​Natural gas hydrates form under high fluid pressure and low temperature, where biogenic or thermogenic gases are available. These requirements delimit the distribution of hydrate-bearing sediments to sub-permafrost, deep lakes (>390-m water depth) or ocean sediments (>320 m). Typically, hydrates are found beneath deeper water columns due to thermal fluctuations and diffusion near the sediment surface (Xu and Ruppel, 1999). The clathrate or cage-like structure formed by water molecules hinders the repulsion between gas molecules allows for very high gas concentration. With the high methane concentration in large areas, natural gas hydrates can become an energy resource and remain a potential source for a potent greenhouse gas. Depressurization and/or warming cause dissociation and volume expansion leading to large-scale sediment destructuration.

A proper characterization of hydrate-bearing sediments requires coring, recovery, manipulation and testing under pressure and temperature (P-T) conditions within the stability field. This report begins with an overview of existing tools, and then describes advances in pressure core technology developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology that have been advanced to address this need.