Methan bubble "doomsday" story debunked on i09.

thanks for your reply. I was doing some internet research on methane in the gulf spill and its seems that the main concern of scientists is the methanes effect on the climate and that it could create "dead zones" in the gulf where sea life couldn't live. I haven't found any statements from professional scientists claiming such a scenario is possible so you're probably right, but I thought it would still be a good idea to ask you guys as you seem pretty levelheaded when it comes to stuff like this. Though I too would be interested to hear a geologist's opinion on this.

Thanks again,

Hannah

From the link under the author's name:

Dave Nocera is a senior computer scientist with more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of high-end computing and embedded systems. He holds a number of patents that simplify computing. One of his inventions was productized as ITVerify, which he invented

Hm… this does not indicate what his experience in geology is. There are other articles under that same heading, one person's apparent claim to fame is that he appears regularly on 'TrueNews Radio'. Another who writes articles on why airplanes make so much noise, and how to paint a house. A third claims that she is a "senior steward" of the "relationship and families" channel on Helium.

So far this is not impressive.

Lots of references to 'scientists warn' this and 'scientists say' that, but only references to news articles written elsewhere.

Ok, so what is Helium? (The website)

From http://www.helium.com/content/whatishelium

Helium is the face of the publishing revolution!

Helium is also a knowledge co-operative where our writers are also our editors who read and rate every article on the site.

At Helium, we believe that everyone can contribute what they know to share with millions of readers around the globe.

At Helium, we believe readers want a choice of viewpoints – not just one opinion on any subject.

At Helium, we believe publishers need an easier, more efficient way to get the content they need.

At Helium, great writing rises to the top. And great writing reaps great rewards.

Helium’s best writers earn cash through:
Upfront Payments for contributed work
Daily revenue share
Writing contests

Our best writers are recognized through:
Citizen Journalism Awards
Published articles through Marketplace
Professional journalism organizations

What are you waiting for? JOIN HELIUM TODAY! Whether you’re a professional looking to stretch your talents, a journalist establishing a web presence, a freelancer getting your career off the ground or a reader researching information, there’s something for you at Helium.

Interesting, so it is a publishing cooperative. The authors write for them, and they attempt to publish the work, and they pay the authors if they are published.

None of the authors listed under that heading show much indication of journalistic credentials or experience, or scientific credentials or experience. Fine, I'm an 'amateur astronomer' and I have no scientific credentials either.

However, each of the articles appears to cite questionable sources, or cite sources outside the scope of the article. The fact that methane hydrate is cited as expanding 3000 times in volume in one place is then used as a reference to claim that the methane escaping from the oil well is going to expand 3000 times in volume, with no reference to the fact that the methane gas escaping with the oil is not methane hydrate (which is a solid).

I would be very interested to see what a geologist's opinion on these articles is.

they are saying this could be extinction level event, is this true?