What's the Big Deal?

Have you ever tried to light ice on fire? With methane hydrate, you can do exactly that. The ice forms with methane inside so it looks like ice, but is able to burn. The instructional activity uses group research and a hands-on activity...

Who knew that a possible answer to Earth's energy resource problems was lurking deep beneath the ocean's surface? Part four of a six-part series introduces Earth Science pupils to methane hydrate, a waste product of methanogens. After...

Junior oceanographers and underwater geologists describe the four major steps of mass spectrometry. They compete in small groups to simulate the tracking of a deepwater methane plume using imaginary autonomous underwater vehicles. Give...

Chemosynthetic communities of cold seep areas are considered in this lesson plan. Working in collaborative groups, marine biology or oceanography learners research and prepare a report about oxidation-reduction reactions involved with...

Students define terms and describe where they are found and formed.  In this methane lesson students complete an activity and describe ways in which methane hydrates impact our lives. 

Students study cold seeps and see how organisms obtain energy from methane.  In this sinkholes lesson plan students examine the relevance of chemosynthesis to communities. 

High schoolers research the evidence for prehistorically formed methane hydrates contributing to global warming. In this climate change lesson, students work in groups to research methane hydrates, global warming, The Cambrian Explosion,...

Young scholars plot data to construct and interpret a graph about vestimentiferans at cold-seep sites in the Gulf of Mexico. In this deep sea lesson, students plot data provided for the growth of tubeworms. They use the graphs to...

In 1977, scientists discovered hot springs in the middle of deep, cold ocean waters near the Galapagos Islands. Scholars research the chemical reactions that explain what scientists found at the Lost City. A discussion connects many...

The oceans are a source of renewable energy. Tidal energy, wave energy, thermal energy and methane hydrates are all described in this animation.