The evolution of Devonian hydrocarbon gases in shallow aquifers of the northern Appalachian Basin: Insights from integrating noble gas and hydrocarbon geochemistry

Darrah, Thomas H.; Jackson, Robert B.; Vengosh, Avner; Warner, Nathaniel R.; Whyte, Colin J.; Walsh, Talor B.; Kondash, Andrew J.; Poreda, Robert J.

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2015.09.006

Cited by 105 publications

(205 citation statements)

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“…The elemental composition of uranium ( 235 U and 238 U), thorium ( 232 Th) (both are the radiogenic parents of 4 He) and lithium ( 6 Li) (the nucleogenic parent of 3 He) in the rock forming minerals will ultimately determine the 'average' R/Ra. However, R/Ra ratios can vary considerably within subsurface reservoirs, with R/Ra ratios in the crust varying from <0.01 to 0.05 (Ni et al 2014;Darrah et al 2015;Moore et al 2017; and references therein), upper mantle~2 to 8 R/Ra (Darrah et al 2015) and lower mantle up to 40 R/Ra (Poreda et al 1986). Evolutionary mantle models predict an initial R/Ra ratio >100 (Tolstikhin and Marty 1998), while a R/Ra ratio of 230 is assumed for the initial 'un-degassed' (i.e.…”

Section: Sub-surface Sources Of Heliummentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, mixed sources are difficult to deconvolute based on helium isotope systematics alone and commonly require the combinations of heavier noble gas abundance and isotopic compositions to differentiate the three end-member inputs (Ballentine et al 1991). For example, Ar in air = 0.55 (Ballentine et al 1991)), give clues to additional source inputs (Gilfillan et al 2009;Hunt et al 2012;Darrah et al 2014Darrah et al , 2015. The water solubility of helium and neon are similar; however, solubility differences amongst the heavier noble gases add an extra complication, with the 20 Ne/…”

Section: Sub-surface Sources Of Heliummentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Helium is readily released from minerals and transferred to underground fluids (magmatic/hydrothermal/pore water) where the helium isotopic composition is naturally averaged and can take on regional characteristics (Hunt et al 2012;Darrah et al 2014Darrah et al , 2015Moore et al 2017). During a magmatic event, injection of hot silicate-rich fluids carrying dissolved excess 3 He from the deep crust results in elevated R/Ra ratios that are primarily associated with the magmatic event, although the timing of the injection of molten fluid is not necessarily the age of the tectonic movement (Polyak and Tolstikhin 1985).…”

Section: Geological Controls On Helium Occurrencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, exploration areas where high helium contents could accumulate following either fluid migration or the extensive removal of the dominant carrier phase (i.e. hydrocarbon oxidation, CO 2 dissolution) are favoured in reservoirs at shallow depth, with low temperatures and high salinity because helium is least soluble in this aqueous phase (Darrah et al 2014(Darrah et al , 2015Harkness et al 2017;Moore et al 2017). Maximum exposure to pore water, as encountered in long distance migration, also assists in the concentration of helium.…”

Section: Geological Controls On Helium Occurrencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the noble gas analysis of vertically stacked natural gas reservoirs in the Pannonian Basin, Hungary, Ballentine et al (1991) used a combination of the above ratios to conclude that helium had a dominantly crustal source (0.18 < R/Ra < 0.46) and there is a depth increase in radiogenic 40 He. In the analysis of the Hugoton-Panhandle giant gas field, Ballentine and Sherwood Lollar (2002) concluded that the helium contribution to the reservoired gas was derived from a crustal source (R/Ra 0.14-0.25) and had a negligible atmospheric helium input Ar* from deep mineral grains below temperatures of~200 C was also considered (Hunt et al 2012;Darrah et al 2014Darrah et al , 2015. There are numerous other literature examples of detailed analysis of noble gas isotope systematics applied to natural gases (see reviews by Hunt et al 2012;Prinzhofer 2013;and Byrne et al 2017).…”

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Helium in the Australian liquefied natural gas economy

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Australia is about to become the premier global exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), bringing increased opportunities for helium extraction. Processing of natural gas to LNG necessitates the exclusion and disposal of non-hydrocarbon components, principally carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Minor to trace hydrogen, helium and higher noble gases in the LNG feed-in gas become concentrated with nitrogen in the non-condensable LNG tail gas. Helium is commercially extracted worldwide from this LNG tail gas. Australia has one helium plant in Darwin where gas (containing 0.1% He) from the Bayu-Undan accumulation in the Bonaparte Basin is processed for LNG and the tail gas, enriched in helium (3%), is the feedstock for helium extraction. With current and proposed LNG facilities across Australia, it is timely to determine whether the development of other accumulations offers similar potential. Geoscience Australia has obtained helium contents in ~800 Australian natural gases covering all hydrocarbon-producing sedimentary basins. Additionally, the origin of helium has been investigated using the integration of helium, neon and argon isotopes, as well as the stable carbon (13C/12C) isotopes of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon gases and isotopes (15N/14N) of nitrogen. With no apparent loss of helium and nitrogen throughout the LNG industrial process, together with the estimated remaining resources of gas accumulations, a helium volumetric seriatim results in the Greater Sunrise (Bonaparte Basin) > Ichthys (Browse Basin) > Goodwyn–North Rankin (Northern Carnarvon Basin) accumulations having considerably more untapped economic value in helium extraction than the commercial Bayu-Undan LNG development.

