Picarro Announces General Availability of EnviroSense 3000i Multi-Species Atmospheric Monitor

Picarro Announces General Availability of EnviroSense 3000i Multi-Species Atmospheric Monitor

August 31, 2007

Unrivaled accuracy, precision and stability help scientists
observe and understand the earth's carbon cycle


    SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 31 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Picarro, leading manufacturer of high-performance trace gas
analyzers based on patented Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy
(CRDS) technology today announced the general availability
of the EnviroSense 3000i atmospheric monitor. 

    EnviroSense 3000i is a field-deployable, real-time,
ambient gas monitor that measures atmospheric levels of
methane and carbon dioxide with parts-per-billion (ppbv)
sensitivity and water vapor with parts-per-million (ppmv)
sensitivity.  

    "Researchers investigating global climate change
need measurements of greenhouse gases with extreme
precision and accuracy to enable better models of the
carbon cycle," stated Dr. Eric Crosson, Chief
Technology Officer at Picarro.  "The high accuracy,
excellent precision and low maintenance of EnviroSense
3000i make it ideally suited to address the demanding
requirements of atmospheric air-monitoring
applications."   

    Existing atmospheric monitors based on non-dispersive
infrared (NDIR) sensors have known problems -- they are
non-linear, sensitive to water vapor concentration, and
susceptible to drift. Furthermore, these instruments
require extensive modifications and sample conditioning,
frequent calibration, and significant post processing of
the data.

    In contrast, EnviroSense 3000i maintains high
linearity, precision, and accuracy over changing
environmental conditions, with minimal calibration. The
unique capabilities of the underlying CRDS technology are
complemented by a superior analyzer design, including a
high-precision wavelength monitor providing immunity to
interfering gases, meticulous temperature and pressure
control, and robust digital signal processing that
transforms raw data into directly useable information.

    Deployment in several atmospheric monitoring and
meteorological facilities, including Penn State University,
has shown that the analyzer requires minimal recalibration
and no sample conditioning. 

    "The EnviroSense 3000i analyzers are providing
invaluable field measurements," said Ken Davis,
Associate Professor of Meteorology at Penn State
University.  "High-precision and high-accuracy
measurements of atmospheric composition, like those
acquired by the Picarro EnviroSense analyzer, are essential
to our ability to observe and understand the earth's carbon
cycle.  Picarro has been very responsive to our scientific
needs."  "We deployed 5 EnviroSense units in an
experimental observational network in the spring of
2007," said Scott Richardson, Research Associate at
Penn State, "and we have found the stability of the
instruments to be truly remarkable.  The instruments should
significantly simplify the task of obtaining high-quality
measurements of atmospheric composition."

    EnviroSense 3000i is the first of a suite of analyzers
designed to support scientists who investigate global
climate change. Two additional monitors will be introduced
shortly: EnviroSense 2000f, a flux methane and carbon
dioxide analyzer, and EnviroSense 2000i (isotopic CO2 and
CH4).

    About Picarro

    Picarro instruments set new standards for sensitivity,
speed, selectivity and ease-of-use in trace gas detection,
and enable our customers to achieve dramatic improvements
in measurement precision, instrument size, reliability and
cost of ownership. We serve the needs of customers across a
diverse range of markets. For more information, visit our
website ( http://www.picarro.com ) or email us at
[e-mail].


    For more information, please contact:  

     Luc Ceuppens             
     Tel:   [phone]           
     Email: [e-mail]    

     Kathleen Hartnett
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]