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The USGS Gas Hydrates Project has been making contributions to advance understanding of US and international gas hydrates science for at least three decades. The research group working on gas hydrates at the USGS is among the largest in the US and has expertise in all the major geoscience disciplines, as well as in the physics and chemistry of gas hydrates, the geotechnical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments, and the biogeochemistry of marine and permafrost gas hydrate systems. The group includes field-based scientists, numerical modelers, laboratory scientists, and supporting technical personnel for marine, permafrost, and laboratory operations. Much of the research is carried out in collaboration with other federal agencies (especially the U.S. Department of Energy) or academic partners, and there are frequently opportunities to collaborate on international programs that jointly serve the Project's mission and the goals of the international partners.
The Gas Hydrates Biogeochemistry Laboratory includes all instrumentation used by the USGS Gas Hydrates Project on site at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center. This instrumentation is physically distributed among several laboratory spaces.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project manages the standalone Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory (HyPrCAL) at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) to study hydrate-bearing sediments in support of energy resources and geohazards research.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project focuses on the study of natural gas hydrates in deepwater marine systems and permafrost areas.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project focuses on the study of natural gas hydrates in deepwater marine systems and permafrost areas. The primary goals are:
The Gas Hydrate Project conducts multidisciplinary field studies, participates in national and international deep drilling expeditions, and maintains several laboratories focused on hydrate-bearing sediments.
Scientific research associated with the Gas Hydrates Project.
Mulitmedia items associated with the Gas Hydrates Project
Worldwide distribution of observed and inferred gas hydrates in marine and permafrost-associated settings that have been the subject of drilling programs. The color coding refers to the primary sediment type in each location and therefore designates the likely type of gas hydrate reservoir at each site.
Worldwide distribution of observed and inferred gas hydrates in marine and permafrost-associated settings that have been the subject of drilling programs. The color coding refers to the primary sediment type in each location and therefore designates the likely type of gas hydrate reservoir at each site.
Water molecules (1 red oxygen and 2 white hydrogens) form a pentagonal dodecahedron around a methane molecule (1 gray carbon and 4 green hydrogens). This represents 2 of the 8 parts of the typical Structure I gas hydrate molecule.
Water molecules (1 red oxygen and 2 white hydrogens) form a pentagonal dodecahedron around a methane molecule (1 gray carbon and 4 green hydrogens). This represents 2 of the 8 parts of the typical Structure I gas hydrate molecule.
The Instrumented Pressure Testing Chamber (IPTC). A device for measuring the physical properties of naturally-occurring, hydrate-bearing sediment at nearly in situ pressure conditions
The Instrumented Pressure Testing Chamber (IPTC). A device for measuring the physical properties of naturally-occurring, hydrate-bearing sediment at nearly in situ pressure conditions
A methane seep in shallow Lake Qalluuraq on the Alaskan North Slope near the Native Village of Atqasuk breaks the water's surface during 2009 geophysical surveys
A methane seep in shallow Lake Qalluuraq on the Alaskan North Slope near the Native Village of Atqasuk breaks the water's surface during 2009 geophysical surveys
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project integrates across USGS mission areas, programs, and regions. The stars indicate the locations of personnel involved in the Gas Hydrates Project. Within the US, much of the research focuses on the Gulf of America and Alaska, which represent marine and permafrost-associated settings for gas hydrates, respectively.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project integrates across USGS mission areas, programs, and regions. The stars indicate the locations of personnel involved in the Gas Hydrates Project. Within the US, much of the research focuses on the Gulf of America and Alaska, which represent marine and permafrost-associated settings for gas hydrates, respectively.
A pressurized, stable, hydrate-bearing sediment core can be fed through the IPTC body, shown here being used in Singapore to support the Indian National Gas Hydrates Program (NGHP1)
A pressurized, stable, hydrate-bearing sediment core can be fed through the IPTC body, shown here being used in Singapore to support the Indian National Gas Hydrates Program (NGHP1)
Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide, the largest slide on the US Atlantic coast. Data were collected on the R/V Atlantis in 2003.
Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide, the largest slide on the US Atlantic coast. Data were collected on the R/V Atlantis in 2003.
Publications associated with the Gas Hydrates Project
The minimum distribution of gas hydrates on the U.S. Atlantic margin is from offshore South Carolina northward to the longitude of Shallop Canyon on the southern New England margin.
Gas hydrate distributions on the marine margins of the U.S. state of Alaska are more poorly known than those on other U.S. margins, where bottom simulating reflections have been systematically mapped on marine seismic data to support modern, quantitative assessments of gas-in-place in gas hydrates.
This study describes quantitative factors beyond received sound levels that could be used to assess how marine species are affected by many commonly deployed marine acoustic sources.
News stories associated with the Gas Hydrates project.
Gas Hydrates FAQs
Gas hydrates are a crystalline solid formed of water and gas. It looks and acts much like ice, but it contains huge amounts of methane; it is known to occur on every continent; and it exists in huge quantities in marine sediments in a layer several hundred meters thick directly below the sea floor and in association with permafrost in the Arctic. It is not stable at normal sea-level pressures and...
