Evaluation of forest canopy models for estimating isoprene emissions

During the summer of 1992, isoprene emissions were measured in a mixed deciduous forest near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Measurements were aimed at the experimental scale-up of emissions from the leaf level to the forest canopy to the mixed layer. Results from the scale-up study are compared to different canopy models for determining the leaf microclimate as input to isoprene emission algorithms. These include (1) no canopy effects, (2) a simple vertical scaling canopy model with a leaf energy balance, and (3) a numerical canopy model which accounts for leaf-sun geometries, photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, and gas transport in the canopy. Initial evaluation of the models was based upon a standard emission rate factor of 90 μgC g-1 hr-1 (0.42 nmol g-1 s-1) taken from leaf cuvette measurements and a biomass density factor of 203 g m-2 taken from biomass surveys and a flux footprint analysis. The results indicated that predicted fluxes were consistent among the models to within approximately ±20%, but that the models overestimated the mean flux by about a factor of 2 and overestimated the maximum observed flux by 30 to 50%. Adjusting the standard emission factor and biomass density each downward by 20% yielded predicted means approximately 20% greater than the observed means and predicted maxima approximately 25% less than the observed maxima. Accounting for changes in biomass density as a function of direction upwind of the tower improved the overall model performance

Isoprene fluxes measured by enclosure, relaxed eddy accumulation, surface layer gradient, mixed layer gradient, and mixed layer mass balance techniques

Isoprene fluxes were estimated using eight different measurement techniques at a forested site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during July and August 1992. Fluxes from individual leaves and entire branches were estimated with four enclosure systems, including one system that controls leaf temperature and light. Variations in isoprene emission with changes in light, temperature, and canopy depth were investigated with leaf enclosure measurements. Representative emission rates for the dominant vegetation in the region were determined with branch enclosure measurements. Species from six tree genera had negligible isoprene emissions, while significant emissions were observed for Quercus, Liquidambar, and Nyssa species. Abovecanopy isoprene fluxes were estimated with surface layer gradients and relaxed eddy accumulation measurements from a 44-m tower. Midday net emission fluxes from the canopy were typically 3 to 5 mg C m-2 h-1, although net isoprene deposition fluxes of-0.2 to -2 mg C m-2 h-1 were occasionally observed in early morning and late afternoon. Above-canopy CO2 fluxes estimated by eddy correlation using either an open path sensor or a closed path sensor agreed within ±5%. Relaxed eddy accumulation estimates of CO2 fluxes were within 15% of the eddy correlation estimates. Daytime isoprene mixing ratios in the mixed layer were investigated with a tethered balloon sampling system and ranged from 0.2 to 5 ppbv, averaging 0.8 ppbv. The isoprene mixing ratios in the mixed layer above the forested landscape were used to estimate isoprene fluxes of 2 to 8 mg C m-2 h-1 with mixed layer gradient and mixed layer mass balance techniques. Total foliar density and dominant tree species composition for an approximately 8100 km2 region were estimated using high-resolution (30 m) satellite data with classifications supervised by ground measurements. A biogenic isoprene emission model used to compare flux measurements, ranging from leaf scale (10 cm2) to landscape scale (102 km2), indicated agreement to within ±25%, the uncertainty associated with these measurement techniques. Existing biogenic emission models use isoprene emission rate capacities that range from 14.7 to 70 μg C g-1 h-1 (leaf temperature of 30°C and photosynthetically active radiation of 1000 μmol m-2 s-1) for oak foliage. An isoprene emission rate capacity of 100 μg C g-1 h-1 for oaks in this region is more realistic and is recommended, based on these measurements

Development of Atmospheric Tracer Methods To Measure Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Facilities and Urban Areas

A new, integrated methodology to locate and measure methane emissions from natural gas systems has been developed. Atmospheric methane sources are identified by elevated ambient CH4 concentrations measured with a mobile laser-based methane analyzer. The total methane emission rate from a source is obtained by simulating the source with a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas release and by measuring methane and tracer concentrations along downwind sampling paths using mobile, real-time analyzers. Combustion sources of methane are distinguished from noncombustion sources by concurrent ambient carbon dioxide measurements. Three variations on the tracer ratio method are described for application to (1) small underground vaults, (2) aboveground natural gas facilities, and (3) diffuse methane emissions from an entire town. Results from controlled releases and from replicate tests demonstrate that the tracer ratio approach can yield total emission rates to within approximately ±15%. The estimated accuracy of emission estimates for urban areas with a variety of diffuse emissions is ±50%. © 1995, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved

Monoterpene emissions from a Pacific Northwest Old-Growth Forest and impact on regional biogenic VOC emission estimates

Measurements of natural hydrocarbon emission rates are reported for an old-growth Pacific Northwest coniferous forest. The emission data were collected for the two dominant species Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla) during the growing season in 1997 and 1998 using branch enclosure techniques. Samples were collected at different heights from 13 to 51 m within the canopy using the Wind River Canopy Crane facility. The standard emission factor at a temperature of 30°C and the temperature coefficient for Douglas-fir is E s=0.39±0.14 μg C g −1 h −1 and β=0.14±0.05°C −1 and for western hemlock E s=0.95±0.17 μg C g −1 h −1 and β=0.06±0.02°C −1. There was considerable variability among all the emission factors due to seasonal and branch-to-branch variations. Within season emission factors appear to decline from May to September for the Douglas-fir, although there was no corresponding decrease for the western hemlock. There was no significant difference in standard emission factors ( E s) or temperature coefficients as a function of sunlit versus shady growth environment (different heights) for Douglas-fir, but western hemlock emission samples collected low in the canopy showed no exponential correlation with temperature. Applying the standard emission factors from this study to a Pacific Northwest domain and comparing the modified emission inventory to the current regulatory-based emission inventory yielded a net decrease of 19% in the domain wide monoterpene emissions. The relatively small difference in biogenic emissions is slightly misleading, as the difference in standard emission rates between this study and current regulatory rates is quite significant, and they offset each other when combined in this domain. When this inventory was input into a regional photochemical air quality simulation using the MM5/CMAQ system, the reduction in biogenic emissions resulted in an insignificant decrease of O 3 and a significant decrease in the secondary organic aerosol (domain wide −20%). The emission measurements reported here represent one of the first extensive data sets for an old-growth forest, where sampling conditions are limited to in situ enclosure techniques within the tall, elevated canopy

A Multiscale and Multidisciplinary Investigation of Ecosystem- Atmosphere CO2 Exchange over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado

A significant fraction of Earth consists of mountainous terrain. However, the question of how to monitor the surface–atmosphere carbon exchange over complex terrain has not been fully explored. This article reports on studies by a team of investigators from U.S. universities and research institutes who carried out a multiscale and multidisciplinary field and modeling investigation of the CO2 exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere and of CO2 transport over complex mountainous terrain in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado. The goals of the field campaign, which included ground and airborne in situ and remote-sensing measurements, were to characterize unique features of the local CO2 exchange and to find effective methods to measure regional ecosystem–atmosphere CO2 exchange over complex terrain. The modeling effort included atmospheric and ecological numerical modeling and data assimilation to investigate regional CO2 transport and biological processes involved in ecosystem-atmosphere carbon exchange. In this report, we document our approaches, demonstrate some preliminary results, and discuss principal patterns and conclusions concerning ecosystem-atmosphere carbon exchange over complex terrain and its relation to past studies that have considered these processes over much simpler terrain

Energy balance in urban Mexico City: Observation and parameterization during the MILAGRO/MCMA-2006 field campaign

10.1007/s00704-010-0314-7Theoretical and Applied Climatology1033-4501-51