Identification

Title

Large-eddy simulation of biogenic VOC chemistry during the DISCOVER-AQ 2011 campaign

Abstract

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are oxidized quickly in the atmosphere to form oxygenated VOC (OVOC) and play crucial roles in the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosols. We use the National Center for Atmospheric Research's large-eddy simulation model and Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality 2011 flight data to understand the role of boundary layer turbulence on the atmospheric chemistry of key BVOC species and their oxidation products. We simulate three distinct convective environments during the campaign, representing fair weather conditions (case 1: 1 July), a convective event dominated by southwesterly flow (case 2: 11 July), and a polluted event with high temperature and convection (case 3: 29 July). Isoprene segregation is greatest in the lower boundary layer under warm and convective conditions, reaching up to a 10% reduction in the isoprene-OH reaction rate. Under warm and convective conditions, the BVOC lifetimes lengthen due to increased isoprene emission, elevated initial chemical concentrations, and OH competition. Although turbulence-driven segregation has less influence on the OVOC species, convection mixes more OVOC into the upper atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and increases the total OH reactivity. Production and loss rates of ozone above 2 km in all the three cases indicate in situ ozone formation in addition to vertical convective transport of ozone from the surface and aloft, consistent with the increased contribution of OH reactivity from OVOC. Together, these results show that total OH reactivity in the ABL increases under warmer and stronger convective conditions due to enhanced isoprene emission and the OVOC contribution to ozone formation.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d74m965q

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-07-16T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

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Conformity

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version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact