Methane Hydrates are a concentrated solid form of methane that exist only at high pressures and low temperatures. They are found (sometimes in significant abundance) on every continental margin on Earth in water depths typically greater than 500 m below sea level. The amount of hydrates on the planet and their role they play both in (1) the carbon cycle and (2) slope stability if they dissociated into methane gas and (3) their potential as an extractable energy resource remains unclear. From a scientific perspective, methane hydrates are important because they provide an invaluable temperature-pressure data point: where methane hydrate converts from solid to gas/liquid phase is well understood and easily imaged in seismic data. As a result, seismic imaging of methane hydrates provide direct insight into the temperature-pressure regime on continental margins and whether these regimes are dynamic or in steady stead. My research group therefore uses methane hydrates (combined with seismic imaging and temperature/pressure measurements/models) to determine where the subsurface temperature and pressure regime is changing in space and time. This allows us to answer questions like
are ocean temperatures changing rapidly and destabilizing hydrate? (for examples, see this and this)
How will hydrate dissociation impact sediment stress state and margin stability? (for example, see this)
Are methane hydrates responsible in-part for large submarine slides or blow-out features observed on the seafloor? (for example, see this, this, and this)
How much methane hydrate exists on a margin, and can the methane be extracted easily for economic use? (for example, see this, this, and this)
How are methane hydrates and submarine methane vent/seep sites coupled and what are the implications for the diverse chemosythetic life surviving on them? (for example, see this, this, and this)