AMUGS meets NASA's needs for airborne measurements of carbon dioxide and methane. Work proposed in Phase II will focus on design and engineering to produce a field-testable, UAV-compatible prototype. The AMUGS concept builds upon existing high-performance spectroscopy and has demonstrated the simultaneous, real-time detection of multiple gases. The common optical path and detector of the system not only reduce sources of noise and error but also decrease device complexity, mass and footprint. The AMUGS design is based upon robust, mature telecom technologies: fiber- coupled diode lasers and WiFi electronics. AMUGS provides a sensitive gas sensor in a compact, light and low power package that is directly compatible with unattended, remote sensing upon a UAV platform. Numerous investigators are conducting research on anthropogenic methane and other gases. AMUGS could provide a valuable tool to groups seeking to gather high-resolution spatial and temporal data of gas concentrations aloft. AMUGS size, power and performance characteristics would make airborne gas measurements accessible to a wide variety of non-NASA research groups and agencies.
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