On the day of the earthquake, Japan's research vessel Chikyu, capable of drilling seven kilometres into the sea floor, was docked in Hachinohe, north of Sendai, preparing for a voyage to
sample coal beds deep under the sea floor.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
sampled deep methane gas from an exploratory
coal bed methane field in central Scotland and disused
coal mines in central England.