This project will conduct exploratory biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emission measurements for an Arctic tundra ecosystem with the goals of assessing the impact of BVOC emissions on atmospheric chemistry and the effects of global change factors in the Arctic on BVOC emissions. The project has three experimental components which span spatial and temporal scales to achieve these goals: (1) An initial species characterization campaign will identify dominant Arctic plant species that are important BVOC emitters; (2) An intensive field campaign will use micrometeorological techniques to measure isoprene and ozone fluxes above a tundra ecosystem near the Toolik Field Station in collaboration with an on-going project studying ecosystem carbon balance, and these data will be used with a photochemical model to study impacts on atmospheric chemistry; (3) Leaf-level and chamber enclosure measurements will also be made and used for predictions of how ecosystem BVOC emissions may change in the future.
The project will bring two underrepresented minority students, one from the Central Valley in California and the other from urban Chicago, to the Toolik Field Station in Alaska for undergraduate research. The principal investigator has an on-going collaboration with the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences to communicate global climate change themes to high school teachers, and he will incorporate the field experiences from this proposal into his teaching materials. In addition, results of the research will be communicated to the broader scientific community through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at meetings where these cross-disciplinary research results can be shared.
We investigated an important interaction between plants and the atmosphere in a rapidly changing Arctic tundra ecosystem. Plants emit many different volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, and these compounds react with products of fossil fuel combustion to form ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone is distinct from the stratospheric ozone layer that protects us from ultraviolet radiation. Instead, ground-level ozone causes respiratory problems, especially among the elderly and others with pre-existing conditions. Because these natural emissions from plants interact with human-produced pollution, scientists need to quantify the plant emissions to formulate policies to most effectively reduce air pollution. As plants respond to climate change, their emissions of these compounds will also change. Because the Arctic tundra is responding more rapidly to climate change, we can test our hypotheses related to climate change impacts by making observations in the Arctic. Our project found that overall, plants will respond to future climate conditions by producing more of these compounds, which complicates future efforts to improve air quality. We also found that these plant emissions exert a strong influence on the relatively clean atmosphere of the Arctic. As the Arctic warms, these emissions will increase and potentially diminish the ability of the Arctic atmosphere to remove persistent organic pollutants.
