| Clathrate hydrates are inclusion compounds consisting of an ice-like network of water cages surrounding occluded guest molecules. They occur beneath the oceans and in polar regions, where low temperature and high pressure conditions prevail. Natural gas hydrates, mainly composed of methane occur worldwide and may contain huge natural gas amount, but they can also play an important role in continental slope stability or climate change, due to the potentially enormous "greenhouse" feedback effect of methane. The knowledge of their occurrence in the natural environment, their physical, chemical or thermodynamical properties is essential to prevent geohazards, to anticipate their role in climate change or to develop technologies to take advantage of this... |
