M142

R/V METEOR Cruise M142

Varna (Bulgaria) - Varna - Varna
04.11. - 22.11. - 09.12. 2017

Drilling gas hydrates in sandy channel deposits in the Danube deep-sea fan, Black Sea (Romanian and Bulgarian sector)

Within the framework of the joint research project SUGAR III "Submarine gas hydrate resources", which is financed by BMWi and BMBF, the FS METEOR-cruise M142 will be carried out in the Danube deep-sea fan of the Black Sea. The primary objective of the proposed cruise is to drill into the gas hydrate accumulations in the Danube paleodelta with the mobile drilling device MeBo200 of MARUM. Based on geophysical data acquired on previous cruises, MSM 34 & 35, two working areas were selected, where (1) gas hydrates and free gas co-exist in the upper 50-150 m of the gas hydrate stability zone, and (2) sediment slumping and gas seepage occur above the upward-bending base of the gas hydrate stability zone.