Interfacial Science Advances Towards Understanding and Monitoring Gas Hydrate Systems

In the full spirit of the Gordon Conference, the 2016 Natural Gas Hydrates GRC will aim at linking the latest advances on our understanding of gas hydrate science at the most fundamental level to a myriad of current research issues of scientific, economic and societal relevance. Interfacial science advances can provide valuable insights to researchers working on a gamut of gas hydrate issues encompassing gas transport in pipelines, sediments and the water column; geo-mechanics and sediment-hydrate interaction; sensor development and monitoring strategies; applications and challenges in cabled observatories; numerical simulations of reservoirs; as well as field programs looking at gas hydrate formation, accumulation and destabilization in the Arctic, Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic, eastern and western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The interface between two phases is a chaotic environment, where our classical framework of energy begins to break down. Despite this challenge, understanding interfacial behavior is critical to accurately predicting how macroscopic systems respond to a dynamic environment. New experimental methods have allowed us to look deeper into the interface than at any point in history, but this new insight has not yet been fully integrated in macroscopic studies. The 2016 GRC will focus on understanding the interfacial attributes of clathrate hydrates, and the next-generation tools used to probe them, in the context of recent advances in, among others, conventional and alternative energy, sensor and monitoring technologies, microbiology and system ecology, rock mechanics, slope stability and climate issues.