Evidencias de gas en sedimentos del talud del Golfo de Cádiz

Abstract

Gassy sediments and large, buried and actual seafloor pockmarks are identified on seismic records in the continental slope of the Gulf of Cadiz. The different acoustic responses produced by the gas in the sediment result from the local dynamic of the Mediterranean Undercurrent, which also controls the lithology of the slope sediments. The seafloor areas swept by this strong current are covered by coarse sediments with high porosity, which favours the escape of the gas, and then the development of pockmarks. Contrasting, the areas affected by weaker currents are covered by finer sediments of low porosity, and then the gas remains trapped into the sediment pores