Detecting Methane Gas Leaks and Other Pollutants Using Frequency Combs: A Q&A With Sammie Finalists

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Taking Measure Blog

Detecting Methane Gas Leaks and Other Pollutants Using Frequency Combs: A Q&A With Sammie Finalists

Eight adults pose for a photo standing by a white van with the side door open, showing equipment inside.

Cars. Cows. Oil and natural gas leaks. The list of what is polluting our atmosphere and contributing to global warming is long and varied. And if we want to solve this problem, being able to accurately measure what’s happening is key.

NIST is contributing to this critical measurement challenge in many ways. One approach being pursued uses a Nobel Prize-winning technology called a frequency comb, which is a very precise “ruler” for measuring exact colors of light. A group of NIST scientists have been adapting the frequency comb to make these crucial measurements. In 2018, they successfully demonstrated a way to use two frequency combs to continuously and cost-effectively monitor leaks of methane (CH4) and other trace gases with extreme precision and over large areas. In 2021, those researchers upgraded the instrument so that it could simultaneously measure three airborne greenhouse gases — nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and water vapor — plus the major air pollutants ozone and carbon monoxide. This dual-comb technology could help in understanding and monitoring emissions of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases implicated in climate change, as well as in assessing urban air quality.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Illustration in blue and green shows cows in a field edged with fiber and laser paths.

NIST ‘Agricomb’ Measures Multiple Gas Emissions From … Cows

March 31, 2021
After the optical frequency comb made its debut as a ruler for light, spinoffs followed, including the astrocomb to measure starlight and a radar-like comb system to detect natural gas leaks. And now, researchers have unveiled the “agricomb” to measure, ahem, cow burps.

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