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Hydrate samples and field activities in the Gulf of Mexico

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Drilling tools laid out on deck during the April 2009 Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II gas hydrate expedition; from left to right: EcoScope, TeleScope, SonicVision and PeriScope. Photo courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II Science Team. Helix Q4000 platform crew running pipe during the April 2009 Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II gas hydrate expedition. Photo courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II Science Team. Drilling operations during the April 2009 Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II gas hydrate expedition. Photo courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II Science Team. More drilling operations during the April 2009 Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II gas hydrate expedition. Photo courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II Science Team. Derrick of the Q4000 platform during the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II gas hydrate expedition, April 2009. Photo courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II Science Team. Q4000 platform on location at the Walker Ridge 313 well site during the April 2009 Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II gas hydrate expidition. Photo courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II Science Team. The drill bit used at the holes during the April 2009 Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II gas hydrate expedition. Photo courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II Science Team. A close-up look at the veins in a hydrate sample. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Cores of sediment to be examined for evidence of hydrates. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Sifting through sediment for hydrate samples. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Cluster of mussels that feed off methantropic bacteria associated with near-seabed-surface methane gas hydrates. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Drilling into a hydrate sample. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Thick vein in hydrate sample. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Fire and ice! Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Thick veins in a hydrate sample. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Veins in sediment. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Thick veins in hydrate sample. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Clean hydrate sample. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Displaying the flammable methane gas locked inside a water-ice crystal lattice. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR. Displaying the flammable methane gas locked inside water-ice crystal lattice structures. Photo courtesy of: IFM-GEOMAR.
The Gulf of Mexico is the world's 11th largest body of water. It is one of North America's largest reservoirs of developed conventional hydrocarbon production. Methane gas hydrates occur throughout the Gulf. Come see some of the work being done.

Methane gas hydrate sites by region