‘Fire ice’ is a name given to

a. Frozen Nitrogen

b. Solid Carbon Dioxide

c. Solid frozen oxygen

d. Gas hydrates

ANSWER: Gas hydrates

Explanation:

Japan Oil Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) succeeded in extracting natural gas from sea-bed deposits of methane hydrate popularly called “fire ice" because it is a white crystalline solid that burns.

India has some of the biggest methane hydrate reserves in the world. It will reap a bonanza if technological progress allows gas to be extracted from hydrates economically and safely.

Hydrates influence ocean carbon cycling, global climate change, and coastal sediment stability. Localized melt­downs have caused massive continental slope failure, which can present a geological hazard for shelf oil and gas production. Massive hydrate dissolution events, releasing vast amounts of the greenhouse gas methane, are possible causes of some of the abrupt climate chang­es seen in the geologic record.