Characteristics and scaling of bubble plumes from marine hydrocarbon seepage in the coal oil point seep field

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans

Volumn 115, Issue 11, 2010, Pages

  Leifer, Ira ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HYDROCARBONS; SIZE DETERMINATION; SIZE DISTRIBUTION;

ACCELERATION PHASE; BUBBLE PLUMES; BUBBLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS; CALIFORNIA; COAL OIL POINTS; CORRELATION COEFFICIENT; CRITICAL FLOW RATE; EMISSION FLUXES; FIELD MEASUREMENT; FLUX DISTRIBUTIONS; GAUSSIAN FUNCTIONS; GAUSSIANS; MARINE HYDROCARBONS; MEASUREMENT SYSTEM; OIL CONTAMINATION; POWER LAW; SANTA BARBARA CHANNELS; VERTICAL VELOCITY;

GAUSSIAN DISTRIBUTION;

BUBBLE; COAL; CORRELATION; CRITICAL FLOW; FIELD METHOD; FLUX MEASUREMENT; GAUSSIAN METHOD; OIL POLLUTION; OIL SEEP; PLUME; POWER LAW; SEEPAGE; SIZE DISTRIBUTION; UPWELLING;

CALIFORNIA; SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL; UNITED STATES;

EID: 78649496664     PISSN: None     EISSN: 21699291     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1029/2009JC005844     Document Type: Article

References (76)

