§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been undertaken by the Meteorological Office on the possibility of a release of methane hydrate from sea floor sediments caused by increased sea temperatures resulting from global warming and climate change. [133312]
§ Mr. CaplinThe Hadley Centre of the Meteorological Office has made a start assessing the potential destabilisation of hydrates. Analysis of results from the Hadley Centre climate models has shown that the most vulnerable deposits are likely to be marine hydrates in the shallow parts of the Arctic Ocean. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the gradual melting of land ice-sheets (which tends to stabilise marine hydrates by increasing sea-level and thereby the pressure at the bottom of the ocean), will be too slow to counteract the effects of global warming in the 21st century.