Methane Hydrate (2)

Here is a similar story, this time about frozen methane hydrate thawing and bubbling up from the sea: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/28/1317252/--Vast-methane-plumes-escaping-from-the-seafloor-discovered-in-Siberian-Arctic-Sea If the link doesn't work, please try copying and pasting into the browser search window. Here is a summary of the article: Vast methane plumes have been discovered boiling up from the seafloor of the Arctic ocean on the continental slope of the Laptev Sea by a dream team of international scientists. Over the last decade a warming tongue of Atlantic ocean water has been flowing along the Siberian Arctic ocean's continental slope destabilizing methane ice, hypothesize the team of Swedish, Russian and American scientists. The research team will take a series of measurements across the Siberian seas to attempt to understand and quantify the methane release and predict the effect of this powerful greenhouse gas on global and Arctic warming. Because the Siberian Arctic contains vast stores of methane ices and organic carbon that may be perturbed by the warming waters and Arctic climate, Arctic ocean and Siberian sea methane release could accelerate and intensify Arctic and global warming.

The Gulf Methane Explosion and Yonaguni

The tragic explosion of an oil well drilling rig off the coast of New Orleans brings up a factor in the Yonaguni submerged ruins survey. The common factor is methane gas.

One possible explanation for the US disaster involves a burst of methane gas rising upward from the sea floor, expanding, and exploding. The source of the methane gas may have been a pocket of frozen methane tapped by the drilling.

A legend about Yonaguni claims that the "real" Yonaguni island disappeared ages ago in a spectacular explosion. The island is not and never has been volcanic, so there is no possibility of a Krakatoa-like exploding volcano. But the sea around Yonaguni is pocketed with deposits of frozen methane.

This is not to say that the legend about the "real" Yonaguni's disappearance is true, as legends are beyond the realm of physical proof. The US disaster is, however, living proof of the destructive power of frozen methane when it thaws and expands and comes in contact with a detonating spark.