Gas Hydrates

Gas hydrates are naturally occurring ice-like combinations of natural gas and water that have the potential to provide an immense resource of natural gas from the world's oceans and polar regions.  Gas hydrates are known to be widespread in permafrost regions and beneath the sea in sediments of outer continental margins.  It is generally accepted that the volume of natural gas contained in the world's gas hydrate accumulations greatly exceeds that of known gas reserves.  There is also growing evidence that natural gas can be produced from gas hydrates with existing conventional oil and gas production technology.  The USGS is participating in several international consortia of research, industry, and academic institutions. The USGS also has ongoing cooperative research efforts with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the State of Alaska, the Department of Energy, industry, and Native Alaskan corporations to further the understanding of gas the hydrate endowment and recoverability.

For a listing of our completed expeditions click here to visit the Related Science tab.

USGS Links

     USGS Gas Hydrate Project
     Woods Hole Science Center
     USGS Scientists contribute to new gas hydrates monograph

External Links

     DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program
     NETL Methane Hydrate Web Site
     NETL Fire in the Ice Newsletter
     US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
     Current Perspectives on Gas Hydrate Resources
     Gas Hydrate and Climate Change
     World Atlas of Submarine Gas Hydrates in Continental Margins | SpringerLink