Source of a vast and mysterious tank of underwater methane finally discovered

The researchers have tried to locate a huge reservoir of methane located beneath the planet's oceans and now have a history of origin.

Scientists working for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have published findings that reveal evidence of the formation of a massive reservoir of abiotic methane. Unlike typical methane sources produced by organic materials, this methane is formed solely from chemical reactions.

Researchers have been tracking large quantities of this type of methane emitted by high-seas evacuation for some time, but its source remains a complete mystery to this day. With this discovery, this indicates that it could also be found on planets and moons that no longer harbor liquid water.

This latest research has shown that there are pockets of methane in 160 rock samples from the world's oceans. Frieder Klein, lead author of the study, said the researchers were "totally surprised" to discover estimates that the methane reservoir was more than the amount in the Earth's atmosphere before industrialization.

By analyzing these rocks with the aid of Raman spectroscopy, a laser microscope allowing them to identify the fluids and minerals contained in a thin slice of rock, the researchers found that almost every sample contained a number of minerals and gas. These form when the seawater that runs through the deep oceanic crust is trapped in olivine magma. When the mineral cools, the water trapped inside undergoes a chemical reaction – a process called serpentinization that forms hydrogen and methane.

This is an important discovery because, in otherwise inhospitable environments, only two ingredients, water and olivine, can form methane.

"Identifying an abiotic source of high-seas methane is a problem we have been struggling with for many years," said Jeffrey Seewald, one of the authors of the study.

"Here is a source of chemical energy created by geology."

The news comes after the confirmation of a super deep rock reservoir that produced an incredibly rare number of diamonds. This reservoir would be a throwback on the early formation of our planet as it would lack the impacts of asteroids and violent geological activity.