One of them, buried beneath the ocean floor, could be a solution to the Earth s energy problems. I m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. One conservative estimate suggests that the amount of methane is twice as much as the amount in all fossil fuels on earth. Buried in the sea floor, gas hydrates are deposits of crystallized methane. William Dillon, a scientist at the Wood's Hole Geological Survey, studies these packets of potential underwater energy.
Gas hydrates are ice-like materials that form out of water molecules.
But unlike ice, which is the same sort of thing, a gas hydrate has a gas molecule stuffed into its crystal structure, generally methane. Gas hydrates look exactly like ice. You can't stop it from forming. So whenever the pressure is moderately high and the temperature is moderately low and the gas and water are available, you'll form gas hydrates. Gas hydrates may offer a new source of fuel for countries around the world.