Improved sampling technique to collect natural gas from hydrate-bearing pressure cores

High quality gas compositional data are an important factor in interpreting the genetic source of natural gas hosted in hydrate-bearing sediments and other subsurface systems. In order to accurately characterize the composition of gas samples degassed from hydrate-bearing pressure cores, one must use a reproducible sampling technique that minimizes artifacts of the sampling process. Herein, we review sediment core degassing techniques and compare data obtained from a commonly used degassing approach, which we term the standard quantitative degassing (SQD) technique, to our newly developed modified quantitative degassing (MQD) method designed to minimize atmospheric contamination and gas-water interactions. The SQD method allows sample gas to interact with water in a bubbling chamber, which we hypothesize could alter the gas composition following mixing with water or dissolved gases in the bubbling chamber. Whereas, the MQD method allows for the collection of sample gas prior to the bubbling chamber. To compare the SQD and MQD methods, we performed a side-by-side comparison of noble (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe), major (H2, N2, O2, and CO2), and hydrocarbon (CH4, C2H6, C3H8, i-C4H10, C4H10, i-C5H12, C5H12) gas concentrations and select isotopic compositions obtained using both sample collection techniques. Gas samples were collected from hydrate-bearing pressure cores recovered and maintained under hydrate stable conditions from the northern Gulf of Mexico during the UT-GOM2-1 Expedition. The MQD method displayed significantly lower concentrations of atmospheric gases, higher proportions of hydrocarbon gases, lower ratios of C1/C2+, and heavier stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes of methane than the SQD method. These results demonstrate that the MQD method reduced air contamination and minimized alteration of the hydrocarbon gases. Finally, we conclude this method may be important for future work that seeks to determine the composition of natural gas from pressure cores using quantitative degassing experiments, especially those seeking to measure major (e.g., N2) and noble gases.