Reactive Trace Gas and Aerosol Fluxes

Abstract

Quantifying the atmosphere-surface exchange of reactive trace gases and aerosols is extremely important for a full understanding of biogeochemical cycles and their implications for air quality and climate. However, turbulent fluxes of reactive gases such as ozone and volatile organic compounds (VOC) as well as aerosol particles are still difficult to measure. Chemical reactions contribute to changes in trace gas or aerosol concentrations, and production or loss processes have to be carefully separated from turbulent transport. Also, for many trace gas measurements and for size-resolved and chemically speciated aerosol measurements, instruments are limited with respect to time resolution, sensitivity, and accuracy, which restricts their application in micrometeorological techniques. Here, we present flux measurements of reactive trace gases and aerosols above tall vegetation. We focus on ozone deposition and its implications for the NO/NO2/O3 triad, biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds and their subsequent oxidation reactions, and finally, turbulent aerosol fluxes in a spruce forest ecosystem