Reconciling Emissions Models with Observed Variability in BVOC Concentrations

DEBORAH F. MCGLYNN, Namrata Shanmukh Panji, Laura E. R. Barry, Xi Yang, Manuel Lerdau, Sally Pusede, Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz, Virginia Tech

     Abstract Number: 347
     Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosol

Abstract
Three years of hourly biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) atmospheric concentration data have been collected mid-canopy from a measurement tower at the Virginia Forest Lab (VFL), in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The BVOC concentrations were measured alongside chemical fluxes of ozone and nitrogen oxides, and with accompanying meteorological and ecological data. This suite of data allows for a comparison between observed concentrations and modeled emissions. Currently, emissions models do not capture many features of the observed temporal variability, e.g., the models miss observed daytime peaks of highly reactive monoterpenes and do not accurately account for seasonal variability at this site. Emissions of monoterpenes using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) are coupled with a box model, the Framework for 0-D Atmospheric Modeling (F0AM), to reconcile observed BVOC concentrations with estimated emissions. Observational data and the model are compared to identify differences and similarities on temporal scales ranging from hours to years. We explore modifications of the emission model and determine implications for secondary organic aerosol formation modeling.