Abstract:
Polar regions have significant potential as natural gas hydrate resources and represent crucial strategic energy reserves. The South Shetland continental margin off the Antarctic Peninsula is a promising area for gas hydrate accumulation. During China’s 33rd Antarctic Scientific Expedition, the “Haiyang Liuzhao” cruise discovered substantial evidence of gas hydrate presence in this region. To investigate the distribution of hydrates, this study identified bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs), which are key indicators of gas hydrate presence, in multichannel seismic profiles. Constrained sparse spike inversion was applied to the selected key survey lines, revealing the acoustic impedance characteristics in the BSR-featured zones. The results demonstrated a strong correlation between the BSRs and high-impedance anomalies, confirming the effectiveness of the inversion method in delineating hydrate distribution. This study suggests that deep-sourced methane migrates upward through faults and diapiric structures and accumulates within the shallow sub-seafloor gas hydrate stability zone under low-temperature and high-pressure conditions.