Stephen C Phillips, PhD
Steve Phillips works to better understand gas hydrate systems, methane migration, and early diagenesis in marine and permafrost sediments. He aims to better understand these systems by integrating sedimentology, geochemistry, and physical property measurements as part of multidisciplinary scientific drilling expeditions.
Gas Hydrates Project
Gas Hydrates Project
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project has been making contributions to advance understanding of US and international gas hydrates science for at least three decades.
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.
Professional Experience
2020 – present Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
2019 – 2020 Research Associate, University of Texas at Austin – Institute for Geophysics
2015 – 2019 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas at Austin – Institute for Geophysics
Education and Certifications
2015 PhD Oceanography, University of New Hampshire
2007 MS Earth Sciences: Geochemical Systems, University of New Hampshire
2004 BS Geology, Michigan Technological University
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 17
Permeability of methane hydrate-bearing sandy silts in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico (Green Canyon Block 955) Permeability of methane hydrate-bearing sandy silts in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico (Green Canyon Block 955)
Permeability is one of the most crucial properties governing fluid flow in methane hydrate reservoirs. This paper presents a comprehensive permeability analysis of hydrate-bearing sandy silt pressure-cored from Green Canyon Block 955 (GC 955) in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. We developed an experimental protocol to systematically characterize the transport and petrophysical properties...
Authors
Yi Fang, Peter Flemings, Hugh Daigle, Stephen C. Phillips, Joshua O’Connell
Integrated geochemical approach to determine the source of methane in gas hydrate from Green Canyon Block 955 in the Gulf of Mexico Integrated geochemical approach to determine the source of methane in gas hydrate from Green Canyon Block 955 in the Gulf of Mexico
Massive volumes of gas are sequestered within gas hydrate in subsurface marine sediments in the Gulf of Mexico. Methane associated with gas hydrate is a potentially important economic resource and a significant reservoir of carbon within the global carbon cycle. Nevertheless, uncertainties remain about the genetic source (e.g., microbial, thermogenic) and possible migration history of...
Authors
Myles T. Moore, Stephen C. Phillips, Ann Cook, Thomas H. Darrah
Compression behavior of hydrate-bearing sediments Compression behavior of hydrate-bearing sediments
This work experimentally explores porosity, compressibility, and the ratio of horizontal to vertical effective stress (K0) in hydrate-bearing sandy silts from Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. The samples have an in situ porosity of 0.38 to 0.40 and a hydrate saturation of more than 80%. The hydrate-bearing sediments are stiffer than the equivalent hydrate-free...
Authors
Yi Fang, Peter Flemings, John Germaine, Hugh Daigle, Stephen C. Phillips, Joshua O’Connell
Comparison of sediment composition by smear slides to quantitative shipboard data: A case study on the utility of smear slide percent estimates, IODP Expedition 353, northern Indian Ocean Comparison of sediment composition by smear slides to quantitative shipboard data: A case study on the utility of smear slide percent estimates, IODP Expedition 353, northern Indian Ocean
Smear slide petrography has been a standard technique during scientific ocean drilling expeditions to characterize sediment composition and classify sediment types, but presentation of these percent estimates to track downcore trends in sediment composition has become less frequent over the past 2 decades. We compare semi-quantitative smear slide composition estimates to physical...
Authors
Stephen C. Phillips, Kate Littler
Thermodynamic insights into the production of methane hydrate reservoirs from depressurization of pressure cores Thermodynamic insights into the production of methane hydrate reservoirs from depressurization of pressure cores
We present results of slow (multiple day) depressurization experiments of pressure cores recovered from Green Canyon Block 955 in the northern Gulf of Mexico during The University of Texas at Austin Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition (UT-GOM2-1). These stepwise depressurization experiments monitored the pressure and temperature within the core storage chamber during each pressure step...
Authors
Stephen C. Phillips, Peter B. Flemings, Kehua You, William F. Waite
Primary deposition and early diagenetic effects on the high saturation accumulation of gas hydrate in a silt dominated reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico Primary deposition and early diagenetic effects on the high saturation accumulation of gas hydrate in a silt dominated reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico
On continental margins, high saturation gas hydrate systems (>60% pore volume) are common in canyon and channel environments within the gas hydrate stability zone, where reservoirs are dominated by coarse-grained, high porosity sand deposits. Recent studies, including the results presented here, suggest that rapidly deposited, silt-dominated channel-levee environments can also host high...
