Ultrasonic Shear Wave Velocity and Attenuation during methane hydrate formation in water saturated sandstone (NERC Grant NE/J020753/1)

This dataset is of laboratory ultrasonic shear wave measurements during methane hydrate formation in water saturated Berea sandstone using pulse echo method. We formed methane hydrate and took shear wave measurements during the formation process at different time interval. The hydrate saturation was calculated from measured pressure and temperature changes. This data set was used to show how shear wave velocity and attenuation can be used to estimate permeability of hydrate-bearing geological formations. We observed that velocity and attenuation both increase with hydrate saturation, with two peaks in attenuation at hydrate saturations of around 6% and 20% that correspond to changes in gradient of velocity. These laboratory experiments were conducted in National Oceanography Centre, Southampton by Sourav Sahoo with technical support provided by Laboratory Manager Laurence North. Sourav Sahoo interpreted the data. The hydrate formation process continued for few days and measurements were done mostly during daytime due to limited laboratory access during the night. This data set has been used for the paper published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (DOI 10.1029/2021JB022206)