Permanent Gas Emission from the Seyakha Crater of Gas Blowout, Yamal Peninsula, Russian Arctic

Abstract

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.

Formation of the Siberian Yamal gas emission crater via accumulation and explosive release of gas within permafrost

“…For the craters visited by field crews, the field crews noted that tabular ground ice was present in thick lenses within the interior crater walls, the craters emitted gasses that consisted mainly of methane, 2,5 and the resulting crater lakes continued to contain and release significantly elevated amounts of methane relative to typical lakes in the region. 15,16 Therefore, in agreement with Kizyakov et al, 5 we suggest that the GEC predecessor mound results from upward gas migration of primarily methane to an existing impermeable tabular ice layer that traps the methane and later flexes into low (few meters high) mounds due mainly to gas pressure.…”

“…21 Evidence of this process is most clearly seen in the field images of GEC-1 (Yamal crater) and GEC-17 crater, in the form of upwardly deformed (convex) ice and clay loam permafrost layers, traces of gassy fluid flow, and coalescing cavities inside the exposed interiors. 13,16 We further propose that the GEC forms when the accumulating subsurface gas pressure exceeds the sum of the tensile strength and lithostatic pressure of the overburden, causing an explosion.…”

Dangerous gas-saturated objects in the World Ocean: the East Siberian Sea

“…В указанных работах достаточно детально охарактеризованы актуальность и значимость проводимых нами исследований газоносности ВЧР, позволяющих: уточнить структурные построения за счет коррекции статических и кинематических искажений, выявить зоны миграции и аккумуляции углеводородов ВЧР, проанализировать распространение многолетнемерзлых пород и их влияние на газонасыщение ВЧР, выполнить картирование потенциально опасных газонасыщенных объектов и др. Добавим, что высокая значимость проводимых работ подтверждается результатами исследований нового явления -мощных выбросов и взрывов газа с формированием гигантских кратеров в Арктике на суше и дне термокарстовых озер [21][22][23][24][25][26][27], а также обнаружением подобных кратеров на дне арктических акваторий [28].…”

Forecast of Distribution and Thickness of Gas Hydrate Stability Zone at the Bottom of the Caspian Sea

“…In Russia, and formerly, the Soviet Union, gas was produced on the Messoyakha Field (69.129 • N, 82.51 • E) from the accumulation in the Arctic criolithosphere [5,6]. The field was discovered in 1967 in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Region, 230 km to the west from Norilsk.…”

“…GH caused negative influence at different stages of the development of the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico with destruction of the Deepwater Horizon platform and death of 11 crew members [15]. The high danger of gas blowouts from cryolithosphere exists for development of fields on the Arctic land, particularly, on the Yamal Peninsula [6].…”