Column Path Length Measurements Using a Multi-Frequency, Intensity-Modulated Continuous-Wave (IM-CW) Laser Absorption Spectrometer

Accurate understanding of carbon balance in the environment is critical to projections of the future evolution of the Earth's climate. As a result, the NRC Decadal Survey (DS) of Earth Science and Applications from Space identified Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) as a mid-term (Tier II) mission. The active space remote measurement of the column CO2 mixing ratio (XCO2) for the ASCENDS mission requires the simultaneous measurement of the CO2 and O2 number density and the column path length over which they are measured in order to derive the average XCO2 column. This paper presents methods for measuring the path lengths of the CO2 and O2 measurements that are inherent to the Multi-Functional Fiber Laser Lidar (MFLL), a laser absorption spectrometer (LAS) system under development for the ASCENDS mission. The MFLL is a multi-frequency intensity-modulated continuous-wave (IM-CW) LAS operating near 1.57 and 1.26 μm that uses a range-encoded modulation technique to minimize bias from thin clouds in the CO2 and O2 column measurements while simultaneously measuring the path length to the surface and to intervening cloud layers. This paper discusses the latest MFLL ground and flight test results. During these tests, range-encoded modulation techniques were demonstrated for path length measurements and the MFLL remote CO2 column measurements were evaluated against in situ CO2 measurements. This paper describes the encoding techniques employed, presents an approach for obtaining column path length measurements during CO2 retrievals, and presents the accuracy and precision of the technique. Measurement of path length meeting ASCENDS requirements of approximately 2-m precision were obtained in ground testing and demonstrated during flights over Railroad Valley, NV.