Distributions, Sources and Sinks of biogenic volatile organic compounds in the Southeast U.S. (Invited)
Abstract
The emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) from terrestrial ecosystems into the atmosphere has been investigated by numerous studies in the past several decades. BVOC emissions are now widely believed to have an important role in determining atmospheric constituents including the oxidants and aerosols that control air quality and climate. Model sensitivity studies indicate that more accurate descriptions of BVOC sources and sinks are needed to understand and quantify the processes controlling air quality and climate. Evaluation and improvement of BVOC representations in regional and global models has been limited by the lack of datasets characterizing fluxes and concentrations across the scales relevant for the processes controlling BVOC emission and fate. Comprehensive BVOC measurements during the Southeast Atmosphere Study (SAS) provide a unique resource for evaluating and improving our understanding of BVOC emissions and their atmospheric impact. These observations include BVOC fluxes from individual leaves and branches measured using enclosure systems, from a whole canopy measured with an above canopy tower platform, and from entire landscapes measured by airborne eddy covariance. BVOC measurements on the NOAA P3, NCAR C130, and Stonybrook Long-EZ together provide a detailed description of horizontal and vertical BVOC variations throughout the diurnal cycle. In addition, BVOC and their oxidation products were measured with multiple techniques at the SOAS Centreville site along with a comprehensive suite of measurements including aerosols, oxidants and other atmospheric constituents. These chemical measurements were complemented with detailed observations of boundary layer structure and turbulence. This presentation will summarize the SAS BVOC observations and ancillary measurements and describe the integration of these data into a model testbed for evaluating BVOC emissions, transport and chemistry. The performance of two BVOC emission models, MEGAN and BEIS, and their driving variables (e.g., landcover) will be assessed and recommendations for improving BVOC emission estimates will be presented. In addition, BVOC concentration distributions will be used to evaluate transport and chemistry options in the WRF-Chem regional air quality model. The uncertainties associated with BVOC emission, transport and chemistry will be considered and the implications for air quality and climate will be discussed.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.A23G..01G
- Keywords:
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- 0312 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE Air/sea constituent fluxes;
- 0315 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE Biosphere/atmosphere interactions;
- 0322 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE Constituent sources and sinks;
- 0345 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE Pollution: urban and regional