Gas Hydrates on the Sea Floor
The mission of STRC is to focus on the research and development of remote sensor and direct sampling technologies for the investigation of the deep seabed. These technologies primarily relate to systems for underwater vehicle surveys and ocean observatory studies of the seafloor and the critical issues related to the exploration and development of associated resources and protection of the environment.
STRC is a component of the Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute (MMRI) at the University of Mississippi. It is closely associated with another component of MMRI, the Center for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology (CMRET). CMRET is the facilitation organization for the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium. STRC will help this organization install a multisensor monitoring station on the continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the station is to remotely observe changes in physical and chemical parameters associated with gas hydrate at or near the sea floor. The need for such observations comes from the growing realization by many that sea floor stability may be influenced by the presence of gas hydrates and episodes of their sporadic disassociation. Such episodes appear to be related to phenomena such as warm water currents (associated with the Loop Current from the Caribbean Sea), warm hydrocarbon fluids (migration upward from deep reservoirs), or fault movement (perhaps caused by local salt adjustment).
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A Remote Station to Monitor Gas Hydrate outcrops in the Gulf of Mexico
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