‘Large release’ of methane off Los Angeles coast: gas could be from shift in tectonic plates

March 6, 2013CALIFORNIA Authorities say a foul odor that spurred calls to fire departments throughout the city on Sunday is possibly the result of the large release of methane in the Santa Monica Bay. Santa Monica Fire said in a department statement that they believe the strong odor was caused by a naturally occurring methane leak below the ocean floor. “This morning there was a large release of natural ocean floor methane released in the Santa Monica Bay,” the statement said. Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department, said the odor was noted inland from the Santa Monica Bay. Santa Monica fire haz-mat crews detected rather unusual concentrations of odorless methane gas in the air that they believed to be coming from either a patch of pungent algae, or a sulfurous gas-laced methane bubble, said a dispatcher. That may night be the case; however. Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the Air Quality Management District (AQMD), said his agency has not confirmed the Santa Monica Fire Department’s theory. Authorities said that recent changes in water temperature may have caused plankton and algae beds to bloom, releasing methane just below the surface. The gas also might have been produced by a geologic event, such as a shift in tectonic plates. Officials believe either a pocket of stinky algae, or a bubble of methane laced with sulfurous gas, surfaced in the ocean. –ENE News
contribution Emanni
This entry was posted in Earth Changes, Earth Watch, Earthquake Omens?, Ecology overturn, Environmental Threat, Hazardous chemical exposure, High-risk potential hazard zone, Land fissures, cracks, sinkholes, Potential Earthchange hotspot, Seismic tremors, Submarine Volcano, Tectonic plate movement, Time - Event Acceleration. Bookmark the permalink.

32 Responses to ‘Large release’ of methane off Los Angeles coast: gas could be from shift in tectonic plates

    • radiogirl says:

      Could this be a pre-earthquake event?

      Like

      • Provided, there is not a biological basis for the odor; it could be the precuror to many things, volcanic activity, fault eruption, or something much worse than an earthquake- an ocean anoxic event (similar to a limnic eruption) involving a methane eruption, which would produce an explosion and tsunami that would level most of the southern coastal region of Los Angeles. And I warned about this over 3 years ago, the stage was being dressed for these events:

        “Methane reservoirs in the world’s waterways are depressurizing from geothermal activity and ocean warming, oil exploration, seismic disruptions, and submarine volcanic activity. The apparent danger is that during this catastrophic exothermic unwinding process; we are in grave peril from climate chaos, and geologically disruptive events, as Earth slides towards the spectrum of maximum entropy.” -The Extinction Protocol, page 198, -2009

        Like

  1. George says:

    Hi Alvin. Help me understand this article. In the beginning it stated that “a foul oder” was reported. Later they state that it was “oderless methane”. What gives with these statements? Thanks.

    Like

  2. Chris says:

    Prior to the Sylmar quake in 1971 and the Northridge quake in 1992 there was an observed phenomena of gases bubbling to the service of the ocean both in Samta Monica Bay and off of Malibu. The Northridge quake caused severe damage in W Los Amgeles which puzzled many scientists since their data suggested that the main shock had released toward the high desert area of Palmdale. Later a scientist suggested an unknown connection from the complex series of faults in the mountains surrounding the San Fernando Valley to the faults out to Santa Monica. I think the clock has been ticking for big fault they are all connected to. Thanks for letting me comment.

    Like

  3. Irene C says:

    Okay – we have methane gas, a sulfurous odor, and changes in the water temperature. Now could that possibility mean there’s volcanic activity below the sea floor? This just seems to be a possibility they don’t want to advertise.

    Like

  4. John says:

    Foul odor, of odorless gas, seems to be a contradiction somewhere. Is it or isn’t it, does it or doesn’t it.

    Like

  5. Dennis E. says:

    Alright, it has been posted that this could happen although it seems that mostly it has been a foul smell. Other than speculation about a possible shift in tectonic plates, what does this really mean or does it mean anything at all? Is it possible that a earthquake is in the making?
    Some have speculated that a large release of methane gas could cause major casualties?

    Just seeking information…………

    Like

    • denise says:

      Rev:9:1,2 ‘Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star(Satan) fall from heaven to the earth. To him (Satan)was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
      This hasen’t happened yet, but these occurrences could be the beginning stages. I’m not sure, but it is interesting to speculate, knowing the we are in the last days. Things are going to get very scary

      Like

  6. niebo says:

    Something foul is afoot just beyond the pier. . . and I think it’s the “algae-gas” cover story.

    Like

  7. Alan says:

    And so it begins!

    Like

  8. Katherine says:

    Massive caldera in Santa Monica bay.

    Like

  9. Emanni says:

    Dramatic increase in methane in the Arctic in January 2013

    Above image shows dramatic increases of methane levels above the Arctic Ocean in the course of January 2013 in a large area north of Norway.
    http://ascendingstarseed.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/dramatic-increase-in-methane-in-the-arctic-in-january-2013/

    The first image clearly shows that the westerly Svalbard branch of the Gulf stream must be destabilizing methane hydrates between Norway and Svalbard. The effects of the eastern Yermack branch of the Gulf stream which enters the Barents Sea is clearly seen in the third figure and methane hydrates in the whole Barents Sea region are clearly being destabilized by the heat it is bringing in. All this extra heating of the Gulf Stream causing increased evaporation is the reason for the giant flooding that has been seen in Europe and the water clouds are preventing the ocean from losing its heat efficiently so the Yermack and Svalbard branches can still destabilize the methane hydrates even in the dead of winter.

