Geochemical characteristics of methane from sediments of the underwater high Posolskaya Bank (Lake Baikal)

The component and carbon isotope compositions were studied in the hydrocabon gases from sediments of the underwater high Posolskaya Bank (Lake Baikal). It was established that sediments of this Baikal area contain methane of microbial (C1/C2 >16000; δ13C 70 ± 3‰) and thermocatalytic (C1/C2 <100; δ13C–46 ± 3‰) origin. Some samples represent a gas mixture of thermocatalytic and microbial origin. This gas is characterized by δ13C of methane varying from–60 to–70‰ and contains a significant amount of ethane. The main homolog of methane in the thermocatalytic and mixed gas is ethane. Owing to biodegradation, propane and butanes are present in trace amounts.