Methods:
Many biogenic VOCs are very reactive and have short lifetimes due to rapid tropospheric reaction mechanisms. During the analysis process many VOCs can react and are lost during sample collection and storage, which further complicates analysis using traditional analytical methods. The goal of this research is to apply a novel analytical technique for continuous, in-situ and high-resolution field measurements of a wide range of biogenic VOC fluxes. This technique incorporates the following components:
1. A sample collection and enrichment apparatus for trapping and improving detection limits of VOCs
2. An Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (ITMS) for quantitatively analyzing VOCs injected from the sample collection/enrichment system
3. A sonic anemometer to determine wind speed/directions for disjunct eddy correlation calculations of biogenic VOC fluxes.