Design and characterization of a semi-open dynamic chamber for measuring biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from plants

With the accumulation of data about biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from plants based on branch-scale enclosure measurements worldwide, it is vital to assure that measurements are conducted using well-characterized dynamic chambers with good transfer efficiencies and less disturbance on natural growing microenvironments. In this study, a self-made cylindrical semi-open dynamic chamber with a Teflon-coated inner surface was characterized both in the lab with standard BVOC mixtures and in the field with typical broadleaf and coniferous trees. The lab simulation with a constant flow of standard mixtures and online monitoring of BVOCs by proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) revealed lower real-time mixing ratios and shorter equilibrium times than theoretically predicted due to wall loss in the chamber and that larger flow rates (shorter residence times) can reduce the adsorptive loss and improve the transfer efficiencies. However, even when flow rates were raised to secure residence times of less than 1 min, transfer efficiencies were still below 70 % for heavier BVOCs like α-pinene and β-caryophyllene. Relative humidity (RH) impacted the adsorptive loss of BVOCs less significantly when compared to flow rates, with compound-specific patterns related to the influence of RH on their adsorption behaviour. When the chamber was applied in the field to a branch of a Mangifera indica tree, the ambient–enclosure temperature differences decreased from 4.5±0.3 to 1.0±0.2 ∘C and the RH differences decreased from 9.8 ± 0.5 % to 1.2±0.1 % as flow rates increased from 3 L min−1 (residence time ∼4.5 min) to 15 L min−1 (residence time ∼0.9 min). At a medium flow rate of 9 L min−1 (residence time ∼1.5 min), field tests with the dynamic chamber for Mangifera indica and Pinus massoniana branches revealed enclosure temperature increase within +2 ∘C and CO2 depletion within −50 ppm when compared to their ambient counterparts. The results suggested that substantially higher air circulating rates would benefit by reducing equilibrium time, adsorptive loss, and the ambient–enclosure temperature and RH differences. However, even under higher air circulating rates and with inert Teflon-coated inner surfaces, the transfer efficiencies for monoterpene and sesquiterpene species are not so satisfactory, implying that emission factors for these species might be underestimated if they are obtained by dynamic chambers without certified transfer efficiencies and that further efforts are needed for field measurements to improve accuracies and narrow the uncertainties of the emission factors.

Health benefits of decreases in on-road transportation emissions in the United States from 2008 to 2017

Decades of air pollution regulation have yielded enormous benefits in the United States, but vehicle emissions remain a climate and public health issue. Studies have quantified the vehicle-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-attributable mortality but lack the combination of proper counterfactual scenarios, latest epidemiological evidence, and detailed spatial resolution; all needed to assess the benefits of recent emission reductions. We use this combination to assess PM2.5-attributable health benefits and also assess the climate benefits of on-road emission reductions between 2008 and 2017. We estimate total benefits of $270 (190 to 480) billion in 2017. Vehicle-related PM2.5-attributable deaths decreased from 27,700 in 2008 to 19,800 in 2017; however, had per-mile emission factors remained at 2008 levels, 48,200 deaths would have occurred in 2017. The 74% increase from 27,700 to 48,200 PM2.5-attributable deaths with the same emission factors is due to lower baseline PM2.5 concentrations (+26%), more vehicle miles and fleet composition changes (+22%), higher baseline mortality (+13%), and interactions among these (+12%). Climate benefits were small (3 to 19% of the total). The percent reductions in emissions and PM2.5-attributable deaths were similar despite an opportunity to achieve disproportionately large health benefits by reducing high-impact emissions of passenger light-duty vehicles in urban areas. Increasingly large vehicles and an aging population, increasing mortality, suggest large health benefits in urban areas require more stringent policies. Local policies can be effective because high-impact primary PM2.5 and NH3 emissions disperse little outside metropolitan areas. Complementary national-level policies for NOx are merited because of its substantial impacts—with little spatial variability—and dispersion across states and metropolitan areas.