Chemistry of natural methane hydrate Necessary conditions for methane hydrate formation Geology of methane hydrates Exploring for methane hydrate Estimates of the methane resource in hydrates

Natural Methane Hydrate is the most common form of a unique class of chemical compounds known as clathrates. Clathrates are characterized by a rigid, open network of bonded host molecules that enclose, without direct chemical bonding, appropriately sized guest molecules of another substance. “Hydrate” is an informal term commonly used for those clathrates in which the host molecule is water. “Gas hydrate” refers to hydrates in which the guest molecule is a gas. “Methane hydrate” is a gas hydrate where the gas is methane (CH₄ - the primary component of natural gas). Finally, natural methane hydrate refers to methane hydrates formed naturally and not as a result of some human activity.

Most of what is known about the basic physical and chemical properties of methane hydrate has been learned in the laboratory. Considerable progress has been made in defining the conditions at which hydrate forms, the structures it takes, and the properties it exhibits. These data are increasingly being field-checked by deep sea submersible dives, ship-based drilling, and remote imaging programs that reveal how hydrates exist in and interact with the natural environment. The links to the right will provide summaries of our current understanding of hydrates and further links to more detailed information.