A portable laser spectrometer for airborne and ground-based remote sensing of geological CO2 emissions

摘要

LARSS, a 24 kg, suitcase-sized, CW-laser remote-sensingspectrometer with a ~2 km range has been developed. Itdemonstrated its flexibility in measuring bothatmospheric CO2 from an airborne platform andterrestrial emission of CO2 from a remote mud-volcano,Bledug Kuwu, Indonesia from a ground-based sight. Thissystem scans the CO2 absorption line with 20 discretewavelengths as opposed to the typical two wavelengthonline offline instrument. This multi-wavelengthapproach offers an effective quality-control, bias-controland confidence-estimate of measured CO2 concentrationsvia spectral fitting. The simplicity, ruggedness andflexibility in the design allows for easy transportation,use on different platforms with quick setup in some ofthe most challenging climatic conditions. While morerefinement is needed, the results represent a step-stonetowards widespread use of active one-sided gas remotesensing in the Earth sciences.