Dr. Ewa Burwicz-Galerne from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel has been awarded during the ninth International Gas Hydrate Conference (ICGH9) in Denver (Colorado, USA) for the world's best PhD thesis in the field of natural gas hydrate research in the past three years. For her thesis, the geologist has developed some of the most complex numerical models of gas hydrates and has gained new insights into their development. The latest study recently was published in the international journal Geochemistry Geophysics, Geosystems.
Dr. Ewa Burwicz-Galerne from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel has been awarded during the ninth International Gas Hydrate Conference (ICGH9) in Denver (Colorado, USA) for the world's best PhD thesis in the field of natural gas hydrate research in the past three years. For her thesis, the geologist has developed some of the most complex numerical models of gas hydrates and has gained new insights into their development. The latest study recently was published in the international journal Geochemistry Geophysics, Geosystems.
Until 50 years ago, they were considered a curiosity in the laboratory and a nuisance in gas pipelines of the Arctic. Today, we know that large amounts of gas hydrates are harboured in the continental slopes of all oceans. The ice-like compounds of water and gas form at low temperatures and high pressures. Since they primarily contain the combustible gas methane, they are also referred to as “burning ice” and are considered a potential energy resource.
However, for resource purposes gas hydrates have been investigated only for the past 20 years and many details about their origin and occurrence are still unknown. Dr. Ewa Burwicz-Galerne from GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel has addressed some of these questions within the framework of her PhD thesis. For this purpose she used computer models simulating the formation of gas hydrates and related processes in marine sediments. For this work she received an award for the best thesis in the field of natural-gas-hydrate research at the Ninth International Gas Hydrate Conference (ICGH9) in Denver (Colorado, USA). “This is a great honour, since the recognition comes directly from the gas hydrate community and the conference takes place only every three years” said Dr. Burwicz-Galerne after the ceremony.
Continue reading at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Image: Visualization of the model Dr. Burwicz-Galerne used to simulate the development of the gas hydrate deposits in the Green Canyon. Credits: Ewa Burwicz-Galerne
