Atlantic gas find signals concern
22 Aug 2000
Geologists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute have discovered that a huge area of the mid-Atlantic continental shelf is charged with natural gas. The find has triggered concerns that gas explosions could collapse the edge of the shelf, causing tidal waves.
The gas appears to be trapped under layers of sediment, and escapes periodically, blowing holes in the seafloor. `We don't know the source of the gas,' comments team leader Neal Driscoll, `but it is clear that gas has played an important role in the formation of these features.'
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