中文摘要：

从20世纪80年代开始，墨西哥湾的水合物研究经历了水合物发现阶段、浅表层水合物研究阶段和水合物资源勘探阶段等3个阶段，特别是2005年“联合工业计划”的实施，为这一区域的水合物研究提供了大量的地质、地球物理和地球化学等资料，使其成为目前海域水合物研究的前沿区域。本次研究采用水合物油气系统的思路和工作方法，通过资料的调研、总结和对比，详细描述并刻画了水合物稳定条件、气体组分和来源、有利沉积体类型和特征、含气流体运移通道等4个要素。研究结果表明，墨西哥湾陆坡区域温度和压力等条件非常适于水合物的形成，热成因气和生物成因气都可以作为水合物的气体来源，有利的深水沉积体（如水道、天然堤、块体流沉积体等）提供了潜在的储集类型和聚集空间，盐底辟、断层、倾斜的地层及网状裂隙等为含气流体的运移提供了有利的通道。作为一种全面和系统的研究思路和工作方法，水合物油气系统既考虑了水合物形成时的物理化学条件，又注重实际的地质背景，可以作为海域水合物成藏潜力的快速评价方法。然而，要对重点区域进行水合物矿体描述、不均匀性分布控制因素等方面的分析，开展精细的沉积学解剖和流体运移的分析，是研究的重点。因此，将“水合物识别标志”、“有利沉积体展布”和“流体运移通道”三者有机地结合在一起，是今后海域水合物资源勘探、矿体精细描述和科学评价的发展方向。

英文摘要：

Since 1980, natural gas hydrate research in the Gulf of Mexico underwent three stages, gas hydrate discovery, gas hydrate research in the shallow layers, and gas hydrate exploration. Especially the ＂Joint Industry Project＂ conducted from 2005, providing numerous geological, geophysical and geochemical data, which would make the Gulf of Mexico being the forefront area in marine gas hydrate research. Based on integrated investigation, summarizing and comparison of these data, this study preferred to use the concept and method of gas hydrate petroleum system to describe gas hydrate stability conditions, gas composition and source, favorable sedimentary units, and gas/fluid migration pathways. The results showed that, the temperature and pressure conditions in the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico were suitable for the formation of gas hydrate. Both thermogenic and biogenic gas could be regarded as the source in this area. The deep-water sedimentary units, including channel, levee, mass transport complex, and so on, could be served as the potential reservoirs and accumulation spaces for gas hydrate. Besides, salt diapirism, fault, tilted strata and fracture network could afford the pathways for gas/fluid migration. Through the practical application in the Gulf of Mexico, the gas hydrate petroleum system was considered as a comprehensive and systematic idea not only because of the regard on physical conditions, but also due to the emphasize on actual geological setting, causing itself to be a rapid assessment method formarine gas hydrate. However, for the description of hydrate-bearing units and analyses on the heterogeneous distribution of gas hydrate, detailed dissection on deep-water sedimentary system and fluid migration would be the focuses. Therefbre, combination with the identification marks of gas hydrate, distribution of favorable sedimentary units, and gas/fluid migration pathways, would be the objective of marine hydrate exploration in the future.