    Like

  10. Emanni says:

    Macondo Site – Deepwater Horizon drill site
    (Mississippi Canyon Block 252, abbreviated MC252)

    “BP ROV LIVE FEEDS” inadvertently showed a HUGE open hole on the Gulf Seabed AFTER the well was SUPPOSEDLY “Capped”.

    Crater on Gulf floor and methane coming out

    Like

  11. tdenbeck says:

    Very interesting … Santa Monica is not that far from Brea tar pits. There was a movie about that area coming back to life. However – a methane belch does not constitute a full blown volcanic episode as portrayed in the movie. On the other hand the time period between the smell that came from the Salton Sea area and this incident is interesting to consider. There is alot of Oil Production just due South of Santa Monica. Wasn’t there a massive fish kill about a year or so ago.

    Like

  12. nickk0 says:

    Let’s hope that nothing of this nature, disturbs the colossal methane hydrate beds off the coast of the Carolinas and in the Gulf of Mexico.

    Like

  13. Irene C says:

    As usual, I’ve been watching the earthquake activity in mainland U.S. I’ve noticed a lot of inactivity of anything 2.5+ (with the exception of a 3.4 in Oklahoma the other day). I don’t know about anyone else, but this inactivity is making me nervous, like the calm before the storm. Or maybe it’s just me. Just saying…

    Like

    • goosher says:

      I agree Irene, just the usual ones below 2.0. Lets wait and see

      Like

    • James says:

      I am the same. With the constant little quakes all around the Bay Area of San Francisco, you know that pressure is being released is small ways. When it gets quiet for more than a week, I also become nervous. With no quakes you know pressure is building somewhere.

      Like

    • niebo says:

      It’s not just you, Irene. I have been “clinging” to Romans 8 and reminding myself that, no matter how far separated I may feel (emotionally) from the presence of God, the presence of God (in reality) is NOT separated from me (8:38-39). “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5; Deut. 31:6 + 8 ) and “For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm” (Proverbs 1:32-33). “. . .As I have planned, so will I do, and as I have purposed, so it will stand” (Isaiah 14:24). All of which means: if the time is now, His word will be fulfilled, and all we can do is obey and “wait for it” (Habakkuk 2:3). With trembling.

      Like

      • denise says:

        Good morning,
        This is the first thing that I have read today and it was just what I needed to start my day. I’m glad that there are others, who at times, feel distanced from GOD. I hate those treks into the wilderness. I suppose that they are necessary because they force us to seek the Lord more diligently and it also give each one of us the opportunity to encourage one another. Thank you for the blessing.

        Like

      • denise says:

        Sorry, the previous post was meant for niebo. Again, thanks for the blessing!

        Like

    • Stephanie C says:

      Irene, I feel the exact same way. I sense it is the calm before the storm as well.

      Like

      • bobby90247 says:

        Stephanie, Irene, Niebo, and ALL other’s that believe in God…it is time for us ALL to come together and “Unite” and simply continue to spread the “Good News!” AS long as “we” do this, those that have eyes and ears will hear…

        those that don’t…

        Take Care and God Bless!

        Like

  14. Lisa says:

    Is this anywhere near where the mega pods of dolphins were spotted a few weeks ago?

    Like

  15. Anne says:

    Dutchsinse has nailed the Okla. EQ’s, the Ark. EQ’s and the very recent explosion in Clinton, Ark.. It’s from the extensive fracking at natural gas sites. Northwest of Birmingham, Alabama, between Jasper and Cordova, there is a huge fracking operation going on and they’ve had 2 EQ’s of M 2.7 just recently.

    Like

  16. Britney says:

    didn’t like 100,000 dolphins just gather around that area & start moving away? is this a coincidence?

    Like

  17. Did they not recently discover rich oil reserves off Catalina island? Isn’t the release of methane gas a precursor to tapping these oil pockets?

    Like

  18. The LA Basin and offshore LA is riddled with old abandoned oil and gas wells many of which there are no records for. Mthane emssions in LA are some of the highest in the world . Fracking operations which use massive amounts of pressurized chemcial laden water are injected in subsurface shale depsots in order to fracture the rook. The presured fluids can also migrate into old old and gas wells which have been abandoned anf force trapped gas such as methane to be released. There is no oversight of where this is happneing in LA other than issuing the companies well permits thru DOGGR a rubber stamp staye agency which has long been in bed with the OIl and Gas Industry.

    Like

  19. Doreen Agostino says:

    The Geoengineers are going for broke in their ever more destructive attempt to hide converging climate catastrophes while making the entire situation exponentially worse in the process. Geoengineering is ripping apart the web of life on our planet. The highly toxic fallout from the spraying is literally poisoning all that lives.

    “Epic” methane release in the Laptev Sea and many other areas are cases in point. Even the recent quake off the coast of Fukushima appears to have triggered significant methane release in that region. Main stream media is doing their part to obscure such dire truths from the public till the last possible moment. Unfortunately, a huge percentage of the population is all to willing to ram their heads into the sand and gulp down whatever the corporate media machine feeds them. http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/mass-methane-release-accelerating/

    Like

All comments are moderated. We reserve the right not to post any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam.