Earth Sciences Division Staff: Matthew Reagan

EDUCATION

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Cambridge, MA. 

PhD in Chemical Engineering, September 2000. Thesis: “Multiscale Molecular Modeling of Aqueous Systems from Ambient to Supercritical Conditions." Thesis Advisors: Jefferson W. Tester, Jonathan G. Harris

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, Philadelphia, PA. 

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, May 1994. Graduated Magna Cum Laude. AIChE Junior Award.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA.  Geological Research Scientist. 

Research on the thermodynamics, transport, and chemistry of aqueous systems in the subsurface, including research on the thermodynamics of gas hydrates, gas production from methane hydrate systems, the coupling of methane hydrates and global climate, carbon sequestration via subsurface CO₂ injection, data reduction and uncertainty quantification using statistical methods, and “tight gas” simulation and engineering. Built and maintain online tools for physical property estimation and numerical simulation. 2004 to present.

SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES, Combustion Research Facility, Livermore, CA. Technical Staff. 

Research on uncertainty quantification and its application to chemical systems modeling and complex reacting flow. Development of MPI-based parallel reacting-flow codes and development of statistical/Monte Carlo uncertainty quantification methods and software. 2001-2004.

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Research Assistant. 

Research on the molecular simulation and thermodynamics of supercritical water solutions. 1995-2000.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Reagan, M.T. and G. J. Moridis, “Large-Scale Simulation of Methane Hydrate Dissociation along the West Spitsbergen Margin,” Geophys. Res. Lett., doi:10.1029/2009GL041332, in press, 2009.
• Reagan, M.T. and G.J. Moridis, “The dynamic response of oceanic hydrate deposits to ocean temperature change,” LBNL-01026E, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 113, C12023, doi:10.1029/2008JC004938, 2008.
• Reagan, M.T. and G.J. Moridis, “Oceanic Gas Hydrate Instability and Dissociation Under Climate Change Scenarios,” LBNL-62999, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L22709, doi: 10.1029/2007GL031671, 2007.
• Moridis, G.J., Collette, T.S., Boswell, R., Kurihara, M., Reagan, M.T., Sloan, E.D., and C. Koh, “Toward Production From Gas Hydrates: Assessment of Resources, Technology, and Potential” LBNL-00161E, SPE 114163, SPE Journal, in press, 2009.
• Moridis, G.J. and Reagan, M.T., “Strategies for Gas Production From Oceanic Class 3 Hydrate Accumulations,” LBNL-62758, OTC 18865, Proceedings, 2007 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, 30 April - 3 May 2007, in review for publication in SPE Journal.

SELECTED FEATURES

• “A Sleeping Giant?” Nature Reports Climate Change, doi:10.1038/climate.2009.24 (April 2009).
• “The Hydrate Hazard,” Nature Reports Climate Change, 3, 14, doi:10.1038/climate.2009.11 (February 2009).

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

• "Consequences of Methane Hydrate Destabilization," Climate Change Prediction Program Workshop, Bethesda, MD, 9 April 2009.
• “Oceanic Gas Hydrate Dissociation In Response To Climate Change And The Fate Of Hydrate-Derived Methane,” AGU Fall Meeting 2008, San Francisco, CA, 15-19 December 2008.
• “Modeling Of Oceanic Gas Hydrate Instability And Methane Release In Response To Climate Change,” 6^th International Conference on Gas Hydrates, Vancouver, BC, 6-10 July 2008.
• “The Use of Horizontal Wells in Gas Production from Hydrate Accumulations,” 6^th International Conference on Gas Hydrates, Vancouver, BC, 6-10 July 2008.
• “Sensitivity Analysis of Gas Production from Class 2 and Class 3 Hydrate Deposits,” paper OTC 19554, 2008 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, U.S.A., 5–8 May 2008.
• “Dynamic Response Of Oceanic Hydrate Deposits To Ocean Temperature Change,” USGS Methane Hydrates Symposium, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 25-26 February 2008.