Menlo Park, CA

Synthesis Pressure Vessels

Growth of large-volume samples

• Reproducible grain characteristics
• Reproducible stoichiometry

Instrumented Pressure Vessels

Formation Kinetics

Acoustic Properties

• Wave speed
• Elastic moduli

Thermal Analysis

Gas Flow Meter and Gas Collection Apparatus

Dissociation Kinetics

• Self preservation
• Buffered dissociation

Stoichiometry

Cryo-X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

• High-Pressure Capable

Composition and relative abundance

Crystal structure of the hydrate phase

Cryo - Scanning Electron Microscope (CSEM)

CSEM Micrograph Catalog

• Natural vs. laboratory-formed gas hydrate
• Gas hydrate bearing sediment
• Gas hydrate in saline systems
• Handling / core retrieval effects

Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS)

• Attached to CSEM

Elemental Analysis

Carbon Detection

Naturally-occurring gas hydrate - Sites examined:

• Cascadian Margin, Offshore Vancouver, Canada
• Offshore India
• Gulf of Mexico
• Mt. Elbert, Alaska
• Mallik, NWT, Canada

Reston, VA

Optical Cell

Gas Hydrate Formation Behavior

• Fate of methane
• Pore space distribution

Raman Spectroscope

Solubility

Enthalpy

High-Pressure Gas Hydrate Structures

Woods Hole, MA

Baseline Geotechnical Devices

• Gas pycnometer
• Pocket penetrometer
• Torvane
• Mini-vane shear
• Constant Rate of Strain Consolidation (CRSC)
• Triaxial Cell

Baseline sediment properties

• Grain size
• Grain density
• Water content
• Porosity/Void ratio
• Atterberg limits
• State of stress
• Shear strength
• Stress history
• 1-D deformation behavior
• Strain rate effects
• Stress-strain behavior
• Pore pressure effects
• Sediment moduli

Gas Hydrate And Sediment Test Laboratory Instrument (GHASTLI)

Acoustic Properties

• Wave speed
• Shear strength
• Permeability
• Electrical resistivity

Examined hydrate-bearing sediment from:

• Blake Ridge, Offshore S.E. United States
• Offshore India
• Gulf of Mexico
• Mallik, NWT, Canada

Hydrates From Ice (HyFI)

Thermal Properties