Although climate change has a negative feedback effect on deep ocean clathrate hydrates, we can expect the reserves in shallower waters and within the permafrost to be destabilized by the effects of changing climate.

Whether the destabilization of clathrate hydrates will occur as a sudden, large belch of greenhouse gases or a slow process occurring over hundreds to thousands of years is still a matter of debate. Regardless, methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide on a one hundred year horizon.

Methane clathrates are a potential sleeping giant that cannot be ignored when considering climate feedback loops.

Question: Think about the potential sources of methane emissions you learned about in this topic. How would these emissions affect the other feedback loops you have learned about so far?