Preliminary mapping of void fractions and sound speeds in gassy marine sediments from subbottom profiles

Bubbles of gas (usually methane) in marine sediments affect the load-bearing properties of the seabed and act as a natural reservoir of “greenhouse” gas. This paper describes a simple method which can be applied to historical and future subbottom profiles to infer bubble void fractions and map the vertical and horizontal distributions of gassy sediments, and the associated sound speed perturbations, even with single-frequency insonification. It operates by identifying horizontal features in the geology and interpreting any perceived change of depth in these as a bubble-mediated change in sound speed.