A Generalized Analytical Model for Marine Gas Hydrate Stability Zones With Thermodynamically Constrained Pressure–Temperature Phase Boundary

Abstract Accurate thermodynamic delineation of marine gas hydrate stability zones (GHSZs) is a fundamental prerequisite for assessing methane hydrate inventories, quantifying the vulnerability of methane dissociation to climate change, and evaluating overpressure‐induced submarine geohazards. However, the commonly adopted pressure–temperature phase boundaries are predominantly calibrated under idealized conditions and fail to capture natural marine conditions, leading to persistent uncertainties and systematic biases in global GHSZ delineation. Here, we assemble a globally representative dataset of field‐constrained hydrate records to refine and calibrate a thermodynamically constrained phase boundary tailored to natural marine environments. The resulting field‐calibrated phase boundary features clear physical interpretability, robust extrapolation reliability, and enables the GHSZ boundary depth to be calculated directly using an explicit closed‐from analytical solution. The analytical model delineates thermodynamically admissible GHSZ configurations and is validated against global observations for the prevalent single basal‐interface case, providing an efficient framework for regional‐to‐global hydrate‐related assessments.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2026-10-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2026gl125255
Primary Topic
Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

A Generalized Analytical Model for Marine Gas Hydrate Stability Zones With Thermodynamically Constrained Pressure–Temperature Phase Boundary

Haibing Yu, Xin Luo
Geophysical Research Letters
Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
article

A Generalized Analytical Model for Marine Gas Hydrate Stability Zones With Thermodynamically Constrained Pressure–Temperature Phase Boundary

Haibing Yu, Xin Luo
article en

Abstract

Abstract Accurate thermodynamic delineation of marine gas hydrate stability zones (GHSZs) is a fundamental prerequisite for assessing methane hydrate inventories, quantifying the vulnerability of methane dissociation to climate change, and evaluating overpressure‐induced submarine geohazards. However, the commonly adopted pressure–temperature phase boundaries are predominantly calibrated under idealized conditions and fail to capture natural marine conditions, leading to persistent uncertainties and systematic biases in global GHSZ delineation. Here, we assemble a globally representative dataset of field‐constrained hydrate records to refine and calibrate a thermodynamically constrained phase boundary tailored to natural marine environments. The resulting field‐calibrated phase boundary features clear physical interpretability, robust extrapolation reliability, and enables the GHSZ boundary depth to be calculated directly using an explicit closed‐from analytical solution. The analytical model delineates thermodynamically admissible GHSZ configurations and is validated against global observations for the prevalent single basal‐interface case, providing an efficient framework for regional‐to‐global hydrate‐related assessments.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 53(20)
University of Hong Kong (HK)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, University of Hong Kong
Openalex Percentile: Top 23%
Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
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