Dr Mengdi Pan, a former PhD student in GFZ Section 3.1 “Inorganic and Isotope Geochemistry”, was awarded with the “Outstanding PhD Thesis Award” at the “International Conference on Gas Hydrates” (ICGH) in early July in Lyon, France. This recognised her doctoral thesis entitled “Systematic studies on the thermodynamic properties of gas hydrates and their formation, dissociation and transformation behaviours”. The ICGH is the world’s leading conference on gas hydrates and takes place every three years.

Background: Gas hydrates and their research

Gas hydrates are crystalline, ice-like solids consisting of a three-dimensional network of water molecules. The water molecules form cage-like structures that contain gas molecules. In natural gas hydrates, this is predominantly methane, which is produced, for example, during microbial decomposition processes. The temperature and pressure conditions required for the formation of gas hydrates are found primarily on all continental margins in the oceans and in permafrost regions.

Natural gas hydrate deposits are considered a potential source of greenhouse gas emissions harmful to the climate if the climate active gases methane or CO2 trapped in the hydrates will be released due to changing environmental conditions, such as a rise in temperature caused by climate change. Research into gas hydrates therefore provides an important basis for better predicting the behaviour of natural gas hydrates in response to changes in their environment, such as global warming.

The award-winning doctoral thesis

Dr Mengdi Pan completed her doctoral thesis in GFZ Section 3.1 “Inorganic and Isotope Geochemistry” under the supervision of Prof. Dr Judith Schicks. In her thesis, she systematically investigated the thermodynamic properties of complex gas hydrates, such as those found in the Qilian Mountain permafrost region in China. The focus was particularly on the formation and decomposition behaviour, as well as the interactions between hydrates and sediments under varying pressure and temperature conditions. The results of her experimental work were published in nine papers and have contributed significantly to the understanding of these fundamental processes.

About the author

Dr Mengdi Pan studied marine geology at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou before commencing her PhD at the GFZ in November 2017. She defended her thesis in June 2022 at the University of Potsdam and has since been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering at University College Dublin.

Original publication

Pan, M. (2022): Systematic studies on the thermodynamic properties of gas hydrates and their formation/dissociation/transformation behaviors, PhD Thesis, Potsdam : Universität Potsdam, XX, 192 p.
https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-55476

Further informationen: Research on gashydrates at the GFZ.