1. Allen, A. A., R. S. Schleuter, and P. G. Mikolaj (1970), Natural oil seepage at Coal Oil Point, Santa Barbara, California, Science, 170, 974-977, doi:10.1126/science.170.3961.974.
2. Asaeda, T., and J. Imberger (1993), Structure of bubble plumes in linearly stratified environments, J. Fluid Mech., 249, 35-57, doi:10.1017/S0022112093001065.
3. Blanchard, D. C, and L. D. Syzdek (1977), Production of air bubbles of a specified size, Chem. Eng. Sci., 32(9), 1109-1112, doi:10.1016/0009-2509 (77) 80150-4.
4. Boudreau, B. P., et al. (2005), Bubble growth and rise in soft sediments, Geology, 33(6), 517-520.
5. Clark, J. F., L. Washburn, J. S. Hornafius, and B. P. Luyendyk (2000), Natural marine hydrocarbon flux from natural marine seeps to the southern California Bight, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 11, 509-11, 522.
6. Clark, J. F., I. Leifer, L. Washburn, and B. P. Luyendyk (2003), Compositional changes in natural gas bubble plumes: Observations from the Coal Oil Point marine hydrocarbon seep field, Geo Mar. Lett, 23, 187-193, doi:10.1007/s00367-003-0137-y. (Pubitemid 38127126)
7. Clark, J. F., L. Washburn, and K. Schwager Emery (2010), Variability of gas composition and flux intensity in natural marine hydrocarbon seeps, Geo Mar. Lett, doi:10.1007/s00367-009-0167-1, in press.
8. Clester, S. M., J. S. Hornafius, J. Scepan, and J. E. Estes (1996), Quantification of the relationship between natural gas seepage rates and surface oil volume in the Santa Barbara Channel, Eos Trans. AGU, 77(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., F419.
9. Clift, R., J. R. Grace, and M. E. Weber (1978), Bubbles, Drops, and Particles, 380 pp., Academic, San Diego, Calif.
10. De Beukelaer, S. M., I. R. MacDonald, N. L. Guinnasso Jr., and J. A. Murray (2003), Distinct side-scan sonar, RADARSAT SAR, and acoustic profiler signatures of gas and oil seeps on the Gulf of Mexico slope, Geo Mar. Lett, 23 (3-4), 177-186, doi:10.1007/s00367-003-0139-9. (Pubitemid 38127125)
11. Denman, K. L., et al. (2007), Couplings between changes in the climate system and biogeochemistry, in Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by S. Solomon et al., pp. 501-587, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York.
12. Etiope, G., and R. W. Klusman (2002), Geologic emissions of methane to the atmosphere, Chemosphere, 49(8), 777-789, doi:10.1016/S0045-6535 (02) 00380-6. (Pubitemid 35167964)
13. Etiope, G., A. Feyzullayev, and C. L. Baciu (2009), Terrestrial methane seeps and mud volcanoes: A global perspective of gas origin, Mar. Pet. Geol, 26(3), 333-344, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.03.001.
14. Fischer, P. J. (1978), Oil and tar seeps, Santa Barbara basin, California, in California Offshore Gas, Oil, and Tar Seeps, edited by P. J. Fischer, pp. 1-62, Calif. State Lands Comm., Sacramento.
15. Fischer, P. J., and A. J. Stevenson (1973), Natural hydrocarbon seeps, Santa Barbara basin, in Santa Barbara Channel Area Revisited Field Trip Guidebook, edited by P. J. Fischer, pp. 17-28, Am. Assoc. of Pet. Geol., Tulsa, Okla.
16. Gal-Or, B., and S. Waslo (1968), Hydrodynamics of an ensemble of drops (or bubbles) in the presence or absence of surfactants, Chem. Eng. Sci., 23(12), 1431-1446, doi:10.1016/0009-2509 (68) 89053-0.
17. Hornafius, J. S., D. Quigley, and B. P. Luyendyk (1999), The world's most spectacular marine hydrocarbons seeps (Coal Oil Point, Santa Barbara Channel, California): Quantification of emissions, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 20, 703-20, 711. (Pubitemid 30061696)
18. Hovland, M., J. Gardner, and A. Judd (2002), The significance of pockmarks to understanding fluid flow processes and geohazards, Geofluids, 2, 127-136, doi:10.1046/j.1468-8123.2002.00028.x. (Pubitemid 34834527)
19. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2001), Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis: Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by J. T. Houghton et al., 881 pp., Cambridge Univ. Press, New York.
20. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007), Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report: Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by Core Writing Team et al., Geneva, Switzerland.
