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Stephen C Phillips, PhD

Steve Phillips is fascinated by gas hydrate systems and early diagenesis in marine sediments. He aims to better understand these systems by integrating sedimentology, geochemistry, and physical property measurements as part of multidisciplinary scientific drilling expeditions. He has worked in the Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Bengal, Cascadia Margin, and offshore Japan.

Gas Hydrates Project

 Junbong Jang and Stephen Phillips loading a pressure core chamber into a shipping box

The USGS Gas Hydrates Project has been making contributions to advance understanding of US and international gas hydrates science for at least three decades.

Explore Gas Hydrates Site

HyPrCAL Laboratory

long shot of scientific laboratory with equipment on the floor, walls, and shelving

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. 

Explore HyPrCAL Laboratory Site

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 Technologic

Science and Products

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Image: Gas Hydrates Burning

U.S. Geological Survey 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. The research group working on gas hydrates at the USGS is among the largest in the US and has expertise in all the major geoscience disciplines, as well as in the physics and chemistry of gas hydrates, the geotechnical properties of hydrate...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization
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U.S. Geological Survey 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. The research group working on gas hydrates at the USGS is among the largest in the US and has expertise in all the major geoscience disciplines, as well as in the physics and chemistry of gas hydrates, the geotechnical properties of hydrate...
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counterflow device capable of isolating and holding a single gas bubble Gas Hydrates Lab Sites
Gas Hydrates Lab Sites
counterflow device capable of isolating and holding a single gas bubble

Gas Hydrates Lab Sites

Gas Hydrates Lab Sites

The USGS Gas Hydrates Project analyzes the sediments that make up gas hydrate reservoirs in the Physical Properties Laboratory and 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.

By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Gas Hydrates Project Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory (HyPrCAL), Gas Hydrates Project Physical Properties Laboratory
counterflow device capable of isolating and holding a single gas bubble

Gas Hydrates Lab Sites

Gas Hydrates Lab Sites

The USGS Gas Hydrates Project analyzes the sediments that make up gas hydrate reservoirs in the Physical Properties Laboratory and 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.

By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Gas Hydrates Project Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory (HyPrCAL), Gas Hydrates Project Physical Properties Laboratory
Clumped Methane Isotopes
Clumped Methane Isotopes
Clumped Methane Isotopes
Clumped Methane Isotopes

Clumped Methane Isotopes

Clumped Methane Isotopes

Collection of a bulk gas sample for clumped methane isotopologue analysis during depressurization of a pressure core from a Gulf of Mexico methane hydrate reservoir (Green Canyon 955, UT-GOM2-1 Expedition).

By
Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory
Clumped Methane Isotopes

Clumped Methane Isotopes

Clumped Methane Isotopes

Collection of a bulk gas sample for clumped methane isotopologue analysis during depressurization of a pressure core from a Gulf of Mexico methane hydrate reservoir (Green Canyon 955, UT-GOM2-1 Expedition).

By
Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory
Authigenic carbonate nodule
Authigenic carbonate nodule
Authigenic carbonate nodule
Authigenic carbonate nodule

Authigenic carbonate nodule

Authigenic carbonate nodule

Authigenic carbonate nodule (siderite) associated with methanogenesis coupled with silicate weathering in sediments offshore Shimokita, Japan (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 337).

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Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory
Authigenic carbonate nodule

Authigenic carbonate nodule

Authigenic carbonate nodule

Authigenic carbonate nodule (siderite) associated with methanogenesis coupled with silicate weathering in sediments offshore Shimokita, Japan (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 337).

By
Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Gas Hydrates Project Biogeochemistry Laboratory

Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE): Summary of U.S. Geological Survey URGE pod deliverables

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is in a unique position to be a leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the Earth sciences. As one of the largest geoscience employers, the USGS wields significant community influence and has a responsibility to adopt and implement robust, unbiased policies so that the science it is charged to deliver is better connected to the diverse communi
Authors
Matthew C. Morriss, Eleanour Snow, Jennifer L. Miselis, William F. Waite, Katherine R. Barnhart, Andria P. Ellis, Liv M. Herdman, Seth C. Moran, Annie L. Putman, Nadine G. Reitman, Wendy K. Stovall, Meagan J. Eagle, Stephen C. Phillips
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

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 sediments; th
Authors
Yi Fang, Peter Flemings, John Germaine, Hugh Daigle, Stephen C. Phillips, Joshua O'Connell
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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 in pressure
Authors
Yi Fang, Peter Flemings, Hugh Daigle, Stephen C. Phillips, Joshua O'Connell
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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 natural gas
Authors
Myles T. Moore, Stephen C. Phillips, Ann Cook, Thomas H. Darrah
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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 property (natural
Authors
Stephen C. Phillips, Kate Littler
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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, or “shut-in
Authors
Stephen C. Phillips, Peter B. Flemings, Kehua You, William F. Waite
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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 saturation
Authors
Joel E. Johnson, Douglas R. MacLeod, Stephen C. Phillips, Marcie Phillips Purkey, David L. Divins
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Isolating detrital and diagenetic signals in magnetic susceptibility records from methane-bearing marine sediments

Volume-dependent magnetic susceptibility (κ) is commonly used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in both terrestrial and marine sedimentary environments where it reflects a mixed signal between primary deposition and secondary diagenesis. In the marine environment, κ is strongly influenced by the abundance of ferrimagnetic minerals regulated by sediment transport processes. Post-depositional a
Authors
Joel P. L. Johnson, Stephen C. Phillips, William Clyde, Liviu Giosan, Marta E. Torres
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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