By John Roach Core samples were taken by microbiologists working from this rig off the coast of Japan. Researchers are on a quest to understand the microorganisms that produce gas hydrates trapped in the ocean floor. The hydrates may be a boon to an energy-hungry world, but their release could trigger catastrophic global warming. If there was some clever way of extracting it from the ground it would be a tremendous resource.
Gas hydrates are methane gas molecules trapped in lattices of ice.
They are the products of microorganisms that feed on organic matter that has been washed into the ocean or has died in it. Since methane gas burns more efficiently and cleanly than any other fossil fuel and researchers estimate the volume of extractable methane gas to be more than twice the amount of known reserves of all other fossil fuels, it is an attractive resource. Delwiche recently returned to Idaho from a two-week stint aboard a drilling rig off the coast of Japan. There he accompanied Japanese scientists on an exploratory mission into the possibility of harvesting methane for fuel. The white discs delineate places where samples have been taken for microbiology or for geochemistry research.