Grain-Displacive Gas Migration in Fine-grained Sediments

Abstract

Gas migration mechanisms control the release of gas from seafloor sediments. We study underlying phenomena using transparent sediments subjected to controlled effective stress; this experimental approach allows high-resolution real-time monitoring of gas migration through cohesionless granular materials under 3D-boundary conditions. Observed migration patterns depend on the effective stress at the time of injection and the stress history. Gas migration transitions from pore-invasive to grain-displacive when the capillary pressure for air entry ΔPAE is greater than the effective stress σ'. This study focuses on grain-displacive gas migration. The morphology of grain-displacive gas bodies changes with depth as the sediment stiffness G increases and the effect of surface tension γ vanishes: spheroidal gas bubbles form in the near-surface, faceted cavities further down, and eventually open-mode fractures develop at depth. The gas injection pressure is proportional to the effective stress in grain-displacive migration. Pre-loading and overconsolidation cause the rotation of principal stresses and gas-driven openings align with the new minimum principal stress direction. Cyclic loading promotes the upwards migration of gas-filled openings, and there is mechanical memory of previous gas pathways in sediments.