Constraining isoprene emission factors using airborne flux measurements during CABERNET

An aircraft flux study was conducted to assess biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from California ecosystems targeting oak woodlands and isoprene for most transects. The direct eddy covariance approach featured high speed proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry onboard a CIRPAS (Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies) Twin Otter aircraft during June 2011 as part of the CABERNET (California Airborne BVOC Emission Research in Natural Ecosystem Transects) project. Isoprene fluxes were calculated using wavelet analysis and scaled to surface fluxes using a divergence term obtained by measuring fluxes at multiple altitudes over homogenous oak terrain. By normalization of fluxes to standard temperature and photosynthetically active radiation levels using standard BVOC modeling equations, the resulting emission factors could be directly compared with those used by MEGAN (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) and BEIGIS (Biogenic Emission Inventory Geographic Information System) models which are the most commonly used BVOC emission models for California. As expected, oak woodlands were found to be the dominant source of isoprene in all areas surrounding and in the Central Valley of California. The airborne fluxes averaged to 2 km spatial resolution matched remarkably well with current oak woodland distributions driving the models and hence the correspondence of modeled and aircraft derived emission factors was also good, although quantitative differences were encountered depending on the region and driving variables used. Fluxes measured from aircraft proved to be useful for the improvement of the accuracy of modeled predictions for isoprene and other important ozone and aerosol precursor compounds. These are the first regional isoprene flux measurements using direct eddy covariance on aircraft.