Gas Hydrates—A Possible Future Energy Resource?

Gas hydrates are a chemical compound composed of natural gases (methane) and water that occur in sediments overlain by cold, deep water. Little is known about the environmental role, or possible resource potential of this recently discovered phenomenon.

Irregular shaped pieces of gas hydrate recoverd from sediments in the Sea of Okhotsk, east of Sakalin Island. The pieces were removed from sediment recovered from a gravity core which penetrated the sea floor sediments to about 2 meters in a water depth of 708 meters. Scale is in centimeters.

A section of hydrated sediment form the Sea of Okhotsk core broken open, revealing sub-horizontal layers and/or veins of gas hydrate. The core was taken in a water depth of 708 meters. For more detailed information refer to Gas hydrates from the continental slope, offshore Sakhalin Island, Okhotsk Sea: G.D. Ginsburg et al 1993; Geo-Marine Letters, 13: 41-48

Read more in the USGS Fact Sheet describing Gas Hydrates in detail.