In the study released Wednesday, researchers suggest extracting the natural gas hydrates with "depressurization" -- a method that involves changing the ice into gas and water at the surface.
In this phenomenon, dramatic changes in air pressure (a massive rise followed by a rapid depressurization) can seriously damage internal tissues exposed to air such as the lungs and gastrointestinal tract.
The effects of depressurization on internal structures is not intuitively obvious to non-engineers, but a 20 foot wide by 20 foot high wall that sees a 1.2 psi rapid pressure decrease feels a load of about 70, 000 lbs of horizontal force.