What are methane hydrates? What do they offer as a potential source of energy ? Methane hydrate is a frozen form of methane and water that occurs in the sediments of continental margins and permafrost areas. The methane molecules are enclosed in microscopic cages composed of water molecules. Methane hydrates are only stable under pressures in excess of 35 bar and at low temperatures. Globally, gas hydrate contains huge quantities of methane that might be released to the atmosphere during global warming events, or to be developed as an energy resource.

1. The U.S. Geological Survey Gas Hydrates Project, http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/hydrates/research.html
2. J. Yoon, T. Kawamura, Y. Yamamoto and T. Komai, Transformation of Methane Hydrate to Carbon Dioxide Hydrate: In Situ Raman Spectroscopic Observations, The Fifteenth International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, June 19 - 24, 2005, Seoul, Korea.
3. A future energy source? World Ocean Review I, 2010, http://worldoceanreview.com/en/wor-1/energy/methane-hydrates/2/

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