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.
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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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
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.
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...
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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- FAQ
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
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.
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...
- Multimedia
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.
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.
USGS Gas Hydrates LabGas 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 Hydrate Drill Rig at the Mt. Elbert Test Site in AlaskaA 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.
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.
Gas Hydrate Drill Rig at the Mallik Test Site in CanadaA 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.
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.
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).
2013 Gas Hydrate Expedition in Gulf of MexicoUSGS 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.
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.
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. Front to back: Efthymios Papadopoulos (Georgia Tech), William Waite (USGS), and Yoshihiro Konno (AIST) analyze data from sensors inserted into hydrate-bearing pressure cores.
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 MexicoUSGS 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.
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.
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