Michigan Aerospace Corporation

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a significant greenhouse gas that, once emitted, has 300 times more heat-trapping capability than CO2 on a 100-year timescale. It also depletes the ozone layer. Michigan Aerospace Corporation proposes to develop an inexpensive system to sense N2O emissions from agricultural fields using laser-based sensors mounted on drones. These sensors include an optical absorption cell, a short-range miniature wind LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging), and a camera for plant health and ground assessment. The measurements from these sensors will be combined and processed with artificial intelligence-enabled software to accurately measure N2O emissions from a given farm field during the entire growing season. The resulting data will provide farmers of bioeconomy feedstock crops with tangible incentives to alter farming practices in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote climate change mitigation.

Reducing the uncertainty of emissions quantification is critical to realizing the revenue potential of carbon management markets.