Carolyn Ruppel, PhD
I lead the USGS Gas Hydrates Project, which is jointly funded by the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program and the Energy Resources Program. Project scientists in Woods Hole and Denver study the resource and climate aspects of natural hydrates. My work also focuses on methane seeps, hydroacoustics, marine environmental compliance, and subsea permafrost on the Arctic coast.
Research
Highlighted Journal Articles, Data Releases, and Geonarratives
- Gas Hydrate in Nature
- Hydrate formation on marine seep bubbles and the implications for water column…
- Elevated levels of radiocarbon in methane dissolved in seawater reveal likely l…
- Preliminary global database of known and inferred gas hydrate locations
- Post-expedition report for USGS T-3 ice island heat flow measurements in the Hi…
- Thermal Data and Navigation for T-3 (Fletcher's) Ice Island Arctic Ocean Heat F…
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 Atlantic and US Pacific margins, as well as Arctic Ocean margins (US Beaufort Sea and Svalbard). I also work on energy issues related to gas hydrates (including delineating their distribution in marine sediments; 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. 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
July 2023 - present: Supervisory Research Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey
Feb 2023 - present: 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
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
Determining the flux of methane into Hudson Canyon at the edge of methane clathrate hydrate stability
Insights into methane dynamics from analysis of authigenic carbonates and chemosynthetic mussels at newly-discovered Atlantic Margin seeps
Ephemerality of discrete methane vents in lake sediments
Exploration of the canyon-incised continental margin of the northeastern United States reveals dynamic habitats and diverse communities
Preface to the special issue on gas hydrate drilling in the Eastern Nankai Trough
Widespread gas hydrate instability on the upper U.S. Beaufort margin
Permafrost-associated gas hydrate: is it really approximately 1% of the global system?
Widespread methane leakage from the sea floor on the northern US Atlantic margin
Cruise report for P1-13-LA, U.S. Geological Survey gas hydrates research cruise, R/V Pelican April 18 to May 3, 2013, deepwater Gulf of Mexico
Dynamics of submarine groundwater discharge and associated fluxes of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and trace gases to the coastal zone (Okatee River estuary, South Carolina)
Seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin
New seismic data acquired over known gas hydrate occurrences in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Fire In the ice
Non-USGS Publications**
**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
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.
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 64
Determining the flux of methane into Hudson Canyon at the edge of methane clathrate hydrate stability
Methane seeps were investigated in Hudson Canyon, the largest shelf-break canyon on the northern US Atlantic Margin. The seeps investigated are located at or updip of the nominal limit of methane clathrate hydrate stability. The acoustic identification of bubble streams was used to guide water column sampling in a 32 km2 region within the canyon's thalweg. By incorporating measurements of dissolveAuthorsA. Weinsten, L Navarrete, Carolyn D. Ruppel, T.C. Weber, M. Leonte, M. Kellermann, E. Arrington, D.L. Valentine, M.L Scranton, John D. KesslerInsights into methane dynamics from analysis of authigenic carbonates and chemosynthetic mussels at newly-discovered Atlantic Margin seeps
The recent discovery of active methane venting along the US northern and mid-Atlantic margin represents a new source of global methane not previously accounted for in carbon budgets from this region. However, uncertainty remains as to the origin and history of methane seepage along this tectonically inactive passive margin. Here we present the first isotopic analyses of authigenic carbonates and mAuthorsNancy G. Prouty, Diana Sahy, Carolyn D. Ruppel, E. Brendan Roark, Dan Condon, Sandra Brooke, Steve W. Ross, Amanda W.J. DemopoulosEphemerality of discrete methane vents in lake sediments
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas whose emission from sediments in inland waters and shallow oceans may both contribute to global warming and be exacerbated by it. The fraction of methane emitted by sediments that bypasses dissolution in the water column and reaches the atmosphere as bubbles depends on the mode and spatiotemporal characteristics of venting from the sediments. Earlier studies haveAuthorsBenjamin P. Scandella, Liam Pillsbury, Thomas Weber, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Harold F. Hemond, Ruben JuanesExploration of the canyon-incised continental margin of the northeastern United States reveals dynamic habitats and diverse communities
The continental margin off the northeastern United States (NEUS) contains numerous, topographically complex features that increase habitat heterogeneity across the region. However, the majority of these rugged features have never been surveyed, particularly using direct observations. During summer 2013, 31 Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives were conducted from 494 to 3271 m depth across a varieAuthorsAndrea Quattrini, Martha S. Nizinski, Jason Chaytor, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, E. Brendan Roark, Scott France, Jon A. Moore, Taylor P. Heyl, Peter J. Auster, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Kelley P. Elliott, Brian R. C. Kennedy, Elizabeth A. Lobecker, Adam Skarke, Timothy M. ShankPreface to the special issue on gas hydrate drilling in the Eastern Nankai Trough
Methane hydrate traps enormous amounts of methane in frozen deposits in continental margin sediments, and these deposits have long been targeted for studies investigating their potential as an energy resource. As a concentrated form of methane that occurs at shallower depths than conventional and most unconventional gas reservoirs, methane hydrates could be a readily accessible source of hydrocarbAuthorsKoji Yamamoto, Carolyn D. RuppelWidespread gas hydrate instability on the upper U.S. Beaufort margin
The most climate-sensitive methane hydrate deposits occur on upper continental slopes at depths close to the minimum pressure and maximum temperature for gas hydrate stability. At these water depths, small perturbations in intermediate ocean water temperatures can lead to gas hydrate dissociation. The Arctic Ocean has experienced more dramatic warming than lower latitudes, but observational data hAuthorsBenjamin J. Phrampus, Matthew J. Hornbach, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Patrick E. HartPermafrost-associated gas hydrate: is it really approximately 1% of the global system?
