Development of a Near-Infrared Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy System for CO2 Isotope Detection

Carbon dioxide detection has been of interest to scientists for several years due to the importance of atmospheric carbon concentrations and its effects on Earth’s climate. To help monitor and predict transport of atmospheric carbon, NASA created the Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days and Seasons (ASCENDS) program. Working alongside NASA, Colorado State University has developed a bench-top, near-infrared (NIR) cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) system to detect atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and its isotopes. Specifically, the CRDS system includes a one meter long atmospheric sampling cell operating at a reduced working pressure, an NIR fiber-coupled distributed feedback diode laser, an indium-galliumarsenide (InGaAs) detector, and high-speed LabView-based data acquisition system. This system will be used to support the ACSENDS initiative to further our understanding of carbon transport in the atmosphere.