The base of the zone in which hydrate can exist is limited by the increase in temperature with depth beneath the sea bed. An increase in temperature or a decrease in pressure will cause hydrate to dissociate and release methane as a gas. It is widely believed that sediment containing hydrate, which acts as a bond between the sediment grains, has increased shear strength making it more stable and less prone to slumping.
Submarine slumps can be catastrophic in their consequence.
The Storegga slide off Norway is one such example known to have produced a tsunami. At a smaller scale, petroleum production platforms by warming the region around the well may destabilise the hydrate, releasing methane gas and weakening the substructure of the platform. Problems have been encountered during petroleum exploration and production in areas of permafrost, and, arguably, offshore in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico. In European waters such as the North Sea, this has not been a problem to date, because the water depths have been too shallow for hydrate to be present, but as petroleum exploration and production moves into deeper water, hydrate becomes a potential hazard. These BSRs occur at the base of the hydrate stability field, where the contrast in acoustic properties between sediment containing hydrate and sediment containing gas produces the seismic reflector.