Abstract:

We control deepsea exploration equipment Echo underwater acoustic detection system with selfdeveloped software SONIC to investigate methane release of gas hydrate at Okhotsk Sea of northwest Pacific edge. We perform largescale acoustic sweep on east slope of Sakhalin Island. We implemented visualization of seabed gas flare(GF),cold seep and seabed through echo signal collection, processing and imaging via software SONIC. After GF discovery, we analyzed the variation of methane gas concentration and morphology in cold seep through imaging functionality of software SONIC. We successfully collected core samples of gas hydrate in multiple waters with GPS realtime tracking and positioning and gravity sampler, analyzed them in time, and acquired methane emission amount and rate in gas hydrate in the area. Moreover, the investigation experience will have positive effect on normalizing investigation methods of gas hydrate in China.

Key words: gas hydrate, SONIC software, Okhotsk Sea