Conference Paper

The challenges of measuring methane from space with a lidar

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... The multi-wavelength measurement approach minimizes biases in the CH4 retrievals. [40] Understanding the reactive photochemistry of Formaldehyde (HCHO) allows us to learn about the lifetime of greenhouse gases like methane, the production of ozone, and the growth of secondary organic aerosols which is critical to NASA's Earth Science goals. As part of the Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) funded by the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), we are developing a laser system that will make this measurement by employing a new method to detect formaldehyde remotely with integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar [41,42]. ...
Article
Full-text available
At NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), we have been developing spaceborne lidar instruments for space sciences. We have successfully flown several missions in the past based on mature diode pumped solid-state laser transmitters. In recent years we have been developing advanced laser technologies for applications such as laser spectroscopy, laser communications, and interferometry. In this paper, we will discuss recent experimental progress on these systems and instrument prototypes for ongoing development efforts.
... We sample the absorption line using multiple wavelengths from a narrow linewidth laser source and a sensitive photodetector. The multiwavelength measurement approach minimizes biases in the CH 4 retrievals [40]. ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
At NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, we have been developing spaceborne lidar instruments for space sciences. We have successfully flown several missions in the past based on mature diode pumped solid-state laser transmitters. In recent years, we have been developing advanced laser technologies for applications such as laser spectroscopy, laser communications, and interferometry. In this article, we will discuss recent experimental progress on these systems and instrument prototypes for ongoing development.
... As research on natural methane sources is still in its infancy, it is possible to identify further emission sources. A current approach is to use LiDAR technology from aircrafts and spacecrafts to measure methane sources with high resolution, but many problems still need to be solved [97]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas. Natural methane emissions represent 35–50% of the global emissions budget. They are identified, measured and categorized, but, in stark contrast to anthropogenic emissions, research on their mitigation is largely absent. To explain this, 18 problems are identified and presented. This includes problems related to the emission characteristics, technological and economic challenges, as well as problems resulting from a missing framework. Consequently, strategies, methods and solutions to solve or circumvent the identified problems are proposed. The framework covers definitions for methane source categorization and for categories of emission types and mitigation approaches. Business cases for methane mitigation are discussed and promising mitigation technologies briefly assessed. The importance to get started with methane mitigation in the different areas is highlighted and avenues for doing so are presented.
Article
The accurate and comprehensive identification and quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is an essential part of the management and mitigation of climate change. We are developing a novel remote gas imaging sensor for the detection, visualisation, and quantification of methane emissions. The sensor uses a new technique we call Tunable Diode Lidar (TDLidar) which combines aspects of Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) with Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) and Time Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) to enable remote spectroscopy and ranging with low power semiconductor diode lasers. Our first TDLidar methane sensors use diode lasers with wavelengths around the CH4 absorption line at 1.6509 μm and Peltier-cooled Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) detectors in a Random Modulation Continuous Wave (RM-CW) Lidar system. Here we characterise our TDLidar methane sensor performance with calibrated gas cells and controlled gas release trials and we demonstrate quantification of leak rates as low as 0.012 g/s and detection at distances over 90 m. The accuracy, speed, and practicality of the sensor, combined with an expectation of low-cost in volume, offers the potential that these sensors can be effectively applied for widespread continuous and autonomous monitoring of industrial methane emissions.
Article
Full-text available
We report results from characterizing the HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays developed for lidar at infrared wavelengths by using the high density vertically integrated photodiodes (HDVIP®) technique. The results show >90% quantum efficiencies between 0.8 μm and the cut-off wavelength, >600 APD gain, near unity excess noise factor, 6-10 MHz electrical bandwidth and <0.5 fW/Hz1/2 noise equivalent power (NEP). The detectors provide linear analog output with a dynamic range of 2-3 orders of magnitude at a fixed APD gain without averaging, and over 5 orders of magnitude by adjusting the APD gain settings. They have been used successfully in airborne CO2 and CH4 integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar as precursors for use in space lidar.
Article
Full-text available
The integrated-path differential-absorption lidar CHARM-F ( CO 2 and CH 4 Remote Monitoring—Flugzeug) was developed for the simultaneous measurement of the greenhouse gases CO 2 and CH 4 onboard the German research aircraft HALO (High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft). The purpose is to derive the weighted, column-averaged dry-air mixing ratios of the two gases with high precision and accuracy between aircraft and ground or cloud tops. This paper presents the first measurements, performed in the spring of 2015, and shows performance analyses as well as the methodology for the quantification of strong point sources applied on example cases. A measurement precision of below 0.5% for 20 km averages was found. However, individual measurements still show deviations of the absolute mixing ratios compared to corresponding data from in situ profiles. The detailed analysis of the methane point source emission rate yields plausible results ( 26 ± 3 m 3 / min or 9.2 ± 1.15 kt CH 4 yr − 1 ), which is in good agreement with reported numbers. In terms of CO 2 , a power plant emission could be identified and analyzed.
