Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) form ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) in the atmosphere under favourable conditions. Biogenic VOC levels in the marine atmosphere are significantly lower compared with levels in the atmosphere above terrestrial ecosystems. However, much less is known about the marine biogenic VOC sea-to-air flux, specifically at the sea surface level. Therefore, here we describe a newly developed and cost-effective floating chamber system that has the capacity to measure the VOC sea-to-air flux near the sea surface (< 1 m). The floating chamber is coupled with adsorbent cartridges, and samples were analysed in the laboratory using commercial thermal desorption and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC–MS). The structural performance of the floating flux chamber was evaluated, and it was shown to have the capacity to stay continuously afloat for up to 72 h in various conditions (e.g., rainy, windy) and with wave heights up to approximately 1 m in coastal waters. Preliminary measurements of isoprene (3-Methyl-1,2-butadiene) (C5H8) sea-to-air flux using the floating flux chamber in the coastal waters off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia found values in the region of 107 molecules/cm2/s, comparable with most published values based on various flux measurement techniques. We suggest the proposed floating chamber system could serve as a cost-effective VOC flux technique that allows measurements near the sea surface.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge significant technical assistance in the development of the floating chamber of Mr. Mohd Sidik Katiman from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. We would also like to thank Dr. Rose Norman for proofreading this manuscript.
Funding
This work was supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Science Fund grant (Vote no. 02–01-SF1249) awarded to the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and the Malaysian Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) research grant (Vote no. 66928) awarded to the Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
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Royston Uning: designed the experiment, performed the formal data analysis, wrote the manuscript, and carried out reviewing and editing. Mohd Talib Latif: conceived the idea, responsible for the funding acquisition, and carried out reviewing and editing. Haris Hafizal Abd Hamid: designed the experiment, and carried out reviewing and editing. Suhaimi Suratman: responsible for the funding acquisition, and carried out reviewing and editing.
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Uning, R., Latif, M.T., Hamid, H.H.A. et al. A floating chamber system for VOC sea-to-air flux measurement near the sea surface. Environ Monit Assess 194, 531 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10237-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10237-y