SEAGAS : A Brazilian-European project to compare gas hydrate systems on the Atlantic and Mediterranean ocean margins

Description

SEAGAS is a 3-year initiative to study processes in the deep sea, involving research groups in Brazil and Europe, including in Germany. The project is being coordinated by PUCRS in collaboration with Géoazur in Nice, France. The hosts have complementary strengths in marine geoscience as applied to submarine gas hydrates, consistent with the project's research, training and strategic objectives. SEAGAS involves research into gas hydrates, ice-like compounds of water and natural gas (mainly methane) that form at high pressures and low temperatures and so are stable in areas of permafrost and in deep-sea sediments. The oceans cover 71% of the Earth, and submarine gas hydrates form what is estimated to be the world's largest reserve of greenhouse gases. The stability of this 'frozen' methane reservoir is sensitive to temporal changes in sea-level and water temperature, but also to the poorly understood dynamics of chimney-like structures observed to vent gas to the oceans. SEAGAS aims to improve our understanding of fluid venting from gas hydrate systems, by comparing occurrences within the deep-sea fans of the world's two largest rivers, the Amazon and the Nile. Numerical modeling of gas hydrate stability in the two areas is being used to guide interrogations of marine datasets held by the hosts, in order to generate hypotheses for the acquisition of new data during a joint oceanographic campaign to take place during the project.The overall training objective of SEAGAS is to diversity the competencies of the researcher and project participants. The outgoing host contains a group dedicated to consolidating Brazilian expertise in gas hydrate studies, with strengths in marine geochemical methods and concepts. The French return host has traditional strengths in marine geology and geophysics and a growing interest in gas hydrates. The SEAGAS project is designed to bring all participants together in joint activities, including data acquistion and analyses, to address shared research interests. The strategic aim is to consolidate an emerging collaboration between the outgoing and return hosts, and to stimulate the development of future projects involving Brazilian and European scientists in mutually beneficial research activities. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions offer opportunities for post-doctoral research mobility from Brazil to Europe, or from Europe to Brazil. The application deadline for Individual Fellowships is each year in September.The SEAGAS project is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 656821.

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