2020 Natural Gas Hydrate Systems GRC/GRS: Galveston, Texas - February 2020

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Gas hydrates are a solid formed from water and methane gas. Gas hydrates occur on every continent and large amounts of gas hydrates are found in marine sediments. Obtaining a deeper understanding of the basic factors that control the formation, occurrence, stability, and destruction of gas hydrates is important for several reasons. Gas hydrates could be a valuable energy source. Additionally, if gas hydrates decompose they could release large amounts of methane, and the sudden release of methane could initiate submarine landslides. To increase understanding of gas hydrates a Natural Gas Hydrate Systems Gordon Research Conference will be held to bring together top researchers to facilitate interaction and discussion between top researchers from academe, government, and the private sector. This award will help cover the costs for about 10 early-career scientists to attend the Gordon Research Conference and the Gordon Research Seminar on Natural Gas Hydrate Systems scheduled before it. The conference and seminar provide the opportunity for early-career scientists to meet and share information with their peers and to interact with the more senior researchers.The Gordon Research Conference and the Gordon Research Seminar on Natural Gas Hydrate Systems will aid in moving gas hydrates studies away from traditional topics and towards a more modern, cutting-edge consideration of the nonequilibrium dynamics of natural gas hydrate systems to make progress on a suite of geohazard, climate, energy and carbon cycling issues. Multiple sessions will emphasize such topics as the importance of coupled multi-phase flow (free gas and liquid water) and multicomponent reactive transport with geological history to describe the dynamical processes of gas hydrate formation and evolution in geological systems. This award will help support the travel and registration of a subset of early-career scientists. The conference is designed for senior researchers to have ample time to interact with the early-career scientists.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.