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project has been making contributions to advance understanding of US and international gas hydrates science for at least three decades. The research group working on gas hydrates at the USGS is among the largest in the US and has expertise in all the major geoscience disciplines, as well as in the physics and chemistry of gas hydrates, the geotechnical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments, and the biogeochemistry of marine and permafrost gas hydrate systems. The group includes field-based scientists, numerical modelers, laboratory scientists, and supporting technical personnel for marine, permafrost, and laboratory operations. Much of the research is carried out in collaboration with other federal agencies (especially the U.S. Department of Energy) or academic partners, and there are frequently opportunities to collaborate on international programs that jointly serve the Project's mission and the goals of the international partners.
The Gas Hydrates Biogeochemistry Laboratory includes all instrumentation used by the USGS Gas Hydrates Project on site at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center. This instrumentation is physically distributed among several laboratory spaces.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project manages the standalone Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory (HyPrCAL) at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) to study hydrate-bearing sediments in support of energy resources and geohazards research.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project focuses on the study of natural gas hydrates in deepwater marine systems and permafrost areas.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project focuses on the study of natural gas hydrates in deepwater marine systems and permafrost areas. The primary goals are:
The Gas Hydrate Project conducts multidisciplinary field studies, participates in national and international deep drilling expeditions, and maintains several laboratories focused on hydrate-bearing sediments.
Scientific research associated with the Gas Hydrates Project.
Mulitmedia items associated with the Gas Hydrates Project
Worldwide distribution of observed and inferred gas hydrates in marine and permafrost-associated settings that have been the subject of drilling programs. The color coding refers to the primary sediment type in each location and therefore designates the likely type of gas hydrate reservoir at each site.
Worldwide distribution of observed and inferred gas hydrates in marine and permafrost-associated settings that have been the subject of drilling programs. The color coding refers to the primary sediment type in each location and therefore designates the likely type of gas hydrate reservoir at each site.
Water molecules (1 red oxygen and 2 white hydrogens) form a pentagonal dodecahedron around a methane molecule (1 gray carbon and 4 green hydrogens). This represents 2 of the 8 parts of the typical Structure I gas hydrate molecule.
Water molecules (1 red oxygen and 2 white hydrogens) form a pentagonal dodecahedron around a methane molecule (1 gray carbon and 4 green hydrogens). This represents 2 of the 8 parts of the typical Structure I gas hydrate molecule.
The Instrumented Pressure Testing Chamber (IPTC). A device for measuring the physical properties of naturally-occurring, hydrate-bearing sediment at nearly in situ pressure conditions
The Instrumented Pressure Testing Chamber (IPTC). A device for measuring the physical properties of naturally-occurring, hydrate-bearing sediment at nearly in situ pressure conditions
A methane seep in shallow Lake Qalluuraq on the Alaskan North Slope near the Native Village of Atqasuk breaks the water's surface during 2009 geophysical surveys
A methane seep in shallow Lake Qalluuraq on the Alaskan North Slope near the Native Village of Atqasuk breaks the water's surface during 2009 geophysical surveys
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project integrates across USGS mission areas, programs, and regions. The stars indicate the locations of personnel involved in the Gas Hydrates Project. Within the US, much of the research focuses on the Gulf of America and Alaska, which represent marine and permafrost-associated settings for gas hydrates, respectively.
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project integrates across USGS mission areas, programs, and regions. The stars indicate the locations of personnel involved in the Gas Hydrates Project. Within the US, much of the research focuses on the Gulf of America and Alaska, which represent marine and permafrost-associated settings for gas hydrates, respectively.
A pressurized, stable, hydrate-bearing sediment core can be fed through the IPTC body, shown here being used in Singapore to support the Indian National Gas Hydrates Program (NGHP1)
A pressurized, stable, hydrate-bearing sediment core can be fed through the IPTC body, shown here being used in Singapore to support the Indian National Gas Hydrates Program (NGHP1)
Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide, the largest slide on the US Atlantic coast. Data were collected on the R/V Atlantis in 2003.
Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide, the largest slide on the US Atlantic coast. Data were collected on the R/V Atlantis in 2003.
Publications associated with the Gas Hydrates Project
The minimum distribution of gas hydrates on the U.S. Atlantic margin is from offshore South Carolina northward to the longitude of Shallop Canyon on the southern New England margin.
Gas hydrate distributions on the marine margins of the U.S. state of Alaska are more poorly known than those on other U.S. margins, where bottom simulating reflections have been systematically mapped on marine seismic data to support modern, quantitative assessments of gas-in-place in gas hydrates.
This study describes quantitative factors beyond received sound levels that could be used to assess how marine species are affected by many commonly deployed marine acoustic sources.
News stories associated with the Gas Hydrates project.
Gas Hydrates FAQs
Gas hydrates are a crystalline solid formed of water and gas. It looks and acts much like ice, but it contains huge amounts of methane; it is known to occur on every continent; and it exists in huge quantities in marine sediments in a layer several hundred meters thick directly below the sea floor and in association with permafrost in the Arctic. It is not stable at normal sea-level pressures and...