Specific Character of Natural Hazards on High-latitude Sea Transport Passages Europe-Asia-Pacific Region: Challenges for Technosphere Safety

International science and technology conference "Earth science"

Vinogradov, A.N.^1 ; Tsukerman, V.A.^2

Kola Filial of the Federal Research Centre, Geophysical Survey of Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersman street, 14, Apatity

184209, Russia^1

Luzin Institute for Economic Studies of the Federal Research Centre, Kola Science Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersman street, 24A, Apatity

184209, Russia^2

关键词: Abnormal concentrations;    Asia Pacific region;    Ecological safety;    Mechanical damages;    Methane gas hydrates;    Oil and gas fields;    Preventive measures;    Technical infrastructure;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/272/2/022143/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1755-1315/272/2/022143

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

The especial feature of high-latitude marine routes is unusual geodynamic regime of the sea bed and hydrodynamic of waters, caused by a wide spread of a submarine permafrost, enriched with methane gas-hydrates. They had been accumulated during the Ice Age, and after deglaciation the both permafrost and gas-hydrates are subject to destruction, accompanied by a runoff of methane into sea water and atmosphere. There are two mechanisms of degassing: diffusion (DDG) and flare-bubble (FDG). DDG acts permanently resulting in appearance of areas with an abnormal concentration of methane dissolved in water, decreasing its density, and so affecting a floatability of vessels. FDG appears locally and impulsively, but this type of degassing presents an essential risk for a safety of high-latitude transport communications, as well as for underwater technical infrastructure in the exploited oil and gas fields. Fast-growing gas-hydrate pingoes can change the bottom relief and generate newborn islands or shallow banks with hummock. Consequences of the blowing up of subaqueous pingoes are very hazardous, and include a formation of giant pockmarks and craters at the sea bed, an emergence of large methane bubbles to the sea surface and emission in air of the methane tails up to a thousand kilometers in length. The entry of ships into the FDG zone is fraught with flooding; the engineering facilities in these zones will be subjected to mechanical damage and fires. Due to provide both industrial and ecological safety the special preventive measures are needed.