SBIR Phase I: Balloon-Based Instrument for Measurements of Atmospheric Water Vapor and Methane

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将研究开发一种基于气球的仪器的可行性，该仪器可以高精度和准确度地测量水蒸气和甲烷。水汽和甲烷在大气的化学、动力学和辐射收支中起着关键作用，但它们在对流层顶和平流层附近的浓度特征很差。商业湿度计在这些地区是不可靠的，现有的仪器无法测量标准气象气球上的甲烷。该项目的关键创新是低功率垂直腔面发射激光器（VCSEL）用于测量甲烷，新开发的紧凑型光学单元可最大限度地减少空间和重量要求，奇异值分解算法可提高长期精度，以及增加另一个1854 nm的VCSEL探测水蒸气。为标准气象气球开发一种水蒸气和甲烷综合仪器，将为研究人员提供目前无法实现的有价值的测量结果，从而大大促进对全球气候变化的了解。对对流层上层和平流层中的这些气体进行更准确的测量，将使科学家能够更准确地预测臭氧层的变化和气候变化。对流层上部更准确的水汽水平将产生更准确的预报。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will examine the feasibility of developing a balloon-based instrument that can measure water vapor and methane at high precision and accuracy. Water vapor and methane play critical roles in the chemistry, dynamics, and radiative budget of the atmosphere, but their concentrations are quite poorly characterized near the tropopause and in the stratosphere. Commercial hygrometers are unreliable in these regions, and no existing instrumentation can measure methane onboard standard weather balloons. Key innovations for this project are a low power vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) to measure methane, newly developed compact optical cells to minimize space and weight requirements, singular valued decomposition algorithms to increase long-term precision, and the addition of another VCSEL at 1854 nm to probe water vapor. Development of a combined water vapor and methane instrument for standard weather balloons will significantly advance the understanding of global climate change by providing researchers with valuable measurements that cannot be accomplished currently. More accurate measurements of these gases in the upper troposphere and stratosphere will enable scientists to more accurately predict changes to the ozone layer and climate change. More accurate levels of water vapor in the upper troposphere will yield more accurate forecasts.