Schematic of a submarine slide triggered by gas hydrate dissociation
In theory, gas pressure generated by methane released during gas hydrate dissociation weakens the sediment and provides a glide plane for sediment failure. In practice, gas hydrates are rarely located at sites where slides initially fail, nor are gas hydrates generally distributed uniformly over large enough spatial scales or in the proper orientation to provide effective glide planes for submarine slides.
Year: 2009
From collection: Frozen Heat - A Global Outlook on Methane Gas Hydrates
Cartographer: GRID-Arendal