Today is my last day on the Helix Q4000, the offshore platform where The University of Texas at Austin-led science team is sampling and studying the methane hydrate reservoir system below. I’ve been out here a week – and it’s gone by fast! This blog isn’t the last of my writing about the methane hydrate… Continue Reading Exploring One of the Largest Carbon Caches on Earth
Gulf of Mexico Methane Hydrates Expedition Blog
Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences and partner universities are in the Gulf of Mexico on a mission to sample and study methane hydrate, a difficult to reach and poorly understood substance with potentially wide-ranging effects on the planet’s environment, climate and energy resources. Jackson School Science Writer Monica Kortsha and videographer Drew Ott joined the team to document the work and tell the story.
View photos from the expedition: Photo Gallery
Holding Tight
By Monica Kortsha Last night, Peter Flemings, the mission’s lead scientist and a professor at The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, called the science team together. He wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed on the science and the mission progress – which had picked up momentum during the… Continue Reading Holding Tight
Cutting Core, Seeing Signposts
By Monica Kortsha Earlier this week, I watched a core sample slide into the processing lab for the first time, the drill crew pushing it through a hole cut into the side of the shipping container that houses the lab. Surrounded by a clear plastic tube, the core offered a first look at sediment about… Continue Reading Cutting Core, Seeing Signposts
Progress from Delay
By Monica Kortsha Over the past four days at sea, the science team has faced the following issues: Thankfully, each obstacle has been overcome to different degrees. Pressure readings aren’t available but a probe on the coring tool is taking temperatures. The pressure-valve sealed on the second attempt, capturing a beautiful pressurized core sample, which… Continue Reading Progress from Delay
The Stuff of Life at Sea
By Monica Kortsha The mission to recover methane hydrates has scientists set on recovering core samples of the substance from over 1,000 feet beneath the seafloor. To actually reach these samples requires the science team to live and work aboard a specialized vessel named Helix Q4000. I took the helicopter out to the Q4000 on… Continue Reading The Stuff of Life at Sea