Methane , the principle component in natural gas , is usually produced by organic material decomposing . But there is another form of the deadly gas , dubbed abiotic methane , that is created by chemical reactions in the crust beneath the seafloor . Now scientists have found vast deep water gas hydrates in the Arctic that are reservoirs for abiotic methane – a gas which is 20 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide . The gas forms through a process called serpentinisation . Serpentinisation occurs when seawater reacts with hot mantle rocks exhumed along large faults within the seafloor . The reservoirs are secure , and scientists do n't believe they will impact climate change . Instead , they say similar formations could someday be used to store methane , that can later be used as fuel . One reservoir was recently discovered on the ultraslow spreading Knipovich ridge , in the deep Fram Strait of the Arctic Ocean . 'This ultraslow spreading ridge shows that the Arctic environment is ideal for this type of methane production , ' said Joel Johnson associate professor at the University of New Hampshire . The Center for Arctic Gas Hydrate , Climate and Environment ( Cage ) estimates that up to 15,000 gigatonnes of carbon may be stored in the form of hydrates in the ocean floor . Scientists have found vast deep water gas hydrates in the Arctic that are reservoirs for abiotic methane – a gas which is 20 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide . One such reservoir was recently discovered on the ultraslow spreading Knipovich ridge ( pictured ) , in the deep Fram Strait of the Arctic Ocean . 'But this estimate is not accounting for abiotic methane . So there is probably much more , ' said Cage director Jürgen Mienert . Methane is the second-largest greenhouse gas contributor to climate change . The gas is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat and is currently being targeted by government in an attempt to mitigate global warming . Methane pollution has declined by 11 per cent since 1990 even as the governments has pushed for greater use of natural gas . But the longer view on methane pollution show that it will rise . The Obama administration points to studies that show that methane pollution is projected to increase to a level equivalent to over 620 million tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution in 2030 , if no action is taken . However , methane is also the principle component in natural gas . It is a lucrative fuel source , which could contain more energy than all the world 's oil , coal and gas put together . They believe the gas forms through a process called serpentinisation . 'Serpentinisation occurs when seawater reacts with hot mantle rocks exhumed along large faults within the seafloor , ' said Johnson . 'These only form in slow to ultraslow spreading seafloor crust . The optimal temperature range for serpentinisation of ocean crust is 200 – 350 degrees Celsius . ' Methane produced by serpentinisation can escape through cracks and faults , and end up at the ocean floor , causing a concern for future global warming . But in the Knipovich Ridge it is trapped as gas hydrate in the sediments . 'In other known settings the abiotic methane escapes into the ocean , where it potentially influences ocean chemistry , ' says Johnson . 'But if the pressure is high enough , and the subsea floor temperature is cold enough , the gas gets trapped in a hydrate structure below the sea floor . ' Bünz says that there are many places in the Arctic Ocean with a similar tectonic setting as the Knipovich ridge . Rather than causing a concern , the study claims that active tectonic environments may serve as a stable area for long-term storage of methane carbon in deep-marine sediments . But other types of methane in the Arctic are causing a concern for scientists . Last year Dr Jason Box who claims that methane will be the main driver of climate change if it escapes into the atmosphere . He tweeted : 'If even a small fraction of Arctic sea floor carbon is released to the atmosphere , we 're f 'd ' The scientist , based at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland , tweeted the provocative statement after a Swedish study found methane leaking beneath the Arctic . Some of this methane – which is over 20 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat - is now making it to the ocean 's surface . Scientists at Stockholm University called the discovery 'somewhat of a surprise , ' which , according to Dr Box , is an understatement . Samples of the gas hydrates will provide more knowledge on abiotic methane . But they need to be drilled , as they are 140 metres under the ocean floor .
Vast water hydrates in the Arctic are reservoirs for abiotic methane . Methane is 20 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide . These reservoirs are secure as the methane is trapped in the sediments . But elsewhere scientists have found methane leaking beneath the Arctic .