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Flight-Ready Greenhouse Gas Analyzer Simultaneously Measures CO2, CH4 and H2O in Real-Time

Jul 04 2009

The new G1301-m flight-ready trace gas analyzer from Picarro (USA) is the first GHG monitor to provide high precision and accuracy for CO₂, CH₄ and H₂O in a compact instrument designed for continuous operation at altitudes up to 10,000 meters (30,0000 feet) and with climb/descent rates as high as 1 km/minute. The analyzer is also equipped to manage the rigorous vibration profiles of aircraft, ships and similar environments. Developed and tested in close cooperation with scientists at NOAA, the Picarro G1301-m enables direct, real-time sampling and analysis in-flight, eliminating the time, cost and limited data sampling associated with traditional sample capture for lab-bound instruments. The instrument is based on Picarro’s wavelength-scanned cavity ring down (WS-CRDS) technology, proven in demanding laboratory applications and challenging field locations such as Mauna Loa and CarboAfrica (Ivory Coast). Like the company’s other WS-CRDS based products, this new analyzer provides decades of linear dynamic range and is simple to install and operate. Plus it does not require frequent re-calibration, unlike other technologies.

Colm Sweeney is the lead scientist for the NOAA Earth System Research Lab Aircraft Program, at NOAA. He has participated in recent flight tests of the G1301-m analyzer and explains, “Picarro’s G1301-m flight ready WS-CRDS analyzer provides the pressure and temperature stability that greatly improves my ability to collect accurate vertical profiles of CO₂ and other trace gases concentrations. These vertical profiles are an essential component in quantifying the net impact that the North American continent has on atmospheric concentrations of CO₂.” Mike Woelk, CEO of Picarro, adds, “Our company is committed to developing simple-to-use, rugged GHG analyzers to support every aspect of addressing climate change, from the most fundamental research to at-site solutions for direct source and sink monitoring and verification. We believe that it’s vitally important that these analyzers use a common platform, so this must be a platform that has been rigorously designed, engineered and tested to deliver the same performance whether in a pristine lab, on a rainy, windy and exposed landfill site, or on a high-altitude aircraft. In this new analyzer we have now incorporated an even higher degree of pressure and temperature stability and control. This includes pressure stabilization of our proprietary wavelength monitor that is key to precise wavelength scanning, and thus the high signal-to-noise of this flight-proven instrument.”