HC Deb 22 October 1990 vol 178 c2W
Mr. Barry Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if there are any plans to follow up the discovery by the RRS Charles Darwin that biological production of nitrous oxide in the oceans is contributing to global warming.

Mr. Alan Howarth

Following the discovery that the nutrient-rich waters of the Indian ocean produced significantly larger amounts of nitrous oxide than had previously been thought, NERC scientists are preparing plans for future work on nitrous oxide production in cooler waters in order to assess whether estimates of the total ocean production should be changed.