Conifer scent influences climate
Thursday, January 9, 2014 - 09:02
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org) —Conifers emit volatile hydrocarbons, primarily terpenes, which we experience as the characteristic smell of the woods. In a complicated series of reactions involving ozone and sulfur dioxide, these compounds may be involved in the formation of aerosols that counteract the greenhouse effect. German scientists have now been able to follow the reaction of a terpene with ozone in the laboratory by using infrared (IR) spectroscopy. As they report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they were able to identify critical intermediates of this process, namely the Criegee intermediates. They were also able to verify that these intermediates react very efficiently with sulfur dioxide.