Article
Full-text available
The global methane (CH4) budget is becoming an increasingly important component for managing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. This relevance, due to a shorter atmospheric lifetime and a stronger warming potential than carbon dioxide, is challenged by the still unexplained changes of atmospheric CH4 over the past decade. Emissions and concentrations of CH4 are continuing to increase, making CH4 the second most important human-induced greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Two major difficulties in reducing uncertainties come from the large variety of diffusive CH4 sources that overlap geographically, and from the destruction of CH4 by the very short-lived hydroxyl radical (OH). To address these difficulties, we have established a consortium of multi-disciplinary scientists under the umbrella of the Global Carbon Project to synthesize and stimulate research on the methane cycle, and producing regular (∼ biennial) updates of the global methane budget. This consortium includes atmospheric physicists and chemists, biogeochemists of surface and marine emissions, and socio-economists who study anthropogenic emissions. Following Kirschke et al. (2013), we propose here the first version of a living review paper that integrates results of top-down studies (exploiting atmospheric observations within an atmospheric inverse-modelling framework) and bottom-up models, inventories and data-driven approaches (including process-based models for estimating land surface emissions and atmospheric chemistry, and inventories for anthropogenic emissions, data-driven extrapolations). For the 2003–2012 decade, global methane emissions are estimated by top-down inversions at 558 Tg CH4 yr⁻¹, range 540–568. About 60 % of global emissions are anthropogenic (range 50–65 %). Since 2010, the bottom-up global emission inventories have been closer to methane emissions in the most carbon-intensive Representative Concentrations Pathway (RCP8.5) and higher than all other RCP scenarios. Bottom-up approaches suggest larger global emissions (736 Tg CH4 yr⁻¹, range 596–884) mostly because of larger natural emissions from individual sources such as inland waters, natural wetlands and geological sources. Considering the atmospheric constraints on the top-down budget, it is likely that some of the individual emissions reported by the bottom-up approaches are overestimated, leading to too large global emissions. Latitudinal data from top-down emissions indicate a predominance of tropical emissions (∼ 64 % of the global budget, < 30° N) as compared to mid (∼ 32 %, 30–60° N) and high northern latitudes (∼ 4 %, 60–90° N). Top-down inversions consistently infer lower emissions in China (∼ 58 Tg CH4 yr⁻¹, range 51–72, −14 %) and higher emissions in Africa (86 Tg CH4 yr⁻¹, range 73–108, +19 %) than bottom-up values used as prior estimates. Overall, uncertainties for anthropogenic emissions appear smaller than those from natural sources, and the uncertainties on source categories appear larger for top-down inversions than for bottom-up inventories and models. The most important source of uncertainty on the methane budget is attributable to emissions from wetland and other inland waters. We show that the wetland extent could contribute 30–40 % on the estimated range for wetland emissions. Other priorities for improving the methane budget include the following: (i) the development of process-based models for inland-water emissions, (ii) the intensification of methane observations at local scale (flux measurements) to constrain bottom-up land surface models, and at regional scale (surface networks and satellites) to constrain top-down inversions, (iii) improvements in the estimation of atmospheric loss by OH, and (iv) improvements of the transport models integrated in top-down inversions. The data presented here can be downloaded from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (http://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/GLOBAL_METHANE_BUDGET_2016_V1.1) and the Global Carbon Project.
Article
Full-text available
We validate satellite methane observations from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) with 151 aircraft vertical profiles over the Pacific from the HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observation (HIPPO) program. We find that a collocation window of ±750 km and ±24 h does not introduce significant error in comparing TES and aircraft profiles. We validate both the TES standard product (V004) and an experimental product with two pieces of information in the vertical (V005). We determine a V004 mean bias of 65.8 ppb and random instrument error of 43.3 ppb. For V005 we determine a mean bias of 42.3 ppb and random instrument error of 26.5 ppb in the upper troposphere, and mean biases (random instrument errors) in the lower troposphere of 28.8 (28.7) and 16.9 (28.9) ppb at high and low latitudes respectively. Even when V005 cannot retrieve two pieces of information it still performs better than V004. An observation system simulation experiment (OSSE) with the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM) and its adjoint shows that TES V004 has only limited value for constraining methane sources. Our successful validation of V005 encourages its production as a standard retrieval to replace V004.
Article
Full-text available
Methane is the third most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere after water vapour and carbon dioxide. A major handicap to quantify the emissions at the Earth's surface in order to better understand biosphere-atmosphere exchange processes and potential climate feedbacks is the lack of accurate and global observations of methane. Space-based integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar has potential to fill this gap, and a Methane Remote Lidar Mission (MERLIN) on a small satellite in Polar orbit was proposed by DLR and CNES in the frame of a German-French climate monitoring initiative. System simulations are used to identify key performance parameters and to find an advantageous instrument configuration, given the environmental, technological, and budget constraints. The sensitivity studies use representative averages of the atmospheric and surface state to estimate the measurement precision, i.e. the random uncertainty due to instrument noise. Key performance parameters for MERLIN are average laser power, telescope size, orbit height, surface reflectance, and detector noise. A modest-size lidar instrument with 0.45 W average laser power and 0.55 m telescope diameter on a 506 km orbit could provide 50-km averaged methane column measurement along the sub-satellite track with a precision of about 1 % over vegetation. The use of a methane absorption trough at 1.65 μm improves the near-surface measurement sensitivity and vastly relaxes the wavelength stability requirement that was identified as one of the major technological risks in the pre-phase A studies for A-SCOPE, a space-based IPDA lidar for carbon dioxide at the European Space Agency. Minimal humidity and temperature sensitivity at this wavelength position will enable accurate measurements in tropical wetlands, key regions with largely uncertain methane emissions. In contrast to actual passive remote sensors, measurements in Polar Regions will be possible and biases due to aerosol layers and thin ice clouds will be minimised.
Article
Full-text available
The global methane (CH4) budget is becoming an increasingly important component for managing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. This relevance, due to a shorter atmospheric lifetime and a stronger warming potentialthan carbon dioxide, is challenged by the still unexplained changes of atmospheric CH4 over the past decade. Emissions and concentrations of CH4 are continuing to increase making CH4 the second most important human-induced greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Two major difficulties in reducing uncertainties come from the large variety of diffusive CH4 sources that overlap geographically, and from the destruction of CH4 by the very short-lived hydroxyl radical (OH). To address these difficulties, we have established a consortium of multi-disciplinary scientists under the umbrella of the Global Carbon Project to synthesize and stimulate research on the methane cycle, and producing regular (~biennial) updates of the global methane budget
Article
Full-text available
In this article we describe a high-precision laboratory measurement targeting the R(6) manifold of the 2ν3 band of 12CH4. High fidelity modeling of this absorption spectrum for atmospheric temperature and pressure conditions will be required by the Franco-German, Methane Remote Sensing LIDAR (MERLIN) space mission for retrievals of atmospheric methane. The analysis uses the Hartmann-Tran profile for modeling line shape and also includes line-mixing effects. To this end, six high-resolution and high signal-to-noise absorption spectra of air-broadened methane were recorded using a frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy apparatus. Sample conditions corresponded to room temperature and spanned total sample pressures of 40 hPa - 1013 hPa with methane molar fractions between 1 µmol mol-1 and 12 µmol mol-1. All spectroscopic model parameters were simultaneously adjusted in a multispectrum nonlinear least-squares fit to the six measured spectra. Comparison of the fitted model to the measured spectra reveals the ability to calculate the room-temperature, methane absorption coefficient to better than 0.1% at the on-line position of the MERLIN mission. This is the first time that such fidelity has been reached in modeling methane absorption in the investigated spectral region, fulfilling the accuracy requirements of the MERLIN mission. We also found excellent agreement when comparing the present results with measurements obtained over different pressure conditions and using other laboratory techniques. Finally, we also evaluated the impact of these new spectral parameters on atmospheric transmissions spectra calculations.
