MRI: RAPID: Development: Spectrally resolved, ultrafast and simultaneous measurements of methane and carbon dioxide in sea waters with femtosecond supercontinuum fiber laser

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The monitoring of sea water content of methane and green house gas (CO2) is of great importance for correct assessment of global processes on the Earth, since due to its abundance the sea water is a major factor affecting climate. In particular, the methane content in sea water reflects general trends of methanogenesis, but it also is indicative of the local disruptive events, such as oil spills, volcanic eruptions, and plumes. Therefore, accurate measurements of the concentration of such gases can provide valuable information for monitoring these dynamical processes, even predictions of their occurrences, and quantify the amount of oil spilledThe PI requests MRI RAPID funding to develop a novel, sensitive, methane gas sensor in the near IR wavelength region. It will have the high sensitivity and a broad dynamic range required to address a large variation of the methane concentration at different depths in seawater. It will be designed to be rugged and portable. Such a sensor can be also used to detect minute amounts of methane leaking to the atmosphere, which is important for preventing possible unwanted accumulation of methane, which can result in an explosion.Broader ImpactsThis research has the potential to develop of a new instrument for gas concentration measurements with a wide range of possible applications. It includes training of participating postdoctoral associate and a graduate student, obtaining new data important for aquatic life in the gulf region and dissemination of the results through publications and participation in conferences.