10 The Role of Natural Gas Hydrates in the Evolution of Planetary Bodies and Life

Monday, 25 June 2001
3:00 PM - 4:40 PM

WORLD ESTIMATES OF HYDRATE RESOURCES, BASIC PROPERTIES OF HYDRATES, AND AZERBAIJAN HYDRATES

Paper number: 10-3
Program: THEME SESSIONS
Time: 3:35 PM – 4:05 PM

Authors

  • Ian Lerche Presenting Author
    Univ of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Abstract

Assessments of the available amounts of onshore and offshore hydrates have been given over the last twenty years. The first part of this talk evaluates all that is currently known about such estimates in respect of variations and also in respect of the date the estimate was made. The general conclusion is that the estimates have not yet stabilized with increasing amounts of information with time in respect of amount of hydrate resource.

The second part of the paper considers the basic physical properties of hydrates, ranging from density, speed of wave propagation, stability with respect to pressure and temperature, through to composition effects. The influence of these properties on detecting hydrates and also on their long-term stability is considered, particularly with respect to climate and sea-level changes with time.

The third part of the paper considers an application to the offshore hydrates in the South Caspian basin, including the explosive hazard potential such hydrates provide and their ability to release copious amounts of methane into the atmosphere with time.