GeoWorld

Time-sensitive GeoWorld departments such as NetLink, PeopleLink, Product News and Business News now are maintained solely at the GeoPlace.com Web site. Check there often for the latest updates as they happen. A 15-day expedition in the northern Gulf of Mexico gave researchers the best high-resolution imagery and seismic data ever collected for sediments with high gas-hydrate saturations—an important potential future energy resource. Gas hydrates are ice-like substances that form when certain gases combine with water at specific pressures and temperatures. Gas-hydrate deposits occur widely in sediments beneath the ocean floor and in permafrost areas. Methane gas is most-often found in these deposits, meaning gas hydrates stand to be a potentially significant source of natural gas. The recent research expedition brought together the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Energy to study gas-hydrate deposits in the gulf. "The data and imagery provide insight into the entire petroleum system at each location, including the source of gas, the migration pathways for the gas, the distribution of hydrate-bearing sediments, and the traps that hold the Algorithm Development and Visualization," focused on GIS analysis to develop a cost- and time-efficient method to design trails at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The Virginia Tech team won for its entry, "A LeastCost Algorithm Approach to Trail Design Using GIS." Team members included Catherine Howey, Taylor Seigler and Jayashree Surendrababu, master's students studying geography; Won Hoi Hwang and Ioannis Kokkinidis, doctoral students studying geospatial and environmental analysis; Laura Lorentz, a master's student studying forestry; and Beth Stein, a doctoral student studying forestry. "Trail making today is more of an art than a science," said Kokkinidis, the team leader. "We have created a versatile and comprehensive tool that can be used wherever a trail needs to be plotted, not only by the Boy Scouts but also by users who lack trailmaking experience." BOEM Gulf Research Trip Returns Data on Potential New Fuel Resources Stars mark recent seismic surveys conducted in the Gulf of Mexico to image deepwater deposits of gas hydrates, a potential new energy resource. hydrate and free gas in place," said Brenda Pierce, coordinator, USGS Energy Resources Program. The data were collected at two locations in the Gulf of Mexico: sites where a 2009 expedition discovered gas hydrate filling 50-90 percent of the available pore space between sediment grains in subsurface sandy layers. With GSA Partnership, Elsevier Adds Maps to Research Tool Elsevier, a technical-information products company, teamed with the Geological Society of America (GSA) to integrate more than 60,000 geological maps from GSA publications into the company's Geofacets tool, bringing the total number of Geofacets maps to more than 300,000. The partnership makes GSA the largest third-party content contributor to Geofacets' database for geoscientists working in the fields of oil/gas exploration and metals/mining industries. GSA content includes maps from a range of publications dating back to 1934. The 25,000-member GSA also is expected to benefit from the partnership, mostly through wider exposure. J U L Y 2 O 1 3 / W W W . G E O P L A C E . C O M 7

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