Gas on EARTH Magazine

Cretaceous volcanic ash seeded U.S. oilfields

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 16:15:52 -0400

A new study using samples from this outcrop — exposing the contact between the Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale and Austin Chalk formations near Osman Canyon, Texas — suggests the abundant oilfields of the western United States may owe their existence to Cretaceous volcanic ash. Credit: Cin-Ty Lee.

Petroleum and natural gas stores are often found amid rocks — particularly ashbeds — deposited during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs roamed Earth and abundant volcanic arcs lined the edges of the continents.

Bubble accumulation could explain massive volcanic sulfur releases

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 13:35:13 -0400

Steam and gas rise from the caldera floor of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. New research may explain why some volcanic eruptions, such as Tambora's 1815 eruption, are so explosive and emit large amounts of sulfur gases. Credit: Georesearch Volcanedo Germany, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The spectacular 1815 eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora spewed large amounts of sulfur gases into the atmosphere, which formed fine sulfur-rich particles that blocked sunlight and lowered global temperatures by more than half a degree Celsius, causing famine and death on a global scale.

Above oil seeps, photosynthetic life flourishes

Thu, 19 May 2016 22:04:40 -0400

Researchers found that phytoplankton abundances in the Gulf of Mexico were higher in the water column above naturally occurring oil and gas seeps than in nearby areas not above seeps. Credit: NASA.

The direct effects of oil and gas releases in the ocean are typically negative — as in the case of 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil well disaster, which devastated marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. But scientists have now found that when natural oil and gas seeps upwell toward the ocean’s surface, they can also carry nutrients such as nitrates and nitrites from the seafloor that feed communities of phytoplankton, which flourish as a result.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Energy: A fool's look into the future

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

Are hydrogen fuels, natural gas or biofuels the way of the future? BP, p.l.c.

Honda Civic built to run on natural gas, as shown at the 2009 Auto Show in Washington, D.C. IFCAR

Jon White, a doctoral student at Purdue University in Indiana, conducts a field test on a Sandia experimental wind turbine in Bushland, Texas. Mark Rumsey, Sandia, Department of Energy

In the 1985 classic “Back to the Future,” Doc Brown, the mad scientist played by Christopher Lloyd, queries his time-traveling visitor, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), in 1955 about the future of America with the simple question of who was president. The answer of Ronald Reagan appeared astounding and ridiculous, as his name was on a movie poster at the time.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Energy: Oil and gas around the world

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

BP's Jack Ryan drillship off the coast of Angola drilled more than 3,500 meters below the sea to find oil and gas. BP. p.l.c.

BP's Jim Cunningham rig, offshore Angola. BP, p.l.c.

Energy is a combined product of natural resources, human ingenuity and economy; it is also an engine for economic and social development. This is truer now than ever before because the global economy is more integrated and populations are growing, and with that, competition, challenges and prospects are also rising.

As Green As It Gets: Algae Biofuels

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Vertical photobioreactors. Vertigro Images, per Valcent Products, Inc.

A scientist with the Department of Energy's Aquatic Species Program analyzes the oil content of microalgae in laboratory ponds. Warren Gretz, courtesy of National Renewable Energy Laboratory

A scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory sudies how green algae can produce hydrogen directly from water and sunlight. Combined with water in a fuel cell, the hydrogen produces clean energy. Jack Dempsey, courtesy of National Renewable Energy Laboratory

In September 2008, Algenol signed an $850 million deal with Mexico-based BioFields to grow algae in the Sonoran Desert. Algenol

Sapphire Energy unveiled its 'green crude' over the summer of 2008. Sapphire Energy

One way to grow a lot of algae: Go up. Valcent Products CEO Glen Kertz displays his company's vertical photobioreactors in El Paso, Texas. Vertigro Images, per Valcent Products, Inc.

Instead of squeezing algae and collecting their oil, Algenol is trying to engineer the algae to produce ethanol directly. Algenol

It’s hard to think of a humbler organism than algae, or a less-likely prospect to become savior of our energy future. “Algae fuel” does not conjure up images of power, big business or high-tech gadgetry; it suggests a modest picture of a murky pond covered by a greasy, greenish film. But unassuming algae, some researchers think, have the potential to become the ultimate in “green” fuel, powering everything from cars to jets — and perhaps putting an end to one of the more bitter battles in the biofuels industry: the “food versus fuel” debate over how best to use arable lands.

Coal-to-liquids: Can fuel made from coal replace gasoline?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

During World War II, the United States and its allies bombed refineries, coal-to-liquids plants and military plants such as the Focke-Wulf military aircraft plant in Marienburg, Germany, shown here in 1943. U.S. Department of Defense

Coal-to-liquids fuels carry a lot of environmental baggage, as these Kentuckians show. [Kentuckians for the Commonwealth](www.ktfc.org)

Amid all the attention to the converging of three energy-related crises — climate change, resource depletion and international extremism funded by the energy trade — a surprising energy choice keeps rearing its head: coal. That especially includes liquid fuels made from coal, which can be a substitute for gasoline, jet fuel and just about any other transportation fuel on which we currently rely.

Natural gas production linked to earthquakes in Texas

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

A saltwater disposal well, a part of the natural gas production process, may have been responsible for triggering a series of minor earthquakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas in 2008, according to a recent study.

Of sounds and cetaceans: Quieting a noisy underwater world

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Marine mammals live in a world of sound. In the open ocean, whales and dolphins depend on sound waves, using echolocation to navigate, find food, attract mates and communicate. But their clicks and calls are not the only noises underwater: Oil and gas exploration, seafloor mapping, and ship and submarine navigation have increased dramatically over the past few decades, making the world’s oceans noisier than ever.

The Changing Face of Sudan

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

To say that things are changing in Sudan would be an understatement. With a referendum on secession set for Jan. 9, and expected to pass, and many issues to be negotiated between now and July 9 when the country’s peace agreement ends, a lot will change over the coming months. And everything hinges on Sudan’s most valuable product: oil.

The Thirsty Dragon and the Wealthy Bear

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline carries crude oil 1,768 kilometers from an oilfield in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. BP

How China, Russia and High Oil Prices Influence Global Dynamics

The world is changing. Gone are the days of Middle Eastern sheikhs controlling the world’s oil and our purse strings. Russia and China are changing the rules of the game.