Then it was discovered that nine of the 1,701 barrels in the hold had leaked water. This could be due to the constant change in temperature from hot to cold that causes the barrels to leak; leaking barrels could have caused steam to build up in the hold. If the barrels had not been secured well they could have rubbed together causing a spark which would have ignited the steam. The explosion could have alarmed the captain causing him to order his crew to abandon ship and face possible death at sea fearing that the ship was about to sink or perhaps fearing another explosion. Some say this theory is based on the lack of soot and/or burn marks. However, alcohol is a clean burner; so it wouldn't leave any soot. Additionally, alcohol burns quickly, fast enough that the fumes could flare up without leaving burn marks on the wood. To support this theory; Chemist Dr. Andrea Sella built a replica of the Mary Celeste's hold. He used paper cubes and simulated a butane gas explosion at the University of London in 2005. The paper cubes were neither burned nor blackened. Given the scientific evidence, this seems to be the most plausible