"This is a key part of the carbon cycle," said mission leader Peter Flemings, a professor at the University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences. "It's a dynamic carbon reservoir that is continually emitting methane into the oceans and potentially the atmosphere."

The successful mission, led by The University of Texas at Austin, will now allow universities and scientific institutions around the country to study the methane hydrates. Chief among the research questions are how and when the hydrates formed, how they could react in a changing climate and how they could potentially be used as an energy source.

Methane hydrates are an ice-like form of methane found under high pressure and low temperatures. They are commonly formed on and under the seafloor and under arctic permafrost. However, the hydrates dissipate quickly at pressures found at the Earth's surface, which releases methane into the atmosphere. The solid hydrates are incredibly energy-dense, with each unit of methane hydrate holding 165 times the energy of an equivalent volume of gas at surface conditions. But methane is also a potent greenhouse gas, with emissions that have about 25 times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide.