Open Path Laser Spectroscopy for Low-Cost Monitoring and Modeling of Methane

Team: Leo Hollberg, Alison Hoyt, Catherine Gorle, and Scott Fendorf

Overlooking the Searsville Lake at JRBP with prototype sensor located on the bottom left corner. Image Credit: *Provided by the team.*

Methane emissions are a major driver of short-term climate warming, but current monitoring methods are either too costly or lack sensitivity for widespread and dispersed sources. This project will develop a low-cost methane sensor using well-established spectroscopic techniques and low-cost tunable diode lasers, used in the telecom industry. The systems will be deployed in demonstrations of continuous, robust, and scalable monitoring of methane emissions at ambient levels over ecosystem scales, which range between 100 to 1,000 meters. Particular focus is on emissions from wetlands and agriculture, which are key to understanding the global methane budget, and for monitoring, reporting, and verification efforts, and promoting sustainable agriculture and industries. This approach could also be used for measuring other relevant gases such as CO2 and N2O.