Permafrost-associated gas hydrates are often assumed to contain ∼1 % of the global gas-in-place in gas hydrates based on a study26 published over three decades ago. As knowledge of permafrost-associated gas hydrates has grown, it has become clear that many permafrost-associated gas hydrates are inextricably linked to an associated conventional petroleum system, and that their formation history (trAuthorsCarolyn RuppelWidespread methane leakage from the sea floor on the northern US Atlantic margin
Methane emissions from the sea floor affect methane inputs into the atmosphere, ocean acidification and de-oxygenation, the distribution of chemosynthetic communities and energy resources. Global methane flux from seabed cold seeps has only been estimated for continental shelves, at 8 to 65 Tg CH4 yr−1, yet other parts of marine continental margins are also emitting methane. The US Atlantic marginAuthorsAdam Skarke, Carolyn Ruppel, Mali'o Kodis, Daniel S. Brothers, Elizabeth A. LobeckerCruise report for P1-13-LA, U.S. Geological Survey gas hydrates research cruise, R/V Pelican April 18 to May 3, 2013, deepwater Gulf of Mexico
The U.S. Geological Survey led a seismic acquisition cruise in the Gulf of Mexico from April 18 to May 3, 2013, with the objectives of (1) achieving improved imaging and characterization at two established gas hydrate study sites, and (2) refining geophysical methods for gas hydrate characterization in other locations. We conducted this acquisition aboard the R/V Pelican, and used a pair of 105/10AuthorsSeth S. Haines, Patrick E. Hart, Carolyn Ruppel, Thomas O'Brien, Wayne Baldwin, Jenny White, Eric Moore, Peter Dal Ferro, Peter LemmondDynamics of submarine groundwater discharge and associated fluxes of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and trace gases to the coastal zone (Okatee River estuary, South Carolina)
Multiple techniques, including thermal infrared aerial remote sensing, geophysical and geological data, geochemical characterization and radium isotopes, were used to evaluate the role of groundwater as a source of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and trace gases to the Okatee River estuary, South Carolina. Thermal infrared aerial remote sensing surveys illustrated the presence of multiple submarine gAuthorsW.P. Porubsky, N.B. Weston, W.S. Moore, C. Ruppel, S.B. JoyeSeabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Identifying the spatial distribution of seabed fluid expulsion features is crucial for understanding the substrate plumbing system of any continental margin. A 1100 km stretch of the U.S. Atlantic margin contains more than 5000 pockmarks at water depths of 120 m (shelf edge) to 700 m (upper slope), mostly updip of the contemporary gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Advanced attribute analyses of hAuthorsD.S. Brothers, C. Ruppel, J.W. Kluesner, Uri S. ten Brink, J.D. Chaytor, J. C. Hill, B.D. Andrews, C. FloresNew seismic data acquired over known gas hydrate occurrences in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Fire In the ice
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) led seismic acquisition in the Gulf of Mexico from April 18 to May 3, 2013, collecting ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) and high-resolution 2D data at lease blocks Green Canyon 955 (GC955) and Walker Ridge 313 (WR313). This collaborative effort among the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the USGS was conducted to pAuthorsSeth S. Haines, Patrick E. Hart, Carolyn D. RuppelNon-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_4Nimblett, 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;2Wood, 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.164.203.2000Xu, 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. 10.1029/1998JB900092Paull, 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.164.1996Ruppel, 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: 10.1029/95JB01860Santamarina, 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, 373-384Trehu, 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: 10.1029/2002GL015988Ruppel 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_4Xu, 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.
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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: 13
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government