Correspondence/Rebuttal pubs.acs.org/est
Response to Comment on “Review of Methane Mitigation Technologies with Application to Rapid Release of Methane from the Arctic” n our paper, “Review of Methane Mitigation Technologies with Application to Rapid Release of Methane from the Arctic” we attempted to lay the groundwork for a new field of inquiry into Arctic methane mitigation. Part of that effort was to catalog the mitigation options that have been proposed to date, which include, for example, microbubbles to whiten and cool Arctic waters and water management to reduce emissions from Arctic wetlands. Mr. Lockley’s comment on our paper describes additional mitigation options to those that we cataloged. It is worth noting that his suggestions, and many of ours, are still little more than notions at this stage. However, with the menu of options now laid out, we can begin to evaluate them and systemically determine the most promising strategies. A sensible approach to the Arctic methane threat should continue to emphasize environmental monitoring and climate science since large uncertainties remain about the quantity and mechanism of methane release. However, the risk is clear enough that a dedicated research effort on Arctic methane mitigation is warranted. We hope that the options that we and Mr. Lockley have identified can now be investigated in detail.
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Joshuah K. Stolaroff*
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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail: stolaroff
[email protected]. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. Disclaimer: This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, nor any of their employees makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
Published: November 26, 2012 © 2012 American Chemical Society
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/es304531x | Environ. Sci. Technol. 2012, 46, 13554−13554
