USGS Geological Research Activities with U.S. Minerals Management Service

Resources / Landscapes - Joint Project

USGS Gas Hydrates

• 29210FP
  Project seeks to understand the occurrences of and geological processes that control methane hydrate in the natural environment.
  
  Deborah R. Hutchinson

Landscape Projects

Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes

• 29210F3
  Project will develop and implement scientifically rigorous means to carryout a series of regional and ultimately a national mapping of seafloor sedimentary character and assessment of marine sand and gravel resources around the U.S.
  
  S. Jeffress Williams

Pacific Seafloor Mapping

• 99380K2
  Project strives to collect the highest resolution bathymetry possible for a given area with the latest state-of-the-art high resolution multibeam echosounder.
  
  James V. Gardner

South Carolina Coastal Erosion Studies

• 29210EJ
  Primary focus of the project is to map the shallow geologic/sedimentologic framework of the coastal zone and use these mapping products to form a conceptual model of sediment flux in the nearshore area.
  William C. Schwab

Sources, Transportation, and Fate of Natural Oil and Gas Seepages

• 99380LA
  Objectives are to establish the geologic setting, source(s), and ultimate dispersal of natural oil and gas seeps in the offshore southern Santa Maria Basin.
  
  Thomas D. Lorenson

Law of the Sea - Outer Limits of the US Continental Margins

• 29210FQ
  Project objectives are to conduct geoscientific assessments of potential U.S. claims to extend the seaward limits of the legal offshore continental shelf. The project will review, compile, collect, and synthesize geologic and geophysical data from offshore areas adjacent to the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and other areas of U.S. national interest.
  
  Deborah R. Hutchinson