Quantifying the Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Volatile Chemical Products (VCPs) in the Greater Houston Area

Alana J. Dodero, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Sining Niu, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Heewon Yim, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Kyle P. McCary, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Sahir Gagan, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Yeaseul Kim, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Timothy B. Onasch, Aerodyne Research, Billerica, Massachusetts 01821, United States.
James H. Flynn, Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States.
Raghu Betha, Department of Civil, Environmental, &; Construction Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, United States.
Karsten Baumann, Picarro, Inc., Santa Clara, California 95054, United States. Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
Sarah D. Brooks, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Qi Ying, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
Yue Zhang, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-15-2025

Abstract

Volatile chemical products (VCPs), including organic species emitted from pesticides, coatings, cleaning products, and personal care products, account for more than half of the urban VOC emissions in major North American and European cities. However, VCP emissions, spatial and temporal distributions, and impacts vary widely. Despite being the fourth largest U.S. city, Houston, Texas, lacks measured VCP concentration and emission data. This study presents the first spatial and temporal measurements of selected VCP tracers in Houston, Texas, using a Vocus 2R Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer on a mobile platform. Ambient measurements of five major VCP tracers, including D5-siloxane, monoterpenes,

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