NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The high-sensitivity fast response CO2 instrument measures CO2 concentrations in situ using the light source, gas cells, and solid-state detector from a modified nondispersive infrared CO2 analyzer (Li-Cor, Inc., Lincoln, NE). These components are stabilized along the detection axis, vibrationally isolated, and housed in a temperature-controlled pressure vessel. Sample air enters a rear-facing inlet, is preconditioned using a Nafion drier (to remove water vapor), then is compressed by a Teflon diaphragm pump. A second water trap, using dry ice, reduces the sample air dewpoint to less than 70C prior to detection. The CO2 mixing ratio of air flowing through the sample gas cell is determined by measuring absorption at 4.26 microns relative to a reference gas of known concentration. In-flight calibrations are performed by replacing the air sample with reference gas every 10 minutes, with a low-span and a high-span gas every 20 minutes, and with a long-term primary standard every 2 hours. The long-term standard is used sparingly and serves as a check of the flight-to-flight accuracy and precision of the measurements, augmented by ground-based calibrations before and after flights.

A modified LI-COR model 6252 infrared gas analyzer forms the basis of a CO2 sampling system. The LI-COR is small (13 x 24 x 34 cm) and composed of dual 12 cm3 volume sample/reference cells; a feedback stabilized infrared source; 500 Hz chopper; thermoelectrically-cooled solid state PbSe detector; and a narrow band (150 nm) interference filter centered on the 4.26 μm CO2 absorption band. Using synchronous signal detection techniques, it operates by sensing the difference in light absorption between the continuously flowing sample and reference gases occupying each side of the dual absorption cell. Thus, by selecting a reference gas of approximately the same concentration as background air (~ 378 ppmv), very minute fluctuations in atmospheric concentration can be quantified with high precision (≤ 0.07 ppmv). The system is operated at constant pressure (250 torr) and has a 0.1 second electronic time response.

During ambient sampling, air is continuously drawn through a Rosemount inlet probe, a permeable membrane dryer to remove H2O(v), the LI-COR, and then exchanged through a diaphragm pump that vents overboard. In-flight calibrations are performed every 15 minutes using standards traceable to the primary standards maintained by the WMO Central CO2 Laboratory. By interpolating between these calibrations, slow drifts in instrument response are effectively suppressed, yielding high precision values. Temperature control of the instrument minimizes thermal drift thus maximizing ambient sampling time by decreasing calibration frequency. The CO2 measurement accuracy is closely tied to the accuracy of the standards obtained from NOAA/CMDL, Boulder, CO prior to the mission.

The in‐situ diode laser spectrometer system, referred to by its historical name DACOM, includes three tunable diode lasers providing 4.7, 4.5, and 3.3 μm radiation for accessing CO, N2O, and CH4 absorption lines, respectively. The three laser beams are combined by the use of dichroic filters and are then directed through a small volume (0.3 liter) Herriott cell enclosing a 36 meter optical path. As the three coincident laser beams exit the absorption cell, they are spectrally isolated using dichroic filters and are then directed to individual detectors, one for each laser wavelength. Wavelength reference cells containing CO, CH4, and N2O are used to wavelength lock the operation of the three lasers to the appropriate absorption lines. Ambient air is continuously drawn through a Rosemount inlet probe and a permeable membrane dryer which removes water vapor before entering the Herriott cell and subsequently being exhausted via a vacuum pump to the aircraft cabin. To minimize potential spectral overlap from other atmospheric species, the Herriott cell is maintained at a reduced pressure of ~90 Torr. At 5 SLPM mass flow rate, the absorption cell volume is exchanged nominally twice per second. Frequent but short calibrations with well documented and stable reference gases are critical to achieving both high precision and accuracy. Calibration for all species is accomplished by periodically (~4 minutes) flowing calibration gas through this instrument. Measurement accuracy is closely tied to the accuracy of the reference gases obtained from NOAA/ESRL, Boulder, CO. Both CO and CH4 mixing ratios are provided in real-time to investigators aboard the DC‐8.

The CO2LAS instrument was jointly developed by JPL and Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies under funding from the NASA Earth Science Technology Office Instrument Incubator Program.

