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July 22, 1999

For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070. Editor: Cheryl Dybas

METHANE IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA: NEW DIRECTIONS IN RESEARCH ON NATURAL GAS HYDRATES

Natural gas hydrates -- a mixture of methane and water frozen into a solid crystalline state -- were first discovered in marine sediments in the 1970s. However, it is only recently that the pace of research into their nature has significantly increased, according to Bilal Haq, director of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) marine geology and geophysics program, and author of an article in the July 23rd issue of Science.

Recent estimates indicate that on the order of 10,000 gigatons of carbon, or double the amount of all known fossil fuel sources, may be stored in gas hydrates. Thus far, Haq believes, the petroleum industry has been less interested in gas hydrates as a resource because they may not be easy to recover or costeffective to exploit. (Most gas hydrate is thinly dispersed in the pore spaces of sediments on the sea floor, at water depths greater than 1,500 feet.) Only rarely, he writes in Science, do gas hydrates occur in locally concentrated areas, such as on the Blake Ridge off the East Coast of the United States. Gas hydrates have also been implicated in massive slumps and slides on the continental slope; when hydrates break down, they cause local earthquakes and pose hazards to petroleum drilling rigs and undersea cables.

Substantial uncertainty remains about how gas hydrates are formed and about the nature and location of their reservoirs, as well as what their energy and climate change potential may be. To address these issues, Haq suggests, we need to better understand the physical, chemical and biological processes within hydrate sediments, and the fate of methane in ocean water once it is released from the seafloor as hydrates break down. [Cheryl Dybas]

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AFRICAN DUST MAY BE MAJOR FACTOR AFFECTING SOUTHEAST U.S. AIR QUALITY

Large quantities of dust, originating in Africa, are blown across the Atlantic Ocean each summer and constitute up to one half of breathable particles in the air over Miami, Florida, according to a new study funded in part by the NSF. African dust can on certain days push the total number of airborne particles above the limit set by the Clean Air Act.

The study, by Joseph Prospero of the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, appeared in the July 20 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, published by the American Geophysical Union. Describing himself as a "champion of dust," Prospero reviewed 23 years of measurements of airborne particles, or aerosols, at a coastal site in Miami. He believes the impact of African dust is comparable throughout the southeastern United States.

Prospero emphasizes that there is nothing new about the transoceanic transport of African dust. He says it has been occurring on a geologic time scale, giving the example that soil composition in Bermuda is consistent with African dust sources and shows little evidence of North American inputs. [Cheryl Dybas]

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NSF DIRECTOR APPOINTED TO GLENN COMMISSION

Highlighting the need to "find, educate, train, develop and keep high quality teachers for K-12 math and science education," NSF director Rita R. Colwell has accepted an appointment to a 26 member National Commission on Mathematics and Science Education for the 21st Century.

The commission, formed by Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and chaired by former U.S. Senator and astronaut John Glenn, seeks to develop a strategy to improve the quality of science and mathematics education nationwide by addressing several issues over the next year. Among them are how to deal with major shortages of teachers created by large numbers of expected retirements (especially in math and science), the lack of adequate credentials among math and science teachers and a booming student population.

"The paradox we face is multi-faceted," Colwell said. "We lead the world in innovation and discovery but we trail our international counterparts in K-12 math and science education."

Colwell said that the commission has a unique opportunity, 30 years after America's first moon landing, to "develop a cadre of motivated teachers who will carry their commitment into the next century." [Bill Noxon]

For the full statement, see: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/media/statemts.htm

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