The Makran accretionary wedge is located off the coast of Pakistan, so called according to the Pakistan coastal area. It represents the submarine part of a fold belt. It is created due to the subduction of the Arabian oceanic plate beneath the Eurasian continental plate. Plastic and relatively light marine sediments are compressed and folded.

From previous investigations (University of Cambridge) it is known that gas hydrate exist in this region. As indicator for existence and distribution, a strong BSR (almost seabottom parallel reflector) can be traced within seismic records.

During this ship expedition onboard FS Sonne (SO-124, 4 Oct. - 16 Oct. 1997), small scale seismic profiling and heat flow determinations were carried out. The aim is to model the thermal state of gas hydrates and find explanations for discrepancies between measured and calculated heat flow values.