So here I sit, 2 AM (sleepless in Georgia) and what do I stumble on? A story about natural gas, a LOT of natural gas, under the ocean.

And while the article is interesting - just for what is says about natural gas deposits, how they might form, and how the ocean and it's life consumes this gas... I stumbled onto something very interesting.

The biggest oil mess in the ocean may not be BP's fault. Because the BP mess is probably not the biggest oil mess in the ocean anyway.

Remarkable satellite photographs of the Gulf of Mexico and other regions reveal slicks extending for miles in areas where no oil production is occurring.

Rush Limbaugh came under fire a while back for talking about how oil seeps from the ocean floor, and in fact, we've known about this for decades... those of us who read, that is. And here it is again - an example of just how much oil and gas seep into the ocean as part of natural processes.

I said the article is interesting, and it is, on several lelels, get this:

Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat about 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide. If methane deposits and seeps prove to be ubiquitous in the oceans, they are a potentially significant contributor to global warming.

Relatively modest changes in global ocean temperatures or sea level could trigger a massive release of oceanic methane. If a change in ocean bottom pressure or a rise in water temperatures passes a certain threshold, sizable methane hydrate deposits could decompose rapidly and release a large quantity of heat-trapping gas back into the atmosphere. This scenario has been proposed as a possible cause for some past episodes of rapid global warming.

Now, THIS is a way to end an article:

...evidence suggests that gas seeps and methane hydrate deposits may be even more pervasive than their known extent today and may play a fundamental role in regulating ocean chemistry, sustaining marine life, and shaping seafloor geology.


Did ya get that? oil and gas seeping into the ocean may sustain marine life! Now, no, I am not implying that BP did the world a favor, just that oil and gas are part of the planet - they are not "poison" invented by man, as is so often implied.

Anyway, a fascinating read... thanks to the guy over on The Spaceport who posted a link to it.