Academic News
“To search for flammable ice, briefly speaking, is to look for solid gas (natural gas),” said Dr. Hsu Shu-Kun, Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences (DES) of NCU. As an island that lacks energy, Taiwan relies on import for 99% of its energy. This latest scientific discovery of flammable ice may become a turning point for such energy crisis if engineering and technology development could collaborate at the same time. It was estimated that the southwestern maritime area of Taiwan is rich in flammable ice, and the supply is sufficient for 40 to 50 years. Currently Japan and Mainland China have started the production test drillings.
The research project, hosted by Dr. Lin Jing-Yi, Professor at the DES of NCU, was under the National Energy Program-Phase II (NEP-II) led by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). Dr. Hsu Shu-Kun and Dr. Andrew Lin Tien-Shun, Professor and Associate Professor at the DES, participated in the project and led the “EAGER Cruise,” inviting R/V Marion Dufresne, the French oceanographic research vessel to carry out the core sampling. The core sampling was mainly conducted at methane hydrate prospects in the southwestern offshore area to evaluate the seabed stability and to provide data for sedimentology and for the reconstruction of paleo-landslide records.
In addition to the members from NCU, other scientists involved in this mission were from Central Geological Survey under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), National Taiwan University, Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI), National Sun Yat-sen University, and National Tsing Hua University, to name just a few. The crew sailed from the Port of Keelung on June 5, 2018 and successfully returned to the Port of Kaohsiung on June 27, 2018. The crew worked ceaselessly for 21 days carrying out the mission and finally brought home the encouraging news as well as the exciting result of the discovery.
