Smith, Brendan (University of California, Merced), John, Garrett (University of California, Merced), Christensen, Lance (JPL), Chen, YangQuan (University of California, Merced)

Fugitive Methane Leak Detection Using Suas and Miniature Laser Spectrometer Payload: System, Application and Groundtruthing Tests

Scheduled for presentation during the "UAS Applications - II" (WeB4), Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 15:00−15:20, Lummus Island

2017 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, June 13-16, 2017, Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, Miami, FL,

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on April 26, 2024

Abstract

A miniature emph{in-situ} CH$_4$ concentration measurement instrument based upon tunable laser spectroscopy (TLS) was developed and applied in numerous field campaigns. The instrument, a $3.4$ $mu m$ laser spectrometer developed at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), is lightweight ($250 g$), low power ($<8$ $W$), and high sensitivity ($10$ $ppb$ $s^{-1}$). The payload was further developed and integrated onto a small UAV at UC Merced, rendering an overall payload weight of $400$ $g$ and real-time data acquisition. The remarkable characteristics of the instrument and prior investigative work regarding sensor placement yielded excellent trial and field results, which are presented in this work.