Atmospheric biogenic volatile organic compounds in the Alaskan Arctic tundra: constraints from measurements at Toolik Field Station

The Arctic is a climatically sensitive region that has experienced warming at almost 3 times the global average rate in recent decades, leading to an increase in Arctic greenness and a greater abundance of plants that emit biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). These changes in atmospheric emissions are expected to significantly modify the overall oxidative chemistry of the region and lead to changes in VOC composition and abundance, with implications for atmospheric processes. Nonetheless, observations needed to constrain our current understanding of these issues in this critical environment are sparse. This work presents novel atmospheric in situ proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) measurements of VOCs at Toolik Field Station (TFS; 68°38' N, 149°36' W), in the Alaskan Arctic tundra during May-June 2019. We employ a custom nested grid version of the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM), driven with MEGANv2.1 (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature version 2.1) biogenic emissions for Alaska at 0.25° × 0.3125° resolution, to interpret the observations in terms of their constraints on BVOC emissions, total reactive organic carbon (ROC) composition, and calculated OH reactivity (OHr) in this environment. We find total ambient mole fraction of 78 identified VOCs to be 6.3 ± 0.4 ppbv (10.8 ± 0.5 ppbC), with overwhelming (> 80 %) contributions are from short-chain oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) including methanol, acetone and formaldehyde. Isoprene was the most abundant terpene identified. GEOS-Chem captures the observed isoprene (and its oxidation products), acetone and acetaldehyde abundances within the combined model and observation uncertainties (±25 %), but underestimates other OVOCs including methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid and acetic acid by a factor of 3 to 12. The negative model bias for methanol is attributed to underestimated biogenic methanol emissions for the Alaskan tundra in MEGANv2.1. Observed formaldehyde mole fractions increase exponentially with air temperature, likely reflecting its biogenic precursors and pointing to a systematic model underprediction of its secondary production. The median campaign-calculated OHr from VOCs measured at TFS was 0.7 s^-1, roughly 5 % of the values typically reported in lower-latitude forested ecosystems. Ten species account for over 80 % of the calculated VOC OHr, with formaldehyde, isoprene and acetaldehyde together accounting for nearly half of the total. Simulated OHr based on median-modeled VOCs included in GEOS-Chem averages 0.5 s^-1 and is dominated by isoprene (30 %) and monoterpenes (17 %). The data presented here serve as a critical evaluation of our knowledge of BVOCs and ROC budgets in high-latitude environments and represent a foundation for investigating and interpreting future warming-driven changes in VOC emissions in the Alaskan Arctic tundra.

Aging of Volatile Organic Compounds in October 2017 Northern California Wildfire Plumes

In the western United States, the number and severity of large wildfires have been growing for decades. Biomass burning (BB) is a major source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the atmosphere both globally and regionally. Following emission, BB VOCs are oxidized while being transported downwind, producing ozone, secondary organic aerosols, and secondary hazardous VOCs. In this research, we measured VOCs using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) in an urban area 55-65 km downwind of the October 2017 Northern California wildfires. Nonaromatic oxygenated compounds were the dominant component of BB VOCs measured. In the smoke plumes, the VOCs account for 70-75% of the total observed organic carbon, with the remainder being particulate matter (with a diameter of <2.5 μm, PM_2.5). We show that the correlation of VOCs with furan (primary BB VOC) and maleic anhydride (secondary BB VOC) can indicate the origin of the VOCs. This was further confirmed by the diurnal variations of the VOCs and their concentration-weighted trajectories. Oxidation during transport consumed highly reactive compounds including benzenoids, furanoids, and terpenoids and produced more oxygenated VOCs. Furthermore, wildfire VOCs altered the ozone formation regime and raised the O₃ levels in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Contrasting Reactive Organic Carbon Observations in the Southeast United States (SOAS) and Southern California (CalNex)

Despite the central role of reactive organic carbon (ROC) in the formation of secondary species that impact global air quality and climate, our assessment of ROC abundance and impacts is challenged by the diversity of species that contribute to it. We revisit measurements of ROC species made during two field campaigns in the United States: the 2013 SOAS campaign in forested Centreville, AL, and the 2010 CalNex campaign in urban Pasadena, CA. We find that average measured ROC concentrations are about twice as high in Pasadena (73.8 μgCsm^-3) than in Centreville (36.5 μgCsm^-3). However, the OH reactivity (OHR) measured at these sites is similar (20.1 and 19.3 s^-1). The shortfall in OHR when summing up measured contributions is 31%, at Pasadena and 14% at Centreville, suggesting that there may be a larger reservoir of unmeasured ROC at the former site. Estimated O₃ production and SOA potential (defined as concentration × yield) are both higher during CalNex than SOAS. This analysis suggests that the ROC in urban California is less reactive, but due to higher concentrations of oxides of nitrogen and hydroxyl radicals, is more efficient in terms of O₃ and SOA production, than in the forested southeastern U.S.

Significant decreases in the volatile organic compound concentration, atmospheric oxidation capacity and photochemical reactivity during the National Day holiday over a suburban site in the North China Plain

To what extent anthropogenic emissions could influence volatile organic compound (VOCs) concentrations and related atmospheric reactivity is still poorly understood. China's 70th National Day holidays, during which anthropogenic emissions were significantly reduced to ensure good air quality on Anniversary Day, provides a unique opportunity to investigate these processes. Atmospheric oxidation capacity (AOC), OH reactivity, secondary transformation, O₃ formation and VOCs-PM_2.5 sensitivity are evaluated based on parameterization methods and simultaneous measurements of VOCs, O₃, NO_x, CO, SO₂, PM_2.5, JO¹D, JNO₂, JNO₃ carried out at a suburban site between Beijing and Tianjin before, during, and after the National Day holiday 2019. During the National Day holidays, the AOC, OH reactivity, O₃ formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAP) were 1.6 × 10⁷ molecules cm^-3 s^-1, 41.8 s^-1, 299.2 μg cm^-3 and 1471.8 μg cm^-3, respectively, which were 42%, 29%, 47% and 42% lower than pre-National Day values and -12%, 42%, 36% and 42% lower than post-National Day values, respectively. Reactions involving OH radicals dominated the AOC during the day, but OH radicals and O₃ reactions at night. Alkanes (the degree of unsaturation = 0, (D, Equation (1)) accounted for the largest contributions to the total VOCs concentration, oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs; D ≤ 1) to OH reactivity and OFP, and aromatics (D = 4) to the SOAP. O₃ production was identified as VOCs-limited by VOCs (ppbC)/NOx (ppbv) ratios during the sampling campaign, with greater VOCs limitation during post- National Day and more-aged air masses during the National Day. The VOCs-sensitivity coefficient (VOCs-S) suggested that VOCs were more sensitive to PM_2.5 in low-pollution domains and during the National Day holiday. This study emphasizes the importance of not only the abundance, reactivity, and secondary transformation of VOCs but also the effects of VOCs on PM_2.5 for the development of effective control strategies to minimize O₃ and PM_2.5 pollution.