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Atmospheric chemistry: The man who smells forests

Nature volume 459, pages 498–499 (2009)Cite this article

Chemist Allen Goldstein has spent his career tracking elusive compounds emitted by trees. Erik Vance joined him for a tour of the woods.

Standing almost 20 metres above the forest floor on a scaffolding tower in the Sierra Nevada, Allen Goldstein looks over the spiky tops of a young ponderosa pine forest. At ground level, the air is warm, still and rich with the sweet smell of pine and cedar. But above the forest, a stiff breeze from the west causes the tower to sway disconcertingly.

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References

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Authors
  1. Erik Vance
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Additional information

Erik Vance is freelance science writer in Berkeley, California.

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Allen Goldstein's web page

Blodgett Forest flux tower

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Vance, E. Atmospheric chemistry: The man who smells forests. Nature 459, 498–499 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/459498a

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