Ultra High Sensitivity SWIR Methane Imaging Camera

Methane, is the third most prevalent greenhouse gas whose atmosphere concentration is currently over 1.7 ppm. Methane is about 21 times more potent when compared to CO2. Even though its concentration in the atmosphere is more than 200 times lower than carbon dioxide, methane is responsible for 20% of the greenhouse effect. The main natural resources for methane include wetlands, termites and the oceans. Natural sources create 36% of methane emissions. The main anthropogenic sources come from landfills, livestock farming, and in the production, transportation and use of fossil fuels accounting for 64% of the total. While the quantitative monitoring of methane levels is necessary, it is also critically important to directly identify the sources of methane, for example, such as leaks in pipelines, and also from drilling/fracking and other human activities. In this NOAA SBIR program, Amethyst Research proposes to develop a relatively inexpensive methane gas imaging camera that can be used for direct observation of methane gas/emissions. This camera will be high sensitivity, low power, low cost and light so it can be integrated onto UAV’s platforms and hand held systems.