{"196251":{"#nid":"196251","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Tools Enable Groundbreaking Gas Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists are now better able to examine rare methane gas samples recovered from deep beneath the seafloor using innovative tools developed by Georgia Tech. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn international group of scientists recently used the tools to conduct groundbreaking research that could advance the understanding of how methane contained in marine sediment may be used as a viable energy source.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere may be more carbon trapped in methane hydrate than in all petroleum, coal and gas reserves in the world,\u201d said Carlos Santamarina, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cOur goal at Georgia Tech is to find ways to extract the methane, while at the same time trapping carbon dioxide\u0026nbsp;in the subsurface.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring a recent trip to Sapporo, scientists from Georgia Tech, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Japanese organizations analyzed methane gas hydrate in its natural, stable condition using the specialized devices designed and built by Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESuch well-preserved samples, which were recovered beneath the deep seafloor in the Nankai Trough offshore Japan, are extremely rare. Georgia Tech\u2019s tools allowed scientists to conduct a complete study on the fundamental properties of gas hydrates for the first time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis research will not only help us understand the character of gas hydrates in Japan, but we can also apply that knowledge as well as this innovative technology and approach to understand the potential in the U.S. and around the world,\u201d said Brenda Pierce, USGS Energy Resources program coordinator.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGas hydrates are ice-like substances that naturally form when methane combines with water at specific temperatures and pressures. They are mostly found beneath deepwater marine settings and permafrost areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDubbed \u201cburning ice,\u201d gas hydrates release enough methane to sustain a flame when they melt, making them a potentially significant source of natural gas. Scientists are also studying gas hydrates because they may contribute to global warming and could represent a threat to deep-sea petroleum production.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGas hydrates are only stable at certain pressures and temperatures. Scientists have been working since the 1990s on sophisticated techniques to retrieve and preserve samples as \u201cpressure cores,\u201d keeping the gas as if it were still at its natural conditions in the subsurface where it formed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech developed \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/pmrl.ce.gatech.edu\/papers\/Santamarina_2012a.pdf\u0022\u003EPressure Core Characterization Tools\u003C\/a\u003E with long-term support from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project. The tools allow the measurement of fundamental properties of gas hydrates, such as bioactivity, strength, compressibility, gas and water permeability, and sediment response during gas production.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll these tests are conducted in fully instrumented high-pressure chambers. Hydrate bearing sediments are maintained in their natural state at all times. The tools and test protocols are designed to cut and sub-sample cores, to transfer samples and to test them without ever depressurizing the core.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a big step for the Japanese and U.S. scientists,\u201d said Sheng Dai, a Ph.D. student in Santamarina\u2019s lab who helped develop the tools and went to Japan to test them. \u201cLearning more about the properties can help us understand how methane can be recovered from the sediments, which would have a significant impact on our energy situation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe recent project is part of a multiyear program in deepwater gas hydrate exploration and production currently underway in Japan. The program is being led by the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.jogmec.go.jp\/english\/index.html\u0022\u003EJapan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC)\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.aist.go.jp\/index_en.html\u0022\u003EJapan\u2019s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)\u003C\/a\u003E. Japanese researchers will soon be conducting the first offshore production test to track how much methane can be released from deepwater gas hydrate deposits.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe collaborative research in Japan was financially supported by USGS, the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.mh21japan.gr.jp\/english\/\u0022\u003EMH21 Research Consortium\u003C\/a\u003E, the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.energy.gov\u0022\u003EU.S. Department of Energy\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and the multinational Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates Joint Industry Project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESantamarina and his graduate students \u2013 Dai, Junbong Jang, Marco Terzariol and Efthymios Papadopoulos \u2013 said the trip was a chance to take on some of the most challenging energy problems by developing unprecedented engineering solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This has been an amazing opportunity to be part of an unprecedented project,\u0022 Terzariol said. \u0022We obtained great data and new insights, and identified questions to be addressed next in our research.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EImages courtsey of the U.S. Geological Survey.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists are now better able to examine rare methane gas samples recovered from deep beneath the seafloor using innovative tools developed by Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Scientists better able to examine rare methane gas samples recovered deep beneath the seafloor"}],"uid":"27462","created_gmt":"2013-03-01 16:33:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:44","author":"Liz Klipp","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-03-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-03-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"196351":{"id":"196351","type":"image","title":"Gas Hydrates in Japan - 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3","body":null,"created":"1449179906","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:26","changed":"1475894848","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:28","alt":"Gas Hydrates in Japan - 3","file":{"fid":"196431","name":"m_terzariol_direct_shear_device.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/m_terzariol_direct_shear_device_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/m_terzariol_direct_shear_device_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1137759,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/m_terzariol_direct_shear_device_0.jpg?itok=QjgXF2-w"}},"196341":{"id":"196341","type":"image","title":"Gas Hydrates in Japan - 4","body":null,"created":"1449179906","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:26","changed":"1475894848","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:28","alt":"Gas Hydrates in Japan - 4","file":{"fid":"196432","name":"p1020705-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/p1020705-1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/p1020705-1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":504853,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/p1020705-1_0.jpg?itok=w7eyAulh"}},"196301":{"id":"196301","type":"image","title":"Gas Hydrates in Japan - 5","body":null,"created":"1449179906","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:26","changed":"1475894848","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:28","alt":"Gas Hydrates in Japan - 5","file":{"fid":"196428","name":"e_papadopoulos_fixing_connections.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/e_papadopoulos_fixing_connections_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/e_papadopoulos_fixing_connections_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":414175,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/e_papadopoulos_fixing_connections_0.jpg?itok=p7yENw-0"}},"196371":{"id":"196371","type":"image","title":"Burning Ice","body":null,"created":"1449179906","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:26","changed":"1475894848","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:28","alt":"Burning Ice","file":{"fid":"196435","name":"jcs_burning.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jcs_burning_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jcs_burning_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":481690,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jcs_burning_0.jpg?itok=dOqRbhIU"}}},"media_ids":["196351","196311","196331","196341","196301","196371"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/661\/overview","title":"Professor Carlos Santamarina"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/blogs\/features\/usgs_top_story\/groundbreaking-gas-hydrate-research\/","title":"USGS - Press Release"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ceeatgt\/sets\/72157632757642011\/","title":"Photo Gallery"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"12800","name":"methane"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["klipp@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}