The Structure of Permafrost in Northern West Siberia: Geophysical Evidence

Natalya Misyurkeeva, Igor Buddo, Ivan Shelokhov, Alexander Smirnov, Alexey Nezhdanov and Yury Agafonov
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Natalya Misyurkeeva: SIGMA-GEO, 664039 Irkutsk, Russia
Igor Buddo: SIGMA-GEO, 664039 Irkutsk, Russia
Ivan Shelokhov: SIGMA-GEO, 664039 Irkutsk, Russia
Alexander Smirnov: Gazprom VNIIGAZ, 625000 Tyumen, Russia
Alexey Nezhdanov: Gazprom VNIIGAZ, 625000 Tyumen, Russia
Yury Agafonov: SIGMA-GEO, 664039 Irkutsk, Russia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: The permafrost of Arctic West Siberia stores extremely rich resources of hydrocarbon fuels that remain a key energy source and an important element of the global economy. A large amount of natural gas in permafrost is bound in gas hydrates which may become an alternative fuel of the future. Shallow subsurface in the permafrost area of northern West Siberia has been studied by transient electromagnetic (TEM) soundings to estimate the permafrost thickness and to detect faults as channels for fluids and heaving features as possible indicators of gas hydrate accumulations. The shallow transient electromagnetic (sTEM) surveys were conducted in discontinuous and continuous permafrost at two sites in northern West Siberia (the northeastern Yamal Peninsula and the southern Gydan Peninsula), with a focus on the vicinities of lakes and cryogenic landforms (frost mounds). The sTEM method resolves well the heterogeneous permafrost structure, with faults, numerous unfrozen zones (taliks), and frost mounds marked by resistivity and seismic anomalies. Some lakes are located above faults, and their origin may be related to deformation, whereas the frost mounds may mark deep-seated fluid dynamic processes. Local thickening of permafrost may be associated with the presence of gas hydrates. The detected features may trace gas migration pathways and reveal possible sites of gas emission.

Keywords: shallow transient electromagnetic (sTEM) soundings; resistivity; permafrost; fuels; gas hydrates; talik; frost mound; fluid dynamics; northern West Siberia; Arctic; cryopeg; electromagnetic surveys (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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