Airborne Midwave Infrared Mapping For Environmental Monitoring Applications

Gas emissions from industrial plants located near residential areas can seriously impact the quality of life in these neighbourhoods. Airborne infrared hyperspectral imaging, in the midwave spectral range (3-5 um), was carried out over different operating plants in order to characterize the gas plume coverage as well as the chemical nature of emission constituents. Water vapor (H2O) was discriminated from an aerosol cloud formed upon condensation of the water vapor in the gas emissions coming from a waste incinerator and a paper mill. Quantitative chemical imaging of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbonyl sulfide (OCS) gas, emitted from an aluminum smelter plant, was successfully carried out illustrating the versatility of this technique for environmental monitoring applications.