Hydrates in the ocean and evidence for the location of hydrate formation

There is substantial evidence that the oceans of the world will pose the most important challenges in the area of hydrate formation. This work indicates three areas of concern for hydrate formation in the ocean: (1) deposits of natural gas in ocean hydrates, which will serve as an energy resource and environmental concern in the next millenium, (2) a recent proposal for the ocean storage of carbon dioxide in the form of hydrates, and (3) the prevention of hydrate formation in ocean pipelines. To address such applications, fundamental knowledge on the site of hydrate formation was determined. Results are presented for quiescent, high-pressure experiments done in a sapphire tube to determine the site of hydrate formation in deionized water and in mixtures with amorphous silica and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Visual (microscope aided) results are presented for formation with a typical gas mixture and with carbon dioxide.