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The study shows that of 168 bubble plumes observed within the past decade, a disproportionate number were seen at a critical depth for the stability of methane hydrates. ... “We see an unusually high number of bubble plumes at the depth where methane hydrate would decompose if seawater has warmed,” said lead author H. Paul Johnson, a University of Washington professor of oceanography. “So it is not likely to be just emitted from the sediments; this appears to be coming from the decomposition of methane that has been frozen for thousands of years.” ... Of the 168 methane plumes in the new study, some 14 were located at the transition depth – more plumes per unit area than on surrounding parts of the Washington and Oregon seafloor.

“Current environmental changes in Washington and Oregon are already impacting local biology and fisheries, and these changes would be amplified by the further release of methane,” Johnson said. ... The 2014 study calculated that with present ocean warming, such hydrate decomposition could release roughly 0.1 million metric tons (220 million pounds) of methane per year into the sediments off the Washington coast, about the same amount of methane from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout. ... Results show that methane gas is slowly released at almost all depths along the Washington and Oregon coastal margin. But the plumes are significantly more common at the critical depth of 500 meters (0.3 miles), where hydrate would decompose due to seawater warming. “What we’re seeing is possible confirmation of what we predicted from the water temperatures: Methane hydrate appears to be decomposing and releasing a lot of gas,” Johnson said. “If you look systematically, the location on the margin where you’re getting the largest number of methane plumes per square meter, it is right at that critical depth of 500 meters.”

Well, you know this can't be good.As if we didn't have enough problems with Global Warming accelerating from the release of CO2, there is a real potential of a relatively rapid acceleration of the effects of Global Warming because of more potent greenhouse gasses like methane. What we used to think of as "locked" up carbon in things like permafrost and methane hydrates in the ocean are now at risk of being released by the Global Warming that has already occurred. But just the mining of methanes can also present a problem.

Methane releases from fracked wells in Texas are estimated to be 50% higher than the EPA originally estimated.

You've probably heard about the problems China is creating with it's claims to large portions of the South China Sea. But why would China even be interested in the area? Well, maybe there's a connection between China's interests and what's happening of the western coast of the U.S.. Maybe China is also interested in frozen Methanes in the South China Sea.



For instance, where will China get enough energy to power its huge nation in the decades ahead? One possible answer is the methane hydrate deposite at the bottom of the South China Sea. Methane hydrates are a form of crystalline ice that has methane (natural gas) trapped inside. In effect, it is burnable ice. Just last year, China discovered a high-purity methane hydrate in the northern part of the sea, offshore from the Guangdong Province. The high-end estimate for that reserve is that it contains the equivalent of 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas. That’s roughly equal to 50 years of China’s entire usage of oil equivalents! Chinese experts believe the South China Sea as a whole contains methane hydrate reserves equal to 68 billion metric tons of oil. That figure amounts to 130 years worth of the country’s energy consumption.

The assault on our climate comes from many fronts, including the supreme stupidity of Global Warming deniers with power. At times it may seem overwhelming. But the price of solar and wind and energy storage continue to drop. Our best chance of keeping much of those fossil fuels in the ground is to elect politicians who don't deny reality and who will stop the subsidies for fossil fuels and help drive down the costs of Alternative energies.