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Methane Bubbles Could Sink Ships
An anonymous reader writes "Joseph J Monaghan and David May, of Australia's Monash University, have proposed a novel theory for Bermuda-Triangle-like disappearance of ships at sea: They were swallowed in giant methane bubbles released by undersea vents. Monaghan & May point to sonar of a ship wreck that's sitting in the center of a known methane eruption site, and they've developed a mathematical model that predicts how an eruption could take down a ship. Hey, we ain't talkin' bovine flatulence here..."
This is not news. I've seen this theory on TLC or Discovery at least twice in the last couple of years.
the idea presented by these researchers that the release of massive underwater methane deposits would result in a lowering of the density of seawater under a ship causeing it to sink reminds me of my undergraduate days.
As a civil engineering student, I visited a wastewater treatment plant. one of the unit processes involves bubbling massive amounts of air through the wastewater (to stimulate bacteria into eat the organic matter) in large open-air tanks. As a result of the aeration, the density of water is much lower than the density of the human body. Therefore, anyone falling into one of these aeration tanks would immediately sink to the bottom. My first thought (and that of many others I've spoken with) is that the aeration tanks are perfect places to murder / dispose of bodies in. You're guaranteed they'll drown; plus you've got the bacteria already there in a nice chomping mood. I have no idea how long this would take to completely dispose of a body (or at least down to bones), but it sure is an underutilized method...
The Bermuda Triangle episode is on every few months and they cover the methane angle.
Looks like it was first proposed in 1981.
My God, it's Full of Source!
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1. Giant undersea release of methane or any other gas bubbles upward.
2. Unfortunate ship finds itself directly above said bubbles, weighs more than water/gas mixture and is suddenly no longer boyant.
3. Ship literally falls into the sea.
But there are many questions, none of which the article seems to answer. If these enormous methan releases exist, why has nobody every seen one? (Well, because they only occur once in a while, and they happen out at sea, and anyone who might have seen one probably now sleeps with the fishes.) More to the point, now that we think they might happen, how can we get a look at one? We apparently know where there are large methane deposits, so can we put a buoy with a camera nearby? Can we find evidence of a release on satellite photos? Can we hear them with underwater microphones? Or with seismographs? Are ships that might have been sunk by this sort of thing equipped with "black boxes" that would help us know how and why they sank?
So you're saying that deep under the sea, in the Bermuda Triangle, lies hordes of mutant water-breathing, ship-sinking killer farting cows ?
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I doubt it, but I have to ask. Since they mentioned the Bermuda Triangle; any possible linkage w/ planes flying through these methane-bubble infested waters? *shrug*
Si hoc legere scis nimum eruditionis habes sed iliud latine dici non potest.
Seriously, the methane angle has already been proposed a long time ago. And anytime you hear something fantasitical, you should at least consult the skepdic site to see what rational people are thinking. Here's the link for Bermuda Triangle accidents. Most skeptics think pirates are the real cause of disappearances.
GMD
watch this
Thank god there are no ships cruising around in my bathtub. They'd sink pretty soon when all those methane bubbles would hit them.
Already done. Modern torpedo's work in a similar fashion. They explode underneath a ship creating a bubble of gas. While the bow and stern are still boyant the center of the ship is not so the ship breaks in two under the stress.
The real mystery of the Bermuda Triangle is why it's a mystery at all. Modern record keeping shows there haven't been more lost ships then one should expect for an area that large (500,000 square miles) with as much traffic as it gets (which is a lot, though no figures for you today!)
It's just one of those weird cultural meme's that people shouldn't waste time trying to explain.
Perhaps he is innocent(of this form of treatment plant utilization) and didn't really think it through.
;-)
Or...
He HAS utilized a plant this way, has also utilized other disposal "methods", is speaking from experience, and he's trying to cover himself.
If the former, then he should be modded up as "interesting".
If the latter, then he should be modded up as "informative".
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.
- W. Wriston, former Citibank CEO
"The ice-like methane deposits can break off and become gaseous as they rise, creating bubbles at the surface."
Pretty pathetic that this "scientist" just rehashes a decades-old theory dealing with methyl-hydrate, without even calling it by name.
One cool thing about the program on Discovery that others have already mentioned, is that they show a chunk of the stuff that a guy pulled up from the bottom... he lit it while holding it in his hand!
Flaming snowballs are cool!
(literally!)
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It's not only boyancy and gravity working against the ship, but also pressure. This is why a torpedo works against any side of a submarine.
You can read a thorough description, and see daigrams, here
I, for one, welcome our new flatulent ship-eating overlords.
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