IGF::OT::IGF MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR AND METHANE ARE TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVERS OF E…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR AND METHANE ARE TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVERS OF EARTHS WEATHER/CLIMATE AND CARBON BUDGE SYSTEMS, RESPECTIVELY. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HALO, ENABLED BY THE TWO FIBERTEK LASER DEVELOPMENTS EFFORTS UNDER THE NASA SBIR PROGRAM AS WELL AS THE PROPOSED PROGRAM HERE, WILL ENABLE NASA TO MEET THE OBSERVATIONAL NEEDS OF THE ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION, WEATHER, CLIMATE VARIABILITY&CHANGE, WATER&ENERGY CYCLE, AND CARBON CYCLE&ECOSYSTEMS COMMUNITIES WITH A SINGLE AIRBORNE INSTRUMENT THAT IS RAPIDLY DEPLOYABLE ON LOCAL NASA AIRCRAFT. HALO WILL NOT ONLY BE A FACILITY INSTRUMENT PROVIDING NEW OBSERVATIONS OF WATER VAPOR AND METHANE ABUNDANCES TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, BUT IT COULD ALSO FUNCTION AS A PROTOTYPE FOR FUTURE DIAL SPACE MISSIONS. HALO WILL UTILIZE A SINGLE INSTRUMENT HOUSING AND TWO COMMON-ARCHITECTURE INTERCHANGEABLE PULSED LASERS BEING DEVELOPED BY FIBERTEK,INC. UNDER TWO SEPARATE NASA PHASE II SBIR PROGRAMS. THE SYSTEM WILL EITHER MEASURE RANGE RESOLVED PROFILES OF H2O MIXING RATIOS OR COLUMN INTEGRATED PATH DIAL (IPDA)/LIMITED PROFILES OF CH4 MIXING RATIOS, IN ADDITION TO HSRL MEASUREMENTS OF AEROSOL AND CLOUD INTENSIVE AND EXTENSIVE PROPERTIES FOR BOTH MEASUREMENTS. THE ADDITION OF AN HSRL MEASUREMENTS PLACES THE H2O AND CH4 MEASUREMENTS WITHIN THE VERTICAL CONTEXT OF THE SURROUNDING ATMOSPHERE AND PROVIDES A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE FOR IDENTIFYING CH4 SOURCES AND QUANTIFYING VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL MIXING BASED ON THE HEIGHT OF THE ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER RESULTING FROM AEROSOL SCATTERING.FURTHERMORE, HSRL MEASUREMENTS OF AEROSOLS COUPLED WITH H2O PROFILES WILL ALLOW FOR QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF CLOUD FORMATION FOR DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AEROSOLS (POLLUTION) AND MOISTURE LOADING. NASA CURRENTLY DOES NOT HAVE AN AIRBORNE SYSTEM CAPABLE OF SIMULTANEOUS METHANE AND WATER VAPOR PROFILE MEASUREMENTS IN ADDITION TO A SIMULTANEOUS QUANTITATIVE AEROSOL PROFILE MEASUREMENTS, AND HALO WILL FILL THIS GAP.