Investigation Description:

A gas hydrate is an ice-like substance that forms in deep-sea sediments when low-density gas, like methane, ethane, or carbon dioxide, combines but does not chemically bond with water and freezes into a solid under low temperature and moderate pressure conditions. In this investigation, students analyze chemical structures and make observations in order to develop and use a model to explain the phenomenon: How does methane hydrate form on and below the seafloor?

Standards

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):
Performance Expectation: MS-PS1-4
Disciplinary Core Idea: PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

Ocean Literacy Essential Principles:
Principle 5: Fundamental Concepts e, g

Supporting Images/Videos:

Supplemental Materials:

Fact Sheets

• Cold Seeps (pdf)
• Cold Seep Communities (pdf)
• Chemosynthesis (pdf)

Exploration Notes – stories from the field

• Cold Seeps of the U.S. Atlantic
• An Unexpected Discovery: Connecting Habitats and Teams
• An Update on Cold Seeps in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean