Thermal properties of methane hydrate-bearing sediment samples taken from the Nankai Trough, Japan were investigated using the transient plane source method. It was determined that the thermal conductivity of these sediment samples decreased with increasing porosity, but increased with increasing methane hydrate saturation. The thermal diffusivity of the samples increased slightly with increasing porosity, but was almost independent of methane hydrate saturation. It was also found that the specific heat ...