Degassing of the Earth: Scale and implications

The principles of degassing of the Earth are considered in the article. A direct assessment of the scale of hydrocarbon degassing of the Earth is a complex task and is possible only on the basis of multilevel monitoring using the latest analytical technologies based on aerospace and ground measuring devices in real time. Estimates of the gas regime were carried out on the basis of a geophysical observatory on the mud volcano Dashgil, Perekiskyul and others in real time during the period from 2003 to 2018. The gas monitoring station, located within the small salsa of the Dashgil volcano during the first phase of the study, included sensors for measuring the flow of methane, radon, atmospheric pressure and temperature. The carried out researches in the given area have allowed to establish that the processes of periodic separation of hydrocarbons from sedimentary rocks are characterized by considerable volumes and intensity. In the depths of some young basins, in particular, in the South Caspian basin, there is a naturally functioning continuous “technological line” for the transformation of underground matter into energy and chemical raw materials, characterized by high productivity and a valuable asset of the sedimentary complex of the basin. Focusing on a long-term perspective, on the basis of such a line, it is possible to create such a natural extracting and restoring oil and gas system that would be able to provide some guaranteed replenishment rate for a sufficiently long time. The most typical examples of excitation of a porous medium saturated with hydrocarbons are eruptions of mud volcanoes, the correlation of which, for example, with solar activity, gravitational fields (tidal and indecent variations) and thermobaric factors (rarefaction and negative pressure waves) show that low-amplitude physical effects can intensify processes in foci of excitation.