Carolyn Ruppel, PhD
Carolyn is an emerita ST Research Geophysicist who led the USGS Gas Hydrates Project from 2010 to early 2025. Gas Hydrate scientists in Woods Hole and Denver study the resource and environmental aspects of natural hydrates. Carolyn studies marine methane seeps, the interaction of hydrates with the ocean-atmosphere system, subsea permafrost, hydrate reservoir dynamics, and marine thermal regimes.
Research
Research
Highlighted Journal Articles, Data Releases, and Geonarratives
- Gas Hydrate in Nature
- Hydrate formation on marine seep bubbles and the implications for water column…
- Categorizing active marine acoustic sources based on their potential to affect …
- Elevated levels of radiocarbon in methane dissolved in seawater reveal likely l…
- Preliminary global database of known and inferred gas hydrate locations
- Methane seeps on the U.S. Atlantic margin: An updated inventory and interpretat…
HyPrCAL Laboratory
HyPrCAL Laboratory
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.
My primary research focus is on the interaction between methane hydrates (and methane seeps) on one hand and the ocean-atmosphere system on the other. I focus particularly on the US marine margins, especially the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Arctic (Beaufort) margins. I also work on energy issues related to gas hydrates (including delineating their distribution in marine sediments; e.g., the 2018 MATRIX seismic program on US Atlantic margin), the coexistence of permafrost (including subsea) and hydrates (Beaufort Sea), and reservoir properties of hydrate-bearing sediments. As a side specialty, I assist with programmatic environmental compliance for USGS marine acoustics surveys. I have served at least part-time in a senior advisory capacity in the USGS Chief Scientist's Office since mid-2022. During my career, I have also worked on marine heat flow data acquisition and analysis, other aspects of the hydrogeology of gas hydrate systems, and coastal zone hydrogeophysics (particularly tidal pumping, inductive EM data, and saline intrusion in surficial aquifers). My earliest work focused on numerical modeling of large scale tectonic processes and associated particle tracking, continental rifting, and marine analogs for continental tectonic processes.
Professional Experience
March 2025, Emerita ST scientist
January 2025 (temporary detail), Acting Chief Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey
November 2024, ST-rank Research Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey
Feb 2023 - March 2025: Part-Time Acting Senior Science Advisor to the USGS Chief Scientist
July 2022 - Feb 2023: Acting Senior Science Advisor to the USGS Chief Scientist (detail)
2010-present: Chief, USGS Gas Hydrates Project
2006-2023: Research Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey
2006-2019: Visiting Scientist, MIT, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences
2003-2006: Program manager (faculty rotater), National Science Foundation, Ocean Sciences (MG&G and Ocean Drilling Program)
2000-2002: Coordinator, Georgia Tech Focused Research Program on Methane Hydrates
2000-2006: Associate Professor (tenured) of Geophysics, Georgia Tech
1994-2000: Assistant Professor of Geophysics, Georgia Tech
1992-1993: Postdoctoral Scholar and Postdoctoral Research, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Education and Certifications
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D., 1992, Geophysics and Geology (with Marcia McNutt)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M.S., 1986, Earth sciences (with Leigh Royden and Kip Hodges)
Affiliations and Memberships*
Panel member, National Academy of Sciences, Community on Ocean Acoustics Education and Expertise (study completion in 2024)
Member, Science Advisory Board, University of Tromso, Centre of Excellence for Ice, Cryosphere, Carbon and Climate, 2023-
Member, Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee (UNOLS), 2015-2020
Chief Scientist, 8 research cruises (3 Arctic), 2010-2019
Member, Advisory Board, University of Tromso, Centre of Excellence for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE) 2014-present
Strategic Plan Committee, Coastal & Marine Geology Program, USGS, 2014-2019
Arctic subgroup (appointed CMGP representative), Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST), OSTP, 2015-16
Mentor, Graduate Women at MIT (GWAMIT), 2013-2016
USGS Technical lead, NSF-USGS Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Marine Seismics, 2008-2012
Lead organizer, Catching climate change in progress, circum-Arctic Ocean drilling workshop, December 2011 (sponsored by US Science Support Program for IODP)
Lead proponent, IODP Pre-Proposal 797, Late Pleistocene to contemporary climate change on the Alaskan Beaufort Margin (ABM)
Organizer and convener, USGS-DOE Climate-Hydrates workshop, Boston, MA, March 2011
Originator and Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Natural Gas Hydrates, inaugural conference held June 2010.
