Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium

Annual MeetingOctober 26-27, 2010

GOMHRC Annual Meeting

• Day 2 – Wednesday October 27, 2010• Planning Session – to set research agenda for

the 2012 field season– Breakout sessions– Reporting

• Oil Spill Session– Research results, gaps and opportunities

Research scheduled for this year

– BBLA recovery and re-deployment for carbonate and cold seep characterization

– Recover and re-deploy CSA and ROVARD sensor array at MC118

– IDP upgrade for optic modem system– SSD sensor array upgrade– Design and construct pressure vessel– Polarity preserving chirp on NIUST AUV– Habitat survey at MC118– MC118 – MC798 comparative Chrip survey– SSDR on NIUST AUV

Research scheduled for this year, cont.

– Heat flow data collection at MC118– Collect and analyze giant piston cores at MC118– Develop techniques for processing PP chirp– Speed of sound probe, with core collection– Complete multi-gas component simulator– Monitor and analyze PFA data and add one PFA– Deploy peepers and osmo-landers– MIMS re-design and deployment– Multibeam quantification of seep emissions

GOMHRC Annual Meeting

• Cruise dates for 2011– March 29 – April 5– April 14 – 23– June 24 – July 5– August 23 – September 1– October 12 – 19

• Be thinking about when you will be ready

GOMHRC Annual Meeting

• Planning Session – 2 parts– Analyze what has been done• Presented yesterday, wall charts, other research

– Determine what needs to be done and prioritize research needs• Research question to be answered, sensor

development, ship time, other

Why Hydrates Observatories are Needed

• Establish dominant processes that drive and modulate methane dynamics within and below the HSZ

• Evaluate structural and sediment property controls for fluid and gas flow; how rates are affected by oceanographic, tectonic, and diagenetic processes

(GHOBS workshop report, July 18-20, 2007)

Why Hydrates Observatories are Needed

• How are these controls and modulations transferred and manifested at the seafloor and how the biosphere perturbs and responds to changes in the composition of the fluid

• Establish the fate of hydrate methane in the water column and transfer to the atmosphere

• Stimulate engineering and technology developments needed to work on the seafloor

Geochem/Microbes

• Science Drivers (from GOMHRC 2009 meeting)– Feedback of chemical fluxes to microbial

abundance, community structure, activity and gene expression in sediment and water column

– Temporal variability and periodicity of hydrate formation and dissociation events

– Oceanographic factors affecting hydrate stability– Define hydrates stability zone– Conceptual model of the complex hydrocarbon

system linking microbe action to faults

Geology/Geophysics• Science Drivers (from GOMHRC 2009 meeting)– What are the structural and sedimentological

controls on hydrate formation and dissociation?– What is the temporal and spatial variability in the

hydrates stability zone? Can we map/predict these changes?

– Are seismic activity and hydrate stability related?– What is the “seismic signature” of gas hydrates?– Can we estimate hydrate saturation/concentration?– Can we implement a solid model for hydrate

accumulation at MC118?

Breakout Sessions

• Define research needed– What is the science question?– Why is this needed?– How does it fill a gap?– Are new sensors or techniques needed?

Breakout Sessions

• Goal of each group– Define 5-6 research concepts – Rank by importance and potential for success

• Three groups: – Geology/Geophysics, – Chemistry/Microbial– Engineering/Sensors

• Each group ‘elect’ a leader to present report

Moving Forward

• Proposal development– RFP based on research needs will be issued– Proposals will be due by February 28, 2011– Proposals will be peer-reviewed– Selections will be made by March 31, 2011

GOMHRC Annual Meeting

• Annual meeting for 2011– Pick a date, i.e. 2nd week of November– Location – here– Meeting format?– Virtual meeting early February, discuss RFP– Virtual meeting early April, cruise planning

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