The instrument uses three continuous-wave (c.w.) Th:Ho:YLF lasers, one of which is used as an absolute frequency reference and is locked to a carbon dioxide absorption line in an internal gas cell using a phase modulation spectroscopy scheme. The remaining two lasers are offset frequency locked from the reference laser to provide the online and offline beams that are propagated through the atmosphere. The online and offline beams are expanded to an eye-safe level and transmitted to the ground where they are reflected back to the instrument, collected by the receive optics and detected. The use of the offset frequency-locking scheme together with the absolute frequency reference enables the absolute frequency of the online and offline lasers to be held to within 200 kHz of the desired values. The CO2LAS transceiver uses separate co-axial transmit/receive paths for each of the on-line and off-line channels.

A Doppler frequency shift is induced between the outgoing and return signals by pointing the transmit beams slightly off nadir. This frequency offset, together with a polarization transmit/receive architecture, ensures the receive signals are separated from the transmit signals by both polarization and frequency. The nominal Doppler offset is 15 MHz but this will vary as the aircraft attitude changes. The return signals on each channel are digitized and stored during flight for post-processing. Throughput of the data collection system was increased from ~8% to >20% between 2006 and 2007.

In order to ensure the instrument remains stable, the output power and frequency of all three lasers are monitored. The output power values for the online and offline lasers are used in the determination of the on-line and off-line absorption as part of the LAS measurement. The output power value for the reference laser is used primarily as a laser health status to check the integrity of the CO2 line center lock.

The electronics for the CO2LAS are mounted in two racks that typically mount to the seat rails of the host aircraft. One rack contains the control electronics for the transceiver system, laser controller, frequency locking electronics and provides the user interface for the overall system.

The second rack houses the chiller that supplies the optical transceiver with coolant and the signal processor which receives housekeeping data from the electronics rack, and digitizes, stores and analyzes the lidar return signal. The CO2LAS uses a Gigabit Ethernet system to distribute data across the system and to other computers that can be connected into the gigabit hub located in the back of one of the racks.

Ozone is measured in a dual-beam ultraviolet (254 nm) absorption analyzer. Ambient air flows through one absorption cell while air scrubbed of ozone flows through an adjacent one. This allows continuous measurement of both background and absorption signals. Flows are switched between cells by a pair of solenoid valves, which permits monitoring of optical changes. Water vapor is detected with a tunable diode laser spectrometer designed and built by Randy May. This sensor employs a room-temperature near-infrared laser (single mode at about 1.37 microns) and second harmonic detection, rather than direct absorption. Unlike the JPL water instrument, this sensor has an internal absorption path, optimized for the mid-troposphere. Carbon dioxide is measured by its absorption in the infrared (4.25 microns) using a LiCor NDIR instrument. This is also a dual-cell device, in which the absorption caused by the ambient air sample is compared to that from a reference gas of known composition. Halocarbons are monitored with a custom-built gas chromatograph, using short, packed columns and small ovens, and HP micro-electron capture detectors. Ambient sample and standard will be run simultaneously on paired columns to reduce errors associated with drift in ECD response.

Isotopic CO2 measurements have been identified as an important component of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise's Carbon Cycle Initiative as part of its program in global climate change. The isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2, and especially its 13CO2/ 12CO2 ratio, is an established tool for understanding the details of the global carbon cycle, since this ratio can distinguish between oceanic and terrestrial biospheric sinks of CO2.

The Broadband CO2 lidar instrument operates on the principle of differential absorption. This means that the instrument examines the transmission of light through the atmosphere at two or more different wavelengths that are absorbed differently by the species one wishes to measure. There are then two principal elements involved in the measurement—the source and the detector. Passive systems use natural processes such as sunlight or atmospheric emission to generate a number of different wavelengths which are separated for analysis by the detector. Most laser based systems (eg. DIAL lidars) use two or more different laser sources to provide different wavelengths. These systems then might use the same detector for the multiple wavelengths using time separation or modulation to differentiate the signals coming from the different lasers.

This system, however, uses as a detector that can differentiate wavelengths just as conventional passive sensors. The detector was originally developed as the Fabry-Perot passive sensor measuring CO2 using reflected sunlight. Our new approach is made possible by the emergence of a new type of source—the superluminescent light emitting diode (SLED). The SLED has the same high brightness and collimation characteristics as a conventional laser but it emits light over a broader range of wavelengths than conventional lasers. This permits a differential absorption measurement employing a single source with wavelength differentiation in the detector.