Trace Gas Measurements on Mars and Earth using Optical Parametric Generation

Trace gases and their isotopic ratios in planetary atmospheres offer important but subtle clues as to the origins of a planet's atmosphere, hydrology, geology, and potential for biology. An orbiting laser remote sensing instrument is capable of measuring trace gases on a global scale with unprecedented accuracy, and higher spatial resolution that can be obtained by passive instruments. We have developed an active sensing instrument for the remote measurement of trace gases in planetary atmospheres (including Earth). The technique uses widely tunable, seeded optical parametric generation (OPG) to measure methane, CO2, water vapor, and other trace gases in the near and mid-infrared spectral regions. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas on Earth and it is also a potential biogenic marker on Mars and other planets. Methane in the Earth’s atmosphere survives for a shorter time than CO2 but its impact on climate change can be larger than CO2. Methane levels have remained relatively constant over the last decade around 1.78 parts per million (ppm) but recent observations indicate that methane levels may be on the rise. Increasing methane concentrations may trigger a positive feedback loop and a subsequent “runaway” greenhouse effect, where increasing temperatures result in increasing methane levels. The NRC Decadal Survey recognized the importance of global observations of greenhouse gases and called for simultaneous CH4, CO, and CO2 measurements but also underlined the technological limitations for these observations. For Mars, methane measurements are of great interest because of its potential as a strong biogenic marker. A remote sensing instrument that can measure day and night over all seasons and latitudes can identify and localize sources of biogenic gas plumes produced by subsurface chemistry or biology, and aid in the search for extra-terrestrial life. It can identify the dynamics of methane generation over time and latitude and identify future lander mission sites for more detailed in-situ analysis. In this paper we report on remote sensing measurements of methane using a high peak power, widely tunable optical parametric generator (OPG) operating at 3.3 um and 1.65 um. The OPG is pumped by a passively q-switched single frequency laser (3ns, 5KHz, 50uJ) and seeded by a diode laser. The spectral width of both signal and idler of seeded OPG is nearly Fourier transform limited. The output of seeded OPG is single frequency with high spectral purity and is widely tunable. Both 1650 nm and 3300 nm can be generated with a conversion efficiency of more than 30%. We have demonstrated detection of methane at 3274 nm and 1650 nm in a cell and also performed open path atmospheric measurements of methane at the same wavelengths. Finally, we were able to demonstrate simultaneous detection of methane at 3270.4 nm and CO2 at 1578.2 nm. In this paper we will discuss the OPG performance and atmospheric open path measurement results.