Timeline
Feb 2024 - Present
Description
Monoterpenes are a major class of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), emitted in large quantities from vegetation, particularly in forested regions and during wildfires, where emissions can release dramatically over short periods. These compounds play a significant role in atmospheric chemistry due to their high reactivity and their contribution to both secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and ozone formation.
Despite extensive research on VOCs, monoterpenes remain a key source of uncertainty in chemical mechanisms, especially under varied atmospheric conditions and oxidant environments. Improving our understanding of monoterpene oxidation is critical for improving predictions of air quality impacts from both natural and fire-related sources in regulatory models.
Recent advancements in laboratory techniques now allow for the measurement of multifunctional organic compounds in both gas and particle phases, offering new opportunities to study the detailed atmospheric chemistry of monoterpenes. In this project, we combine detailed mechanistic modeling with comprehensive chamber studies of monoterpneneoxidation products. Mass spectrometric measurements of product distributions are used to evaluate monoterpene oxidation mechanisms within the recently developed Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM), across a broad range of reaction conditions.
Presentation
Jiang, J., et al., Dec 2024, A Systematic Comparison Between Laboratory Measurements and Mechanistic Modeling of VOC Oxidation Reactions, American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2024 Annual Meeting.
Jiang, J., et al., Oct 2024, A Systematic Comparison Between Laboratory Chamber Measurements and Mechanistic Predictions of Complex Oxidation Reactions, American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) 42nd Annual Conference.