
Pakistan quake island off Gwadar 'emits flammable gas' - anigbrowl
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24272552
======
Stratoscope
> "There were dead fish on the surface. And on one side we could hear the
> hissing sound of the escaping gas," Mr Baloch said.

> Though they couldn't smell methane, they did put a match to the fissures
> from where the gas was oozing, and set it on fire.

> "We put the fire out in the end, but it was quite a hassle. Not even the
> water could kill it, unless one poured buckets over it."

Yes, this is what I always do when I encounter dead fish and an unknown source
of hissing gas: light it with a match.

"Move fast and break things!"

~~~
lifeisstillgood
I have a sneaking suspicion it's another one of those cognitive biases - get
off a boat onto land and you feel safer. even if the boat will still be
floating years after the land is.

You would be a fool to try the match trick in your apartment, but on an
island? we just don't have that much experience of the earth blowing up around
us.

then again the group of people who are first onto a volcanic island that
popped out of the sea are a pretty self selecting bunch of foolhardy idiots
:-)

~~~
vacri
The ground doesn't have to explode for a gaseous fireball to envelop you.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
to be fair, neither has happened to me often enough to make it something I
worry about.

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greenyoda
_" Though they couldn't smell methane, they did put a match to the fissures
from where the gas was oozing, and set it on fire."_

You can't smell methane - it's an odorless gas. The methane you use for
cooking ("natural gas") has an odor added to it artificially for safety.

~~~
bsullivan01
Canaries should know this very well ;)

As for what they smelled, maybe they are other gasses as well considering what
those rocks and earth went through (sulfur?)

~~~
seldo
They're smelling hydrogen sulfide, which is a volcanic gas also found in
combination with raw natural gas. It's the "rotten egg" smell.

------
khalidmbajwa
I am from Pakistan, and this damn island is all everyone is talking about. My
facebook feed is flooded with people planning to go visit the island :P.
Personally, i dont see what all the fuss is about. Might just be the rise of
planet of the apes people :P

~~~
anigbrowl
When did you last hear of a large island appearing in the space of 30 minutes?

~~~
sliverstorm
I've heard of Atlantis _dis_ appearing over that sort of time span

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anigbrowl
The Daily Mail, as usual, has the best photo coverage:
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2431913/Massi...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2431913/Massive-
Pakistani-earthquake-pushes-brand-new-18-metre-high-island-sea.html)

Also, I really wish HN mods would not reflexively rewrite headlines. The news
here was the remarkably sudden appearance of a decent-sized island, the fact
that it emits flammable gas is distinctly beside the point.

------
andrewtbham
"Buy land, they're not making it anymore." \- Mark Twain

Another real estate cliché proven wrong ;-)

~~~
lisper
Kilauea produces new land regularly.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kīlauea#1952_to_the_present](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kīlauea#1952_to_the_present)

------
brandoncor
I really wonder what it looked like as it happened - if it was instantaneous
or if it was gradual, was there a cloud of steam, etc.

------
NovemberWest
From a different article about the island: _When a devastating earthquake
struck the remote Awaran district in Pakistan 's Baluchistan province on
Tuesday, it killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless, as the
government struggles to rescue those who need help._

IIRC, Pakistan is demographically a very young country, with overall low
education levels and a lot of challenges. I will voice my hope that this
oddity somehow brings them more help with the aftermath of the quake than they
might otherwise be likely to get.

~~~
WasimBhai
Actually, Pakistan has reasonable resources to handle this kind of situation.
The devastating earth quake of 2005 precipitated the formation of National
Disaster Management Authority. With army supporting operations, I am sure
things will be handled well.

~~~
NovemberWest
Hoping someone gets additional assistance is not the same thing as calling
them incomptent. I used to have friends in Pakistan and I read a bit about the
country in relation to the world economy etc. I drew some alarming conclusions
about Pakistan and other countries with a similarly young demographic in terms
of potential disproportionate impact on global stability and the like. Your
implied objections to my well wishes aside, I still hope this oddity calls
attention to Pakistan and brings them additional support.

Have a great evening/day/whatever.

------
United857
Wonder if they could create Pakistan's version of this:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_to_Hell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_to_Hell)

~~~
andrewflnr
Which will make the whole affair that much more epic as it sinks back below
the waves.

------
lifeisstillgood
could any seismologists / other geographers go into some more detail: pockets
of inflammable gas are stored under 200m of seafloor, seismic activity heats
them up and they rise the whole seabed to the ocean surface. and then drift
down again?

I can't say its making a lot of sense. what is the inflammable gas? not
methane presumably. I guess it's some form of honeycombed rock with lots of
little pockets, presumably lava that has rolled over seabed, so not really
"attached". I mean how does it all work?

(and that's the driver for all science in a nutshell)

~~~
beat
Methane hydrate. Basically an ice-like substance of methane trapped in water
crystals. It can stay in that form when trapped under ocean sediments (there
are vast amounts in the ocean), but when pressure is released and it's exposed
to warmth, the methane can escape the water structure.

------
jere
Working video: [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57604518/pakistan-
earthq...](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57604518/pakistan-earthquake-
kills-more-than-200-creates-new-island-off-southwest-coast/)

~~~
umsm
I hate that! I switched tabs while the 30s commercial was playing and then
realized I just missed the actual video!

When I tried to replay the video, I only got commercials...

------
presidentender
Who owns it?

~~~
icesoldier
Pakistan, I'd say, by virtue of being a short boat ride from the Pakistani
coast.

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pmorici
This happens in the US too near fracking sites.
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1558250/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1558250/)

~~~
steve19
Babies are also conceived near fracking sites. I wonder if there is a
connection ...

Methane coming up from the earth is not uncommon. Considering that 10,000s or
100,000s or more years worth of decayed plants and animals were buried under
the earth. Strange that it is coming to the surface of a brand new island.

~~~
pmorici
Um, I guess, but conception is typically not like an earth quake where as
fracking probably induces similar effects in the earth.

------
vacri
The island is made of politicians?

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silly19328
Coincidentally, I know some people who emit flammable gas after eating too
much Pakistani food.

