William F Waite, PhD
Bill Waite (he/him/his), has spent his career being thrilled, confused, inspired and exasperated by gas hydrates, an educational relationship he began as a Stanford post-doc before shifting to the USGS in 1999. He has moved from laboratory studies of physical properties of pure gas hydrates, to laboratory and field measurements of the physical properties of gas hydrate in sediment.
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.
Research Interest
Gas hydrates are crystalline compounds formed when light “guest” molecules (such as methane) stabilizes cage-like structures in which water molecules enclose individual guest molecules. Gas hydrates are stable at reduced temperatures and elevated pressures that can be found on Earth in a variety of environments (primarily in marine continental slope sediment, and in sediments associated with permafrost). Their global distribution has helped create an international, multidisciplinary research community studying gas hydrate systems from biological, chemical, geological and geophysical perspectives. A wonderful consequence of the international interest has been in providing a rich, collaborative research experience that has significantly shaped and advanced my understanding of gas hydrate over the years.
Thanks to the U.S. Geological Survey’s long-term commitment to gas hydrate research , I have been able to spend 20+ years growing from my initial interest in pure gas hydrate physical properties to laboratory studies of gas hydrate in sediment, and now to ongoing field-based studies of naturally-occurring gas hydrate collected in pressure cores. Most of the USGS gas hydrate fieldwork I have been, and continue to be associated with, is focused on gas hydrate as an energy resource (additional information on those projects are accessible through the USGS Energy Program’s gas hydrate page.
I look forward to opportunities for connecting physical property investigations with interdisciplinary studies of microbiology and geochemistry as we continue to advance our natural-systems level appreciation of gas hydrate’s role not just as a potential energy resource, but as a dynamic element in natural processes.
Professional Experience
Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA: 1999-Present
Leader of the Gas Hydrate Project’s Laboratory Program. I coordinate research between the Woods Hole, MA and Menlo Park, CA laboratories in support of Gas Hydrate Project studies. I lead or co-lead fundamental, applied and synthesis-level studies of gas hydrate, with a focus on physical property measurements.
Education and Certifications
Doctor of Philosophy and Masters of Science, Physics, University of Colorado: 1992-1998 Dissertation: A restricted meniscus motion model for wave attenuation in partially fluid-saturated porous rock,
Bachelor of Arts, Physics (magna cum laude), Oberlin College: 1988-1992 Senior Thesis: Prediction and Measurement of Total Nuclear Reaction Cross Sections, supervised by Prof. Robert Warner.
Science and Products
Laboratory formation of non-cementing, methane hydrate-bearing sands
Anomalous waveforms observed in laboratory-formed gas hydrate-bearing and ice-bearing sediments
Methane hydrate-bearing seeps as a source of aged dissolved organic carbon to the oceans
S-Wave Normal Mode Propagation in Aluminum Cylinders
Physical properties of hydrate‐bearing sediments
High-frequency normal mode propagation in aluminum cylinders
Elastic wave speeds and moduli in polycrystalline ice Ih, si methane hydrate, and sll methane-ethane hydrate
Seeding hydrate formation in water-saturated sand with dissolved-phase methane obtained from hydrate dissolution: A progress report
Physical properties of repressurized samples recovered during the 2006 National Gas Hydrate Program expedition offshore India
Estimating pore-space gas hydrate saturations from well log acoustic data
Workshop summary: Physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediment
Application of RHIZON samplers to obtain high-resolution pore-fluid records during geochemical investigations of gas hydrate systems
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: 58
Laboratory formation of non-cementing, methane hydrate-bearing sands
Naturally occurring hydrate-bearing sands often behave as though methane hydrate is acting as a load-bearing member of the sediment. Mimicking this behavior in laboratory samples with methane hydrate likely requires forming hydrate from methane dissolved in water. To hasten this formation process, we initially form hydrate in a free-gas-limited system, then form additional hydrate by circulating mAuthorsWilliam F. Waite, Peter M. Bratton, David H. MasonAnomalous waveforms observed in laboratory-formed gas hydrate-bearing and ice-bearing sediments
Acoustic transmission measurements of compressional, P, and shear, S, wave velocities rely on correctly identifying the P- and S-body wave arrivals in the measured waveform. In cylindrical samples for which the sample is much longer than the acoustic wavelength, these body waves can be obscured by high-amplitude waveform features arriving just after the relatively small-amplitude P-body wave. In tAuthorsMyung W. Lee, William F. WaiteMethane hydrate-bearing seeps as a source of aged dissolved organic carbon to the oceans