Interagency Technical Coordinating Committee, DOE Methane Hydrates R&D Program, 2010-present
The Future of Natural Gas, MIT Energy Initiative, affiliated author (methane hydrates), 2008-2011
National Research Council, Scientific Ocean Drilling (SOD) review, presentation on Gas Hydrates and SOD, 2010
IODP Operations Task Force, 2008-2009
IODP Science Planning Committee (SPC), 2006-2009
Organizer, DOE-USGS Symposium/Meeting on Gas Hydrates and Climate Change (held at MIT), February 2008
Honors and Awards
Distinguished Served Award, U.S. Department of Interior, 2024
National Science Foundation, Director's Award for Program Management, 2005 (Chixulub seismic program)
JOI/USSAC Distinguished Lecturer, Ocean Drilling Program, 1999-2000
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 13
Data and calculations to support the study of the sea-air flux of methane and carbon dioxide on the West Spitsbergen margin in June 2014 Data and calculations to support the study of the sea-air flux of methane and carbon dioxide on the West Spitsbergen margin in June 2014
A critical question for assessing global greenhouse gas budgets is how much of the methane that escapes from seafloor cold seep sites to the overlying water column eventually crosses the sea-air interface and reaches the atmosphere. The issue is particularly important in Arctic Ocean waters since rapid warming there increases the likelihood that gas hydrate--an ice-like form of methane...
Filter Total Items: 69
Timescales and processes of methane hydrate formation and breakdown, with application to geologic systems Timescales and processes of methane hydrate formation and breakdown, with application to geologic systems
Gas hydrate is an ice-like form of water and low molecular weight gas stable at temperatures of roughly -10ºC to 25ºC and pressures of ~3 to 30 MPa in geologic systems. Natural gas hydrates sequester an estimated one-sixth of Earth’s methane and are found primarily in deepwater marine sediments on continental margins, but also in permafrost areas and under continental ice sheets. When...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel, William F. Waite
Surface methane concentrations along the mid-Atlantic bight driven by aerobic subsurface production rather than seafloor gas seeps Surface methane concentrations along the mid-Atlantic bight driven by aerobic subsurface production rather than seafloor gas seeps
Relatively minor amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, are currently emitted from the oceans to the atmosphere, but such methane emissions have been hypothesized to increase as oceans warm. Here, we investigate the source, distribution, and fate of methane released from the upper continental slope of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Bight, where hundreds of gas seeps have been discovered...
Authors
Mihai Leonte, Carolyn Ruppel, Angel Ruiz-Angelo, John Kessler
Cascadia Margin cold seeps: Subduction zone fluids, gas hydrates, and chemosynthetic habitats Cascadia Margin cold seeps: Subduction zone fluids, gas hydrates, and chemosynthetic habitats
Priority Geographic Area: The outer continental shelf and upper continental slope from Canada/U.S. border offshore Washington State to the Mendocino Fracture Zone (Northern California), entirely within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), from the outermost shelf to at least 2000 m water depth (Figure 1). Description of Priority Area: Since 2015, over a thousand water column gas...
Authors
Amanda Demopoulos, Carolyn Ruppel, Nancy Prouty, Janet Watt, Tamara Baumberger, David Butterfield
Introduction to special issue on gas hydrate in porous media: Linking laboratory and field‐scale phenomena Introduction to special issue on gas hydrate in porous media: Linking laboratory and field‐scale phenomena
The proliferation of drilling expeditions focused on characterizing natural gas hydrate as a potential energy resource has spawned widespread interest in gas hydrate reservoir properties and associated porous media phenomena. Between 2017 and 2019, a Special Section of this journal compiled contributed papers elucidating interactions between gas hydrate and sediment based on laboratory...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel, Joo Lee, Ingo Pecher
Heat flow in the Western Arctic Ocean (Amerasian Basin) Heat flow in the Western Arctic Ocean (Amerasian Basin)
From 1963 to 1973 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured heat flow at 356 sites in the Amerasian Basin (Western Arctic Ocean) from a drifting ice island (T-3). The resulting measurements, which are unevenly distributed on Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge (AMR) and in Canada and Nautilus basins, greatly expand available heat flow data for the Arctic Ocean. Average T-3 heat flow is ~54.7 ± 11.3...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel, A.H. Lachenbruch, Deborah Hutchinson, Robert Munroe, David Mosher
Submarine permafrost map in the arctic modelled using 1D transient heat flux (SuPerMAP) Submarine permafrost map in the arctic modelled using 1D transient heat flux (SuPerMAP)
Offshore permafrost plays a role in the global climate system, but observations of permafrost thickness, state, and composition are limited to specific regions. The current global permafrost map shows potential offshore permafrost distribution based on bathymetry and global sea level rise. As a first‐order estimate, we employ a heat transfer model to calculate the subsurface temperature...
