Natural gas hydrates (GHs) filling sand layer pores are the most promising GHs that can be produced via conventional mechanisms in deep-sea environments. However, the seismic tracking of such thin GH-bearing sand layers is subject to certain limitations. For example, because most GH-bearing sand layers are thin and sparsely interbedded with mud layers, conventional seismic data with a maximum resolution of ~10 m are of limited use for describing their spatial distribution. The 2010 Ulleung Basin drilling expedition identified a relatively good GH reservoir at the UBGH2-6 site. However, the individual GH-bearing sand layers at this site are thin and cannot therefore be reliably tracked using conventional seismic techniques. This study presents a new thin layer tracking method using stepwise seismic inversion and 3D seismic datasets with two different resolutions. The high-resolution acoustic impedance volume obtained is then used to trace thin layers that cannot be harnessed with conventional methods. Moreover, we estimate the high-resolution regional GH distribution based on GH saturation derived from acoustic impedance at UBGH2-6. The thin GH layers, previously viewed as a single layer because of limited resolution, are further subdivided, traced, and characterized in terms of lateral variation.
25 March 2026 in International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation