***UPDATE*** OIL SPILL IS EQUAL PARTS METHANE AND OIL *** OIL SPILL METHANE WILL TURN THE OCEANS TO ACID and could make the ATMOSPHERE IGNITE???? DOO

Check these out and then put 2 and 2 together. The freaking Gulf of Mexico is going to collapse, turn acidic, or catch on fire.


The bubbles are methane, not air: [link to video.foxnews.com]


This could happen to the floor of the gulf: [link to boingboing.net]


[link to marine.usgs.gov]



[link to en.wikipedia.org]



[link to www.ehow.com]



Thread: 8,956 BILLION CUIC FEET OF GAS etimated to be in Mississippi Canyon Block 252!!!!!!!!!!!!



[link to www.abc.net.au]



[link to www.space.com]



[link to www.sciencedaily.com]



[link to www.abc.net.au]



[link to theobligatescientist.blogspot.com]



[link to www.straightdope.com]



[link to www.youtube.com]



[link to www.newscientist.com]


[link to www.youtube.com]


[link to www.emeraldecocity.com]


[link to www.killerinourmidst.com]


[link to www.newscientist.com]


[link to www.space.com]



Methane oxidation

Methane readily combines with what is called the hydroxyl ion (OH^­). An ion is an electrically charged particle. Sometimes the term simply refers to an atom with a charge; at others, to a molecule, which is composed of more than one atom. Ions are typically indicated by the electrical charges they possess. Thus, a hydrogen ion has a positive charge, and is indicated as H^+, whereas an oxygen ion has two negative charges, and is represented as O^=. When a hydrogen ion combines with an oxygen ion, the hydrogen's positive charge is neutralized by one of oxygen's negative charges, producing the hydroxyl ion, OH^­.

The hydroxyl ion is produced by the breakup of a water molecule:
H¸2O Æ H^+ + OH^­
(water) (yields) (hydrogen ion) + (hydroxyl ion),
or by the splitting of a peroxide molecule, H¸2O¸2.

Methane is destroyed by chemical combining with hydroxyl ions. The chemical equation for this reaction is:
CH¸4 + OH^­ Æ CH¸3^­ + H¸2O
(methane) + (hydroxyl ion) (yields) (methyl ion) + (water)
The carbon from the methyl ion, after several intermediate steps, becomes the carbon in the end product carbon dioxide. One of these intermediate steps occurs after the the methyl ion (CH¸3^­) is oxidized to carbon monoxide (CO):
OH^­ + CO Æ CO¸2 + H^+
(hydroxyl ion) + (carbon monoxide) (yields) (carbon dioxide) + (hydrogen ion)
Note that this reaction, like the previous one, consumes a hydroxyl ion.

The overall, simplified equation (deleting the intermediate steps) is:
CH¸4 + 2O¸2 Æ CO¸2 + 2H¸2O
(methane) + (oxygen) (yields) (carbon dioxide) + (water)

This chemical process is called oxidation not because oxygen is involved, but rather because the oxygen picks up ("accepts") negative charges (specifically, electrons) from the methane. (In other oxidation reactions, other substances, such as sulfur, may pick up negative charges. Thus, no oxygen need be involved. Sorry, scientific terminology is sometimes inexcusably confusing!)

The main, and almost exclusive, process by which methane is destroyed in the atmosphere is via oxidation by hydroxyl. Consequently, as the oxidation of methane proceeds, hydroxyl ions are consumed. As atmospheric methane increases, it therefore slowly depletes the amount of hydroxyl available, because the steady rate of hydroxyl production is outpaced by the methane increase. This has important consequences for atmospheric chemistry. With fewer and fewer hydroxyl ions in the atmosphere, less and less methane can be consumed. That is, in fact, what is currently happening. Additional methane in the atmosphere, of course, leads to even greater consumption of hydroxyl ions.

The concentrations of other atmospheric gases are also affected. Hydroxyl ions, as noted above, also remove carbon monoxide, which may be from either natural sources (largely the oxidation of methane) or industrial sources (which are increasing the amount of carbon monoxide). The ions also react with several other gases, both from natural and industrial sources. Among them is hydrogen sulfide (H¸2S), which can chemically combine with hydroxyl to form sulfuric acid (H¸2SO¸4).

Fewer hydroxyl ions, therefore, may mean a more acidic atmosphere. And sulfuric acid is not the only acid that may increase as a result of lower hydroxyl ion availability. More methane may result in more chemical reactions with chlorine, producing hydrogen chloride, that is, hydrochloric acid (HCl). Increasing methane concentrations in the atmosphere, consequently, can produce significant changes in atmospheric chemistry, some of which can be projected, others which are as yet unknown, and still others which can impact the level of ozone, our protection against deadly ultraviolet light (Sze, 1977).

Last Edited by Riker on 05/24/2010 01:22 PM