Authors
P.P. Overduin, T. Schneider, F. Miesner, M.N. Grigoriev, Carolyn Ruppel, A. Vasiliev, H. Lantuit, B. Juhls, S. Westermann
Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant...
Authors
Amanda Demopoulos, Jennifer McClain Counts, Jill Bourque, Nancy Prouty, Brian Smith, Sandra Brooke, Steve W. Ross, Carolyn Ruppel
Multi-measurement approach for establishing the base of gas hydrate occurrence in the Krishna-Godavari Basin for sites cored during Expedition NGHP-02 in the offshore of India Multi-measurement approach for establishing the base of gas hydrate occurrence in the Krishna-Godavari Basin for sites cored during Expedition NGHP-02 in the offshore of India
The 2015 National Gas Hydrate Program of India's second expedition, NGHP-02, acquired logging and coring datasets for constraining the base of the gas hydrate occurrence zone (deepest GH) and the theoretical base of gas hydrate stability zone (BGHS). These data are used here for two primary goals: to constrain the deepest occurrence of gas hydrate relative to predicted stability limits...
Authors
William F. Waite, Carolyn Ruppel, Timothy Collett, P. Schultheiss, M. Holland, K.M. Shukla, P. Kumar
Limited contribution of ancient methane to surface waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea shelf Limited contribution of ancient methane to surface waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea shelf
In response to warming climate, methane can be released to Arctic Ocean sediment and waters from thawing subsea permafrost and decomposing methane hydrates. However, it is unknown whether methane derived from this sediment storehouse of frozen ancient carbon reaches the atmosphere. We quantified the fraction of methane derived from ancient sources in shelf waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea...
Authors
Katy Sparrow, John Kessler, John Southon, Fenix Garcia-Tigreros, Kathryn Schreiner, Carolyn Ruppel, John Miller, Scott Lehman, Xiaomei Xu
Gas hydrate in nature 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 widespread in ocean-bottom sediments at...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project 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, and international partners. The USGS...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel
Enhanced CO2 uptake at a shallow Arctic Ocean seep field overwhelms the positive warming potential of emitted methane Enhanced CO2 uptake at a shallow Arctic Ocean seep field overwhelms the positive warming potential of emitted methane
Continued warming of the Arctic Ocean in coming decades is projected to trigger the release of teragrams (1 Tg = 106 tons) of methane from thawing subsea permafrost on shallow continental shelves and dissociation of methane hydrate on upper continental slopes. On the shallow shelves (
Authors
John Pohlman, J. Greinert, Carolyn Ruppel, A Silyakova, L Vielstadte, Michael Casso, J Mienert, S Bunz
Non-USGS Publications**
Tréhu, A.M., C. Ruppel, M. Holland, G.R. Dickens, M.E. Torres, T.S. Collett, D. Goldberg, M. Riedel, and P. Schultheiss. 2006. Gas hydrates in marine sediments: Lessons from scientific ocean drilling. Oceanography 19(4):124–142, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.11.
Nimblett, J. and C. Ruppel, 2003, Permeability evolution during formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments, Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 2420, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001650.
Ruppel, C., Thermal state of the gas hydrate reservoir, 2000, in: Max, M. editor, Natural Gas Hydrate in Oceanic and Permafrost Environments, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 29-42, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4387-5_4
Nimblett, J. and C. Ruppel, 2003, Permeability evolution during formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments, Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 2420, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001650.
