Atmospheric Methane Research Problem Statements

Methane Sink Assessment

Biological Oxidation

Ab initio calculation of kinetic isotope effects (KIE) for reaction of CH4 with ▪OH, ▪Cl, and O(¹D)– improving the constraints needed to monitor atmospheric CH4 sinks

Submitted by

James Farquhar (University of Maryland)

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Awarded Spark grant

Assessing Global Soil Methane Sink Capacity

Submitted by

Qianlai Zhuang (Purdue University)

Assessing the Global Potential of Soil Microbial Methane Removal via Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning

Submitted by

Licheng Liu (University of Minnesota)

Methane Hunters: Bio-prospecting Insect Galleries for CH₄ Mitigation

Submitted by

Aram Mikaelyan (North Carolina State University)

An updated version of the Methanotrophy Model (MeMo) using laboratory measurements to improve Q10 and k0 values

Submitted by

Fabiola Murguia-Flores (Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad)

Improving our understanding of the northern methane sink through better representation of alpine tundra ecosystems

Submitted by

McKenzie Kuhn (University of British Columbia)

Atmospheric Oxidation

Satellite observations of enhanced atmospheric methane removal

Submitted by

Jos de Laat (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI))

Awarded Spark grant

Chlorine Enhancement by Mineral Dust and its Effect on Methane: A natural experiment at the Cape Verde Observatory (CEMDEM-CVO)

Submitted by

Lucy Carpenter (University of York)

Awarded Spark grant

Tropospheric multiphase reactive halogen evolution: CAPRAM-SPARK model development and application to field observations

Submitted by

Hartmut Herrmann (Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research)

‍

Awarded Spark grant

Impacts of anthropogenic-driven changes in reactive chlorine on the methane lifetime and its isotopes

Submitted by

Becky Alexander (University of Washington)

Quantifying methane sources and sinks simultaneously

Submitted by

Xueying Yu (Stanford University)

Quantifying methane removal from CO isotope measurements at global scale

Submitted by

Thomas Röckmann (Utrecht University)

Constraining the response of the hydroxyl radical to changes in its drivers with machine learning and satellite proxy data

Submitted by

Daniel Anderson (University of Maryland Baltimore County)

Improved modeling of tropospheric OH to guide methane reduction strategies

Submitted by

Daniel Jacob (Harvard)

Methane loss rate sensitivity to emissions, climate change and variability, and key uncertainties

Submitted by

Arlene Fiore (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Awarded Spark grant

Influences on Atmospheric Hydroxyl Radicals

Submitted by

Spark

Enabling Research Tools and Technologies

Biological Oxidation

Methods To Express and Screen Soluble Methane Monooxygenase

Submitted by

Paul Reginato, Calvin Henard, Lisa Stein, Mary Lidstrom, Jeremy Semrau, Jessica Swanson, Wenyu Gu, James Weltz, Mark Hansen, Paige Brocidiacono, Ariana Caiati, Erin Wilson

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Genetic tools for particulate methane monooxygenase

Submitted by

Paul Reginato, Lisa Stein, Mary Lidstrom, Jeremy Semrau, Jessica Swanson, Wenyu Gu, Noah Helman, James Weltz, Mark Hansen, Paige Brocidiacono, Ariana Caiati, Erin Wilson

Measurement Technologies for Trees

Submitted by

Spark

Atmospheric Oxidation

Marker species and aerosol formation from chlorine-initiated oxidation in the remote atmosphere

Submitted by

Jesse Kroll (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Awarded Spark grant

Ab initio calculation of kinetic isotope effects (KIE) for reaction of CH4 with ▪OH, ▪Cl, and O(1D)– towards improving the constraints for monitoring the atmospheric CH4 cycle

Submitted by

James Farquhar (University of Maryland)

Halogen-Driven Sinks Using a Novel Autonomous Low-Cost Solar Spectrometer Network

Submitted by

Joshua Paul (Butterfly Photonics, Inc.)

Analytical system for CO isotope analysis

Submitted by

Thomas Röckmann (Utrecht University)

Catalytic Oxidation / Capture

Improving heat recovery for thermal oxidation reactors

Submitted by

Will Sawyer (Convivial Earth)

‍

Exploring Potential Approaches to Address Atmospheric Methane

Biological Oxidation

Optimizing the activity of atmospheric methane oxidizing bacteria (atmMOB) in solid-phase bioreactors

Submitted by

Lisa Y. Stein (University of Alberta)

‍

Awarded Spark grant

Cell-free Methane Oxidation Without Reductant Input

Submitted by

Paul Reginato, Chris Eiben, James Weltz, Paige Brocidiacono

‍

Discover or Engineer Efficient Soluble Methane Monooxygenase

Submitted by

Paul Reginato, Lisa Stein, Mary Lidstrom, Jeremy Semrau, Jessica Swanson, Wenyu Gu, Noah Helman, James Weltz, Mark Hansen, Paige Brocidiacono, Ariana Caiati, Erin Wilson

‍

Establishing an efficient hollow fiber membrane unit for atmospheric methane removal

Submitted by

Mari Karoliina Winkler (University of Washington)

Stimulation of microbial atmospheric methane oxidation with low-concentration methane generated in situ using organic wastes

Submitted by

Sukhwan Yoon (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Optimization of Methanotrophs and Solid-State Bioreactors for Atmospheric Methane Removal

Submitted by

Lisa Stein (University of Alberta)

