Colleagues – If you conduct research on marine gas hydrates and/or associated system dynamics, please consider presenting a paper in our special session at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2012 in Salt Lake City, Feb 19-24 per information provided below.  Dr. Evan Solomon, University of Washington, will make the overview presentation to begin the session.  We anticipate an exciting set of papers and look forward to seeing your abstract and your presentation or poster. 
Ray, Laura, Leonardo and Marta
Ocean Sciences Meeting 2012 (Feb 19-24, 2012) Salt Lake City, Utah
http://www.sgmeet.com/osm2012/     for information and registration
Abstracts due Oct 7, 2011
Session #060, Cross-listed in Session Categories 1, 3, 4, 18
Marine Gas Hydrate Deposits: Research, Monitoring Strategies and Present-Day Knowledge
Co-chairs: Ray Highsmith, NIUST, University of Mississippi, ray@olemiss.edu; Laura Lapham, University of Maryland, llapham33@gmail.com; Leonardo Macelloni, University of Mississippi, lmacello@olemiss.edu; Marta Torres, Oregon State University, mtorres@coas.oregonstate.edu
Gas hydrates are the largest reservoir of methane on Earth.  Hydrate stability is influenced by temperature and pressure fluctuations. Several deposits have been identified world-wide near the seafloor surface and represent a unique system where stability might be affected also by microbial interactions, very low seismic activity and oceanographic fluctuations (storms, currents, tides). Methane reaching the seafloor from deep reservoirs becomes an important source of carbon for diverse communities of microbes and macrofauna, making these areas ecologically important.  The near-surface hydrate sites also sequester large amounts of carbon within associated carbonate deposits, which provide habitat for benthic communities.  Therefore, to understand the factors that control hydrate stability or interactions with the surrounding ocean, it is critical to monitor and study the deposits over time.  We seek abstracts highlighting recent results on the evolution of geological, biological, or chemical factors based at established research/monitoring stations, such as in the Gulf of Mexico or the Cascadia Margin, or at hydrate sites around the world that have been visited frequently over time.  What have we learned about hydrate deposits?  How dynamic are they and what are the controlling factors?  What is needed for future hydrate research and monitoring?    

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Raymond C. Highsmith
Executive Director
National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology
and Center for Water and Wetland Resources
and UM Field Station
ray@olemiss.edu
662-915-5479