New research indicates that belches of toxic, sulfurous gas from the ocean floor off the coast of Namibia are more common and massive than previously thought.

The gas eruptions were thought to be a minor, local phenomenon. But a South African researcher reports in this week's Nature science magazine that the emissions of hydrogen sulfide gas are frequent and widespread, sometimes reaching as wide as 200 kilometers along the Namibian coast.

The belches of gas are emitted from decaying marine matter on the ocean floor. Residents of Namibia's coastal region are familiar with the eruptions because of the strong smell and wide-spread fish kills that accompany them. Researchers fear the phenomenon could be having a major impact on the shoreline ecology of the region.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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