Spatial-Temporal Changes of Methane Content in the Atmosphere for Selected Countries and Regions with High Methane Emission from Rice Cultivation
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
ID:atmosphere-1379575
Title: Spatial-temporal changes of methane content in the atmosphere for selected countries and regions with high methane emission from rice cultivation
Authors: Elżbieta Wójcik-Gront * , Dariusz Gozdowski , Katarzyna Kozicka
General comment:
The author's aim of the study was to evaluate of spatial-temporal changes in methane content in atmosphere for selected countries and regions with high methane emission from rice cultivation in 2019-2021. The result provides benefit information relate to methane content evaluated with the use of satellite data from Sentinel-5P is a reliable data source and can be used for the analysis of temporal changes at various spatial scales, including regions and countries. Even the results are present very interesting, there are some critical concerns in the section of "Introduction" and "Discussion". Thus, before considering publication, I suggest the authors revise according to the comments provided.
Please detail comments in the main manuscript.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
This paper presents results from a study that explores the spatial-temporal changes of methane content in the atmosphere for selected countries and regions with high methane emission from rice cultivation. The key finding is that positive correlations are found between methane content in the atmosphere and estimated GHG emissions from croplands analyzed separately for each studied country/region. It also shows that methane content evaluated with the use of satellite data from Sentinel-5P is a reliable data source and can be used for the analysis of temporal changes at various spatial scales. In general, the paper is well written and organized and the conclusions are supported by extensive data analysis. I think the paper can be accepted in the current form.
Author Response
We would like to thank the Reviewer for their valuable opinion.
Reviewer 3 Report
The paper “Spatial-temporal changes of methane content in the atmosphere for selected countries and regions with high methane emission from rice cultivation” by Katarzyna Kozicka et al., aims to evaluate the spatial-temporal changes in methane content in the atmosphere for selected countries and regions with high methane emissions from rice cultivation in 2019-2021.
Potentially, the article is of high interest to readers. However, I have doubts regarding the current content, as several important points are not covered or not enough elaborated:
1) The criteria for selecting regions with high GHG emissions from rice production is not well described. Why other Asian countries (i.e. Japan, North Korea) are not included?
2) The base for the selection of 3-month averaged methane distributions is not clear. It seems such coarse time resolution and uniform averaging are not suitable to represent the methane emission features for regions located in various climatic zones. For a more accurate selection of the averaging period, it is necessary to take into account the rice-growing season features in each region considered.
3) The rice area data and the GHG emissions from croplands data are used without proper description and citation. The reference areas selection is also not clear.
4) The seasonal amplitudes of methane content are discussed without proper calculation, as described 3-month averaged dataset is too coarse.
5) It is not clear how the emissions from rice are separated from other sources (i.e. near Dhaka).
6) Regional trends are actively discussed, but the global trend obtained by TROPOMI is not estimated.
7) The ventilation effect due to monsoon in Southeast Asia is not studied.
8) Figures and tables are not properly designed/plotted and therefore need to be revised.
In general, the work requires significant improvements and corrections. I recommend major revision.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors have well replied to my comment, I recommend to accept for publication.
Author Response
Thank you very much for all the suggestions of the Reviewer.Thanks to them, we had the opportunity to improve our manuscript.
Reviewer 3 Report
The second review for the paper “Spatial-temporal changes of methane content in the atmosphere for selected countries and regions with high methane emission from rice cultivation” by Katarzyna Kozicka et al. Significant shortcomings in the work indicated in the first revision were not corrected. It seems that the authors do not clearly understand the requirements for a major revision. Apparently, I will have to repeat and expand the comments already made. Please note: If my comments are ignored further, I will be forced to reject the manuscript.
The method revision recommendations:
1) Estimated GHG emissions from croplands should be described in detail in a separate subparagraph.
2) The rice area data should be described in detail in a separate subparagraph. Again, why other Asian countries/regions (i.e., Japan, North Korea) are not included, while the USA region is considered? Clear explanation is necessary.
3) The criteria for selecting regions with high GHG emissions from rice production should be described in detail in a separate subparagraph.
4) Again: The base for the selection of 3-month averaged methane distributions is not clear. It seems such coarse time resolution and uniform averaging are not suitable to represent the methane emission features for regions located in various climatic zones. For a more accurate selection of the averaging period, it is necessary to consider the rice-growing season features in each region considered. The seasonal amplitudes of methane content are discussed without proper calculation, as described 3-month averaged dataset is too coarse. Original TROPOMI provides enough data for at least 1-month averaged dataset analysis (Butz, A., Galli, A., Hasekamp, O., Landgraf, J., Tol, P., and Aben, I., 2012. TROPOMI aboard Sentinel-5 Precursor: Prospective performance of CH4 retrievals for aerosol and cirrus loaded atmospheres. Remote sensing of environment, 120, pp.267-276.).
5) Again: It is not clear how the emissions from rice are separated from other sources (i.e. near Dhaka). I should note, TROPOMI provides a very nice opportunity to separate different types of CH4 emission (Barré, J., Aben, I., Agustí-Panareda, A., Balsamo, G., Bousserez, N., Dueben, P., Engelen, R., Inness, A., Lorente, A., McNorton, J., Peuch, V.-H., Radnoti, G., and Ribas, R.: Systematic detection of local CH4 anomalies by combining satellite measurements with high-resolution forecasts, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5117–5136, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5117-2021, 2021.)
Again, the work requires a lot of improvements and corrections. I recommend major revision.
Author Response
We would like to thank the Reviewer for their valuable comments.
We have tried to answer them comprehensively.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Round 3
Reviewer 3 Report
Despite my warnings, the authors systematically ignore comments indicating a major revision of the article. Therefore, I have decided to reject this manuscript in its current form.
Author Response
Thank you for all your comments.We hope that they contributed to the improvement of the quality of our manuscript.
