Abstract
In situ measurements to depths of ∼415 m below sea floor in methane hydrate–bearing sediments on the U.S. Atlantic passive margin indicate that temperatures at the bottom simulating reflector (BSR) are anomalously low by 0.5–2.9 °C if the BSR marks the base of gas hydrate stability (BGHS). Several hypotheses may explain the occurrence of the BSR at inappropriate pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions. (1) If the BSR does not mark the BGHS, then P-T conditions need not be sufficient to dissociate gas hydrate at this depth. (2) The BSR may lie at nonequilibrium P-T conditions due to incomplete readjustment in response to upper Pleistocene–Holocene climate change. However, the occurrence of the Blake Ridge BSR at an overly shallow depth cannot be easily explained by realistic combinations of pressure-driven deepening (sea-level rise) and temperature-driven shoaling (bottom water temperature changes). (3) The properties of sediments or pore fluids may inhibit the stability of gas hydrate. In particular, capillary forces arising in the fine-grained, montmorillonite-rich sediments of the Blake Ridge may lead to shoaling of the BSR in this setting.
