Tag: environment
August 12, 2023
Exploring One of the Largest Carbon Caches on Earth
Today is my last day on the Helix Q4000, the offshore platform where The University of Texas at Austin-led science team is sampling and studying the methane hydrate reservoir system below. I’ve been out here a week – and it’s gone by fast! This blog isn’t the last of my writing about the…
Read MoreAugust 11, 2023
Holding Tight
Last night, Peter Flemings, the mission’s lead scientist and a professor at The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, called the science team together. He wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed on the science and the mission progress – which had picked up…
Read MoreAugust 9, 2023
Fred Beach Appointed Director of the Energy and Earth Resources Graduate Program
The Jackson School of Geosciences has named Dr. Fred Beach Director of the Energy and Earth Resources (EER) Graduate Program. For over 40 years, the…
Read MoreAugust 8, 2023
Progress from Delay
Over the past four days at sea, the science team has faced the following issues: The “T2P” – a temperature and pressure probe refined for the methane hydrate mission – was shelved after free-falling 6,500 feet to the bottom of the seafloor during a test run. The probe was supposed to…
Read MoreAugust 4, 2023
Methane Hydrate: The Mission Continues
The University of Texas at Austin has returned to the Gulf of Mexico to lead a Department of Energy-funded mission to sample and study methane…
Read MoreMay 5, 2022
Tropical Forests Benefit Less from Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Than Thought
The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere has only a small influence on changes in tropical ecosystems despite evidence of enhanced plant…
Read MoreMarch 24, 2016
Storing Extra Surface Water Boosts Groundwater Supply During Droughts
Although years of drought and over-pumping have significantly depleted groundwater in Arizona and California, a new study shows the situation has an upside: It has…
Read More