Methane/Nitrous Oxide Analyzer (CH4, N2O, H2O)

LGR's CH4/N2O Analyzer (Methane and Nitrous Oxide Analyzer) continuously measures ambient levels of methane and nitrous oxide simultaneously in real time with data rates and flow response rates as fast as 10 Hz.  As with all LGR Analyzers, users can set up the instrument in minutes. Simultaneous measurements of CH4 and N2O can allow scientists to correlate the sources of emissions of these important greenhouse gases.  The  CH4/N2O Analyzer also simultaneously measures water vapor  concentration. As a result, the instrument reports gas concentrations on a dry mol basis directly (accurately corrects for water vapor dilution and absorption line broadening effects) without the need for sample drying or empirical corrections.

The CH4/N2O Analyzer is designed for many demanding applications including trace-gas (air quality) monitoring (e.g., GAW stations), eddy-correlation flux measurements, and chamber flux measurements. The Analyzer is particularly well suited for measurements in the field and on-board aircraft for measurements in the upper troposphere / lower stratosphere. The CH4/N2O Analyzer is unaffected by other atmospheric gases or changes in atmospheric pressure.

The CH4/N2O Analyzer is also available in LGR’s new “Enhanced Performance" packaging, which incorporates proprietary internal thermal control for ultra-stable measurements with unsurpassed precision, accuracy, linearity, stability and drift.  Moreover, only LGR’s analyzers provide reliable measurements at concentrations more than 20 times greater than typical ambient levels.  Furthermore, LGR's Analyzers report measurements over a wide range of ambient temperatures allowing users to easily record reliable data in the field.

In response to strong demand, the CH4/N2O Analyzer is also available in LGR’s aclaimed portable package for field studies and other applications requiring mobility (e.g., soil flux chambers).

The CH4/N2O Analyzer uses LGR’s patented Off-axis ICOS technology, the fourth-generation cavity enhanced absorption technique, which employs a high-finesse optical cavity as the measurement cell. LGR’s technology has many proven advantages over conventional first-generation cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) techniques. In brief, since the laser beam does not have to be resonantly coupled to the measurement cell (i.e. precise beam alignment is not critical), LGR Analyzers are relatively inexpensive, simple to build, easy to service, and inherently robust thermally and mechanically.  In addition, since LGR’s technology can record reliable absorption spectra over a far wider range of optical depths (absorbance values) compared with CRDS, LGR Analyzers provide measurements over a much wider range of gas concentrations. Finally, due to the ease and simplicity of recording and quantifying the measured spectra using LGR’s Off-Axis ICOS, LGR Analyzers display the entire absorption spectra to the user in real time allowing for immediate system diagnostics and performance validation.

The CH4/N2O Analyzer includes an internal computer (Linux OS) that can store data practically indefinitely on its internal hard drive (for applications requiring unattended longer term operation), and send real-time data to a data logger through its analog and digital (RS232) outputs.  As with all LGR analyzers, the CH4/N2O Analyzer may be controlled remotely via the Internet. This capability allows the user to operate the analyzer using a web browser anywhere.