Article
Full-text available
Increases in atmospheric CO2 and CH4 result from a combination of forcing from anthropogenic emissions and Earth System feedbacks that reduce or amplify the effects of those emissions on atmospheric concentrations. Despite decades of research carbon-climate feedbacks remain poorly quantified. The impact of these uncertainties on future climate are of increasing concern, especially in the wake of recent climate negotiations. Emissions, long concentrated in the developed world, are now shifting to developing countries, where the emissions inventories have larger uncertainties. The fraction of anthropogenic CO2 remaining in the atmosphere has remained remarkably constant over the last 50 years. Will this change in the future as the climate evolves? Concentrations of CH4, the 2nd most important greenhouse gas, which had apparently stabilized, have recently resumed their increase, but the exact cause for this is unknown. While greenhouse gases affect the global atmosphere, their sources and sinks are remarkably heterogeneous in time and space, and traditional in situ observing systems do not provide the coverage and resolution to attribute the changes to these greenhouse gases to specific sources or sinks. In the past few years, space-based technologies have shown promise for monitoring carbon stocks and fluxes. Advanced versions of these capabilities could transform our understanding and provide the data needed to quantify carbon-climate feedbacks. A new observing system that allows resolving global high resolution fluxes will capture variations on time and space scales that allow the attribution of these fluxes to underlying mechanisms.
Article
Full-text available
Sharp rises in the atmospheric abundance of ethane (C2H6) have been detected from 2009 onwards in the Northern Hemisphere as a result of the unprecedented growth in the exploitation of shale gas and tight oil reservoirs in North America. Using time series of C2H6 total columns derived from ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) observations made at five selected Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change sites, we characterize the recent C2H6 evolution and determine growth rates of ~5% yr−1 at mid-latitudes and of ~3% yr−1 at remote sites. Results from CAM-chem simulations with the Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants, Phase II bottom-up inventory for anthropogenic emissions are found to greatly underestimate the current C2H6 abundances. Doubling global emissions is required to reconcile the simulations and the observations prior to 2009. We further estimate that North American anthropogenic C2H6 emissions have increased from 1.6 Tg yr−1 in 2008 to 2.8 Tg yr−1 in 2014, i.e. by 75% over these six years. We also completed a second simulation with new top-down emissions of C2H6 from North American oil and gas activities, biofuel consumption and biomass burning, inferred from space-borne observations of methane (CH4) from Greenhouse Gases Observing SATellite. In this simulation, GEOS-Chem is able to reproduce FTIR measurements at the mid-latitudinal sites, underscoring the impact of the North American oil and gas development on the current C2H6 abundance. Finally we estimate that the North American oil and gas emissions of CH4, a major greenhouse gas, grew from 20 to 35 Tg yr−1 over the period 2008–2014, in association with the recent C2H6 rise.
Article
Full-text available
The global burden of atmospheric methane has been increasing over the past decade, but the causes are not well understood. National inventory estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicate no significant trend in U.S. anthropogenic methane emissions from 2002 to present. Here we use satellite retrievals and surface observations of atmospheric methane to suggest that U.S. methane emissions have increased by more than 30% over the 2002-2014 period. The trend is largest in the central part of the country, but we cannot readily attribute it to any specific source type. This large increase in U.S. methane emissions could account for 30-60% of the global growth of atmospheric methane seen in the past decade.
Article
Full-text available
A stable and wavelength-locked Q-switched narrow-linewidth Er:YAG laser with compact cavity structure, utilizing a volume Bragg grating (VBG) as a wavelength selector and a pump input mirror simultaneously, is reported. It yields high energy nanosecond pulse with pulse duration of 185 ns and pulse energy of 1.36 mJ at 1 kHz pulse repetition frequency for incident pump power of 21.6 W. The central wavelength of the Er:YAG laser is locked at 1645.3 nm with a spectral 3-dB linewidth of less than 0.08 nm, which coincides to the methane (CH4) absorption-line. The output has near diffraction-limited beam quality with M² parameter of 1.08. Our work may provide an inroad for developing more miniaturized space-based integrated path differential absorption (IDPA) lidar transmitter.
Article
Full-text available
Large quantities of organic carbon are stored in frozen soils (permafrost) within Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. A warming climate can induce environmental changes that accelerate the microbial breakdown of organic carbon and the release of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane. This feedback can accelerate climate change, but the magnitude and timing of greenhouse gas emission from these regions and their impact on climate change remain uncertain. Here we find that current evidence suggests a gradual and prolonged release of greenhouse gas emissions in a warming climate and present a research strategy with which to target poorly understood aspects of permafrost carbon dynamics.
