Giant bubbles could sink ships, say maths experts

Methane bubbles from the sea floor could be responsible for the mysterious sinking of ships in areas like the Bermuda Triangle and the North Sea, new Australian research confirms.

Computational mathematics honours student David May and supervisor, Professor Joseph Monaghan of Monash University in Melbourne report their research in the American Journal of Physics.

Their modelling suggests that giant bubbles are much more likely to sink ships than previously thought, adding new weight to warnings about ships travelling in areas where bubbles are likely to be.

Huge bubbles can erupt from undersea deposits of solid methane, known as gas hydrates. The methane - found as an odourless gas in swamps and mines - becomes solid under the enormous pressures at the deep sea floor. Under the sea, however, the ice-like methane deposits can break off and become gaseous as they rise, creating bubbles at the surface.

This research is obviously wrong. There is nothing in the Kay report about Saddam working on bubbles of mass destruction. It follows they cannot exist.