{"614232":{"#nid":"614232","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Unlocking the Mystery of Methane Clathrates","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETrillions of cubic feet of natural gas is thought to lie in cold storage within Earth\u0026rsquo;s permafrost and under its oceans. That gas, however, is trapped within chemical cage-like structures called methane clathrates. Scientists are very interested in these structures, because they may have cousins hidden under the surface of the icy moons in the outer solar system.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhether the clathrates are on Earth or the Jovian moon Europa, science wants to know: What role did microbes play in their formation and stability? How are they involved when Earthbound clathrates start deteriorating, releasing this greenhouse methane gas into an already-warming global atmosphere? Is that process underway millions of miles from Earth?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAn interdisciplinary team of Georgia Tech geo-microbiologists,\u0026nbsp;biochemists, and geo-engineers will have a chance to answer those questions, thanks to a grant from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/research\/astrobiology-at-nasa\/exobiology\/\u0022\u003ENASA Exobiology Program\u003C\/a\u003E that comes with a heady title: \u003Cem\u003EMicrobial Interactions with Methane Clathrate: Implications for Habitability of Icy Moons. \u003C\/em\u003EThe investigators, which include College of Sciences researchers, will search\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;DNA\u0026nbsp;blueprints of\u0026nbsp;potential clathrate-binding proteins, will reproduce those proteins in a laboratory, and will test their impact on\u0026nbsp;methane clathrate\u0026nbsp;properties.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This is a truly interdisciplinary project to understand how microbial life\u0026nbsp;survives in methane clathrates under the seafloor,\u0026rdquo; says\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/glass-dr-jennifer\u0022\u003E Jennifer Glass\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E. Glass will serve as the team\u0026rsquo;s principal investigator.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;These deep microbes encode genes that are different from any found on the Earth\u0026#39;s surface,\u0026rdquo; Glass says. \u0026ldquo;This grant will be one of the first efforts to study the biochemistry of\u0026nbsp;these new biomolecules, and how they affect the structure\u0026nbsp;and properties of methane clathrate.\u0026nbsp;This research is only possible because\u0026nbsp;our Georgia Tech team is uniquely working at the interface between microbial ecology, biochemistry, and geoengineering.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EClathrates are lattice-like structures made of a solid similar to ice. They are buried in polar permafrost and under the world\u0026rsquo;s oceans, and scientists believe they could hold anywhere from 100,000 to 1 million Tcf (trillion cubic feet) of natural gas. The gas molecules are trapped inside the crystalline structures, but large-scale commercial extraction isn\u0026rsquo;t available yet. However, plumes of methane have been recorded leaking from Arctic permafrost thanks to global warming. (Methane is already produced via decaying organic matter in landfills, traditional oil and gas exploration, and within the stomachs of domestic livestock.)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EVisits from planetary probes, spectroscopy readings, and other research indicate that methane clathrates may exist on the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn. They may be part of developing ecosystems. Did microbes interact with those clathrates? Could they be tapped in the search for life in the solar system? Could those gas resources help sustain human habitats on the Jovian moon Europa?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;We are excited to learn more about the fascinating molecules that bind methane ice in this unique environmental niche,\u0026rdquo; says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/lieberman\/\u0022\u003ERaquel Lieberman\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E, and one of the methane clathrate team members. \u0026ldquo;These proteins don\u0026rsquo;t look like any others known in temperate environments.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Glass and Lieberman, other team members include research scientist \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/biosci.gatech.edu\/people\/anton-petrov\u0022\u003EAnton Petrov\u003C\/a\u003E and Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/Williams\/Loren\u0022\u003ELoren Williams\u003C\/a\u003E, both with the School of\u0026nbsp;Chemistry and Biochemistry; and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/people\/Faculty\/6774\/overview\u0022\u003ESheng Dai\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ocean.gatech.edu\/people\/abigail-johnson\u0022\u003EAbbie Johnson,\u003C\/a\u003E an EAS\u0026nbsp;graduate student in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ocean.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EOcean Science \u0026amp; Engineering Program\u003C\/a\u003E, will work on the project for her\u0026nbsp;doctoral dissertation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGlass has a courtesy appointment with the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E. She also is on the faculty of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech research team wins NASA grant to study microbe\/methane connection on Earth, planetary moons"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMethane clathrates, crystalline lockers for natural gas deposits deep under Earth\u0026#39;s oceans, may also exist on icy moons of Saturn and Jupiter. An interdisciplinary team of Georgia Tech College of Sciences researchers will look into possible microbial influence on these clathrates, thanks to new NASA funding.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An interdisciplinary research team wins funding to study methane clathrates on Earth and on outer moons of the solar system."}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2018-11-14 15:31:50","changed_gmt":"2018-11-18 13:12:13","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2018-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"614237":{"id":"614237","type":"image","title":"Structure of a methane clathrate block found in Oregon. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)","body":null,"created":"1542210702","gmt_created":"2018-11-14 15:51:42","changed":"1542210702","gmt_changed":"2018-11-14 15:51:42","alt":"","file":{"fid":"233849","name":"Methane Clathrate.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Methane%20Clathrate.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Methane%20Clathrate.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50462,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Methane%20Clathrate.jpg?itok=52vV3mKw"}},"610185":{"id":"610185","type":"image","title":"Jennifer Glass in her lab","body":null,"created":"1534960341","gmt_created":"2018-08-22 17:52:21","changed":"1534960341","gmt_changed":"2018-08-22 17:52:21","alt":"","file":{"fid":"232354","name":"Jen.lab_.rock_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jen.lab_.rock_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jen.lab_.rock_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3794331,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jen.lab_.rock_.jpg?itok=kHgcY4yv"}}},"media_ids":["614237","610185"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"79441","name":"jennifer glass"},{"id":"10858","name":"Raquel Lieberman"},{"id":"10720","name":"Loren Williams"},{"id":"179710","name":"Anton Petrov"},{"id":"179711","name":"Sheng Dai"},{"id":"179712","name":"Abbie Johnson"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"179713","name":"Ocean Science and Engineering Program"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"179714","name":"NASA Exobiology Program"},{"id":"179715","name":"methane clathrates"},{"id":"791","name":"Global Warming"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}