Article
Full-text available
We have measured the CO2 volume mixing ratio (VMR) within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) using cloud slicing with an airborne pulsed integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar from altitudes of up to 13 km. During a flight over Iowa in 2011, simultaneous measurement of the optical range and CO2 absorption to clouds and the ground were made using time-resolved detection of pulse echoes from each scattering surface. We determined the CO2 absorption in the PBL by differencing the two lidar-measured absorption lineshapes, one to a broken shallow cumulus cloud layer located at the top of the PBL and the other to the ground. Solving for the CO2 VMR in the PBL and that of the free troposphere, we measured a ≈15 ppm (4%) drawdown in the PBL. Both CO2 VMRs were within ≈3 ppm of in situ CO2 profile measurements. We have also demonstrated cloud slicing using scatter from thin, diffuse cirrus clouds and cumulus clouds, which allowed solving for the CO2 VMR for 3 vertical layers. The technique and retrieval algorithm are applicable to a space-based lidar instrument as well as to lidar IPDA measurements of other trace gases. Thus, lidar cloud slicing also offers promise towards space-based remote sensing of vertical trace gas profiles in the atmosphere using a variety of clouds.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The Integrated Path Differential Absorption Lidar (IPDA) technique using hard target reflection the near IR has the potential to deliver CO2 column measurements from space with unprecedented accuracy which is a prerequisite to understand the sources and sinks of this dominant anthropogenic greenhouse gas. The observational needs, however, demand for very stringent system requirements, of which two were thoroughly investigated. The first is the online frequency accuracy. With a sub-100-kHz requirement for a system operating at 1.57µm, using a ~10000x wider, Doppler-broadened CO2 line as absolute reference appears difficult. At LTF, a compact frequency reference breadboard was designed using an alternative approach: A DFB laser emitting at 1.56µm is frequency-doubled and absolutely stabilized to a miniaturized Rubidium reference (780nm). The frequency stability of the 1.56-µm laser was measured by beating against a self-referenced comb, showing an Allan deviation of always less than 20kHz and below 2kHz between 1E3s and 2E5s. To bridge the gap between 1.56µm and the CO2 absorption lines at ~1.572µm, an optical frequency comb (OFC) was realized by modulating part of the DFB laser light with a waveguide electro-optical modulator enclosed in a Fabry-Pérot cavity. A second DFB laser is planned to be offset-locked to an adequate line of the OFC, to serve as reference for monitoring the frequency of the lidar transmitter laser, or as a stable source for injection seeding. From preliminary OFC stability measurements, the frequency stability of this offset-locked laser is not expected to noticeably deviate from that at 1.56µm. The second requirement, looked after by DLR, relates to the monitoring of the on-line to off-line ratio of outgoing pulse energies, whereby accuracy of the order of 1E-4 is needed. This is imposed by the IPDA technique which, contrary to the range-resolved differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique, is not self-calibrating. The preferred set-up would use an identical detector for both lidar signal and pulse energy monitor to circumvent potential detector ageing effects. It is thus important to employ pick-up, attenuation, and transmit schemes that do not alter the energy ratio. For this purpose, integrating spheres are insensitive to beam pointing and intensity profile variations and can be fibre-coupled. However, given the coherence of the lidar transmitter, speckle effects prove to be the main limitation. It is shown that the speckle patterns at the exit port of integrating spheres of two subsequent pulses within a double-pulse sequence of ~400 µs are partly correlated. This correlation, which generally leads to systematic deviations in the energy ratio, needs to be reduced to meet the requirements. The use of larger detectors capturing a higher number of speckles leads to a lower systematic error, but calls for a departure from the concept of a single detector for receive and calibration branch. By using pyroelectric energy detectors at the exit port of integrating spheres the relative systematic error of the energy ratio of double pulse pairs could be reduced to ~3E-5 over time scales of a few hours. This work is supported by ESA and Swiss National Science Foundation.
Article
Full-text available
We report new methods for retrieving atmospheric constituents from symmetrically-measured lidar-sounding absorption spectra. The forward model accounts for laser line-center frequency noise and broadened line-shape, and is essentially linearized by linking estimated optical-depths to the mixing ratios. Errors from the spectral distortion and laser frequency drift are substantially reduced by averaging optical-depths at each pair of symmetric wavelength channels. Retrieval errors from measurement noise and model bias are analyzed parametrically and numerically for multiple atmospheric layers, to provide deeper insight. Errors from surface height and reflectance variations are reduced to tolerable levels by “averaging before log” with pulse-by-pulse ranging knowledge incorporated.
Article
Full-text available
An HgCdTe electron avalanche photodiode (e-APD) detector has been developed for lidar receivers, one application of which is integrated path differential absorption lidar measurements of such atmospheric trace gases as CO2 and CH4. The HgCdTe APD has a wide, visible to mid-wave-infrared, spectral response, high dynamic range, substantially improved sensitivity, and an expected improvement in operational lifetime. A demonstration sensor-chip assembly consisting of a 4.3 μm cutoff HgCdTe 4 × 4 APD detector array with 80 μm pitch pixels and a custom complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor readout integrated circuit was developed. For one typical array the APD gain was 654 at 12 V with corresponding gain normalized dark currents ranging from 1.2 fA to 3.2 fA. The 4 × 4 detector system was characterized at 77 K with a 1.55 μm wavelength, 1 μs wide, laser pulse. The measured unit gain detector photon conversion efficiency was 91.1%. At 11 V bias the mean measured APD gain at 77 K was 307.8 with σ/mean uniformity of 1.23%. The average, noise-bandwidth normalized, system noise-equivalent power (NEP) was 1.04 fW/Hz1/2 with a σ/mean of 3.8%. The measured, electronics-limited, bandwidth of 6.8 MHz was more than adequate for 1 μs pulse detection. The system had an NEP (3 MHz) of 0.4 fW/Hz1/2 at 12 V APD bias and a linear dynamic range close to 1000. A gain-independent quantum-limited SNR of 80% of full theoretical was indicative of a gain-independent excess noise factor very close to 1.0 and the expected APD mode quantum efficiency.
Article
Full-text available
We have previously demonstrated a pulsed direct detection IPDA lidar to measure range and the column concentration of atmospheric CO2. The lidar measures the atmospheric backscatter profiles and samples the shape of the 1,572.33 nm CO2 absorption line. We participated in the ASCENDS science flights on the NASA DC-8 aircraft during August 2011 and report here lidar measurements made on four flights over a variety of surface and cloud conditions near the US. These included over a stratus cloud deck over the Pacific Ocean, to a dry lake bed surrounded by mountains in Nevada, to a desert area with a coal-fired power plant, and from the Rocky Mountains to Iowa, with segments with both cumulus and cirrus clouds. Most flights were to altitudes >12 km and had 5-6 altitude steps. Analyses show the retrievals of lidar range, CO2 column absorption, and CO2 mixing ratio worked well when measuring over topography with rapidly changing height and reflectivity, through thin clouds, between cumulus clouds, and to stratus cloud tops. The retrievals shows the decrease in column CO2 due to growing vegetation when flying over Iowa cropland as well as a sudden increase in CO2 concentration near a coal-fired power plant. For regions where the CO2 concentration was relatively constant, the measured CO2 absorption lineshape (averaged for 50 s) matched the predicted shapes to better than 1% RMS error. For 10 s averaging, the scatter in the retrievals was typically 2-3 ppm and was limited by the received signal photon count. Retrievals were made using atmospheric parameters from both an atmospheric model and from in situ temperature and pressure from the aircraft. The retrievals had no free parameters and did not use empirical adjustments, and >70% of the measurements passed screening and were used in analysis. The differences between the lidar-measured retrievals and in situ measured average CO2 column concentrations were <1.4 ppm for flight measurement altitudes >6 km.
Article
Full-text available
We report on the development effort of a nanosecond-pulsed optical parametric amplifier (OPA) for remote trace gas measurements for Mars and Earth. The OPA output has ˜500 MHz linewidth and is widely tunable at both near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths, with an optical-optical conversion efficiency of up to ˜39%. Using this laser source, we demonstrated open-path measurements of CH4 (3291 and 1652 nm), CO2 (1573 nm), O (1652 nm), and CO (4764 nm) on the ground. The simplicity, tunability, and power scalability of the OPA make it a strong candidate for general planetary lidar instruments, which will offer important information on the origins of the planet's geology, atmosphere, and potential for biology.
