HR: 0800h
AN: S51B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Classification of Basin-Wide Fluid Flow Systems in the Barents Sea
AU: Buenz, S
EM: Stefan.Buenz@ig.uit.no
AF: University of Tromso, Department of Geology, Dramsveien 201, Tromso, 9037, Norway
AU: Thingnes, V
EM: vebthi@hotmail.com
AF: University of Tromso, Department of Geology, Dramsveien 201, Tromso, 9037, Norway
AU: * Hustoft, S
EM: steinar.hustoft@ig.uit.no
AF: University of Tromso, Department of Geology, Dramsveien 201, Tromso, 9037, Norway
AU: Mienert, J
EM: juergen.mienert@ig.uit.no
AF: University of Tromso, Department of Geology, Dramsveien 201, Tromso, 9037, Norway
AU: Fotland, B
EM: bentef@statoil.com
AF: Statoil, Statoil Harstad, Norway
AB: The Barents Sea is a part of the Arctic Ocean located north of Norway and Russia. The occurrence of shallow gas, gas hydrates and seafloor expulsion features is reported from several areas of the western Barents Sea. Most of the gas is assumed to be leaking from Jurassic hydrocarbon reservoirs. Leakage of gas into the shallow sediments was probably a result of the profound Cenozoic erosion of the Barents Sea shelf. Here, we classify and compare a variety of fluid flow systems throughout the south-western (Norwegian) part of the Barents Sea in order to understand geological processes that govern fluid flow on a basin-scale. Among the various observed fluid flow feature are: buried mud volcanoes, circular vertical pipes, seafloor and buried collapse structures, giant gas chimneys with diameters up to 10 km, fluid migration along faults and bedding planes, and trapping and focussing of fluids underneath glacial sediments and gas hydrates. There are pronounced regional differences as for example the south-eastern area in the vicinity of the Nordkapp Basin and Finnmark Platform shows significantly less fluid flow features than the remainder of the investigated area. The most active fluid flow areas are located in the western part within the Soervestnaget Basin and the Veslemoey High region. The differences in fluid flow activity might result from changes in tectonic development or the Cenozoic exhumation of the Barents Sea shelf. Results of this Norwegian Research Council-funded project, entitled "Quantification of geological processes that govern basin scale fluid flow" improve our understanding of how different geological processes control fluid flow on a basin scale and its timing.
DE: 3002 Continental shelf and slope processes (4219)
DE: 3004 Gas and hydrate systems
DE: 3025 Marine seismics (0935, 7294)
DE: 9315 Arctic region (0718, 4207)
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly