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ABSTRACT: Drilling results suggest that the thickness of natural gas hydrates (NGHs) in the Shenhu Area, South China Sea (SCS) are spatially heterogenous, making it difficult to accurately assess the NGHs resources in this area. In the case that free gas exists beneath hydrate deposits, the frequency of the hydrate deposits will be noticeably attenuated, with the attenuation degree mainly affected by pore development and free gas content. Therefore, the frequency can be used as an important attribute to identify hydrate reservoirs. Based on the time-frequency characteristics of deposits, this study predicted the spatial distribution of hydrates in this area using the frequency division inversion method as follows. Firstly, the support vector machine (SVM) method was employed to study the amplitude versus frequency (AVF) response based on seismic and well logging data. Afterward, the AVF response was introduced as independent information to establish the nonlinear relationship between logging data and seismic waveform. Then, the full frequency band information of the seismic data was fully utilized to obtain the results of frequency division inversion. The inversion results can effectively broaden the frequency band, reflect the NGHs distribution, and reveal the NGHs reservoirs of two types, namely the fluid migration pathway type and the in situ self-generation self-storage diffusion type. Moreover, the inversion results well coincide with the drilling results. Therefore, it is feasible to use the frequency division inversion to predict the spatial distribution of heterogeneous NGHs reservoirs, which facilitates the optimization of favorable drilling targets and is crucial to the resource potential assessment of NGHs.©2022 China Geology Editorial Office.

As cyclical orbital movements of Earth, Milankovitch cycles can be recorded in sedimentary strata. The time they reflect can be used to accurately divide and compare strata. Milankovitch cycles recorded in strata enrich the stratigraphic theory, especially the theories of cycle stratigraphy, and thus they are widely used in geological survey engineering nowadays. This study explored the characteristics of the Milankovitch cycles recorded in the eastern depression of the North Yellow Sea Basin, highlighting their control over high-frequency stratigraphic sequences. The Eocene Milankovitch cycles in the depression were calculated based on the method proposed by J. Laskar, and their parameters primarily include eccentricity cycles of 125 ka and 99 ka, obliquity cycles of 51 ka and 39 ka, and precession cycles of 23 ka and 19 ka. Spectral analysis of gamma-ray (GR) and spontaneous potential (SP) log curves of the Eocene strata was carried out to divide and compare stratigraphic sequences, revealing that the spectral peaks correspond well to astronomical cycles. This indicates that the strata in the depression fully record Milankovitch cycles. Furthermore, there are long-, medium-, and short-term stratigraphic cycles in the eastern depression, with a thickness of 13.03–15.89 m, 3.70–5.21 m, and 2.17–2.94 m, respectively. The sedimentation rates of the Eocene strata were calculated to be 121.2–127.12 m/Ma accordingly. From the uplift to the center of the lacustrine basin along the slope in the eastern depression, both the sedimentation duration and the sediment thickness increase, while the sedimentation rate remains relatively stable. The Eocene strata can be divided into six stages of high-frequency sequences by continuous wavelet transformation, namely E6–E1 from bottom to top. The sedimentation duration and sedimentation rates of the sequences were calculated using spectral analysis with each of the sequences as a separate window. Moreover, the impacts of climate change on the sedimentary environment in the eastern depression were analyzed. It can be concluded that E6 was a lowstand system tract, E5 and E4 were lacustrine expansion system tracts, E3 was a highstand system tract, and E2 and E1 were lacustrine contraction system tracts. All these verify that Milankovitch cycles serve as an effective approach for the analysis of sedimentary cycles.