Sesquiterpene Emissions from Natural, Urban and Agricultural Vegetation in the United States

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The goal of this project is to apply quantitative techniques to measure emissions of sesquiterpenes from trees and agricultural plants. Sesquiterpenes are biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) that are chemically reactive and have low volatility. Their oxidation products are considered responsible for a significant fraction of the secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), especially over forested regions. A systematic investigation of speciated and total sesquiterpene emission factors will be conducted. Vegetation will be surveyed by environmentally controlled enclosure experiments (leaf cuvette and branch enclosure). Emission samples will be collected on inorganic solid adsorbents and sesquiterpenes will be identified and quantified in the field by thermal desorption/gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and flame ionization detection.The broader impacts of this project will include close collaboration between research groups at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Institute of Alpine and Arctic Research at the University of Colorado, Boulder, the construction of a field instrument for on-site identification and quantification of sesquiterpene fluxes, support for a graduate student and undergraduate students, and various outreach activities.