Ruppel, C., 1997, Anomalously cold temperatures observed at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone, U.S. Atlantic passive margin, Geology, 25, 699-702. Doi: 10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0699:ACTOAT>2.3.CO;2
Wood, W.T., and Ruppel, C., 2000. Seismic and thermal investigations of the Blake Ridge gas hydrate area: a synthesis. In Paull, C.K., Matsumoto, R., Wallace, P.J., and Dillon, W.P. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 164: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), 253–264. doi:10.2973/odp.proc.sr.164.203.2000
Xu, W. and C. Ruppel, 1999, Predicting the occurrence, distribution, and evolution of methane gas hydrate in porous marine sediments from analytical models, Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, ,5081-5096. 10.1029/1998JB900092
Paull, C.K., Matsumoto, R., Wallace, P.J., et al., 1996. Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 164: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program). doi:10.2973/odp.proc.ir.164.1996
Ruppel, C., R.P. Von Herzen, and A. Bonneville, 1995, Heat flux through an old (~175 Ma) passive margin: offshore southeastern USA, Journal of Geophysical Research, 100,20,037-20,058. Doi: 10.1029/95JB01860
Santamarina, J.C. and C. Ruppel, 2010, The impact of hydrate saturation on the mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of hydrate-bearing sand, silts, and clay (Chapter 26), In: Riedel, Willoughby, Chopra (eds), Geophysical Characterization of Gas Hydrates, Society of Exploration Geophysicists Geophysical Developments, vol. 14, 373-384
Trehu, A.M., C. Ruppel, J. Dickens, D. Goldberg, M. Holland, M. Riedel, P. Schultheiss, and M. Torres, 2006, Gas hydrates in marine sediments: lessons from ocean drilling, Oceanography, 19, 124-143, 2006.
Yun, T.S., G. Narsilio, J.C. Santamarina, and C. Ruppel, 2006, Instrumented pressure testing chamber for characterizing sediment cores recovered at in situ hydrostatic pressure, Marine Geology, 229, 285-293. doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2006.03.012.
Yun, T.S., F. Francisca, J.C. Santamarina, and C. Ruppel, 2005, Compressional and shear wave velocities of uncemented sediment containing gas hydrate, Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L10609. doi: 10.1029/2005GL022607.
Nimblett, J. and C. Ruppel, 2003, Permeability evolution during formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments, Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 2420, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001650.
Waite, W.F, deMartin, B.J, Kirby, S.H., Pinkston, J., Ruppel, C.D., 2002, Thermal conductivity measurements in porous mixtures of methane hydrate and quartz sand, Geophysical Research Letters. doi: 10.1029/2002GL015988
Ruppel C. (2000) Thermal State of the Gas Hydrate Reservoir. In: Max M.D. (eds) Natural Gas Hydrate. Coastal Systems and Continental Margins, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4387-5_4
Xu, W. and C. Ruppel, 1999, Predicting the occurrence, distribution, and evolution of methane gas hydrate in porous marine sediments from analytical models, Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, ,5081-5096
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
USGS scientists contribute to new gas hydrates monograph USGS scientists contribute to new gas hydrates monograph
The recently-published monograph entitled World Atlas of Submarine Gas Hydrates on Continental Margins compiles findings about gas hydrates offshore all of Earth’s continents and also onshore in selected permafrost regions.
Filter Total Items: 19
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 13
Data and calculations to support the study of the sea-air flux of methane and carbon dioxide on the West Spitsbergen margin in June 2014 Data and calculations to support the study of the sea-air flux of methane and carbon dioxide on the West Spitsbergen margin in June 2014
A critical question for assessing global greenhouse gas budgets is how much of the methane that escapes from seafloor cold seep sites to the overlying water column eventually crosses the sea-air interface and reaches the atmosphere. The issue is particularly important in Arctic Ocean waters since rapid warming there increases the likelihood that gas hydrate--an ice-like form of methane...
Filter Total Items: 69
Timescales and processes of methane hydrate formation and breakdown, with application to geologic systems Timescales and processes of methane hydrate formation and breakdown, with application to geologic systems
Gas hydrate is an ice-like form of water and low molecular weight gas stable at temperatures of roughly -10ºC to 25ºC and pressures of ~3 to 30 MPa in geologic systems. Natural gas hydrates sequester an estimated one-sixth of Earth’s methane and are found primarily in deepwater marine sediments on continental margins, but also in permafrost areas and under continental ice sheets. When...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel, William F. Waite
Surface methane concentrations along the mid-Atlantic bight driven by aerobic subsurface production rather than seafloor gas seeps Surface methane concentrations along the mid-Atlantic bight driven by aerobic subsurface production rather than seafloor gas seeps
Relatively minor amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, are currently emitted from the oceans to the atmosphere, but such methane emissions have been hypothesized to increase as oceans warm. Here, we investigate the source, distribution, and fate of methane released from the upper continental slope of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Bight, where hundreds of gas seeps have been discovered...
