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Press Release

December 4, 2025

Spark at AGU25: Insights on Methane, Nitrous Oxide, and Warming-Induced Emissions

Who this is For
At a Glance
Why it Matters

The week of December 15, researchers and policymakers from around the world will convene in New Orleans for the 2025 American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (AGU25). As one of the world’s premier science conferences, AGU25 is a key venue for helping build new fields to accelerate progress on unsolved climate challenges by sharing emerging research, strengthening connectivity across disciplines, and surfacing new ideas that could unlock faster climate progress. And Spark will have a team of scientists on the ground doing exactly that.

This year, Spark’s participation at AGU centers on a few themes that define our current focus: 1) reducing super pollutant emissions from agriculture, 2) improving understanding of climate feedbacks, and 3) advancing the science of understanding additional climate risk mitigation options.

On the agriculture front, Eric Davidson, PhD and Maria Bowman, PhD will participate in and chair multiple sessions exploring pathways to reduce nitrogen loss from agriculture and address gaps in science, monitoring, and policy for assessing and mitigating nitrous oxide emissions—a potent, long-lived greenhouse gas that is the third largest contributor to climate change, after carbon dioxide and methane, and it is the leading ozone-layer depleting substance still emitted today.

On the topic of climate feedbacks, Ben Poulter, PhD and Danie Potocek, PhD will speak at and convene several sessions focused on improving monitoring, modeling, and understanding of warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions from natural systems, such as wetlands and permafrost. This work seeks to shed light on an important blind spot: as the planet warms, natural systems are showing signs of releasing additional greenhouse gases. Of particular concern is that rising methane emissions from tropical wetlands and thawing permafrost have the potential to significantly accelerate global warming. 

To explore one potential option to respond to hard-to-abate and increasing natural methane emissions, Megan Melamed, PhD, Katrine Gorham, PhD, Sam Abernethy, PhD, and Paige Brocidiacono will convene and participate in multiple sessions to discuss early-stage research into atmospheric methane removal. This field is still in its scientific infancy, and it is unclear at this stage which approaches to methane removal might prove effective, scalable, and safe. Our team of scientists at AGU will discuss exploratory research and responsible governance considerations to help guide the methane removal field as it matures and discuss the role of science in developing a broader research agenda for responsible climate intervention research. 

Please reach out to connect with our team or find us speaking at the sessions below.

Where to find Spark Scientists at AGU25:
Monday, December 15
Warming-Induced Emissions: B12D - The Global Methane Budget: Sources and Sinks in Natural and Anthropogenic Systems I Oral | 10:30 - 12:00 | Location: 255-257 (NOLA CC)
  • With an associated poster session on Monday, December 15th | 14:15 - 17:45 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

Climate Intervention Research: SE12A - Navigating Climate Risks and the Role of Science: A Dialogue on Climate Intervention Research | 10:30 - 12:00 |  Location: 342 (NOLA CC)

Methane Removal: Town Hall: Can Responsible Methane Removal Curb Warming? Possibilities and Pitfalls of Atmospheric Oxidation Enhancement | 13:00 - 14:00 | Location: 293 (NOLA CC)

Methane Removal: GC14E - Methane Mitigation: Novel Approaches to Reduce Methane Emissions and Remove Atmospheric Methane I Oral | 16:15 - 17:45 | Location: 207 (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session on Tuesday, December 16 | 14:15 - 17:45 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

Tuesday, December 16
Warming-Induced Emissions:
A23E-01 Advances in Measurement and Monitoring of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Support National and Regional Greenhouse Gas Inventories  |  14:16 - 14:27  | Location: 272-273 (NOLA CC)

Agricultural Nitrogen: B21D - Global Nitrous Oxide Budget and Nitrogen-Climate Interactions: Advances in Observations, Modeling, and Synthesis I Oral  |  08:30 - 10:00  | Location: New Orleans Theater A (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session  |  December 16  |  2:15 - 5:45  | Location: B23J
Wednesday, December 17

Agricultural Nitrogen: TH33D - How N2O Emissions Research Connects Us: A Road Map for Agricultural Nitrous Oxide Modeling and MMRV Research  | 13:00 - 14:00 | Location: 286-287 (NOLA CC)

Friday, December 19

Warming-Induced Emissions: B52D - Warming-Induced Emissions: Integrating Models and Observations to Advance Understanding of Greenhouse Gas Fluxes of Natural Systems and Climate Feedbacks II Oral  | 10:30 - 12:00  | 255-257 (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session on December 19 |  08:30 - 12:00 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

The week of December 15, researchers and policymakers from around the world will convene in New Orleans for the 2025 American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (AGU25). As one of the world’s premier science conferences, AGU25 is a key venue for helping build new fields to accelerate progress on unsolved climate challenges by sharing emerging research, strengthening connectivity across disciplines, and surfacing new ideas that could unlock faster climate progress. And Spark will have a team of scientists on the ground doing exactly that.