Article
Full-text available
A pulsed Er:YAG laser with resonant in-band diode pumping was demonstrated. Laser pulses with 6.6 mJ energy and 50 ns pulse duration were generated. With an intra-cavity etalon a broad wavelength tuning range from 1643.47 to 1646.78 nm was obtained. A stable dual-wavelength operation was observed by fine tuning of the etalons. The separation of the two wavelengths was 0.78 nm. One of them was located within a methane absorption line and the other was off the line. The frequency stability of the narrow linewidth Er:YAG laser was less than 40 MHz. It is a very compact laser source for methane differential absorption lidar.
Article
Full-text available
We report on the development of compact and frequency-stable Er:YAG laser systems emitting in the eye-safe spectral region. Resonant cw diode pumping provides 4.5 W output power in cw operation and 2.2 mJ in Q-switched operation with pulse duration of about 140 ns. The application of intra-cavity etalons allows for wavelength tuning from 1645.22 to 1646.33 nm while the frequency stability accounts for less than 50 MHz. The potential of the erbium laser sources in terms of methane detection was evaluated under laboratory conditions by absorption measurements employing a multi-pass absorption cell. The experimental investigations were accompanied by theoretical studies on the influence of pressure broadening on the absorption behavior of methane.
Article
Full-text available
We report on an airborne demonstration of atmospheric oxygen optical depth measurements with an IPDA lidar using a fiber-based laser system and a photon counting detector. Accurate knowledge of atmospheric temperature and pressure is required for NASA’s Active Sensing of CO 2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) space mission, and climate modeling studies. The lidar uses a doubled erbium-doped fiber amplifier and single photon-counting detector to measure oxygen absorption at 765 nm. Our results show good agreement between the experimentally derived differential optical depth measurements with the theoretical predictions for aircraft altitudes from 3 to 13 km.
Article
Full-text available
We use an airborne pulsed integrated path differential absorption lidar to make spectroscopic measurements of the pressure-induced line broadening and line center shift of atmospheric CO2 at the 1572.335 nm absorption line. We measure the absorption lineshape in the vertical column between the aircraft and ground. A comparison of our measured absorption lineshape to calculations based on HITRAN shows excellent agreement with the peak optical depth accurate to within 0.3%. Additionally, we measure changes in the line center position to within 5.2 MHz of calculations, and the absorption linewidth to within 0.6% of calculations.
Article
Full-text available
Spaceborne measurements by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the EOS/Aqua satellite provide a global view of the methane (CH4) distribution in the mid-upper troposphere (MUT-CH4). The focus of this study is to examine the spatiotemporal variation of MUT-CH4 in the high Northern Hemisphere (HNH) using AIRS retrievals, aircraft measurements, and simulations from a forward chemistry-transport model (i.e., ACTM). Data from 2004 and 2005 focusing over two regions (Alaska and Siberia) are analyzed. An important feature in the seasonal variation of CH4 we found is the summer increase of MUT-CH4, which is nearly opposite to the summer minimum of CH4 in the marine boundary layer (MBL). This study also demonstrated an apparent increase of CH4 over Alaska associated with the 2004 Alaska forest fire and a negative bias of the ACTM simulations in the HNH. The larger bias of the model simulations in the late winter to early spring may indicate possible unidentified CH4 emission sources (e.g., the use of energy or gas leakage) during this period, but more studies will be needed due to the retrieval uncertainties in the polar winter season. The summer increase of MUT-CH4 is related to surface emission, but the enhanced convection in summer is likely the most important driver.
Article
Full-text available
We report on airborne CO 2 column absorption measurements made in 2009 with a pulsed direct-detection lidar operating at 1572.33 nm and utilizing the integrated path differential absorption technique. We demonstrated these at different altitudes from an aircraft in July and August in flights over four locations in the central and eastern United States. The results show clear CO 2 line shape and absorption signals, which follow the expected changes with aircraft altitude from 3 to 13 km. The lidar measurement statistics were also calculated for each flight as a function of altitude. The optical depth varied nearly linearly with altitude, consistent with calculations based on atmospheric models. The scatter in the optical depth measurements varied with aircraft altitude as expected, and the median measurement precisions for the column varied from 0.9 to 1.2 ppm. The altitude range with the lowest scatter was 8–10 km, and the majority of measurements for the column within it had precisions between 0.2 and 0.9 ppm.
Article
Full-text available
A high efficiency, narrow linewidth tunable laser source is developed for greenhouse trace gas remote sensing. It features broad, continuous tuning range at 1570–1655 nm and 3291 nm with narrow linewidth (500 MHz) and high spectral purity. This laser is based on seeded optical parametric generator (OPG) technology. Several trace gas species were continuously detected for 72 hours in an open path environment. We also present our recent airborne experiment result based on this laser technology.
Article
Full-text available
The 2007 National Research Council (NRC) Decadal Survey on Earth Science and Applications from Space recommended Active Sensing of CO 2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) as a midterm, Tier II, NASA space mission. ITT Exelis, formerly ITT Corp., and NASA Langley Research Center have been working together since 2004 to develop and demonstrate a prototype laser absorption spectrometer for making high-precision, column CO 2 mixing ratio measurements needed for the ASCENDS mission. This instrument, called the multifunctional fiber laser lidar (MFLL), operates in an intensity-modulated, continuous wave mode in the 1.57 μm CO 2 absorption band. Flight experiments have been conducted with the MFLL on a Lear-25, UC-12, and DC-8 aircraft over a variety of different surfaces and under a wide range of atmospheric conditions. Very high-precision CO 2 column measurements resulting from high signal-to-noise ratio ( > 1300 ) column optical depth (OD) measurements for a 10 s ( ∼ 1 km ) averaging interval have been achieved. In situ measurements of atmospheric CO 2 profiles were used to derive the expected CO 2 column values, and when compared to the MFLL measurements over desert and vegetated surfaces, the MFLL measurements were found to agree with the in situ-derived CO 2 columns to within an average of 0.17% or ∼ 0.65 ppmv with a standard deviation of 0.44% or ∼ 1.7 ppmv . Initial results demonstrating ranging capability using a swept modulation technique are also presented.
