If you have been keeping up with the news about the recent string of earthquakes in Costa Rica you might have missed the note about methane being released in the Golfo Dulce. According to the Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico at Universidad Nacional in Heredia, a methane chimney has been observed and is releasing the gas on the surface. There is importance in this observation which has escaped the publics attention and that is methane is 100 times more potent of a green house gas than Carbon Dioxide.

The earthquake happened along the Cocos Tectonic plate which slides under adjacent Panama Block. Wednesday’s earthquake started a series of strong quakes that continued until Thursday evening with the last recorded being a 6.2 magnitude. Many did not feel the 6.2 because it was far out in the ocean but it was along the same fault lines that caused many Costa Ricans to scurry out of buildings and homes on Wednesday. With the observation of methane bubbles in Golfo Dulce, this proves what many scientist have suspected since the 1960’s when methane hydrate research began.

Methane Hydrates is often referred to as “The Ice that Burns.” Energy researchers have determined that this form of stored energy is 200 time more abundant than coal, oil, and liquid gas combined. The problem is that methane hydrate is also the ticking natural time bomb that when left alone and intact, has caused massive life extinctions throughout earth’s history. The most recent was the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum which methane was a secondary but determing culprit in the mass extinction event and before that was the Permian extinction. Both of these events were triggered by massive amounts of methane which in turn created a natural global warming cycle that lasted tens of thousands of years.

With energy companies seeking to mine the methane hydrate deposits, another more immediate side effect can occur which is Tsunami’s. Human history has recorded such an event 7,000 years ago off the coast of Norway which sent a towering tsunami wave crashing into Scotland. The structure of methane does not allow normal sedimentary rock to harden. As a result, massive areas under the ocean have literally a methane hydrate lubricating layer between upper and lower solidified rock. When the methane warms a few degrees, it releases the lattice that hardens which results in a softer more pliable deposit. When this happens unstable land masses simply slide into a more stable position and when this happens mass rock movement will cause a tsunami. So the lure of abundant energy stored in methane hydrates is enticing but one mistake in mining these deposit can be disastrous to earth.

Another negative side effect to methane hydrate mining is even small releases into the surrounding waters can kill fish and other aquatic life. Costa Rican officials say they will be monitoring this methane chimney in the golf for this reason. To read more about this click here

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