Gas hydrates are a significant potential energy source occurring in ocean-floor sediments at water depths greater than 500 meters and beneath Arctic permafrost. The USGS operates a gas hydrates laboratory on its Menlo Park campus.
How are gas hydrates studied?
Gas hydrates can be studied in the laboratory, where a machine is used to create the proper pressure and temperature conditions for hydrate formation, or it can be studied in situ using seismic data collected aboard ships and geophysical models.
Learn more: USGS Gas Hydrates Lab
Related Content
What are gas hydrates?
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...
Where are gas hydrates found?
Gas hydrates are found in sub-oceanic sediments in the polar regions (shallow water) and in continental slope sediments (deep water), where pressure and temperature conditions combine to make them stable.
Who studies gas hydrates?
Currently, groups of scientists in the U.S., Canada, Norway, Great Britain, and Japan are working to try to understand gas hydrates and the role it plays in the global climate and the future of fuels. The USGS Gas Hydrates Project focuses on the study of natural gas hydrates in deepwater marine systems and permafrost areas. The primary goals are: Evaluate methane hydrates as a potential energy...
Gas hydrates are a significant potential energy source occurring in ocean-floor sediments at water depths greater than 500 meters and beneath Arctic permafrost. The USGS operates a gas hydrates laboratory on its Menlo Park campus.
This image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
This image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
This image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
This image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204, nine sites were cored and wireline logged on the Oregon continental margin to determine the distribution and concentration of gas hydrates in an accretionary ridge setting, investigate the mechanisms that transport methane and other gases into the gas hydrate stability zone, and obtain constraints on physical properties of
During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204, nine sites were cored and wireline logged on the Oregon continental margin to determine the distribution and concentration of gas hydrates in an accretionary ridge setting, investigate the mechanisms that transport methane and other gases into the gas hydrate stability zone, and obtain constraints on physical properties of
Scientists from AIST, JOGMEC, Georgia Tech, and the USGS prepare to analyze pressure cores as part of a multi-year gas hydrates research project in Japan. Left to right: Efthymios Papadopoulos (Georgia Tech), Yoshihiro Konno (AIST), and William Winters (USGS).
Scientists from AIST, JOGMEC, Georgia Tech, and the USGS prepare to analyze pressure cores as part of a multi-year gas hydrates research project in Japan. Left to right: Efthymios Papadopoulos (Georgia Tech), Yoshihiro Konno (AIST), and William Winters (USGS).
Assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
Gas hydrate in nature
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project
Thermal properties of methane gas hydrates
Related Content
- FAQ
What are gas hydrates?
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...
Where are gas hydrates found?
Gas hydrates are found in sub-oceanic sediments in the polar regions (shallow water) and in continental slope sediments (deep water), where pressure and temperature conditions combine to make them stable.
Who studies gas hydrates?
Currently, groups of scientists in the U.S., Canada, Norway, Great Britain, and Japan are working to try to understand gas hydrates and the role it plays in the global climate and the future of fuels. The USGS Gas Hydrates Project focuses on the study of natural gas hydrates in deepwater marine systems and permafrost areas. The primary goals are: Evaluate methane hydrates as a potential energy...
- Multimedia
USGS Gas Hydrates Lab
Gas hydrates are a significant potential energy source occurring in ocean-floor sediments at water depths greater than 500 meters and beneath Arctic permafrost. The USGS operates a gas hydrates laboratory on its Menlo Park campus.
Gas hydrates are a significant potential energy source occurring in ocean-floor sediments at water depths greater than 500 meters and beneath Arctic permafrost. The USGS operates a gas hydrates laboratory on its Menlo Park campus.
Gas Hydrates in Marine SedimentsThis image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
This image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
Gas Hydrates in Marine Sediments from the Indian OceanGas Hydrates in Marine Sediments from the Indian OceanThis image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
This image shows gas hydrates (the white material) in marine sediments from a test well drilled in the Indian Ocean in 2006 during the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01.
Gas Hydrates in Marine Sediments off the Oregon CoastGas Hydrates in Marine Sediments off the Oregon CoastDuring Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204, nine sites were cored and wireline logged on the Oregon continental margin to determine the distribution and concentration of gas hydrates in an accretionary ridge setting, investigate the mechanisms that transport methane and other gases into the gas hydrate stability zone, and obtain constraints on physical properties of
During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204, nine sites were cored and wireline logged on the Oregon continental margin to determine the distribution and concentration of gas hydrates in an accretionary ridge setting, investigate the mechanisms that transport methane and other gases into the gas hydrate stability zone, and obtain constraints on physical properties of
Gas Hydrates Research Project in JapanScientists from AIST, JOGMEC, Georgia Tech, and the USGS prepare to analyze pressure cores as part of a multi-year gas hydrates research project in Japan. Left to right: Efthymios Papadopoulos (Georgia Tech), Yoshihiro Konno (AIST), and William Winters (USGS).
Scientists from AIST, JOGMEC, Georgia Tech, and the USGS prepare to analyze pressure cores as part of a multi-year gas hydrates research project in Japan. Left to right: Efthymios Papadopoulos (Georgia Tech), Yoshihiro Konno (AIST), and William Winters (USGS).
- Publications
Assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of about 54 trillion cubic feet of gas resources within gas hydrates in the North Slope of Alaska.AuthorsTimothy S. Collett, Kristen A. Lewis, Margarita V. Zyrianova, Seth S. Haines, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Janet K. Pitman, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, David W. HouseknechtGas hydrate in nature
Gas hydrate is a naturally occurring, ice-like substance that forms when water and gas combine under high pressure and at moderate temperatures. Methane is the most common gas present in gas hydrate, although other gases may also be included in hydrate structures, particularly in areas close to conventional oil and gas reservoirs. Gas hydrate is widespread in ocean-bottom sediments at water depthsAuthorsCarolyn D. RuppelThe U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project
The Gas Hydrates Project at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) focuses on the study of methane hydrates in natural environments. The project is a collaboration between the USGS Energy Resources and the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Programs and works closely with other U.S. Federal agencies, some State governments, outside research organizations, and international partners. The USGS studies the fAuthorsCarolyn D. RuppelThermal properties of methane gas hydrates
Gas hydrates are crystalline solids in which molecules of a “guest” species occupy and stabilize cages formed by water molecules. Similar to ice in appearance (fig. 1), gas hydrates are stable at high pressures and temperatures above freezing (0°C). Methane is the most common naturally occurring hydrate guest species. Methane hydrates, also called simply “gas hydrates,” are extremely concentratedAuthorsWilliam F. Waite - News