21. Johnson, B. D., and R. C. Cooke (1979), Bubble populations and spectra in coastal waters: A photographic approach, J. Geophys. Res., 84, 3761-3766, doi:10.1029/JC084iC07p03761.
22. Johnson, B. D., B. P. Boudreau, B. S. Gardiner, and R. Maass (2002), Mechanical response of sediments to bubble growth, Mar. Geol., 187 (3-4), 347-363, doi:10.1016/S0025-3227 (02) 00383-3.
23. Judd, A., and M. Hovland (2007), Seabed Fluid Flow: The Impact of Geology, Biology and the Marine Environment, 492 pp., Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, U. K.
24. Khalil, M. A. K., and R. A. Rasmussen (1995), The changing composition of the Earth's atmosphere, in Composition, Chemistry, and Climate of the Atmosphere, edited by H. B. Singh, pp. 50-87, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
25. Kvenvolden, K. A., and B. W. Rogers (2005), Gaia's breath-global methane exhalations, Mar. Pet. Geol, 22(4), 579-590, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo. 2004.08.004.
26. Kvenvolden, K. A., T. D. Lorenson, and W. S. Reeburgh (2001), Attention turns to naturally occurring methane seepage, Eos Trans. AGU, 82(40), 457, doi:10.1029/01EO00275.
27. Lassey, K. R., D. C. Lowe, and A. M. Smith (2007), The atmospheric cycling of radiomethane and the fossil fraction of the methane source, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 2141-2149.
28. Leifer, I., and J. Boles (2005), Measurement of marine hydrocarbon seep flow through fractured rock and unconsolidated sediment, Mar. Pet. Geol, 22(4), 551-568, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2004.10.026. (Pubitemid 40815345)
29. Leifer, I., and D. Culling (2010), Formation of seep bubble plumes in the Coal Oil Point seep field, Geo Mar. Lett., doi:10.1007/s00367-010-0187-x, in press.
30. Leifer, I., and G. de Leeuw (2006), Bubbles generated from wind-steepened breaking waves: 1. Bubble plume bubbles, J. Geophys. Res., 111, C06020, doi:10.1029/2004JC002673. (Pubitemid 44768130)
31. Leifer, I., and A. G. Judd (2002), Oceanic methane layers: The hydrocarbon seep bubble deposition hypothesis, Terra Nova, 14, 417-424. (Pubitemid 36209687)
32. Leifer, I., and I. MacDonald (2003), Dynamics of the gas flux from shallow gas hydrate deposits: Interaction between oily hydrate bubbles and the oceanic environment, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 210 (3-4), 411-424, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X (03) 00173-0. (Pubitemid 36745807)
33. Leifer, I., and R. K. Patro (2002), The bubble mechanism for methane transport from the shallow sea bed to the surface: A review and sensitivity study, Cont. Shelf Res., 22(16), 2409-2428, doi:10.1016/S0278-4343 (02) 00065-1. (Pubitemid 35337232)
34. Leifer, I., and D. J. Tang (2007), The acoustic signature of marine seep bubbles, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 121(1), EL35-EL40, doi:10.1121/1.2401227. (Pubitemid 46102816)
35. Leifer, I., and K. Wilson (2007), The tidal influence on oil and gas emissions from an abandoned oil well: Nearshore Summerland, California, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 54(9), 1495-1506, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.03.014. (Pubitemid 47374215)
36. Leifer, I., J. F. Clark, and R. F. Chen (2000), Modifications of the local environment by natural marine hydrocarbon seeps, Geophys. Res. Lett, 27, 3711-3714, doi:10.1029/2000GL011619. (Pubitemid 32103199)
37. Leifer, I., G. de Leeuw, and L. H. Cohen (2003a), Optical measurement of bubbles: System, design and application, J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol, 20(9), 1317-1332, doi:10.1175/1520-0426 (2003) 020<13 17: OMOBSD>2.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 37207835)
38. Leifer, I., G. de Leeuw, G. Kunz, and L. H. Cohen (2003b), Calibrating optical bubble size by the displaced-mass method, Chem. Eng. Sci, 58 (23-24), 5211-5216, doi:10.1016/j.ces.2003.08.016. (Pubitemid 37502847)
39. Leifer, I., J. R. Boles, B. P. Luyendyk, and J. F. Clark (2004), Transient discharges from marine hydrocarbon seeps: Spatial and temporal variability, Environ. Geol, 46(8), 1038-1052, doi:10.1007/s00254-004-1091-3. (Pubitemid 40024909)
