Multi Wavelength Greenhouse gas LIDAR (MUGGLE)

Climate change is a growing concern, leading NASA to the need to track concentrations of such greenhouse gases as CO2 and CH4, including the need to detect them daytime, nighttime, and all year. To achieve this, NASA has proposed such projects as Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE), and Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS). In support of these programs, and in particular ASCENDS, Luminit, LLC, proposes to develop the innovative Multiwavelength Greenhouse Gas Lidar (MUGGLE). The MUGGLE is a high-resolution spectroscopic measurement system that can detect and measure CO, CO2, CH4, and H2O (vapor) with great accuracy and speed. The MUGGLE will be fully automated, using only eye-safe laser wavelengths and powers, with tunability and real-time calibration. Through the use of cavity dumping, the MUGGLE will achieve laser linewidth <50 MHz for the best resolution, and significantly improves on existing greenhouse gas measurement technology. During Phase I we will begin this research by studying the methods of measurement, designing a system, and fabricating a laboratory breadboard prototype, ending at TRL-4. In Phase II we plan to further develop the MUGGLE, resulting in a TRL-6 engineering prototype that can be commercialized into both the specified device for NASA and an accurate system for measuring methane leakage.