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What are gas hydrates and how did they interfere with the Deepwater Horizon containment dome?

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Fireboats battle a blaze on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, April 2010. — Deepwater Horizon oil spill Fireboat response crews attempt to extinguish the blaze aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010.

Gas hydrates are unusual molecular structures consisting of gas molecules, such as methane, encased within an icy, cagelike lattice of water molecules. These structures form under specific combinations of high pressure and low temperature, such as those found on the ocean floor.1

During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, these hydrates significantly interfered with containment efforts. In May, engineers attempted to place a large containment dome over the primary leak in the broken riser pipe to capture the escaping oil. However, the operation was thwarted by the buoyant action of gas hydrates that formed as the natural gas reacted with the cold water at the seafloor. These icy, slush-like accumulations clogged the dome, rendering it ineffective and forcing BP to abandon the strategy in favor of other containment methods, such as the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) cap.2