A numerical study of transport and spreading of gases from natural analogues of gas-seepage through the seafloor

Abstract

Natural leakages of CO2 are reported in the literature at mid ocean ridges and CH4 seepages in hydrocarbon rich ares. These could potentially serve as natural analogues of leakages from CO2 storages. In this study we have developed a model tool for the rise and dissolution of droplets or bubbles of these gases and the subsequent spreading of the compounds. The preliminary results shows some of the same trends as has been reported on observations from natural gas leakages. The model has been setup for an idealized natural CO2 leakage in the deep ocean to illustrate how the model can represent such a leakage.