The bottom of the ocean may hold enough fuel to provide power to the world for several centuries. The crystals are stored in the ocean crust under extremely high pressures. A team of ODP scientists is drilling four deep holes and seven shallow ones off the North Carolina coast.
Gas hydrates decompose rapidly in conditions comfortable for humans, say the scientists.
Most geologists, in fact, have never seen a sample. In a nationwide teleconference to discuss current issues in national research policy, NSF Director Neal Lane called on the science community to meet the challenges presented by a limited budget and changing national rationale for science. The original capability is almost never achieved again, often resulting in a limp for the rest of one's life. We can't afford to have the U.S. limping into the 21st century. Lane opened the discussion during a November 1 teleconference organized by the scientific research society Sigma Xi, during which participants from nearly 90 universities and other research sites posed questions to panel members.