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
Physical property studies in the USGS GHASTLI Laboratory
Thermal properties of methane gas hydrates
Amplitude loss of sonic waveform due to source coupling to the medium
Simultaneous determination of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat in sI methane hydrate
Physical properties of pressurized sediment from hydrate ridge
An effective medium inversion algorithm for gas hydrate quantification and its application to laboratory and borehole measurements of gas hydrate-bearing sediments
Thermal property measurements in Tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate and hydrate-bearing sediment between -25 and +4°C, and their application to methane hydrate
Effect of grain size and pore pressure on acoustic and strength behavior of sediments containing methane gas hydrate
Strength and acoustic properties of Ottawa sand containing laboratory-formed methane gas hydrate
Introduction to physical properties and elasticity models
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
Physical property studies in the USGS GHASTLI Laboratory
Thermal properties of methane gas hydrates
Amplitude loss of sonic waveform due to source coupling to the medium
Simultaneous determination of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat in sI methane hydrate
Physical properties of pressurized sediment from hydrate ridge
An effective medium inversion algorithm for gas hydrate quantification and its application to laboratory and borehole measurements of gas hydrate-bearing sediments
Thermal property measurements in Tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate and hydrate-bearing sediment between -25 and +4°C, and their application to methane hydrate
Effect of grain size and pore pressure on acoustic and strength behavior of sediments containing methane gas hydrate
Strength and acoustic properties of Ottawa sand containing laboratory-formed methane gas hydrate
Introduction to physical properties and elasticity models
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.