Big Question: Formation, Stability and Release of Environmental Gases from Ice Clathrates/Hydrates

Principal Investigator: Steve Sibener, Chemistry

Funding Type: Seed

Focus Area: Complexity

Big Idea: Glacial ice and permafrost-covered regions of the plant house a huge reservoir of greenhouses gases; understanding the the formation, stability and release of these environmental gases from ice is a crucial topic of fundamental importance for climate change.  Using energetic ballistic embedding and infrared spectroscopy, this project will examine the kinetic and thermodynamic processes associated with these trapped greenhouses gases and give greater insight into the nature of the molecule-ice interactions and the fate of the gases upon warming