A deep reservoir for hydrogen drives intense degassing in the Bulqizë ophiolite

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Truche, Laurent; Donze, Frederic-Victor; Goskolli, Edmond; Muceku, Bardhyl; Loisy, Corinne; Monnin, Christophe; Dutoit, Hugo; Cerepi, Adrian
• 署名单位: Communaute Universite Grenoble Alpes; Universite Grenoble Alpes (UGA); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); Universite Gustave-Eiffel; Universite Savoie Mont Blanc; CNRS - National Institute for Earth Sciences & Astronomy (INSU); Polytechnic University of Tirana (UPT); Universite de Bordeaux; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); CNRS - National Institute for Earth Sciences & Astronomy (INSU); Universite de Toulouse; Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); CNRS - National Institute for Earth Sciences & Astronomy (INSU)
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10617
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adk9099
• 发表日期: 2024-02-09
• 页码: 618-621
• 关键词: h-2; methane; albania; geochemistry; generation; deposit; energy; rocks; crust

摘要

Deep crustal production of hydrogen (H-2) is a potential source of primary energy if recoverable accumulations in geological formations are sufficiently large. We report direct measurements of an elevated outgassing rate of 84% (by volume) of H-2 from the deep underground Bulqize chromite mine in Albania. A minimum of 200 tons of H-2 is vented annually from the mine's galleries, making it one of the largest recorded H-2 flow rates to date. We cannot attribute the flux solely to the release of paleo-fluids trapped within the rocks or to present-day active and pervasive serpentinization of ultramafic rocks; rather, our results demonstrate the presence of a faulted reservoir deeply rooted in the Jurassic ophiolite massif. This discovery suggests that certain ophiolites may host economically useful accumulations of H-2 gas.