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Gulf Coast Now Has More To Be Worried About...Tsunamis Caused by Gas Hydrate Destabilization
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A concern for drilling, climate change
[link to gtresearchnews.gatech.edu]
While the value of gas hydrates as a future energy source remains uncertain, the hazards they pose to production of conventional energy are clear. Oil companies are running out of reserves in shallow waters, forcing them to operate in areas where they may drill through hydrate formations. While they may eventually be able to produce energy from these hydrates, the more immediate concern is the potential hazards that gas hydrates may pose for oil drilling.
“If you are drilling into the gas hydrate, you have to worry that the hydrate could suddenly dissociate, leading to collapse of the sediment supporting the drill stem,” says Ruppel.
Perturbations of the sea floor can produce still bigger problems. Major sea floor slides can cause tsunamis, large oceanic waves that bring catastrophic damage to low-lying coastal areas.
Beyond energy interests, methane gas hydrates may also play a role in global warming. Even slight warming could free significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
“You’d have to warm the deep ocean waters by just a few degrees,” notes Ruppel. “There is a time delay built into the system, so it would take quite a while for the sediments to heat up. But if even a portion of the methane released from hydrates gets out of the oceans and into the atmosphere, it could exacerbate global warming and lead to a synergy between destruction of hydrate, release of methane and climate change.”
As an alternative source of energy, a hazard to conventional energy production and a global warming concern, “burning ice” is indeed a contradiction.
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