Article
Full-text available
We report airborne measurements of the column abundance of atmospheric methane made over an altitude range of 3–11 km using a direct detection integrated-path differential-absorption lidar with a pulsed laser emitting at 1651 nm. The laser transmitter was a tunable, seeded optical parametric amplifier pumped by a Nd:YAG laser, and the receiver used a photomultiplier detector and photon-counting electronics. The results follow the expected changes with aircraft altitude, and the measured line shapes and optical depths show good agreement with theoretical calculations.
Article
Full-text available
We describe in detail the instrumentation and calibrations used in the Atmospheric Lifetime Experiment (ALE), the Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (GAGE), and the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) and present a history of the majority of the anthropogenic ozone-depleting and climate-forcing gases in air based on these experiments. Beginning in 1978, these three successive automated high-frequency in situ experiments have documented the long-term behavior of the measured concentrations of these gases over the past 20 years, and show both the evolution of latitudinal gradients and the high-frequency variability due to sources and circulation. We provide estimates of the long-term trends in total chlorine contained in long-lived halocarbons involved in ozone depletion. We summarize interpretations of these measurements using inverse methods to determine trace gas lifetimes and emissions. Finally, we provide a combined observational and modeled reconstruction of the evolution of chlorocarbons by latitude in the atmosphere over the past 60 years which can be used as boundary conditions for interpreting trapped air in glaciers and oceanic measurements of chlorocarbon tracers of the deep oceanic circulation. Some specific conclusions are as follows: (1) International compliance with the Montreal Protocol is so far resulting in chlorofluorocarbon and chlorocarbon mole fractions comparable to target levels; (2) mole fractions of total chlorine contained in long-lived halocarbons (CCl 2 F 2 , CCl 3 F, CH 3 CCl 3 , CCl 4 , CHClF 2 , CCl 2 FCClF 2 , CH 3 Cl, CH 2 Cl 2 , CHCl 3 , CCl 2 ¢CCl 2) in the lower troposphere reached maximum values of about 3.6 ppb in 1993 and are beginning to slowly decrease in the global lower atmosphere; (3) the chlorofluorocarbons have atmospheric lifetimes consistent with destruction in the stratosphere being their principal removal mechanism; (4) multiannual variations in chlorofluorocarbon and chlorocarbon emissions deduced from ALE/GAGE/AGAGE data are consistent approximately with variations estimated independently from industrial production and sales data where available (CCl 2 F 2 (CFC-12) and CCl 2 FCClF 2 (CFC-113) show the greatest discrepancies); (5) the mole fractions of the hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons, which are replacing the regulated halocarbons, are rising very rapidly in the atmosphere, but with the exception of the much longer manufactured CHClF 2 (HCFC-22), they are not yet at levels sufficient to contribute significantly to atmospheric chlorine loading. These replacement species could in the future provide independent estimates of the global weighted-average OH concentration provided their industrial emissions are accurately documented; (6) in the future, analysis of pollution events measured using high-frequency in situ measurements of chlorofluorocarbons and their replacements may enable emission estimates at the regional level, which, together with industrial end-use data, are of sufficient accuracy to be capable of identifying regional noncompliance with the Montreal Protocol.
Article
Full-text available
We report a precision and fast wavelength tuning technique demonstrated for a digital-supermode distributed Bragg reflector laser. The laser was dynamically offset-locked to a frequency-stabilized master laser using an optical phase-locked loop, enabling precision fast tuning to and from any frequencies within a ~40-GHz tuning range. The offset frequency noise was suppressed to the statically offset-locked level in less than ~40 μs upon each frequency switch, allowing the laser to retain the absolute frequency stability of the master laser. This technique satisfies stringent requirements for gas sensing lidars and enables other applications that require such well-controlled precision fast tuning.
Article
Full-text available
A monolithic 1645 nm Er:YAG nonplanar ring oscillator (NPRO) resonantly pumped by a 1532 nm fiber laser is demonstrated. For reducing the energy-transfer upconversion effect, a 0.5% doped Er:YAG nonplanar crystal was used. An up to 6.1 W single frequency laser output at 1645 nm was obtained, with a slope efficiency of 55.2% and an optical efficiency of 48.0%. The linewidth of the Er:YAG NPRO was 14.4 kHz.
Article
Full-text available
We describe a new and highly effective optical frequency discriminator and laser stabilization system based on signals reflected from a stable Fabry-Perot reference interferometer. High sensitivity for detection of resonance information is achieved by optical heterodyne detection with sidebands produced by rf phase modulation. Physical, optical, and electronic aspects of this discriminator/laser frequency stabilization system are considered in detail. We show that a high-speed domain exists in which the system responds to the phase (rather than frequency) change of the laser; thus with suitable design the servo loop bandwidth is not limited by the cavity response time. We report diagnostic experiments in which a dye laser and gas laser were independently locked to one stable cavity. Because of the precautions employed, the observed sub-100 Hz beat line width shows that the lasers were this stable. Applications of this system of laser stabilization include precision laser spectroscopy and interferometric gravity-wave detectors.
Article
Full-text available
The Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) was launched on January 23, 2009, to monitor global atmospheric levels of CO2 and CH4 from space. GOSAT started initial operation of its instruments after an initial satellite system check. Although the radiant data obtained by the GOSAT instruments are currently in the preliminary stages of calibration and validation, the spectral absorption features of CO2 and CH4 are clearly identifiable. An initial retrieval of these gaseous concentrations was performed for measurement scenes of cloud-free conditions over land. These results showed that column-averaged dry air mole fractions of both CO2 and CH4 in the northern hemisphere were higher than those in the southern hemisphere. These latitudinal differences agree with data obtained from ground-based sources and other satellite observations; however, the absolute values of the gaseous concentrations from GOSAT data seem to have been underestimated. Calibrations as well as validation should be conducted to improve the quality of GOSAT retrievals.
Article
Full-text available
We report airborne measurements of CO 2 column abundance conducted during two 2009 campaigns using a 2.05 μm laser absorption spectrometer. The two flight campaigns took place in the California Mojave desert and in Oklahoma. The integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) method is used for the CO 2 column mixing ratio retrievals. This instrument and the data analysis methodology provide insight into the capabilities of the IPDA method for both airborne measurements and future global-scale CO 2 measurements from low Earth orbit pertinent to the NASA Active Sensing of CO 2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons mission. The use of a favorable absorption line in the CO 2 2 μm band allows the on-line frequency to be displaced two (surface pressure) half-widths from line center, providing high sensitivity to the lower tropospheric CO 2 . The measurement repeatability and measurement precision are in good agreement with predicted estimates. We also report comparisons with airborne in situ measurements conducted during the Oklahoma campaign.