40. Leifer, I., B. Luyendyk, and K. Broderick (2006a), Tracking an oil slick from multiple natural sources, Coal Oil Point, California, Mar. Pet. Geol, 23(5), 621-630, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2006.05.001. (Pubitemid 44138617)
41. Leifer, I., B. P. Luyendyk, J. Boles, and J. F. Clark (2006b), Natural marine seepage blowout: Contribution to atmospheric methane, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 20, GB3008, doi:10.1029/2005GB002668. (Pubitemid 46761027)
42. Leifer, I., J. Boles, and B. Luyendyk (2007), Measurement of oil and gas emissions from a marine seep, Rep. EDT-009, Univ. of Calif. Energy Inst., Berkeley.
43. Leifer, I., H. Jeuthe, S. H. Gjøsund, and V. Johansen (2009), Engineered and natural marine seep, bubble-driven buoyancy flows, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 39, 3071-3090.
44. Leifer, I., M. Kamerling, B. P. Luyendyk, and D. Wilson (2010), Geologic control of natural marine seep hydrocarbon emissions, Coal Oil Point seep field, California, Geo Mar. Lett, doi:10.1007/s00367-010-0188-9, in press.
45. Lemckert, C. J., and J. Imberger (1993), Energetic bubble plumes in arbitrary stratification, J. Hydraul. Eng., 119, 680-703, doi:10.1061/(ASCE) 0733-9429 (1993) 119:6 (680).
46. MacDonald, I. R., et al. (1989), Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbon seep communities, Mar. Biol. Berlin, 101(2), 235-247, doi:10.1007/BF00391463. (Pubitemid 19114951)
47. MacDonald, I. R., et al. (2002), Transfer of hydrocarbons from natural seeps to the water column and atmosphere, Geofluids, 2, 95-107, doi:10.1046/j.1468-8123.2002.00023.x. (Pubitemid 34838193)
48. Matsunashi, G., and Y. Miyanaga (1990), A field study on the characteristics of air bubble plume in a reservoir, J. Hydrosci. Hydraulic Eng., 8(2), 65-77.
49. McGinnis, D. F., A. Lorke, A. Wüest, A. Stöckli, and J. C. Little (2004), Interaction between a bubble plume and the near field in a stratified lake, Water Resour. Res., 40, W10206, doi:10.1029/2004WR003038. (Pubitemid 39568799)
50. Mikolaj, P. G., and J. P. Ampaya (1973), Tidal effects on the activity of natural submarine oil seeps, Mar. Technol. Soc. J., 7, 25-28.
51. Milgram, J. H. (1983), Mean flow in round bubble plumes, J. Fluid Mech., 133, 345-376, doi:10.1017/S0022112083001950.
52. Nikolovska, A., and C. Waldmann (2006), Passive acoustic quantification of underwater gas seepage, in Oceans 2006, pp. 1-6, doi:10.1109/OCEANS.2006. 306926, Inst. of Electr. and Electr. Eng., New York.
53. Nikolovska, A., H. Sahling, and G. Bohrmann (2008), Hydroacoustic methodology for detection, localization, and quantification of gas bubbles rising from the seafloor at gas seeps from the eastern Black Sea, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst, 9, Q10010, doi:10.1029/2008GC002118.
54. Oguz, H. N., and A. Prosperetti (1993), Dynamics of bubble growth and detachment from a needle, J. Fluid Mech., 257, 111-145, doi:10.1017/ S0022112093003015.
55. Patro, R., I. Leifer, and P. Bowyer (2002), Better bubble process modeling: Improved bubble hydrodynamics parameterization, in Gas Transfer at Water Surfaces, Geophys. Monogr. Ser., vol. 127, edited by M. A. Donelan et al., pp. 315-320, AGU, Washington, D. C.
56. Quigley, D. C, et al. (1999), Decrease in natural marine hydrocarbon seepage near Coal Oil Point, California, associated with offshore oil production, Geology, 27(11), 1047-1050, doi:10.1130/0091-7613 (1999) 027<1047:DINMHS>2.3. CO;2. (Pubitemid 30083397)
57. Reeburgh, W. S. (2003), Global methane biogeochemistry, in Treatise on Geochemistry, vol. 4, The Atmosphere, edited by R. Keeling, pp. 65-69, Elsevier, Oxford, U. K.
58. Rehder, G., R. S. Keir, E. Suess, and M. Rhein (1999), Methane in the northern Atlantic controlled by microbial oxidation and atmospheric history, Geophys. Res. Lett, 26, 587-590, doi:10.1029/1999GL900049. (Pubitemid 29276373)
59. Rehder, G., I. Leifer, P. G. Brewer, G. Friederich, and E. T. Peltzer (2009), Controls on methane bubble dissolution inside and outside the hydrate stability field from open ocean field experiments and numerical modeling, Mar. Chem., 114 (1-2), 19-30, doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2009.03.004.