Atmospheric Oxidation

Constraining the size distribution and chlorine production of ferric chloride aerosols for quantitative atmospheric methane removal

Submitted by

Mingyi Wang (The University of Chicago)

Awarded Spark grant

Evaluation of several unexplored atmospheric methane removal mechanisms

Submitted by

Maarten van Herpen (Acacia Impact Innovation BV)

High-resolution atmospheric chemistry modeling to maximize the effectiveness and minimize unintended consequences of atmospheric methane oxidation enhancement methods

Submitted by

Hannah Horowitz (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Catalytic Oxidation / Capture

Design and modeling of dilute methane oxidation bioreactors to guide bioengineering

Submitted by

Paul Reginato, Mary Lidstrom, Jeremy Semrau, Jessica Swanson, Lisa Stein, Wenyu Gu, Mark Hansen, Paige Brocidiacono, Ariana Caiati, and Erin Wilson

Liquid capture of atmospheric methane: rethinking an abandoned technology

Submitted by

Yat Li (University of California Santa Cruz)

Catalyst-Coated Fibers for Room-Temperature Direct Conversion of Methane from Air to Methanol

Submitted by

Request to remain anonymous

Fundamental Investigations of Gas–Surface Interactions Towards Adsorbent Design Rules to Enable Atmospheric Capture Technologies

Submitted by

C. Michael McGuirk (Colorado School of Mines)

Single-atom solid-oxide electrolyzers for efficient removal of atmospheric methane

Submitted by

Meenesh Singh (University of Illinois Chicago)

Atmospheric methane removal using engineered multimetallic catalysts

Submitted by

Matteo Cargnello (Stanford University)

Improving Quantum Yield for Photolytic Reactors

Submitted by

Spark

Problem Statement Repository: Atmospheric Methane Research

Methane Sink Assessment

Biological Oxidation

Ab initio calculation of kinetic isotope effects (KIE) for reaction of CH4 with ▪OH, ▪Cl, and O(¹D)– improving the constraints needed to monitor atmospheric CH4 sinks

Assessing Global Soil Methane Sink Capacity

Assessing the Global Potential of Soil Microbial Methane Removal via Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning

Methane Hunters: Bio-prospecting Insect Galleries for CH₄ Mitigation

An updated version of the Methanotrophy Model (MeMo) using laboratory measurements to improve Q10 and k0 values

Improving our understanding of the northern methane sink through better representation of alpine tundra ecosystems

Atmospheric Oxidation

Satellite observations of enhanced atmospheric methane removal

Chlorine Enhancement by Mineral Dust and its Effect on Methane: A natural experiment at the Cape Verde Observatory (CEMDEM-CVO)

Tropospheric multiphase reactive halogen evolution: CAPRAM-SPARK model development and application to field observations

Impacts of anthropogenic-driven changes in reactive chlorine on the methane lifetime and its isotopes

Quantifying methane sources and sinks simultaneously

Quantifying methane removal from CO isotope measurements at global scale

Constraining the response of the hydroxyl radical to changes in its drivers with machine learning and satellite proxy data

Improved modeling of tropospheric OH to guide methane reduction strategies

Methane loss rate sensitivity to emissions, climate change and variability, and key uncertainties

Influences on Atmospheric Hydroxyl Radicals

Enabling Research Tools and Technologies

Biological Oxidation

Methods To Express and Screen Soluble Methane Monooxygenase

Genetic tools for particulate methane monooxygenase

Measurement Technologies for Trees

Atmospheric Oxidation

Marker species and aerosol formation from chlorine-initiated oxidation in the remote atmosphere

Ab initio calculation of kinetic isotope effects (KIE) for reaction of CH4 with ▪OH, ▪Cl, and O(1D)– towards improving the constraints for monitoring the atmospheric CH4 cycle

Halogen-Driven Sinks Using a Novel Autonomous Low-Cost Solar Spectrometer Network

Analytical system for CO isotope analysis

Catalytic Oxidation / Capture

Improving heat recovery for thermal oxidation reactors

Exploring Potential Approaches to Address Atmospheric Methane

Biological Oxidation

Optimizing the activity of atmospheric methane oxidizing bacteria (atmMOB) in solid-phase bioreactors

Cell-free Methane Oxidation Without Reductant Input

Discover or Engineer Efficient Soluble Methane Monooxygenase

Establishing an efficient hollow fiber membrane unit for atmospheric methane removal

Stimulation of microbial atmospheric methane oxidation with low-concentration methane generated in situ using organic wastes

Optimization of Methanotrophs and Solid-State Bioreactors for Atmospheric Methane Removal

Atmospheric Oxidation

Constraining the size distribution and chlorine production of ferric chloride aerosols for quantitative atmospheric methane removal

Evaluation of several unexplored atmospheric methane removal mechanisms

High-resolution atmospheric chemistry modeling to maximize the effectiveness and minimize unintended consequences of atmospheric methane oxidation enhancement methods

Catalytic Oxidation / Capture

Design and modeling of dilute methane oxidation bioreactors to guide bioengineering

Liquid capture of atmospheric methane: rethinking an abandoned technology

Catalyst-Coated Fibers for Room-Temperature Direct Conversion of Methane from Air to Methanol

Fundamental Investigations of Gas–Surface Interactions Towards Adsorbent Design Rules to Enable Atmospheric Capture Technologies

Single-atom solid-oxide electrolyzers for efficient removal of atmospheric methane

Atmospheric methane removal using engineered multimetallic catalysts

Improving Quantum Yield for Photolytic Reactors