Bursting Bubbles. A new study in the American Journal of Physics suggests that deposits of solid methane on the sea floor could create methane bubbles. Apparently, when pieces of these deposits break off, they become gaseous as they rise and erupt on the surface. A giant bubble could, in theory, swamp a ship. There's a sunken vessel at the center of one of these deposit sites, but it's unclear if there's a cause and effect.