Article
Full-text available
The remote sensing of the atmospheric greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the troposphere from instrumentation aboard satellites is a new area of research. In this manuscript, results obtained from observations of the up-welling radiation in the near-infrared by SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY), which flies on board ENVISAT, are presented. Vertical columns of CH4, CO2 and oxygen (O2) have been retrieved and the (air or) O2-normalized CH4 and CO2 column amounts, the dry air column averaged mixing ratios XCH4 and XCO2 derived. In this manuscript the first results, obtained by using the version 0.4 of the Weighting Function Modified (WFM) DOAS retrieval algorithm applied to SCIAMACHY data, are described and compared with global models. This is an important step in assessing the quality and information content of the data products derived from SCIAMACHY observations. This study investigates the behaviour of CO2 and CH4 in the period from January to October 2003. The SCIAMACHY greenhouse gas column amounts and their mixing ratios for cloud free scenes over land are shown to be in reasonable agreement with models. Over the ocean, as a result of the lower surface spectral reflectance and resultant low signal to noise with the exception of sun glint conditions, the accuracy of the individual data products is poorer. The measured methane column amounts agree with the model columns within a few percent. The inter-hemispheric difference of the methane mixing ratios, determined from single day cloud free measurements over land, is in the range 30-110 ppbv and in reasonable agreement with the corresponding model data (48-71 ppbv). For the set of individual measurements the standard deviations of the difference with respect to the models are in the range ~100-200 ppbv (5-10%) and ±14.4 ppmv (3.9%) for XCH
Article
Full-text available
We extend the analysis of a global CH4 data set retrieved from SCIAMACHY (Frankenberg et al., 2006) by making a detailed comparison with inverse TM5 model simulations for 2003 that are optimized versus high accuracy CH4 surface measurements from the NOAA ESRL network. The comparison of column averaged mixing ratios over remote continental and oceanic regions shows that major features of the atmospheric CH4 distribution are consistent between SCIAMACHY observations and model simulations. However, the analysis suggests that SCIAMACHY CH4 retrievals may have some bias that depends on latitude and season (up to ~30 ppb). Large enhancements of column averaged CH4 mixing ratios (~50¿100 ppb) are observed and modeled over India, Southeast Asia, and the tropical regions of South America, and Africa. We present a detailed comparison of observed spatial patterns and their seasonal evolution with TM5 1° × 1° zoom simulations over these regions. Application of a new wetland inventory leads to a significant improvement in the agreement between SCIAMACHY retrievals and model simulations over the Amazon basin during the first half of the year. Furthermore, we present an initial coupled inversion that simultaneously uses the surface and satellite observations and that allows the inverse system to compensate for the potential systematic bias. The results suggest significantly greater tropical emissions compared to either the a priori estimates or the inversion based on the surface measurements only. Emissions from rice paddies in India and Southeast Asia are relatively well constrained by the SCIAMACHY data and are slightly reduced by the inversion
Book
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), this book presents more than 50 chapters highlighting results of the institute’s research. The book provides an up-to-date, in-depth survey across the entire field of atmospheric science, including atmospheric dynamics, radiation, cloud physics, chemistry, climate, numerical simulation, remote sensing, instruments and measurements, as well as atmospheric acoustics. The authors have provided a readily comprehensible and self-contained presentation of the complex field of atmospheric science. The topics are of direct relevance for aerospace science and technology. Future research challenges are identified.
Article
We report on an airborne demonstration of atmospheric methane (CH4) measurements with an integrated path differential absorption lidar using an optical parametric amplifier and optical parametric oscillator laser transmitter and sensitive avalanche photodiode detector. The lidar measures the atmospheric CH4 absorption at multiple, discrete wavelengths near 1650.96 nm. The instrument was deployed in the fall of 2015, aboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory along with an in situ spectrometer and measured CH4 over a wide range of surfaces and atmospheric conditions from altitudes of 2 to 13 km. We will show the results from our flights, compare the performance of the two laser transmitters, and identify areas of improvement for the lidar. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
Article
Significance Arctic ecosystems are major global sources of methane. We report that emissions during the cold season (September to May) contribute ≥50% of annual sources of methane from Alaskan tundra, based on fluxes obtained from eddy covariance sites and from regional fluxes calculated from aircraft data. The largest emissions were observed at the driest site (<5% inundation). Emissions of methane in the cold season are linked to the extended “zero curtain” period, where soil temperatures are poised near 0 °C, indicating that total emissions are very sensitive to soil climate and related factors, such as snow depth. The dominance of late season emissions, sensitivity to soil conditions, and importance of dry tundra are not currently simulated in most global climate models.
Article
We report on our development effort for a trace-gas-sensing lidar transmitter to be used in future Earth-orbiting satellites. Our lidar transmitter is based on an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), whose output wavelength is switched at a rate of 5 kHz across the target line. The OPO cavity length and the seed laser wavelengths are stabilized to molecular and atomic references. We demonstrated the concept of the OPO-based lidar transmitter at 1,651 nm, achieving ̃300-μJ output energy and <300-MHz linewidth, which are anticipated to be required for a future methane lidar spaceborne mission.
Article
Differential absorption lidar measurements require coherent radiation with high peak and average power in the nanosecond time regime at wavelengths coincident with specific absorption features of the atmospheric trace species to be measured. Often these wavelengths do not coincide with readily available laser lines. Optical parametric oscillators and amplifiers can efficiently convert light from fixed frequency sources into broadly tunable laser radiation providing a generic approach to developing versatile lidar transmitters. This technology has been advanced at DLR to a stage of maturity suitable for airborne and spaceborne applications.
Article
Geophysical parameters from the IASI instrument on Metop-A are essential products provided from EUMETSAT's Central Facility in near real time. They include vertical profiles of temperature and humidity, related cloud information, surface emissivity and temperature, and atmospheric composition parameters (CO, ozone and several other trace gases). As compared to previous operational processor versions, the latest processor version 5 delivers significant improvements in retrieval performance for most major products. These include improvements to cloud properties products, cloud detection (with a positive impact on the knowledge of the sea surface temperature, SST), the temperature profile (especially in the mid and upper troposphere), and ozone and carbon monoxide total columns.This paper provides a comprehensive summary of the processing algorithms, the latest scientific developments, and the related validation studies and activities. It concludes with a discussion of the future outlook.