60. Rowland, F. S. (1985), Methane and chlorocarbons in the Earth's atmosphere, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 15, 279-297, doi:10.1007/BF01808174.
61. Sadhal, S. S., and R. E. Johnson (1983), Stokes flow past bubbles and drops partially coated with thin films. Part 1. Stagnant cap of surfactant film-Exact solution, J. Fluid Mech., 126, 237-250, doi:10.1017/ S0022112083000130.
62. Sahling, H., et al. (2009), Vodyanitskii mud volcano, Sorokin trough, Black Sea: Geological characterization and quantification of gas bubble streams, Mar. Pet. Geol, 26(9), 1799-1811, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo. 2009.01.010.
63. Sauter, E. J., et al. (2006), Methane discharge from a deep-sea submarine mud volcano into the upper water column by gas hydrate-coated methane bubbles, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 243 (3-4), 354-365, doi:10.1016/j. epsl.2006.01.041.
64. Schmid, M., et al. (2004), How hazardous is the gas accumulation in Lake Kivu? Arguments for a risk assessment in light of the Nyiragongo volcano eruption of 2002, Acta Vulcanol, 15, 115-121.
65. Shindell, D. T., G. Faluvegi, N. Bell, and G. A. Schmidt (2005), An emissions-based view of climate forcing by methane and tropospheric ozone, Geophys. Res. Lett, 32, L04803, doi:10.1029/2004GL021900. (Pubitemid 40746883)
66. Slauenwhite, D. E., and B. D. Johnson (1999), Bubble shattering: Differences in bubble formation in fresh water and seawater, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 3265-3275, doi:10.1029/1998JC900064.
67. Solomon, E. A., M. Kastner, I. R. MacDonald, and I. Leifer (2009), Considerable methane fluxes to the atmosphere from hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico, Nat. Geosci., 2, 561-565, doi:10.1038/ngeo574.
68. Tilbrook, B. D., and D. M. Karl (1995), Methane sources, distributions and sinks from California coastal waters to the oligotrophic North Pacific gyre, Mar. Chem., 49(1), 51-64, doi:10.1016/0304-4203 (94) 00058-L.
69. Tomiyama, A., H. Tamai, I. Zun, and S. Hosokawa (2002), Transverse migration of single bubbles in simple shear flows, Chem. Eng. Sci., 57(11), 1849-1858, doi:10.1016/S0009-2509 (02) 00085-4. (Pubitemid 34817215)
70. Tsuge, H., S. Hibino, and U. Nojima (1981), Volume of a bubble formed at a single submerged orifice in a flowing liquid, Int. Chem. Eng., 21, 630-636. (Pubitemid 12441046)
71. Tsunogai, U., N. Yoshida, J. Ishibashi, and T. Gamo (2000), Carbon isotopic distribution of methane in deep-sea hydrothermal plume, Myojin Knoll Caldera, Izu-Bonin arc: Implications for microbial methane oxidation in the oceans and applications to heat flux estimation, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 64(14), 2439-2452, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037 (00) 00374-4. (Pubitemid 30483825)
72. Vagle, S., and D. M. Farmer (1992), The measurement of bubble-size distributions by acoustical backscatter, J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 9(5), 630-644, doi:10.1175/1520-0426 (1992) 009<0630:TMOBSD>2.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 23375415)
73. Washburn, L., C. Johnson, C. C. Gotschalk, and E. T. Egland (2001), A gas-capture buoy for measuring bubbling gas flux in oceans and lakes, J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 18(8), 1411-1420, doi:10.1175/1520-0426 (2001) 018<1411:AGCBFM>2.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 32944174)
74. Washburn, L., J. F. Clark, and P. Kyriakidis (2005), The spatial scales, distribution, and intensity of natural marine hydrocarbon seeps near Coal Oil Point, California, Mar. Pet. Geol., 22(4), 569-578, doi:10.1016/j. marpetgeo.2004.08.006. (Pubitemid 40815346)
75. Watanabe, S., N. Tsurushima, M. Kusakabe, and S. Tsunogai (1995), Methane in Izena Cauldron, Okinawa Trough, J. Oceanogr., 51(2), 239-255, doi:10.1007/BF02236527.
76. Winkel, E. S., S. L. Ceccio, D. R. Dowling, and M. Perlin (2004), Bubblesize distributions produced by wall injection of air into flowing freshwater, saltwater and surfactant solutions, Exp. Fluids, 37, 802-810, doi:10.1007/s00348-004-0850-y. (Pubitemid 40003008)