Subsurface Hydrocarbon Detection System for Deep Water Seeps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for detecting and sampling hydrocarbons from deep water seeps face challenges due to limited sensitivity and the inability to accurately locate and quantify hydrocarbons below a certain mass flux threshold, especially in deep water environments where surface-mounted echo-sounders are ineffective and geochemical signals attenuate with depth.
Innovation Solution
A hydrocarbon measurement system deployed close to the seafloor, combining acoustic and geochemical approaches with an underwater vehicle equipped with a hydrocarbon measurement module that includes a delay coil for precise sampling and calibration, allowing for high sensitivity detection and quality-controlled sampling of hydrocarbon plumes, even at depths where surface detection is not feasible.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If surface-mounted echo-sounders are used for detecting hydrocarbons, then detection capability is provided, but sensitivity is insufficient for deep water seeps below mass flux threshold
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from surface-mounted detection to subsurface deployment, moving the detection apparatus from the air-water interface into the water column at depths of 100-3000 meters. This dimensional change enables direct proximity to deep water seeps, overcoming the attenuation of geochemical signals that occurs with depth while maintaining detection sensitivity through specialized sensors positioned at optimal depths.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an acoustic release mechanism as an intermediary between the surface deployment system and the subsurface detection apparatus. This intermediary enables controlled deployment and retrieval of the detection system at predetermined depths, allowing the high-sensitivity sensors to reach their optimal detection positions without requiring surface mounting, thereby resolving the contradiction between detection sensitivity and detection depth.
2Measurement precision
If subsurface deployment is used to improve detection sensitivity, then signal quality is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system is designed with multi-functionality, integrating hydrocarbon detection sensors, acoustic communication capabilities, and depth control mechanisms into a single unified apparatus. This universal design allows the same system to perform multiple functions (detection, communication, positioning) without requiring separate complex subsystems, thereby maintaining signal quality through subsurface deployment while limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates autonomous depth control and acoustic release mechanisms that operate automatically at predetermined depths without requiring continuous surface intervention. The acoustic release system enables the apparatus to self-deploy and self-retrieve based on acoustic signals, reducing the operational complexity that would otherwise be required for manual subsurface deployment while maintaining the signal quality benefits of close-to-seafloor positioning.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the precise location, quantification, and sampling of hydrocarbons with high sensitivity, overcoming the limitations of existing technologies by maintaining signal quality near the seafloor and allowing for in-situ calibration and real-time analysis of hydrocarbon concentrations, thereby improving the chances of detecting active seeps and their connection to reservoired hydrocarbons.
Implementation Method 1
retaining the fluid samples in the fluid circuit in a time-ordered fashion under laminar flow
Implementation Method 2
measuring a concentration of the target analyte in the fluid samples with a mass spectrometer
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 1c
Figure 2
AI summary
The present invention relates to systems and methods for finding and sampling hydrocarbons from seeps in water or from artificial sources of water. The present invention related to systems and methods for in situ analyzing fluid samples in a body of water. The systems and methods can be used to find hydrocarbons and associated non-hydrocarbons from seeps in water. Such seeps may come from natural sources in deep water, possibly as deep as 3000 m or even more.