Geology, geography, meteorology, climatology, chemistry — whatever you call it, reality always trumps fiction.
From the headline, “Ventura County hot spot puzzles experts,” I wondered whether a caldera was sending a telegram. Probably not.*
The ground smokes, but there is no fire. Experts’ best guess: Drought causes the ground to dry out, and crack. Petroleum stuff (in gas form) bubbles up from underground, into the cracked earth. Oxygen from the surface mixes deep. Somewhere underground the hydrocarbons meet the oxygen and the resulting combustion heats the ground to 800° Fahrenheit.
It’s a dry land analog of the methane hydrates warming and bubbling up in the ocean. The waste products contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, but so would the emissions if they didn’t burn first.
Cause or effect of climate change? Significant?
- Update, 9:23 p.m. Central: The usual suspects from Watts Up are huddled around the story, hoping for some fire to break out, to clear the smoke if nothing else. All they’re sure of is this: The experts are all wrong. It’s fun to recall when we were young and knew everything. The Ventura County Star notes geologists think these things are fun puzzles, rather than bafflements.
Posted by Ed Darrell 
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 