Authors
Joel E. Johnson, Douglas R. MacLeod, Stephen C. Phillips, Marcie Phillips Purkey, David L. Divins
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 17
Permeability of methane hydrate-bearing sandy silts in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico (Green Canyon Block 955) Permeability of methane hydrate-bearing sandy silts in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico (Green Canyon Block 955)
Permeability is one of the most crucial properties governing fluid flow in methane hydrate reservoirs. This paper presents a comprehensive permeability analysis of hydrate-bearing sandy silt pressure-cored from Green Canyon Block 955 (GC 955) in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. We developed an experimental protocol to systematically characterize the transport and petrophysical properties...
Authors
Yi Fang, Peter Flemings, Hugh Daigle, Stephen C. Phillips, Joshua O’Connell
Integrated geochemical approach to determine the source of methane in gas hydrate from Green Canyon Block 955 in the Gulf of Mexico Integrated geochemical approach to determine the source of methane in gas hydrate from Green Canyon Block 955 in the Gulf of Mexico
Massive volumes of gas are sequestered within gas hydrate in subsurface marine sediments in the Gulf of Mexico. Methane associated with gas hydrate is a potentially important economic resource and a significant reservoir of carbon within the global carbon cycle. Nevertheless, uncertainties remain about the genetic source (e.g., microbial, thermogenic) and possible migration history of...
Authors
Myles T. Moore, Stephen C. Phillips, Ann Cook, Thomas H. Darrah
Compression behavior of hydrate-bearing sediments Compression behavior of hydrate-bearing sediments
This work experimentally explores porosity, compressibility, and the ratio of horizontal to vertical effective stress (K0) in hydrate-bearing sandy silts from Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. The samples have an in situ porosity of 0.38 to 0.40 and a hydrate saturation of more than 80%. The hydrate-bearing sediments are stiffer than the equivalent hydrate-free...
Authors
Yi Fang, Peter Flemings, John Germaine, Hugh Daigle, Stephen C. Phillips, Joshua O’Connell
Comparison of sediment composition by smear slides to quantitative shipboard data: A case study on the utility of smear slide percent estimates, IODP Expedition 353, northern Indian Ocean Comparison of sediment composition by smear slides to quantitative shipboard data: A case study on the utility of smear slide percent estimates, IODP Expedition 353, northern Indian Ocean
Smear slide petrography has been a standard technique during scientific ocean drilling expeditions to characterize sediment composition and classify sediment types, but presentation of these percent estimates to track downcore trends in sediment composition has become less frequent over the past 2 decades. We compare semi-quantitative smear slide composition estimates to physical...
Authors
Stephen C. Phillips, Kate Littler
Thermodynamic insights into the production of methane hydrate reservoirs from depressurization of pressure cores Thermodynamic insights into the production of methane hydrate reservoirs from depressurization of pressure cores
We present results of slow (multiple day) depressurization experiments of pressure cores recovered from Green Canyon Block 955 in the northern Gulf of Mexico during The University of Texas at Austin Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition (UT-GOM2-1). These stepwise depressurization experiments monitored the pressure and temperature within the core storage chamber during each pressure step...
Authors
Stephen C. Phillips, Peter B. Flemings, Kehua You, William F. Waite
Primary deposition and early diagenetic effects on the high saturation accumulation of gas hydrate in a silt dominated reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico Primary deposition and early diagenetic effects on the high saturation accumulation of gas hydrate in a silt dominated reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico
On continental margins, high saturation gas hydrate systems (>60% pore volume) are common in canyon and channel environments within the gas hydrate stability zone, where reservoirs are dominated by coarse-grained, high porosity sand deposits. Recent studies, including the results presented here, suggest that rapidly deposited, silt-dominated channel-levee environments can also host high...
Authors
Joel E. Johnson, Douglas R. MacLeod, Stephen C. Phillips, Marcie Phillips Purkey, David L. Divins