A RAPID RESPONSE INSTRUMENT FOR IN SITU MEASUREMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR

THE MEASUREMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR OR HUMIDITY IS CRITICAL IN MANY RESEARCH AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS. A BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF WATER VAPOR DISTRIBUTION THROUGHOUT THE ATMOSPHERE IS NECESSARY FOR UNDERSTANDING TROPOSPHERIC AND STRATOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY, STRATOSPHERIC-TROPOSPHERIC EXCHANGE, THE GLOBAL HYDROGEN BUDGET, CLUSTER IONS IN THE LOWER IONOSPHERE, AND MESOSPHERIC CLOUDS. SOUTHWEST SCIENCES, INC. PROPOSES TO STUDY CONCEPTS FOR A RAPID RESPONSE (FASTER THAN 0.1 SECOND) INSTRUMENT BASED ON INFRARED ABSORPTION USING A TUNABLE DIODE LASER. THE RESEARCHERS WILL EXPLOIT RECENT ADVANCES IN DIODE LASER MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP A COMPACT, LIGHT WEIGHT SYSTEM USING A LIQUID NITROGEN-COOLED SINGLE MODE DIODE LASER. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I RESEARCH IS TO CALIBRATE AND EVALUATE THE SENSITIVITY OF LABORATORY INSTRUMENTATION BASED ON A SINGLE MODE DIODE LASER AND A MULTIPLE PASS CELL USING AN IMPROVED OPTICAL CONFIGURATION. THESE RESULTS WILL PROVIDE THE REQUIRED DESIGN INFORMATION FOR THE PHASE II DEVELOPMENT AND POSSIBLE FIELD TESTING OF ACOMPACT PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT FOR IN SITU MEASUREMENT OF WATER VAPOR IN THE TROPOSPHERE OR STRATOSPHERE.