This year, Spark’s participation at AGU centers on a few themes that define our current focus: 1) reducing super pollutant emissions from agriculture, 2) improving understanding of climate feedbacks, and 3) advancing the science of understanding additional climate risk mitigation options.

On the agriculture front, Eric Davidson, PhD and Maria Bowman, PhD will participate in and chair multiple sessions exploring pathways to reduce nitrogen loss from agriculture and address gaps in science, monitoring, and policy for assessing and mitigating nitrous oxide emissions—a potent, long-lived greenhouse gas that is the third largest contributor to climate change, after carbon dioxide and methane, and it is the leading ozone-layer depleting substance still emitted today.

On the topic of climate feedbacks, Ben Poulter, PhD and Danie Potocek, PhD will speak at and convene several sessions focused on improving monitoring, modeling, and understanding of warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions from natural systems, such as wetlands and permafrost. This work seeks to shed light on an important blind spot: as the planet warms, natural systems are showing signs of releasing additional greenhouse gases. Of particular concern is that rising methane emissions from tropical wetlands and thawing permafrost have the potential to significantly accelerate global warming. 

To explore one potential option to respond to hard-to-abate and increasing natural methane emissions, Megan Melamed, PhD, Katrine Gorham, PhD, Sam Abernethy, PhD, and Paige Brocidiacono will convene and participate in multiple sessions to discuss early-stage research into atmospheric methane removal. This field is still in its scientific infancy, and it is unclear at this stage which approaches to methane removal might prove effective, scalable, and safe. Our team of scientists at AGU will discuss exploratory research and responsible governance considerations to help guide the methane removal field as it matures and discuss the role of science in developing a broader research agenda for responsible climate intervention research. 

Please reach out to connect with our team or find us speaking at the sessions below.

Where to find Spark Scientists at AGU25:
Monday, December 15
Warming-Induced Emissions: B12D - The Global Methane Budget: Sources and Sinks in Natural and Anthropogenic Systems I Oral | 10:30 - 12:00 | Location: 255-257 (NOLA CC)
  • With an associated poster session on Monday, December 15th | 14:15 - 17:45 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

Climate Intervention Research: SE12A - Navigating Climate Risks and the Role of Science: A Dialogue on Climate Intervention Research | 10:30 - 12:00 |  Location: 342 (NOLA CC)

Methane Removal: Town Hall: Can Responsible Methane Removal Curb Warming? Possibilities and Pitfalls of Atmospheric Oxidation Enhancement | 13:00 - 14:00 | Location: 293 (NOLA CC)

Methane Removal: GC14E - Methane Mitigation: Novel Approaches to Reduce Methane Emissions and Remove Atmospheric Methane I Oral | 16:15 - 17:45 | Location: 207 (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session on Tuesday, December 16 | 14:15 - 17:45 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

Tuesday, December 16
Warming-Induced Emissions:
A23E-01 Advances in Measurement and Monitoring of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Support National and Regional Greenhouse Gas Inventories  |  14:16 - 14:27  | Location: 272-273 (NOLA CC)

Agricultural Nitrogen: B21D - Global Nitrous Oxide Budget and Nitrogen-Climate Interactions: Advances in Observations, Modeling, and Synthesis I Oral  |  08:30 - 10:00  | Location: New Orleans Theater A (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session  |  December 16  |  2:15 - 5:45  | Location: B23J
Wednesday, December 17

Agricultural Nitrogen: TH33D - How N2O Emissions Research Connects Us: A Road Map for Agricultural Nitrous Oxide Modeling and MMRV Research  | 13:00 - 14:00 | Location: 286-287 (NOLA CC)

Friday, December 19

Warming-Induced Emissions: B52D - Warming-Induced Emissions: Integrating Models and Observations to Advance Understanding of Greenhouse Gas Fluxes of Natural Systems and Climate Feedbacks II Oral  | 10:30 - 12:00  | 255-257 (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session on December 19 |  08:30 - 12:00 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

The week of December 15, researchers and policymakers from around the world will convene in New Orleans for the 2025 American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (AGU25). As one of the world’s premier science conferences, AGU25 is a key venue for helping build new fields to accelerate progress on unsolved climate challenges by sharing emerging research, strengthening connectivity across disciplines, and surfacing new ideas that could unlock faster climate progress. And Spark will have a team of scientists on the ground doing exactly that.

