Total Ozone Reactivity Measurements Reveal Knowledge Gap in Volatile Organic Compound Emissions and Their Reactions
Abstract
Total ozone (O₃) reactivity monitors (TORMs) were used to investigate biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from several ecosystems. Measurements were conducted in temperate deciduous North American forests, during the CABINEX and SOAS campaigns, on tundra vegetation emissions at Toolik lake field station (TFS) in Alaska, and in a boreal fen in Finland. Deciduous tree emissions produced up to six times higher O₃ loss than emissions from conifers. Emissions from the fen resulted in maximum O₃ loss values comparable to deciduous tree emissions, whereas emissions from Arctic tundra ground vegetation generated the smallest signals. Across all ecosystems, the O₃ loss expected from the reactions with identified BVOCs was consistently lower than the directly measured O₃ loss rate measured with TORM during midday emission peaks. On average, calculated losses from identified BVOCs accounted for 10-60% of the directly measured O₃ loss, depending on vegetation type and time of day. Measurement uncertainties explain only part of this discrepancy, leaving a substantial fraction of the observed signal unaccounted for. Additional uncertainty may arise from oxidation chemistry not captured by the BVOC-O₃ reaction rate constants. These findings highlight the need for further research on O₃-BVOC reactivity across ecosystems to better characterize emissions, their impacts on atmospheric chemistry, and especially their chemical diversity that is rarely captured exhaustively due to limitations of analytical methods.
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BibTeX
@article{praplan2026total,
title = {{Total Ozone Reactivity Measurements Reveal Knowledge Gap in Volatile Organic Compound Emissions and Their Reactions}},
author = {Arnaud P Praplan and Steven J Thomas and Ryan W Daly and Jeong‐hoo Park and Wei Wang and Anssi Liikanen and Hélène Angot and Jacques Hueber and Federico Bianchi and Alex Guenther and Detlev Helmig},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1029/2026jd047054},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05738428v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Total Ozone Reactivity Measurements Reveal Knowledge Gap in Volatile Organic Compound Emissions and Their Reactions
AU - Arnaud P Praplan
AU - Steven J Thomas
AU - Ryan W Daly
AU - Jeong‐hoo Park
AU - Wei Wang
AU - Anssi Liikanen
AU - Hélène Angot
AU - Jacques Hueber
AU - Federico Bianchi
AU - Alex Guenther
AU - Detlev Helmig
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/04
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
DO - 10.1029/2026jd047054
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05738428v1
AB - Total ozone (O₃) reactivity monitors (TORMs) were used to investigate biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from several ecosystems. Measurements were conducted in temperate deciduous North American forests, during the CABINEX and SOAS campaigns, on tundra vegetation emissions at Toolik lake field station (TFS) in Alaska, and in a boreal fen in Finland. Deciduous tree emissions produced up to six times higher O₃ loss than emissions from conifers. Emissions from the fen resulted in maximum O₃ loss values comparable to deciduous tree emissions, whereas emissions from Arctic tundra ground vegetation generated the smallest signals. Across all ecosystems, the O₃ loss expected from the reactions with identified BVOCs was consistently lower than the directly measured O₃ loss rate measured with TORM during midday emission peaks. On average, calculated losses from identified BVOCs accounted for 10-60% of the directly measured O₃ loss, depending on vegetation type and time of day. Measurement uncertainties explain only part of this discrepancy, leaving a substantial fraction of the observed signal unaccounted for. Additional uncertainty may arise from oxidation chemistry not captured by the BVOC-O₃ reaction rate constants. These findings highlight the need for further research on O₃-BVOC reactivity across ecosystems to better characterize emissions, their impacts on atmospheric chemistry, and especially their chemical diversity that is rarely captured exhaustively due to limitations of analytical methods.
SN - 2169-897X
SN - 2169-8996
ER -