  • Job openings
  • About us
  • News Archive
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home

cage@ig.uit.no

Facebook

Twitter

 

Naturfagbygget
Dramsveien 201
9010 Tromsø

 

Go to map

NGU_hovedlogo_svart_full_engelsk
sfflogonegEng_svart
  • 2022 © CAGE, Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate – UiT The Arctic University of Norway
  • Privacy Policy
  • Design and development: Gnist Design

CAGE, Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate,
Environment and Climate

Close menu
  • cecnewsNews
  • cecPublicationsPublications
  • cecResearchResearch
  • cecInfrastructureInfrastructure
  • cecCruiseCruise logs
  • cecStidentTrainees
  • Events
  • cecsitemapAbout
    • Current employees
    • Former employees
    • Steering committee
    • Scientific advisory board
    • Job openings
    • Annual reports