They are also engaged in ongoing research into the amount of methane hydrate under this area of the ocean floor.

BBC: Methane seeps from Arctic sea-bed

To date no technology has been able to accurately measure and quantify the amount of methane emitted from fracking sites and other natural gas fields over a large scale.

FORBES: The New Tech that Aims to Make Methane Leaks a Thing of the Past

As to what happened to the Palaeocene fauna, the evidence points not towards an errant asteroid but to a giant burp from the oceans, which released a huge amount of methane.

ECONOMIST: Rewriting the history of the mammals

Oil and gas drilling companies had pushed for the change, but there have been differing scientific estimates of the amount of methane that leaks from wells, pipelines and other facilities during production and delivery.

NPR: EPA Methane Report Further Divides Fracking Camps

"Unless we take the necessary steps to measure and reduce the amount of methane escaping from the entire supply chain, natural gas engines could very well be worse for our climate than diesel, " Krupp told the truck industry summit.

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Chemical companies today create hydrogen by cracking methane, a process that results in a tremendous amount of greenhouse gases.

FORBES: Why Hydrogen Cars Could Still Be The Future