This year, Spark’s participation at AGU centers on a few themes that define our current focus: 1) reducing super pollutant emissions from agriculture, 2) improving understanding of climate feedbacks, and 3) advancing the science of understanding additional climate risk mitigation options.

On the agriculture front, Eric Davidson, PhD and Maria Bowman, PhD will participate in and chair multiple sessions exploring pathways to reduce nitrogen loss from agriculture and address gaps in science, monitoring, and policy for assessing and mitigating nitrous oxide emissions—a potent, long-lived greenhouse gas that is the third largest contributor to climate change, after carbon dioxide and methane, and it is the leading ozone-layer depleting substance still emitted today.

On the topic of climate feedbacks, Ben Poulter, PhD and Danie Potocek, PhD will speak at and convene several sessions focused on improving monitoring, modeling, and understanding of warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions from natural systems, such as wetlands and permafrost. This work seeks to shed light on an important blind spot: as the planet warms, natural systems are showing signs of releasing additional greenhouse gases. Of particular concern is that rising methane emissions from tropical wetlands and thawing permafrost have the potential to significantly accelerate global warming. 

To explore one potential option to respond to hard-to-abate and increasing natural methane emissions, Megan Melamed, PhD, Katrine Gorham, PhD, Sam Abernethy, PhD, and Paige Brocidiacono will convene and participate in multiple sessions to discuss early-stage research into atmospheric methane removal. This field is still in its scientific infancy, and it is unclear at this stage which approaches to methane removal might prove effective, scalable, and safe. Our team of scientists at AGU will discuss exploratory research and responsible governance considerations to help guide the methane removal field as it matures and discuss the role of science in developing a broader research agenda for responsible climate intervention research. 

Please reach out to connect with our team or find us speaking at the sessions below.

Where to find Spark Scientists at AGU25:
Monday, December 15
Warming-Induced Emissions: B12D - The Global Methane Budget: Sources and Sinks in Natural and Anthropogenic Systems I Oral | 10:30 - 12:00 | Location: 255-257 (NOLA CC)
  • With an associated poster session on Monday, December 15th | 14:15 - 17:45 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

Climate Intervention Research: SE12A - Navigating Climate Risks and the Role of Science: A Dialogue on Climate Intervention Research | 10:30 - 12:00 |  Location: 342 (NOLA CC)

Methane Removal: Town Hall: Can Responsible Methane Removal Curb Warming? Possibilities and Pitfalls of Atmospheric Oxidation Enhancement | 13:00 - 14:00 | Location: 293 (NOLA CC)

Methane Removal: GC14E - Methane Mitigation: Novel Approaches to Reduce Methane Emissions and Remove Atmospheric Methane I Oral | 16:15 - 17:45 | Location: 207 (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session on Tuesday, December 16 | 14:15 - 17:45 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

Tuesday, December 16
Warming-Induced Emissions:
A23E-01 Advances in Measurement and Monitoring of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Support National and Regional Greenhouse Gas Inventories  |  14:16 - 14:27  | Location: 272-273 (NOLA CC)

Agricultural Nitrogen: B21D - Global Nitrous Oxide Budget and Nitrogen-Climate Interactions: Advances in Observations, Modeling, and Synthesis I Oral  |  08:30 - 10:00  | Location: New Orleans Theater A (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session  |  December 16  |  2:15 - 5:45  | Location: B23J
Wednesday, December 17

Agricultural Nitrogen: TH33D - How N2O Emissions Research Connects Us: A Road Map for Agricultural Nitrous Oxide Modeling and MMRV Research  | 13:00 - 14:00 | Location: 286-287 (NOLA CC)

Friday, December 19

Warming-Induced Emissions: B52D - Warming-Induced Emissions: Integrating Models and Observations to Advance Understanding of Greenhouse Gas Fluxes of Natural Systems and Climate Feedbacks II Oral  | 10:30 - 12:00  | 255-257 (NOLA CC)

  • With an associated poster session on December 19 |  08:30 - 12:00 | Location: Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (NOLA CC)

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