An interdisciplinary study of gas-hydrate zone on the Carolina Continental Rise will be undertaken through two cruises to resolve the acoustic properties and structure of hydrated sediments and the low-velocity zone below and the effect of hydrate formation on pore-water chemistry and circulation through the rise. High resolution seismic reflection profiling through ocean bottom seismometer survey and coring coupled with heat flow measurements are planned on separate cruises. This is a collaborative project between University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
