Mysterious bubbles of methane seeping out of volcano-shaped hills on the bottom of the Beaufort Sea will be the focus of an Arctic research project this summer.

Scientists want to find out how much methane is escaping into the sea and what it might mean for the oil and gas industry, said Steve Blasco, a marine geologist with Natural Resources Canada.

They think the bubbles may be coming from frozen gas buried several kilometres, said Blasco, one of the 13 scientists set to work on the study this summer.

"I know from dealing with the Inuvialuit and National Energy Board, they are quite interested in knowing what the background of hydrocarbon seepage is on the Beaufort Shelf, so you can clearly understand what Mother Nature is doing versus what man might be doing in the future," Blasco said in an interview.

The methane bubbles may be a key feature of the sea's ecosystem, he said. The oil industry also wants to know if it can access the gas or if the gas vents pose a threat to drilling on the sea floor.

There are more than 300 of these hills in the Beaufort Sea, formed by gas pushing mud up from under the seabed, he said.

They can be up to 30 metres high and nearly a kilometre across, he said.

Most of the underwater hills are located off the coast east of Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.

Beaufort Delta resident Tommy Thrasher said the Inuvialuit have been making use of the natural phenomenon for generations.

He said the bubbles prevent certain areas of lakes and the ocean from freezing, making it easier to find good hunting spots.