Methane Hydrate Discovered in K-G Basin off Andhra Coast
Image for representational use only.Image Courtesy: National Herald
Just two metres below the sea floor, researchers have found methane hydrates – a potential fossil fuel – in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra Pradesh coast in the Bay of Bengal.
A team of scientists from the National Institute of Geography in Goa and the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad have reported the discovery in the Journal of Earth System Science, published by the Indian Academy of Sciences.
“This is the first report on the discovery of an active methane seepage site and the occurrence of shallow methane hydrate deposits in India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)," they reported.
This apparently opens up the possibilities of using a new and still untapped reservoir of fossil fuel, because, methane hydrate contains large quantity of methane, the main component of natural gas.
How Methane Hydrates are Formed?
Methane hydrates are the crystalline solids that are formed from the mixtures of water and methane. These crystals are formed under the condition of low temperature and high pressure and are primarily found on the edge of continental shelves, the location where the seabed drops sharply into the deep ocean floor.
According to the Indian researchers, the occurrence of methane gas hydrates at very shallow depths in K-G basin "is due to the presence of high methane flux and conducive pressure and temperature conditions, necessary for the stability of methane hydrate.”
"High biogenic methane flux close to the sediment-water interface has resulted in the crystallisation of methane hydrate at shallow depths below the seafloor," they reported.
Huge Deposits
The compound has a huge deposit of energy. One cubic metre of methane hydrate could release about 160 cubic meters of gas — according to estimates. This positions methane hydrates among the highly energy-intensive fuels. Moreover, the deposits of these compounds are also enormous.
By lowering the pressure and increasing the temperature, the hydrate simply breaks down to water and methane.
“The present discovery has brought India on to the global cold seep map and opened up the opportunity for future research on the possible role of methane emission on global warming, ocean acidification, extreme ecosystem, and bio-prospecting," the researchers concluded.
Although the exact amount of the methane hydrate deposits in India is not known till now, it could be proved a great source of energy in future.
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