The use of infrared thermal imaging to identify gas hydrate in sediment cores

Abstract

An infrared thermal imaging camera was used to image sediment cores on the catwalk, immediately following coring and prior to processing. The camera was used to identify negative temperature anomalies. These were investigated for their utility in identifying gas hydrate prior to dissociation, which occurs rapidly because of the temperature increase and pressure decrease associated with the coring process. The camera was successful in identifying distinct negative temperature anomalies in intervals of gas hydrate. The methodology requires some modification to improve efficiency but holds great potential to investigate thermal properties of sediments and rapidly identify gas hydrate.