Monday, November 13, 2006
47-10
Monitoring Air Quality of Open Top Chambers.
Oscar Monje1, Ignacio Eraso1, and John C. Sager2. (1) Dynamac, Mail code: DYN-3, Space Life Sciences Lab, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899, (2) Nasa KSC, Mail Code: KT-B-1, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899
The air quality of large open top chambers (OTC; 18.7 m3) deployed over a Florida scrub-oak palmetto ecosystem at the Kennedy Space Center was measured. Pre- chamber air and air from the OTCs was sampled with 6L canisters and analyzed using the TO-15 EPA method (62 compounds). The samples were also analyzed for ethylene, methanol, ethanol, isoprene, carbon disulfide, dichloromethane, and acetaldehyde. Air samples at ground level and at 2 m above the natural vegetation were also analyzed. These measurements indicate that the concentration of gases within OTCs result from plant produced VOCs, the soil, and may be produced by the vegetation surrounding the chamber.