Award Winning DIAL

A team of researchers at Ball Aerospace recently received an award for the work they have been doing with a differential-absorption lidar sensor. The target for the  system is methane gas which is a significant contributor to the greenhouse gases being released each year as well as a danger to the public due to its explosive nature.

The major benefit of the award winning Methane Monitor system is the fact that it can operate from a small fixed wing aircraft versus a more expensive and slower helicopter platform. The differential intensity measurements require signal to noise ratios 500 times better than that of regular lidar.