Rockall part of the deeply eroded Rockall Igneous Centre that was formed as part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province, approximately 55 million years ago, when the ancient continent of Laurasia was split apart by plate tectonics. Greenland and Europe separated and the northeast Atlantic Ocean was formed between them, eventually leaving Rockall as an isolated islet. The RV "Celtic Explorer" surveyed the Rockall Bank in 2003. The Irish Light Vessel "Granuaile" (the same name as the steamer on the RIA 1896 botany survey) was chartered by the Geological Survey of Ireland, on behalf of the Department of Communications, Marine and
Nankai Trough beneath the overriding plate (Obana et al., 2006). Recent large scale earthquakes resulting from subduction along the Nankai Trough have occurred in areas of large scale increases in the dip angle of the subducting plate (Hori et al., 2004). The trough is potentially a major source of hydrocarbon fuel, in the form of methane clathrate. However, there is no commercial exploitation. At depth in the ocean bottoms, in some cases water can form an ice-like solid structure that has methane trapped in its crystalline lattice, forming gas hydrates. The source of water for the formation of gas hydrates frequently comes