Recent discoveries from ice-core and marine sediments suggest that global climate systems can change from glacial to near-interglacial temperatures within decades. In order to explain this phenomenon, the authors (all affiliated with the Department of Geological Sciences, U. of California) advance a hypothesis that suggests that the massive energy needed for these changes came for the release of "frozen" methane hydrates (clathrates) stored in marine sediments on continental margins. They argue that the release of the methane caused feedback processes that would explain the surprisingly rapid changes. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Gas hydrates are both a huge energy resource and an environmental challenge. They have a significant impact on society because of their applications to the future of energy, protection of the environment and fuel transportation. Gas Hydrates opens up this fascinating, multidisciplinary field to non-specialists. It provides a scientific study of gas hydrates that considers their potential as an energy source while assessing the possible risk to the environment. The authors also examine the feasibility of using these natural compounds for storing and transporting gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Diagrams and photos are used throughout Gas Hydrates to help readers understand the scientific and technical content. Each section has been designed so it can be read independently by academics and professionals in the oil and gas industry, as well as by all those with an interest in how hydrates combine to be an energy resource, an industrial challange and a geological hazard.

Methane hydrate is a natural form of clathrate - a chemical substance in which one molecule forms a lattice around a "guest" molecule with chemical bonding. In this clathrate, the guest molecule is methane and the lattice is formed by water to form an ice-like solid. Methane hydrate has become the focus of international attention because of the vast potential for human use worldwide. If methane can be produced from hydrate, a reasonable assumption given that there are no obvious technical or engineering roadblocks to commercial production, the nation's natural gas energy supply could be extended for many years to come. This report reviews the Department of Energy's (DOE) Methane Hydrate Research and Development Program, the project selection process, and projects funded to date. It makes recommendations on how the DOE program could be improved. Key recommendations include focusing DOE program emphasis and research in 7 priority areas; incorporating greater scientific oversight in the selection, initiation, monitoring, and assessment of major projects funded by the DOE; strengthening DOE's contribution to education and training through funding of fellowships, and providing project applicants with a set of instructions and guidelines outlining requirements for timely and full disclosure of project results and consequences of noncompliance.

Advanced non-specialist textbook explaining the significance of past and contemporary environmental and climatic change.

Gas hydrates in their natural environment and for potential industrial applications (Volume 2).

Hardcover plus CD

This report is part of a series of 21 Synthesis and Assessments (SAP) aimed at providing current assessments of climate change science to inform public debate, policy, and operational decisions. These reports are also intended to help develop future program research priorities. The guiding vision is to provide the Nation and the global community with the science-based knowledge needed to manage the risks and capture the opportunities associated with climate and related environmental changes. This SAP assesses abrupt climate change events where key aspects of the climate system change faster than the responsible forces would suggest and/or faster than society can respond to those changes. Illustrations.

This book provides an understanding of the role of human activities in accelerating change in global carbon cycling summarizes current knowledge of the contemporary carbon budget. Starting from the geological history, this volume follows a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the role of human activities in perturbing carbon cycling by quantifying changes in different reservoirs and fluxes of carbon with emphasis on the anthropogenic activities, especially after the industrial revolution. It covers the role of different mitigation options – natural ecological, engineered, and geoengineered processes as well as the emerging field of climate engineering in avoiding dangerous abrupt climate change. Although the targeted audience is the educators, students, researchers and scientific community, the simplified analysis and synthesis of current and up to date scientific literature makes the volume easier to understand and a tool policy makers can use to make an informed policy decisions.

This second edition provides extensive information on the attributes of the Natural Gas Hydrate (NGH) system, highlighting opportunities for the innovative use and modification of existing technologies, as well as new approaches and technologies that have the potential to dramatically lower the cost of NGH exploration and production. Above all, the book compares the physical, environmental, and commercial aspects of the NGH system with those of other gas resources. It subsequently argues and demonstrates that natural gas can provide the least expensive energy during the transition to, and possibly within, a renewable energy future, and that NGH poses the lowest environmental risk of all gas resources. Intended as a non-mathematical, descriptive text that should be understandable to non-specialists as well as to engineers concerned with the physical characteristics of NGH reservoirs and their production, the book is written for readers at the university graduate level. It offers a valuable reference guide for environmentalists and the energy community, and includes discussions that will be of great interest to energy industry professionals, legislators, administrators, regulators, and all those concerned with energy options and their respective advantages and disadvantages.