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Section: Sub-surface Sources Of Heliummentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sub-surface Sources Of Heliummentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Controls On Helium Occurrencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Controls On Helium Occurrencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Helium in the Australian liquefied natural gas economy

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Tiber delta CO₂‐CH₄ degassing: A possible hybrid, tectonically active Sediment‐Hosted Geothermal System near Rome

et al. 2016

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Fiumicino town in the Tiber River delta, near Rome International Airport (Italy), is historically affected by large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ground and gas eruptions triggered by shallow drilling. While it is known that CO2 originates from carbonate thermometamorphism and/or mantle degassing, the origin of methane (CH4) associated with CO2 is uncertain and the outgassing spatial distribution is unknown. Combining isotope gas geochemistry, soil gas, and structural‐stratigraphic analyses, we provide evidence for a hybrid fluid source system, classifiable as Sediment‐Hosted Geothermal System (SHGS), where biotic CH4 from sedimentary rocks is carried by deep geothermic CO2 through active segments of a half‐graben. Molecular and isotopic composition of CH4 and concentration of heavier alkanes (ethane and propane), obtained from gas vents and soil gas throughout the delta area, reveal that thermogenic CH4 (up to 3.7 vol% in soil gas; δ13CCH4: −37 to −40‰ VPDB‐Vienna Peedee Belemnite, and δ2HCH4: −162 to −203‰ VSMOW ‐ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water in gas vents) prevails over possible microbial and abiotic components. The hydrocarbons likely result from known Meso‐Cenozoic petroleum systems of the Latium Tyrrhenian coast. Overmaturation of source rocks or molecular fractionation induced by gas migration are likely responsible for increased C1/C2+ ratios. CO2 and CH4 soil gas anomalies are scattered along NW‐SE and W‐E alignments, which, based on borehole, geomorphologic, and structural‐stratigraphic analyses, coincide with active faults of a half‐graben that seems to have controlled the recent evolution of the Tiber delta. This SHGS can be a source of considerable greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere and hazards for humans and buildings.

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Geolithological and anthropogenic controls on the hydrochemistry of the Volturno river (Southern Italy)

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et al. 2016

Hydrological Processes

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The present work aims to study the main chemical and physical water parameters in the upper and middle Volturno river catchment (southern Italy), between the Capo Volturno springs and the confluence with the Calore river. This study makes use of morphology, geolithology, tectonic, land use, and physico‐chemical (pH, electrical conductivity, redox potential, temperature, major ions, and 222Rn) data for the identification of the main sources of surface and groundwaters in the Volturno catchment and of their evolution and mixing both in base flow and peak flow conditions. The study was also performed to assess whether the alteration due to potential anthropogenic contamination may hamper the identification of natural “primitive” sources of surface waters, especially in the populated and farmed plains far from the river headwaters. Our data suggest that water chemistry of this stretch of the Volturno river is dominated mainly by lithology and, only marginally, by the intense exogenous activities and that this trend is appreciable in both base flow and peak flow conditions. The proposed simple geochemical approach based on easy‐to‐sample matrices and on cost‐effective standard methods is a valuable tool to address catchment functionality especially in upland areas, where complex geologic and structural settings, heterogeneous groundwater flow, and logistical issues are the rule rather than the exception. Because the upper and middle Volturno catchment is comparable with numerous valleys of the Mediterranean area, this study could be a reference for analogous applications.

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The evolution of Devonian hydrocarbon gases in shallow aquifers of the northern Appalachian Basin: Insights from integrating noble gas and hydrocarbon geochemistry

Cited by 105 publications

References 98 publications

Helium in the Australian liquefied natural gas economy

Helium in the Australian liquefied natural gas economy

Tiber delta CO₂‐CH₄ degassing: A possible hybrid, tectonically active Sediment‐Hosted Geothermal System near Rome

Geolithological and anthropogenic controls on the hydrochemistry of the Volturno river (Southern Italy)

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The evolution of Devonian hydrocarbon gases in shallow aquifers of the northern Appalachian Basin: Insights from integrating noble gas and hydrocarbon geochemistry

Cited by 105 publications

References 98 publications

Helium in the Australian liquefied natural gas economy

Helium in the Australian liquefied natural gas economy

Tiber delta CO2‐CH4 degassing: A possible hybrid, tectonically active Sediment‐Hosted Geothermal System near Rome

Geolithological and anthropogenic controls on the hydrochemistry of the Volturno river (Southern Italy)

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Product

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Tiber delta CO₂‐CH₄ degassing: A possible hybrid, tectonically active Sediment‐Hosted Geothermal System near Rome