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California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (CLARS)

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Left: The CLARS facility overlooks the Los Angeles basin with visibility from the San Bernardino Mountains in the east to the Pacific coast in the west, and from the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in the north to Long Beach Harbor and Orange County in the south. Photo credit: R. Duren Right: Example of a map from CLARS data showing the ratio of CH4 to CO2 over the Los Angeles basin for all data from 2011-2017. The units are ppb/ppm. “Hot spots” in the central part of the figure are likely associated with methane emissions from landfills.

The California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (CLARS) is an observing facility for the measurement of greenhouse gases and pollutant emissions from sources in the South Coast Air Basin. The facility also serves as a testbed for new optical instruments for future NASA satellite missions. CLARS is located on Mt. Wilson, California, overlooking the Los Angeles basin at an altitude of 5700 ft. It consists of a laboratory for optical instrumentation, a telescope and precision pointing system for collection of atmospheric data.

The instruments at CLARS includes both point and imaging Fourier transform spectrometers (FTS) built by JPL. These instruments operate autonomously, measuring dry air mixing ratios of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), water vapor (H2O, HDO), nitrous oxide (N2O), and aerosols.

Data from CLARS can be used to inform policy makers and stakeholders who are responsible for assessing air quality and limiting greenhouse gases. For example, measurements of methane may be transformed into maps of methane emissions that can be used to quantify the amount of natural gas leaking from pipelines and end user appliances such as furnaces and water heaters. CLARS carbon monoxide data shows where major highways and streets carry the most traffic and how the winds carry this pollutant to more distant regions.

Also visit https://clars.caltech.edu/ for more information from Caltech.

Personnel / Contacts: 

Ongoing Research Projects: 

  • Measurement of greenhouse gas emissions (CH4, CO2, N2O) in the LA basin
  • Studies of the distributions and sources of air pollutants including CO and aerosols
  • Development of new instruments for satellite remote sensing of atmospheric composition