AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Concentrations of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound in an East Coast Forest, and Their Relative Importance for Ozone Chemical Loss
DEBORAH MCGLYNN, Chenyang Bi, Graham Frazier, Sally Pusede, Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz, Virginia Tech
Abstract Number: 146 Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosol
Abstract Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) comprise a significant majority of reactive carbon in the atmosphere. Atmospheric oxidation of BVOCs leads to the formation of secondary organic aerosols and may form or destroy ozone depending on the chemical conditions. Aerosols and ozone can go on to influence ecosystem function, leading to complex atmosphere-biosphere interactions and feedbacks that lead to uncertainties in modeling and long-term predictions. To address gaps in long-term measurements of BVOCs and to understand these interactions, we deployed a custom built, field deployable, VOC-GC-FID at a research tower near Charlottesville, VA. Plant emissions from all major terpenoid classes (i.e. isoprene, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes) were measured in and above the canopy of a forest typical of the Appalachian region (mixed deciduous and conifer). Isomer-resolved concentrations were measured with hourly time resolution beginning in the summer and planned to continue for multiple years. We present here BVOC concentration from the summer and early fall alongside measurements of BVOC oxidation products, ecosystem function, and other relevant atmospheric constituents (e.g. NOx). We focus here on instrument validation, the relative importance of various compounds and compound classes in the chemical destruction of ozone within the forest canopy, and the formation of regional particulate matter from BVOCs.