Tracking greenhouse gases with a laser
Faced with advancing climate change, we drastically need to monitor and understand the various sources and sinks of greenhouse gases worldwide in real time. One approach to accomplishing this is to regulate and monitor man-made methane emissions. Laser systems as developed by researchers at Fraunhofer ILT offer ways to do exactly that. At the heart of lidar instruments, they can precisely determine greenhouse gases in the atmosphere with high spatial and temporal resolution, even from great distances, and do so worldwide.
The uncontrolled emission of methane during the extraction, production, transportation or processing of fossil fuels accounts for eleven percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries. Eighty percent of methane emissions, on the other hand, can be attributed to agriculture and waste management. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 1.7 percent of the gas produced worldwide is lost through leaks. The Energy Watch Group calculates this at over four percent, while other experts provide even higher figures.
It is therefore important to precisely record and monitor the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Until now, methane has only been measured passively from space, i.e. via the sunlight absorbed in the atmosphere by this gas. The concentration can then be calculated from the absorption. However, this method only works during the day and its accuracy is limited.
A light detection and ranging (lidar) system, however, can determine the methane concentration directly. This uses lasers with two wavelengths at around 1,645 nm to make the measurement independent of external factors such as the strongly fluctuating reflectivity of the earth’s surface. It measures the light absorption of the atmosphere at wavelengths of maximum and minimum methane absorption. The methane concentration in the air column in the measurement path is calculated by comparing the measured values.
Fraunhofer ILT has the laser at the core of the lidar system. Read the details in a new article in PhotonicsViews (in print) now online as an early view contribution.
Reference: Tracking greenhouse gases with a laser – Fraunhofer ILT researchers develop advanced lidar systems to tackle global methane emissions and improve climate monitoring, PhotonicsViews 21(4), in print, first published online: 25 June 2024
Company
Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILTSteinbachstr. 15
52074 Aachen
Germany
most read
Efficient Food Manufacturing Enabled by Prism Cameras
Powerful machine vision systems play a crucial role in optical quality control in the food industry. James Cameron, Sales Director EMEA at JAI, explains the requirements and solutions for the food industry.
Protective Windows: Finding a Germanium Alternative for LWIR Imaging
In this interview, Mike Giznik, President of Midopt, explains why Silwir is a good choice for applications such as industrial inspection, defense, and autonomous systems.
The Rise of Photonic and Neuromorphic Computing: A New Era for AI Hardware
Computer Architectures for future data processing
3D laser scanning for 100 percent inspection
Modern production requires precise, fast, and fully automated inspection processes. The robot-assisted inline measurement system Flexscan meets this requirement with two 3D compact sensors
Chatbots for Dead, Endangered, and Extinct Languages
Possibilities and Limitations of Generative AI for Continuing Education.