Article
A recently developed solid-state-laser-simulated tuning technique has been used to investigate the coincidence of Er : YAG laser emission with methane (CH4) gas absorption in the 1.6-μm region. When the laser is operated under maximum-bandwidth conditions, full coincidence is obtained, thus enabling possible remote sensing of CH4 in the eye-safe region. Unresolved fine structure of the CH4 absorption line was indicated.
Article
In situ methane (CH4) measurement techniques and data from the NOAA Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory observatories at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, and Barrow, Alaska, are presented. For Mauna Loa, the data span the time period April 1987 to April 1994. At Barrow the measurements cover the period January 1986 to January 1994. Sixty air samples per day were measured with a fully automated gas chromatograph using flame ionization detection. Details of the experimental methods and procedures are given. Data are presented and assessed over various timescales. The average peak to peak seasonal cycle amplitudes obtained from four harmonics fitted to the detrended data were 25.1 ppb at Mauna Loa and 47.2 ppb at Barrow. When the seasonal cycle amplitude during each calendar year was determined as the difference between the maximum and minimum value from a smooth curve fitted to the data, the average amplitudes were (30.6+/-4.2) ppb at Mauna Loa and (57.5+/-11.4) ppb at Barrow. A discrepancy exists between these two methods due to the temporal variability in the positions of the seasonal maxima. The average trend at Mauna Loa was 9.7 ppbyr-1, but this trend was observed to decrease at a rate of 1.5 ppbyr-2. For Barrow the average trend was 8.5 ppbyr-1, and the rate of decrease in the trend was 2.1 ppbyr-2. At Mauna Loa, a diurnal cycle was sometimes observed with an amplitude of up to 10 ppb when averaged over 1 month.
Article
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. The radiative forcing caused by methane contributes significantly to the warming of the atmosphere. To better understand the complex global Methane Cycle, it is necessary to apply space-based measurements techniques in order to obtain global coverage at high precision The Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission (MERLIN) is a joint French-German cooperation on a micro satellite mission for space-based measurement of spatial and temporal gradients of atmospheric methane columns on a global scale. MERLIN will be the first Integrated Path Differential Absorption LIDAR for methane monitoring from space. In contrast to passive methane missions, the LIDAR instrument allows to retrieve methane fluxes at all-latitudes, allseasons and during night as it is not relying on sunlight. First scientific studies show a substantial reduction of the prior methane flux uncertainties in key observational regions when using synthetic MERLIN observations in the flux inversion experiments. Furthermore, MERLIN observations can help to quantify and verify in scientific credible way national emission reduction scenarios as formulated in the Kyoto protocol. This paper reports on the present status of MERLIN and gives an overview on the joint mission concept with the German LIDAR on the French satellite platform MYRIADE.
Book
The applications of lasers to studies of the earth and its atmosphere are discussed. Electromagnetic theory is outlined, including concepts of elastic scattering. Spectroscopy, basic radiation processes, and inelastic scattering are discussed in terms of quantum descriptions of atoms and molecules. The interaction and propagation of radiation is discussed, including the radiative transfer equation with and without scattering. Fundamentals of lasers are reviewed, briefly describing the types of lasers relevant to remote sensing. Basic methods of using lasers in remote sensing are addressed, including the systems involved and the problem of SNR. The basic remote sensing equations are derived and the analysis and interpretation of the signals obtained through laser remote sensing are treated. Atmospheric and hydrospheric laser remote sensing applications are broadly reviewed.
Article
Methane (CH4) emission controls are found to be a powerful lever for reducing both global warming and air pollution via decreases in background tropospheric ozone (O3). Reducing anthropogenic CH4 emissions by 50% nearly halves the incidence of U.S. high-O3 events and lowers global radiative forcing by 0.37 W m−2 (0.30 W m−2 from CH4, 0.07 W m−2 from O3) in a 3-D model of tropospheric chemistry. A 2030 simulation based upon IPCC A1 emissions projections shows a longer and more intense U.S. O3 pollution season despite domestic emission reductions, indicating that intercontinental transport and a rising O3 background should be considered when setting air quality goals.
Article
Active remote sensing is a promising technique to close the gaps that exist in global measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide sources, sinks and fluxes. Several approaches are currently under development. Here, an experimental setup of an integrated path differential absorption lidar (IPDA) is presented, operating at 1.57 μm using direct detection. An injection seeded KTP-OPO system pumped by a Nd:YAG laser serves as the transmitter. The seed laser is actively stabilized by means of a CO2 reference cell. The line-narrowed OPO radiation yields a high spectral purity, which is measured by means of a long path absorption cell. First measurements of diurnal variations of the atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio using a topographic target were performed and show good agreement compared to simultaneously taken measurements of an in situ device. A further result is that the required power reference measurement of each laser pulse in combination with the spatial beamquality is a critical point of this method. The system described can serve as a testbed for further investigations of special features of the IPDA technique.
Article
CO2, CH4, andN2O are recognised as the most important greenhouse gases, the concentrations of which increase rapidly through human activities. Space-borne integrated path differential absorption lidar allows global observations at day and night over land and water surfaces in all climates. In this study we investigate potential sources of measurement errors and compare them with the scientific requirements. Our simulations reveal thatmoderate-size instruments in terms of telescope aperture (0.5–1.5 m) and laser average power (0.4–4W) potentially have a low random error of the greenhouse gas column which is 0.2% for CO2 and 0.4% for CH4 for soundings at 1.6 μm, 0.4% for CO2 at 2.1 μm, 0.6% for CH4 at 2.3 μm, and 0.3% for N2O at 3.9 μm. Coherent detection instruments are generally limited by speckle noise, while direct detection instruments suffer from high detector noise using current technology. The wavelength selection in the vicinity of the absorption line is critical as it controls the height region of highest sensitivity, the temperature cross-sensitivity, and the demands on frequency stability. For CO2, an error budget of 0.08% is derived from our analysis of the sources of systematic errors. Among them, the frequency stability of ±0.3MHz for the laser transmitter and spectral purity of 99.9% in conjunction with a narrow-band spectral filter of 1 GHz (FWHM) are identified to be challenging instrument requirements for a direct detection CO2 system operating at 1.6 μm.