Authors
Mihai Leonte, Carolyn Ruppel, Angel Ruiz-Angelo, John Kessler
Cascadia Margin cold seeps: Subduction zone fluids, gas hydrates, and chemosynthetic habitats Cascadia Margin cold seeps: Subduction zone fluids, gas hydrates, and chemosynthetic habitats
Priority Geographic Area: The outer continental shelf and upper continental slope from Canada/U.S. border offshore Washington State to the Mendocino Fracture Zone (Northern California), entirely within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), from the outermost shelf to at least 2000 m water depth (Figure 1). Description of Priority Area: Since 2015, over a thousand water column gas...
Authors
Amanda Demopoulos, Carolyn Ruppel, Nancy Prouty, Janet Watt, Tamara Baumberger, David Butterfield
Introduction to special issue on gas hydrate in porous media: Linking laboratory and field‐scale phenomena Introduction to special issue on gas hydrate in porous media: Linking laboratory and field‐scale phenomena
The proliferation of drilling expeditions focused on characterizing natural gas hydrate as a potential energy resource has spawned widespread interest in gas hydrate reservoir properties and associated porous media phenomena. Between 2017 and 2019, a Special Section of this journal compiled contributed papers elucidating interactions between gas hydrate and sediment based on laboratory...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel, Joo Lee, Ingo Pecher
Heat flow in the Western Arctic Ocean (Amerasian Basin) Heat flow in the Western Arctic Ocean (Amerasian Basin)
From 1963 to 1973 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured heat flow at 356 sites in the Amerasian Basin (Western Arctic Ocean) from a drifting ice island (T-3). The resulting measurements, which are unevenly distributed on Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge (AMR) and in Canada and Nautilus basins, greatly expand available heat flow data for the Arctic Ocean. Average T-3 heat flow is ~54.7 ± 11.3...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel, A.H. Lachenbruch, Deborah Hutchinson, Robert Munroe, David Mosher
Submarine permafrost map in the arctic modelled using 1D transient heat flux (SuPerMAP) Submarine permafrost map in the arctic modelled using 1D transient heat flux (SuPerMAP)
Offshore permafrost plays a role in the global climate system, but observations of permafrost thickness, state, and composition are limited to specific regions. The current global permafrost map shows potential offshore permafrost distribution based on bathymetry and global sea level rise. As a first‐order estimate, we employ a heat transfer model to calculate the subsurface temperature...
Authors
P.P. Overduin, T. Schneider, F. Miesner, M.N. Grigoriev, Carolyn Ruppel, A. Vasiliev, H. Lantuit, B. Juhls, S. Westermann
Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant...
Authors
Amanda Demopoulos, Jennifer McClain Counts, Jill Bourque, Nancy Prouty, Brian Smith, Sandra Brooke, Steve W. Ross, Carolyn Ruppel
Multi-measurement approach for establishing the base of gas hydrate occurrence in the Krishna-Godavari Basin for sites cored during Expedition NGHP-02 in the offshore of India Multi-measurement approach for establishing the base of gas hydrate occurrence in the Krishna-Godavari Basin for sites cored during Expedition NGHP-02 in the offshore of India
The 2015 National Gas Hydrate Program of India's second expedition, NGHP-02, acquired logging and coring datasets for constraining the base of the gas hydrate occurrence zone (deepest GH) and the theoretical base of gas hydrate stability zone (BGHS). These data are used here for two primary goals: to constrain the deepest occurrence of gas hydrate relative to predicted stability limits...
Authors
William F. Waite, Carolyn Ruppel, Timothy Collett, P. Schultheiss, M. Holland, K.M. Shukla, P. Kumar
Limited contribution of ancient methane to surface waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea shelf Limited contribution of ancient methane to surface waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea shelf
In response to warming climate, methane can be released to Arctic Ocean sediment and waters from thawing subsea permafrost and decomposing methane hydrates. However, it is unknown whether methane derived from this sediment storehouse of frozen ancient carbon reaches the atmosphere. We quantified the fraction of methane derived from ancient sources in shelf waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea...
