Soil Gas Monitoring.pdf

The authors respond to reviewer comments on their paper about optimizing and integrating novel soil gas probes with online trace gas detection. Key points include:

1. Addressing scientific questions: The authors clarify their scientific question as "how can diffusive sampling approaches be used to obtain representative soil gas samples with high time resolution to capture changes in soil trace gases in response to manipulated environmental conditions?"
2. Novel concepts and tools: The authors highlight the novelty of their approach, including the use of sintered PTFE as a hydrophobic porous membrane, which improves hydrophobicity, biofouling, and physical integrity of the soil probe.
3. System advantages: The authors emphasize the advantages of their system, including reduced sample volume demand, ability to control online sample transfer and dilution, and reduced sampling artifacts, allowing for extended measurement periods and real-time data acquisition.
4. Substantial conclusions: The authors disagree with the reviewer's statement that no substantial conclusions are reached, citing their successful addressing of challenges, obtaining representative samples, and detecting fluctuations in soil gas concentrations and isotopic signatures.
5. Scientific methods and assumptions: The authors acknowledge the complexity of their description and agree to improve clarity, but consider the technical details important for readers interested in developing or improving the gas sampling system.