Monday January 30, 2006

Scientists discover frozen methane gas deposit off California

peakoil.com -> montereyherald.com :

Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast. The size of the deposit is unknown but the researchers believe it to be substantial. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in tapping methane hydrates, ice-like crystals that form under seabeds and Arctic permafrost. Scientists estimate that the methane trapped in previously known frozen reservoirs around the globe could power the world for centuries. But finding the technology to mine such deposits has proved elusive.

Methane hydrates, which resemble sugar crystals, form over hundreds of thousands of years when methane gas and water are at freezing temperatures and under intense pressure. The hydrates contain methane, the primary component of clean-burning natural gas, in a highly concentrated form. By some estimates, they contain twice was much carbon energy than all other fossil fuels combined.

Although scientists say a new source of natural gas would provide a near-limitless energy source, some worry about the environmental effects of the gas. Gas hydrate deposits contain about three times the amount of methane currently in the atmosphere, and some scientists say an increase could lead to global warming and a significant change of the world's climate.

(2006-01-30 23:44:48 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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