Authors
Katy Sparrow, John Kessler, John Southon, Fenix Garcia-Tigreros, Kathryn Schreiner, Carolyn Ruppel, John Miller, Scott Lehman, Xiaomei Xu
Gas hydrate in nature 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 widespread in ocean-bottom sediments at...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project 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, and international partners. The USGS...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel
Enhanced CO2 uptake at a shallow Arctic Ocean seep field overwhelms the positive warming potential of emitted methane Enhanced CO2 uptake at a shallow Arctic Ocean seep field overwhelms the positive warming potential of emitted methane
Continued warming of the Arctic Ocean in coming decades is projected to trigger the release of teragrams (1 Tg = 106 tons) of methane from thawing subsea permafrost on shallow continental shelves and dissociation of methane hydrate on upper continental slopes. On the shallow shelves (
Authors
John Pohlman, J. Greinert, Carolyn Ruppel, A Silyakova, L Vielstadte, Michael Casso, J Mienert, S Bunz
Non-USGS Publications**
Tréhu, A.M., C. Ruppel, M. Holland, G.R. Dickens, M.E. Torres, T.S. Collett, D. Goldberg, M. Riedel, and P. Schultheiss. 2006. Gas hydrates in marine sediments: Lessons from scientific ocean drilling. Oceanography 19(4):124–142, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.11.
Nimblett, J. and C. Ruppel, 2003, Permeability evolution during formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments, Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 2420, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001650.
Ruppel, C., Thermal state of the gas hydrate reservoir, 2000, in: Max, M. editor, Natural Gas Hydrate in Oceanic and Permafrost Environments, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 29-42, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4387-5_4
Nimblett, J. and C. Ruppel, 2003, Permeability evolution during formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments, Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 2420, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001650.
Ruppel, C., 1997, Anomalously cold temperatures observed at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone, U.S. Atlantic passive margin, Geology, 25, 699-702. Doi: 10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0699:ACTOAT>2.3.CO;2
Wood, W.T., and Ruppel, C., 2000. Seismic and thermal investigations of the Blake Ridge gas hydrate area: a synthesis. In Paull, C.K., Matsumoto, R., Wallace, P.J., and Dillon, W.P. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 164: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), 253–264. doi:10.2973/odp.proc.sr.164.203.2000
Xu, W. and C. Ruppel, 1999, Predicting the occurrence, distribution, and evolution of methane gas hydrate in porous marine sediments from analytical models, Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, ,5081-5096. 10.1029/1998JB900092
Paull, C.K., Matsumoto, R., Wallace, P.J., et al., 1996. Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 164: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program). doi:10.2973/odp.proc.ir.164.1996
Ruppel, C., R.P. Von Herzen, and A. Bonneville, 1995, Heat flux through an old (~175 Ma) passive margin: offshore southeastern USA, Journal of Geophysical Research, 100,20,037-20,058. Doi: 10.1029/95JB01860
Santamarina, J.C. and C. Ruppel, 2010, The impact of hydrate saturation on the mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of hydrate-bearing sand, silts, and clay (Chapter 26), In: Riedel, Willoughby, Chopra (eds), Geophysical Characterization of Gas Hydrates, Society of Exploration Geophysicists Geophysical Developments, vol. 14, 373-384
Trehu, A.M., C. Ruppel, J. Dickens, D. Goldberg, M. Holland, M. Riedel, P. Schultheiss, and M. Torres, 2006, Gas hydrates in marine sediments: lessons from ocean drilling, Oceanography, 19, 124-143, 2006.
Yun, T.S., G. Narsilio, J.C. Santamarina, and C. Ruppel, 2006, Instrumented pressure testing chamber for characterizing sediment cores recovered at in situ hydrostatic pressure, Marine Geology, 229, 285-293. doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2006.03.012.
Yun, T.S., F. Francisca, J.C. Santamarina, and C. Ruppel, 2005, Compressional and shear wave velocities of uncemented sediment containing gas hydrate, Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L10609. doi: 10.1029/2005GL022607.
Nimblett, J. and C. Ruppel, 2003, Permeability evolution during formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments, Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 2420, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001650.
Waite, W.F, deMartin, B.J, Kirby, S.H., Pinkston, J., Ruppel, C.D., 2002, Thermal conductivity measurements in porous mixtures of methane hydrate and quartz sand, Geophysical Research Letters. doi: 10.1029/2002GL015988
Ruppel C. (2000) Thermal State of the Gas Hydrate Reservoir. In: Max M.D. (eds) Natural Gas Hydrate. Coastal Systems and Continental Margins, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4387-5_4
Xu, W. and C. Ruppel, 1999, Predicting the occurrence, distribution, and evolution of methane gas hydrate in porous marine sediments from analytical models, Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, ,5081-5096
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
USGS scientists contribute to new gas hydrates monograph USGS scientists contribute to new gas hydrates monograph
The recently-published monograph entitled World Atlas of Submarine Gas Hydrates on Continental Margins compiles findings about gas hydrates offshore all of Earth’s continents and also onshore in selected permafrost regions.
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