Marine sediments contain about 500-10,000 Gt of methane carbon, primarily in gas hydrate. This reservoir is comparable in size to the amount of organic carbon in land biota, terrestrial soils, the atmosphere and sea water combined, but it releases relatively little methane to the ocean and atmosphere. Sedimentary microbes convert most of the dissolved methane to carbon dioxide. Here we show that aAuthorsJ. W. Pohlman, J.E. Bauer, W.F. Waite, C.L. Osburn, N.R. ChapmanS-Wave Normal Mode Propagation in Aluminum Cylinders
Large amplitude waveform features have been identified in pulse-transmission shear-wave measurements through cylinders that are long relative to the acoustic wavelength. The arrival times and amplitudes of these features do not follow the predicted behavior of well-known bar waves, but instead they appear to propagate with group velocities that increase as the waveform feature's dominant frequencyAuthorsMyung W. Lee, William F. WaitePhysical properties of hydrate‐bearing sediments
Methane gas hydrates, crystalline inclusion compounds formed from methane and water, are found in marine continental margin and permafrost sediments worldwide. This article reviews the current understanding of phenomena involved in gas hydrate formation and the physical properties of hydrate‐bearing sediments. Formation phenomena include pore‐scale habit, solubility, spatial variability, and hostAuthorsWilliam F. Waite, J.C. Santamarina, D.D. Cortes, Brandon Dugan, D.N. Espinoza, J. Germaine, J. Jang, J.W. Jung, T.J. Kneafsey, H. Shin, K. Soga, William J. Winters, T.S. YunHigh-frequency normal mode propagation in aluminum cylinders
Acoustic measurements made using compressional-wave (P-wave) and shear-wave (S-wave) transducers in aluminum cylinders reveal waveform features with high amplitudes and with velocities that depend on the feature's dominant frequency. In a given waveform, high-frequency features generally arrive earlier than low-frequency features, typical for normal mode propagation. To analyze these waveforms, thAuthorsMyung W. Lee, William F. WaiteElastic wave speeds and moduli in polycrystalline ice Ih, si methane hydrate, and sll methane-ethane hydrate
We used ultrasonic pulse transmission to measure compressional, P, and shear, S, wave speeds in laboratory-formed polycrystalline ice Ih, si methane hydrate, and sll methane-ethane hydrate. From the wave speed's linear dependence on temperature and pressure and from the sample's calculated density, we derived expressions for bulk, shear, and compressional wave moduli and Poisson's ratio from -20 tAuthorsM.B. Helgerud, W.F. Waite, S. H. Kirby, A. NurSeeding hydrate formation in water-saturated sand with dissolved-phase methane obtained from hydrate dissolution: A progress report
An isobaric flow loop added to the Gas Hydrate And Sediment Test Laboratory Instrument (GHASTLI) is being investigated as a means of rapidly forming methane hydrate in watersaturated sand from methane dissolved in water. Water circulates through a relatively warm source chamber, dissolving granular methane hydrate that was pre-made from seed ice, then enters a colder hydrate growth chamber where hAuthorsWilliam F. Waite, J.P. Osegovic, William J. Winters, M.D. Max, David H. MasonPhysical properties of repressurized samples recovered during the 2006 National Gas Hydrate Program expedition offshore India
As part of an international cooperative research program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and researchers from the National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) of India are studying the physical properties of sediment recovered during the NGHP-01 cruise conducted offshore India during 2006. Here we report on index property, acoustic velocity, and triaxial shear test results for samples recovered from theAuthorsWilliam J. Winters, William F. Waite, David H. Mason, P. KumarEstimating pore-space gas hydrate saturations from well log acoustic data
Relating pore-space gas hydrate saturation to sonic velocity data is important for remotely estimating gas hydrate concentration in sediment. In the present study, sonic velocities of gas hydrate–bearing sands are modeled using a three-phase Biot-type theory in which sand, gas hydrate, and pore fluid form three homogeneous, interwoven frameworks. This theory is developed using well log compressionAuthorsMyung W. Lee, William F. WaiteWorkshop summary: Physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediment
A wide range of particle and pore scale phenomena, often coupled, determines the macro-scale response of gas-hydrate bearing sediment to changes in mechanical, thermal, or chemical conditions. Predicting this macro-scale response is critical for applications such as optimizing the production of methane from gas-hydrate deposits, or determining the role of gas hydrates in global carbon cycling andAuthorsWilliam F. Waite, J.C. SantamarinaApplication of RHIZON samplers to obtain high-resolution pore-fluid records during geochemical investigations of gas hydrate systems
Obtaining accurate, high-resolution profiles of pore fluid constituents is critical for characterizing the subsurface geochemistry of hydrate-bearing sediments. Tightly-constrained downcore profiles provide clues about fluid sources, fluid flow, and the milieu of chemical and diagenetic reactions, all of which are used to interpret where and why gas and gas hydrate occur in the natural environmentAuthorsJohn W. Pohlman, M Riedel, William F. Waite, K. Rose, L. LaphamNon-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.
- News
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.