Probabilistic stability analysis of small-angle marine slopes considering hydrate decomposition and seismic excitation

The submarine massive mud transports of several seas around the world, including the Shenhu Sea, are thought to relate with hydrate decomposition, which occur even at small gradients. This article investigates the stability and reliability of marine slopes considering three factors related to hydrate decomposition and earthquake, namely decrease in sediment strength, increase in excess pore pressure, and activation by external seismic force. Taking the SH2 hole, implemented by the first Chinese offshore hydrate drilling mission (GMGS-1), as an example, the impacts of three factors mentioned above on marine slopes stability are analyzed with infinite slope theory. In addition, the space distribution of physical and mechanical parameters in hydrate deposits is under consideration. The cohesion, friction angle and buoyant unit weight in a non-stationary random field are treated as spatial random variables, where the means of the first two increase linearly with depth. Variation characteristics of the failure probability for various slope angles are analyzed under different scenarios. The outcomes reveal that the safety factor of the slopes at 30% potential for damage is around 1.25 within a given variant characterization. The proposed integrated stability and reliability analysis can effectively provide early warning for collapse of marine hydrate-bearing slopes.