Geological settings and gas hydrate distribution offshore southwestern Taiwan

Offshore southwestern Taiwan, the Luzon accretionary wedge complex overrides the passive China Continental Slope in an incipient collision, and presents a rare opportunity to study gas hydrates, as BSRs have been widely observed in both the active and the passive continental margin settings in this area. The Central Geological Survey of Taiwan has initiated a 4-year gas hydrate investigation program starting 2003, involving seismic surveys, geological and geochemical analyses of bottom water and sea floor sediments, and heat flow measurements. This study presents the initial results of these surveys.