She was first introduced to methane hydrates research and the Blake Ridge in the early 1990s as a postdoctoral scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Ruppels research group is heavily involved in numerical modeling, laboratory research, and oceangoing data acquisition on gas hydrates, particularly on the Blake Ridge and in the Gulf of Mexico. She has participated in 3 previous cruises to the Blake Ridge, including Ocean Drilling Program Leg 164 and NOAAs 2001 Deep East 3 expedition.