Ambient Ammonia Concentrations Across New York State

Abstract

Ammonia (NH3) was monitored at four locations (two urban and two rural) across New York State from April 2016 to October 2017 using active and passive systems. The two rural sites were Pinnacle State Park (PIN) and the Village of Potsdam, and the two urban sites were the City of Rochester and Queens College in New York City. Active and passive concentrations were well correlated across all sites (r2 = 0.866), but the active systems measured 6.2% higher NH3 concentrations. The mean (±SD) NH3 concentrations measured using active systems in Queens College, City of Rochester, Village of Potsdam, and PIN were 3.22 ± 2.23, 2.84 ± 1.91, 1.29 ± 1.12, and 0.82 ± 0.64 ppb, respectively. Ambient NH3 concentrations varied with diel vehicular and seasonal agricultural activities. NH3 concentrations at the urban sites had lower seasonal variability than the rural sites. NH3 concentrations were generally related to regional and in‐state NH3 emissions although less regional influence was observed at the urban sites. Local NH3 source directions were identified using conditional bivariate probability function. The urban sites were affected by local NH3 sources such as vehicular emissions and urban population centers. Likely distant NH3 source locations affecting the four sites were identified using simplified quantitative transport bias analysis model. Rural sites were more highly affected by transported NH3. Midwestern and Atlantic were major NH3 source areas. NH3 emissions from the south of PIN were probably due to the use of diesel trucks and other diesel engines in the hydraulic fracturing industry in Pennsylvania near the New York State border.

Seasonal and Spatial Variations of Atmospheric Ammonia in the Urban and Suburban Environments of Seoul, Korea

“…The high autumn ammonia concentrations were mostly likely due to low rainfall, which did not dilute or leach nitrogen from the soil slurry in the farming regions [58]. In addition, the increased use of fertilizers [59] and manure processing in the farm fields [6,17] during this time also likely resulted in a high ammonia concentration. Studies have also shown that the daily emission rate of ammonia is highest in the autumnwinter period, due to more pig fattening at this time, and that agricultural floors with daily manure removal have significantly lower emissions than concrete agricultural floors [60].…”

“…Therefore, Atmosphere 2021, 12, 1607 2 of 19 animal husbandry and its large-scale industrialization are significant sources of industrial emissions of ammonia [13]. Vehicle and agricultural emissions significantly contribute to ammonia pollution in major urban areas [14][15][16][17]. Ammonia also plays a primary role in the deterioration of atmospheric visibility and the deposition of nitrogen in the atmosphere [18].…”

Measurement report: Exploring NH<sub>3</sub> behavior in urban and suburban Beijing: comparison and implications

“…Table 1 also shows observational results of atmospheric NH 3 from some other countries. The NH 3 concentrations in the USA (Edgerton et al, 2007;Nowak et al, 2006;Zhou et al, 2019), Scotland (Burkhardt et al, 1998), Canada (Hu et al, 2014), Japan (Osada et al, 2019), and Germany (Vogt et al, 2005) were 0.23-13, 1.6-2.3, 0.1-4, 4.1, and 5.2 ppb, respectively. These values are considerably lower than those in Beijing.…”

Understanding the Chemistry and Sources of Precipitation Ions in the mid-Brahmaputra Valley of Northeastern India

“…Ammonia is a typical species out of agricultural emission (e.g. Misselbrook et al, 2000;Kirchmann et al, 1998;Zhou et al, 2019). Some Bris also present in the sea salt fraction of the aerosol.…”