Methane Removal
Spark is currently supporting scientific research to advance our understanding of existing atmospheric oxidation processes, and study the potential efficacy and safety of interventions intended to enhance atmospheric oxidative capacity, which could be able to help accelerate the destruction of atmospheric methane, potentially in addition to other pollutants. We will be expanding our research granting program to also include other methods for oxidizing methane at atmospheric concentrations (2 ppm) and at low-concentrations emission-sources (2-2,000ppm).
Our grantees to date include:
For research on advancing our understanding of existing atmospheric oxidation processes hypothesized to be naturally removing more atmospheric methane than previously studied
- University of Copenhagen
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
- Utrecht University
- Cornell University
- Acacia Impact Innovation BV
- OceansX
Papers published to date
- Van Herpen, M. M. J. W., Li, Q., Saiz‐Lopez, A., Liisberg, J. B., Röckmann, T., Cuevas, C. A., Fernández, R. P., Mak, J. E., Mahowald, N. M., Hess, P., Meidan, D., Stuut, J., & Johnson, M. S. (2023). Photocatalytic chlorine atom production on mineral dust–sea spray aerosols over the North Atlantic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(31). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2303974120
- Li, Q., Meidan, D., Hess, P. et al. Global environmental implications of atmospheric methane removal through chlorine-mediated chemistry-climate interactions. Nat Commun14, 4045 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39794-7
For research to characterize the ability of soil amendments to increase methane removal and lower nitrous oxide emissions, and the effect of these amendments on microbial community activity and composition
- University of Michigan
- University of California, Berkeley
For research to advance understanding of the naturally-occurring iron salt aerosol mechanism in the North Atlantic through an aircraft field measurement campaign
- Stony Brook University
- Utrecht University
- University of Copenhagen
- Acacia Impact Innovation BV
- University of Miami
- Purdue University
- Spanish National Research Council
ERL Focus on Methane Drawdown Special Issue Grant Opportunity
- Frost Methane & Van Oord: To verify the technical potential and feasibility of subsea rock installation to capture and control methane emissions from underwater soils in the Arctic.
For research on advancing our understanding of spatially resolved methane emissions, removals, and impacts
- Texas A&M University
- NCAR
For research on legal frameworks to facilitate needed methane removal research and any subsequent deployment (if deemed appropriate), while ensuring that it occurs in a safe, responsible, and just manner
- Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University
Near-term Warming Management
For research on metric design to support management of both near-term and long-term warming in parallel
- Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD)
