Abiotic Methane Reservoirs in the Western Tianshan HP–UHP Metamorphic Belt, China
Lijuan ZHANG
Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, MOE, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lifei ZHANG
Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, MOE, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorXiaowei LI
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiao WANG
Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, MOE, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorLijuan ZHANG
Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, MOE, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lifei ZHANG
Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, MOE, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorXiaowei LI
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiao WANG
Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, MOE, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorAbout the first author:
ZHANG Lijuan, female, born in 1986 in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province; Ph.D. in geology; graduated from Peking University; research assistant of School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University. She is now interested in the study on HP–UHP metamorphism, subduction zone fluids and volatiles, and deep carbon cycle during subduction. E-mail: [email protected].
About the corresponding author:
ZHANG Lifei, male, born in 1963 in Siping, Jilin Province; Ph.D. in geology; graduated from Peking University; professor of School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University. He is now interested in the study on metamorphic geology and deep carbon cycle in subduction zone. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract
Natural gas, consisting primarily of methane (CH4), has become a major source of clean energy in modern society in many parts of the globe. Recent experimental observations and discoveries of deep-sourced abiotic CH4 in cold subduction zones indicate the important ability of cold subducted slabs to generate natural gas reservoirs. However, most CH4 flux and reservoirs remain unknown and their potential is overlooked in global carbon flux estimations. Massive abiotic CH4-rich fluid inclusions (FIs) in garnet and omphacite from ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogites have been found in the Western Tianshan (WT) UHP metamorphic belt, which provides one ideal case for quantification of abiotic CH4 stored in the cold subducted crust. By two methods, we assess the abiotic CH4 content stored in the Chinese WT HP–UHP metamorphic belt. Our calculations show that at least 113 Mt CH4 is stored in the WT eclogites. We also discuss the implications for CH4 reservoirs in subduction zones worldwide and speculate that the cold subduction zones may represent one of the largest, yet overlooked, sources of abiotic CH4 on Earth, which should not be ignored in the global natural resource and carbon flux estimations.
Supporting Information
Supplementary material to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-6724.15041.
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