JpGU Meeting 2020
Session outline| Biogeosciences(B) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Session Sub-category | Biogeosciences & Geosphere-Biosphere Interactions(BG) | |
| Session ID | B-BG01 | |
| Title | Gas hydrates as potential habitats in our solar system and beyond | |
| Short Title | Gas hydrates | |
| Main Convener | Name | Jennifer B Glass |
| Affiliation | Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus | |
| Co-Convener 1 | Name | Yoshinori Takano |
| Affiliation | Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) | |
| Co-Convener 2 | Name | Megan Elwood Madden |
| Affiliation | University of Oklahoma | |
| Session Language | E | |
| Scope | At moderate-to-high pressures and low temperatures, water molecules form pseudo-crystalline cages (clathrates; Latin clatratus) encasing guest gas molecules, most commonly methane, to form solid clathrate phases, also commonly referred to as gas hydrates. Gas hydrates are likely widespread in our solar system: on icy moons, comets, and the Martian subsurface. On Earth, gas hydrates (particularly those with methane gas) occur beneath permafrost and in sediments underlying continental shelves, where they support vast chemosynthetic communities at cold seeps. Habitability and biosignatures of microbial activity in gas hydrates are active fields of study with relevance for future missions to planets and icy moons that may harbor hydrates (e.g. Mars, Europa, Titan, and Enceladus). This session seeks to bring together diverse scientists studying any aspect of gas hydrates: from their structure, stability, and planetary distribution, to the composition and function of their microbial communities. | |
| Presentation Format | Oral and Poster presentation | |