Sesquiterpene Emissions and Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation Potentials for Southeast Texas Special Issue ofAerosol Science and Technologyon Findings from the Fine Particulate Matter Supersites Program

Abstract

A modified version of the Global Biosphere Emissions and Interactions System (GloBEIS) was used to predict biogenic sesquiterpene emissions in the Houston-Galveston Area (HGA) in southeast Texas. The estimates were based on a land cover database containing more than 600 land cover categories at a resolution of approximately one kilometer and emission factors taken from literature. Average sesquiterpene emission fluxes were estimated to be between 0.07 and 0.65 kg carbon/km²-h. Fluxes at the lower end of the estimated range are consistent with observed concentrations of geologically modern carbon in Houston aerosol.