Grantee Research Project Results
2013 Progress Report: Emission, Fate, and Contribution of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds to Organic Aerosol Formation in the Presence of Anthropogenic Pollution: Measurements and Modeling during SOAS
EPA Grant Number: R835407Title: Emission, Fate, and Contribution of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds to Organic Aerosol Formation in the Presence of Anthropogenic Pollution: Measurements and Modeling during SOAS
Investigators: Mak, John E , Goldstein, Allen H. , Guenther, Alex
Institution: The State University of New York at Stony Brook , National Center for Atmospheric Research , University of California - Berkeley
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2016
Project Period Covered by this Report: April 1, 2013 through March 31,2014
Project Amount: $399,964
RFA: Anthropogenic Influences on Organic Aerosol Formation and Regional Climate Implications (2012) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Climate Change , Air
Objective:
- Constrain and understand the processes controlling biogenic VOC emission, atmospheric oxidation and deposition;
- Elucidate the oxidation pathways of primary organics to form secondary organics in clean and polluted atmospheres;
- Evaluate the relative contributions of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions to the regional SOA burden in the southeastern United States;
- Search for previously unidentified/unmeasured semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) that would help explain why observations of SOA are often up to an order of magnitude higher than traditional models predict;
- Investigate the impacts of urban development patterns on biogenic and anthropogenic emissions and determine the implications for regional climate.
Progress Summary:
To address these objectives, and as outlined in our proposal, during the SOAS summer 2013 campaign we successfully deployed a proton transfer time of flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOFMS) at the ground based SEARCH tower site in Centreville Alabama, with concentrations measured at the top of the tower, along with a sonic anemometer allowing for eddy covariance flux calculations. These measurements were coordinated with observations using the same type of instrument at the AABC flux tower site and with aircraft observations from the Long-EZ aircraft, providing equivalent observations at multiple ground sites and in vertical profiles through the atmospheric boundary layer. We also deployed a leaf level enclosure measurement system to characterize the response of isoprene emission to temperature and light at various heights within a forest canopy in Alabama. A lift was used to access sun and shade leaves at a range of above ground heights. In January 2014, we deployed and operated a PTR-TOFMS as participants in The Focused Isoprene eXperiment at the California Institute of Technology (FIXCIT) collaborative atmospheric chamber campaign. FIXCIT is the laboratory component of SOAS and was aimed at addressing Objective 2 above. Specifically, FIXCIT is designed to provide: (1) a better understanding the chemical details behind ambient observations relevant to the Southeastern United States, (2) an advance in the knowledge of atmospheric oxidation mechanisms of important biogenic hydrocarbons, and (3) characterization of the behavior of SOAS field instrumentation using authentic standards. Approximately 20 principal scientists from 14 academic and government institutions performed parallel measurements at the SOAS site in Alabama and at the atmospheric chambers at Caltech.
Future Activities:
We will be finalizing data and hopefully submitting several manuscripts for peer review publication.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 18 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
BEIS, isoprene, biogenic VOC oxidation products, depositionProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.