The formation of submarine gas hydrates and their spatial distribution in the subsurface depends on a variety of sensitive control parameters, e.g. the in-situ production of methane, the advection of dissolved and gaseous methane, the existence of fluid pathways as well as the porosity and permeability of sediments. Hence, the quantification of gas hydrate inventories is still largely unconstrained in most regions. This project aims at the numerical simulation of potential gas hydrate reservoirs for selected, well-known locations to predict their 3-D-distribution within the sedimentary sequence. In addition, we plan to give constraints on the long-term stability of gas hydrate reservoirs in order to get a better understanding of their temporal dynamics.

Methods
The numerical model „PetroMod“ (IES company), a standard exploration tool in the oil and gas industry will be used to develop a new, 3-D-model for the simulation of sub-seafloor gas hydrate occurrences. A major task is the implementation of biogeochemical approaches with respect to gas hydrate formation / dissolution as well as the temporal and spatial resolution of the basis model. This approach will particularly enhance our knowledge with regard to the simulation of pathways for fluid and gas transport in consolidated sediments and hence, the potential enrichment of gas hydrates within certain sedimentary strata.