HPAC Briefing Thursday, March 5 on Atmospheric Methane Removal (Time is 4:30 EST--an hour earlier than usual)
Michael MacCracken
Dear HPAC Colleagues:
I’m pleased to announce that on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 4:30 PM EST (so one hour earlier than our normal starting time) we will have an HPAC presentation by two experts on atmospheric methane from Spark Climate Solutions (https://www.sparkclimate.org). Spark Climate Solutions sponsors a research portfolio considering, among other things, the potential viability of reducing methane’s atmospheric lifetime as a means of reducing its radiative forcing. Our speakers will be Dr. Megan Melamed and Dr. Katrine Gorham, who together will present a talk titled “Atmospheric Methane Removal: Exploring the Viability of a Hypothesized Open-System Climate Intervention.” An abstract of the talk and their bios are included below. After the talk, there will be time for questions and discussion.
We look forward to seeing you there: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88954851189?pwd=2OEdvleb4UpYfK4a950ryohFWcw93F.1 (passcode 662519).
Best Regards, Mike MacCracken for HPAC
Abstract:
Methane emissions have contributed to roughly 30% (0.5˚C) of current global warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide. Even with aggressive emissions reduction strategies, atmospheric methane concentrations are expected to remain high due to hard-to-abate sources, including warming-induced emissions from permafrost thaw and warming of tropical wetlands. While cutting emissions is essential, existing mitigation tools may not be enough to manage climate risk.
Methane removal has emerged as a potential climate strategy to help reduce climate risk. But the field is in its early stages and needs foundational research, coordination, and rapid efforts to rigorously assess different potential methane removal pathways. It is a complex topic with many scientific, social, legal, and governance dimensions that are not well understood, along with moral and ethical considerations specific to open-system interventions. This presentation introduces Spark Climate Solutions' Methane Removal Program and its support of foundational research to understand which methane removal approaches—if any—may be climate beneficial, socially acceptable, and cost-plausible with a pathway to scale.
Bios
Megan Melamed, PhD, Methane Removal Program Lead
Megan leads Spark’s methane removal program, leveraging her expertise as an atmospheric scientist and strategic leader to accelerate the assessment of the viability of methane removal to inform the climate solutions portfolio. Before joining Spark, Megan served as Deputy Director of NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory, and earlier in her career she was Executive Director of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project. She also served as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. EPA and as an NSF International Research Fellow in Mexico City. Megan studied environmental engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder (PhD ’06).
Katrine Gorham, PhD, Methane Removal Program Manager
Katrine leads the methane removal research funding program and scientific roadmapping at Spark. Her work focuses on engaging with the scientific community to support the development and growth of a robust research ecosystem for the emerging field of methane removal. Prior to Spark, Katrine led scientific programs and operations, most recently for the NSF Office of Polar Programs Arctic Research Support and Logistics contract, as well as for the NSF National Ecological Observatory Network and the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center. Katrine studied atmospheric chemistry at the University of California Irvine (PhD ’09).