Integrated studies to understand the behaviour of the geobiological environs in deciphering gas hydrate occurrence along the Indian continental margin

Objectives:

Geophysics:

• To establish the shallow seismic stratigraphy of the region
• To build a suitable rock-physics model for shallow marine sediments of Indian continental margins.
• Studies related with the Amplitude Versus Offset (AVO) analysis of BSR under the constraints of log information from the drilling programme.
• Characterization of gas hydrate occurrence in the Continental margins of India from the well logs and physical properties data acquired from the gas hydrate drilling programme.

Microbiology:

• To study the nature of complex microbial ecosystem that inhabits sub-seafloor and associated biogeochemical processes.

Geology & Geochemistry:

• To identify and estimate the abundance of hydrocarbons by Gas Chromatography.
• To study the clay mineralogy of the representative cores from drilling programme
• To Identify organo-sulfur compounds and study organic compounds by compound specific stable isotopic studies
• To conduct sedimentological, Geochemical and Isotopic investigations of Gas hydrate-related authigenic carbonates from the sediments of continental margins of India and delineate possible relation to sub-surface gas hydrate
• To estimate the age and dynamics of Carbon pool using the isotopic tool in the formation of gas hydrate and decipher its genesis.
• To Investigate and understand water column production of biogenic sedimentation and the sediment transport processes from the coast to the deep ocean in the Indian subcontinent region during quaternary periods and beyond.
• To understand the impact of release of methane gas from gas hydrates on the continental margin stability and climate.

Integrated Studies:

• To map potential gas hydrate zones from geological, geophysical, geochemical, and microbial studies. To understand the geological framework of the margins in relation to the occurrence of gas hydrates.
• Evolution of plausible geological model under the constraints of geophysical, geological, geochemical, microbial and deep drilling results to discern the gas hydrates in the Indian continental margins