Abstract View
Variability in the Composition and Chemical Impacts of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds in the Southeastern U.S.
DEBORAH MCGLYNN, Sally Pusede, Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz, Virginia Tech
Abstract Number: 34
Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosol
Abstract
Despite their significant contribution to organic aerosol, there are few long-term year-round measurements of speciated, BVOC composition. These measurements are critical, as BVOC emissions vary widely due to ecosystem composition and environmental factors, and different BVOCs widely in their reaction rates with atmospheric oxidants and aerosol yields. To address this gap, hourly measurements of chemically resolved biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are being collected at a research tower outside of Charlottesville, VA in a mixed forest representative of the Southeastern U.S. The measurements are taken using a custom-built, field-deployable gas chromatograph (GC) - flame ionization detector (FID) capable of measuring concentrations of individual BVOCs from all major terpenoid classes: isoprene (C5H8), monoterpenes (C10H16), and sesquiterpenes (C15H24). Measurements began in summer 2019 and are planned to be taken continuously over the next three years in conjunction with a number of other ecological and meteorological parameters. We observe not only changes in the magnitude of BVOC concentrations, as expected, but also changes to the composition of the BVOC mixture which affects the average reactivity and aerosol yield of emissions. This work will focus on the temporal variability in BVOC composition, and discussion of the variable importance of individual species in terms of their impacts on local and regional chemistry.