Articles | Volume 15, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3593-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3593-2022
Research article
 | 
15 Jun 2022
Research article |  | 15 Jun 2022

Performance of open-path lasers and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic systems in agriculture emissions research

Mei Bai, Zoe Loh, David W. T. Griffith, Debra Turner, Richard Eckard, Robert Edis, Owen T. Denmead, Glenn W. Bryant, Clare Paton-Walsh, Matthew Tonini, Sean M. McGinn, and Deli Chen

Related authors

Beef cattle methane emissions measured with tracer-ratio and inverse dispersion modelling techniques
Mei Bai, José I. Velazco, Trevor W. Coates, Frances A. Phillips, Thomas K. Flesch, Julian Hill, David G. Mayer, Nigel W. Tomkins, Roger S. Hegarty, and Deli Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3469–3479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3469-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3469-2021, 2021
Short summary
Comparison of slant open-path flux gradient and static closed chamber techniques to measure soil N2O emissions
Mei Bai, Helen Suter, Shu Kee Lam, Thomas K. Flesch, and Deli Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1095–1102, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1095-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1095-2019, 2019
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Gases | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
Advances in an OH reactivity instrument for airborne field measurements
Hendrik Fuchs, Aaron Stainsby, Florian Berg, René Dubus, Michelle Färber, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Frank Holland, Kelvin H. Bates, Steven S. Brown, Matthew M. Coggon, Glenn S. Diskin, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Christopher M. Jernigan, Jeff Peischl, Michael A. Robinson, Andrew W. Rollins, Nell B. Schafer, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Patrick R. Veres, Carsten Warneke, Eleanor M. Waxman, Lu Xu, Kristen Zuraski, Andreas Wahner, and Anna Novelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 881–895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-881-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-881-2025, 2025
Short summary
The ASK-16 motorized glider: an airborne eddy covariance platform to measure turbulence, energy, and matter fluxes
Inge Wiekenkamp, Anna Katharina Lehmann, Alexander Bütow, Jörg Hartmann, Stefan Metzger, Thomas Ruhtz, Christian Wille, Mathias Zöllner, and Torsten Sachs
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 749–772, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-749-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-749-2025, 2025
Short summary
Development of a Peltier-based chilled-mirror hygrometer, SKYDEW, for tropospheric and lower-stratospheric water vapor measurements
Takuji Sugidachi, Masatomo Fujiwara, Kensaku Shimizu, Shin-Ya Ogino, Junko Suzuki, and Ruud J. Dirksen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 509–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, 2025
Short summary
Deployment and evaluation of an NH4+∕ H3O+ reagent ion switching chemical ionization mass spectrometer for the detection of reduced and oxygenated gas-phase organic compounds
Cort L. Zang and Megan D. Willis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 17–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-17-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-17-2025, 2025
Short summary
An economical tunable diode laser spectrometer for fast-response measurements of water vapor in the atmospheric boundary layer
Emily D. Wein, Lars E. Kalnajs, and Darin W. Toohey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 7097–7107, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7097-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7097-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Bai, M.: Methane emissions from livestock measured by novel spectroscopic techniques, Doctor of Philosophy PhD thesis, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 303 pp., 2010. 
Bai, M., Flesch, T., McGinn, S., and Chen, D.: A snapshot of greenhouse gas emissions from a cattle feedlot, J. Environ. Qual., 44, 1974–1978, https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2015.06.0278, 2015. 
Bai, M., Sun, J., Dassanayake, K. B., Benvenutti, M. A., Hill, J., Denmead, O. T., Flesch, K. T., and Chen, D.: Non-interference measurement of CH4, N2O and NH3 emissions from cattle, Anim. Prod. Sci., 56, 1496–1503, https://doi.org/10.1071/AN14992, 2016. 
Bai, M., Flesch, K. T., Trouvé, R., Coates, T. W., Butterly, C., Bhatta, B., Hill, J., and Chen, D.: Gas Emissions during Cattle Manure Composting and Stockpiling, J. Environ. Qual., 49, 228–235, https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20029, 2020. 
Bjorneberg, L. D., Leytem, B. A., Westermann, T. D., Griffiths, R. P., Shao, L., and Pollard, J. M.: Measurement of atmospheric ammonia, methane, and nitrous oxide at a concentrated dairy production facility in Southern Idaho using open-path FTIR Spectrometry, T. ASABE, 52, 1749–1756, https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.29137, 2009. 
Download
Short summary
The open-path laser (OPL) and open-path Fourier transform infrared (OP-FTIR) are used in agricultural research, but their error in emissions research has not been the focus of studies. We conducted trace gas release trials and herd and paddock emission studies to compare their applicability and performance. The OP-FTIR has better stability in stable conditions than OPL. The CH4 OPL accurately detects the low background level of CH4, but the NH3 OPL only detects background values >10 ppbv.
Share