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 source
- Investigate the interaction between methane hydrate destabilization and climate change at short and long time scales, particularly in the Arctic
- Study the spatial and temporal connections between submarine slope failures and gas hydrate dynamics
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Where are gas hydrates found?
Map showing locations where gas hydrate has been...
How are gas hydrates studied?
What are gas hydrates?
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.
Collett, Timothy S.; Lewis, Kristen A.; Zyrianova, Margarita V.; Haines, Seth S.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Houseknecht, David W.
Gas 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...
Ruppel, Carolyn D.
The 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...
Ruppel, Carolyn D.
Thermal 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...
Waite, William F.
Special Issue Highlights One of the Most Extensive Gas Hydrate Datasets Ever Collected
The USGS and its research partners in India and Japan have reported on one of the most extensive data sets ever collected on the occurrence of natural gas hydrate.
USGS Estimates 53.8 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas Hydrate Resources in the Alaska North Slope
Access to 3D seismic mapping, along with a greater understanding of gas hydrate reservoir properties, yields estimates that are more precise.
Test Well Confirms Two Gas Hydrate Reservoirs in Alaska North Slope
In the far north of Alaska, near the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field, an international research consortium has been studying the potential of an altogether different energy source. In late December of 2018, drilling operations confirmed the existence of two high-quality reservoirs that were fully saturated with a potential alternative fuel source: gas hydrate.
The interaction of climate change and methane hydrates is one of the Reviews of Geophysics' top rated articles!
According to Reviews of Geophysics this work received some of the highest count of citations amongst articles published between January 2017 and December 2018.
Seismic Research Cruise Provides New Data on U.S. Atlantic Margin Gas Hydrates
Data acquired by the U.S. Geological Survey on the U.S. Atlantic Margin in August 2018 reveal new information about the distribution of gas hydrates in the sector stretching from the upper continental slope to deep water areas offshore New Jersey to North Carolina.
Modern Perspective on Gas Hydrates
After lying hidden in sediments for thousands of years, delicate frozen gas structures are in the spotlight for both scientific research and the national interest. These structures, known as gas hydrate, are being investigated by scientists the world over for their possible contributions to the global energy mix, as well as their potential interaction with the environment.
EarthWord–Gas Hydrate
No, this EarthWord isn’t how natural gas quenches its thirst-it just sounds like it...
When Ice Yields Fire
When can ice yield fire? That’s the burning question at the heart of one of USGS’s longest-running research programs to date: the exploration of gas hydrates.
Proven under Pressure: USGS Advances Capabilities for High-Pressure Seafloor Samples Containing Gas Hydrate
Meet USGS' newest laboratory!
Exploring Gas Hydrates as a Future Energy Source
In the past decade, the development of the Barnett, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, and other shales has dominated the national consciousness regarding natural gas. But in Alaska, another form of natural gas has been the focus of research for decades—methane hydrate.
Scientists Analyzing Sediment Cores from Gas Hydrate Research
USGS Scientists Dr. William Waite (Right) and Dr. Pamela Swarzenski making measurements on sediment cores recovered from Indian Ocean during the National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02.
Collecting a Gas Hydrate Research Core from the Indian Ocean
Scientists aboard the D/S Chikyu prepare to collect a research core drilled from marine sediments in the Indian Ocean. This research is part of the 2015 Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02 (NGHP-02), which is a follow-up to the 2006 NGHP-01.
NGHP-02 identified several large deposits of potentially producible gas hydrates in the Indian
...
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. This video features USGS geophysicists Laura Stern and Steve Kirby who relate details on how they study and create gas hydrates in their super-
Gas Hydrate Drill Rig at the Mt. Elbert Test Site in Alaska
A drill rig at the Mount Elbert test site in Alaska's North Slope, just west of Prudhoe Bay. USGS joined BP Exploration (Alaska) and the U.S. Department of Energy to drill a test well to study natural gas production from gas hydrate deposits. Read more about the Mt. Elbert project
...
Gas Hydrate Drill Rig at the Mallik Test Site in Canada
A drill rig at the Mallik test site in Canada's Mckenzie Delta. USGS joined the Geological Survey of Canada, JAPEX, and the Japanese National Oil Company to drill test wells for natural gas production from gas hydrate deposits. Read more about the Mallik project
...
Gas Hydrates Research Project in Japan
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).
2013 Gas Hydrate Expedition in Gulf of Mexico
USGS technicians Jenny White and Tom O'Brien prepare lead weight to be added for proper ballasting of the seismic streamer on the fantail of the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.
Gas Hydrates Research Project in Japan
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. Front to back: Efthymios Papadopoulos (Georgia Tech), William Waite (USGS), and Yoshihiro Konno (AIST) analyze data from sensors inserted into hydrate-bearing pressure cores.
2013 Gas Hydrate Expedition in Gulf of Mexico
USGS co-chief scientist Seth Haines and technician Tom O’Brien work on data acquisition and analysis in the laboratory of the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.