Under
the enormous pressures and cold temperatures at the bottom of the ocean,
methane gas dissolves. The molecules of methane become locked in a cage
of water molecules to form crystals. These crystals look like ice, and
they cement together the ocean sediments. In some places a solid layer
of crystals—called methane hydrate—extends from the sea floor down
hundreds of meters.
Under
the enormous pressures and cold temperatures at the bottom of the ocean,
methane gas dissolves. The molecules of methane become locked in a cage
of water molecules to form crystals. These crystals look like ice, and
they cement together the ocean sediments. In some places a solid layer
of crystals—called methane hydrate—extends from the sea floor down
hundreds of meters.
