The Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey Bureau has announced that it successfully completed an expedition to explore an area in the South China Sea believed to be rich in deposits of gas hydrate, better known as flammable ice.

The Tansuo-1 submersibles support ship. [File photo: Chinanews.com]

Two oceanic research vessels, Ocean No. 6 and Tansuo-1, met at an area called Seahorse Cold Spring. This exploratory mission was conducted by two domestically-built submersibles, the remote-controlled Seahorse and the manned Deep Sea Warrior. It is the first time that China has employed two domestically-produced submersibles on a coordinated deep sea mission.

The Seahorse Cold Spring is the first large cold spring of its type discovered in China. China is one of only three countries in the world undertaking research into gas hydrate extraction, the other two being the United States and Japan. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, gas hydrate represents a vast untapped energy source that is estimated to hold more carbon than all the world's other fossil fuels combined.