Hydrate-bearing sediments are found in continental margins and permafrost where pressure and temperature satisfy stability conditions. At the pore scale, hydrates exist in disseminated form in coarse-grained sediments, or are concentrated in nodules and lenses in fine-grained silty or clayey deposits. Hydrate-bearing sediments may destabilize spontaneously as part of geological processes, unavoidably during petroleum drilling/production operations, or intentionally as part of gas extraction from the hydrate itself. Potential gas production methods include depressurization, inhibitor injection, thermal stimulation, and their combinations. 

Since collapse of hydrate-bearing sediments is accompanied by the generation of excess pore pressure and the release of amounts of methane gases, it is likely to cause a breakdown of offshore structures and slope failure. The consequence can cause direct damage, such as tsunami waves. Moreover, release of enormous amounts of methane gas is thought to be important to global climate change. As the need for technology stretches to the deeper ocean due to energy-related problems, destabilization problems in hydrate-bearing sediments have been received increased interest during past few decades due to the lack of related knowledge. Thus, for the safe and economical offshore operation, geotechnical studies on the hydrate-bearing sediments are currently being conducted.

Detail on-going tasks are as follows:

- Gas hydrate dissociation in sediments: Pressure-temperature evolution