Ammonia: Measurement Issues

Harper, Lowry A.

doi:10.2134/agronmonogr47.c15

Cited by 25 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 109 publications

(134 reference statements)

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“…Ammonia mixing ratios are expected to be positively correlated with air temperature due to its combined effect on raising the NH 3 vapor pressure, reducing its water solubility, and enhancing the emission potential and source strength (Eilerman et al, ; Grant et al, ; Harper, ; Zhang et al, ). Further, the gas‐particle phase partitioning of NH 4 NO 3 is temperature dependent, where warmer air temperatures favor the gas phase (Seinfeld & Pandis, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tall Tower Ammonia Observations and Emission Estimates in the U.S. Midwest

Griffis

Baker

et al. 2019

JGR Biogeosciences

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Atmospheric ammonia (NH 3 ) has increased dramatically as a consequence of the production of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer and proliferation of intensive livestock systems. It is a chemical of environmental concern as it readily reacts with atmospheric acids to produce fine particulate matter and indirectly contributes to nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions. Here, we present the first tall tower observations of NH 3 within the U.S. Corn Belt for the period April 2017 through December 2018. Hourly average NH 3 mixing ratios were measured at 100 and 56 m above the ground surface and fluxes were estimated using a modified gradient approach. The highest NH 3 mixing ratios (>30 nmol mol −1 ) occurred during early spring and late fall, coinciding with the timing of fertilizer application within the region and the occurrence of warm air temperatures. Net ecosystem NH 3 exchange was greatest in spring and fall with peak emissions of about +50 nmol m −2 s −l . Annual NH 3 emissions estimated using state-of-the-art inventories ranged from 0.6 to 1.4 × the mean annual gross tall tower fluxes (+2.1 nmol m −2 s −1 ). If the tall tower observations are representative of the Upper Midwest and broader U.S. Corn Belt regions, the annual gross emissions were +720 Gg NH 3 -N y −1 and +1,340 Gg NH 3 -N y −1 , respectively. Finally, considering the N 2 O budget over the same region, we estimated total reactive N emissions (i.e., N 2 O + NH 3 ) of approximately 1,790 Gg N y −1 from the U.S. Corn Belt, representing~23% of the current annual new N input.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tall Tower Ammonia Observations and Emission Estimates in the U.S. Midwest

Griffis

Baker

et al. 2019

JGR Biogeosciences

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“…Acid traps were used to measure the NH 3 volatilization occurring within the wind tunnels and were composed of a cylinder (41 mm O.D., 200 mm height), fitted dispersion tube (250 mm), rubber stopper (#8), and an overflow tube (test tube fitted with a #4 stopper). The acid trap technique can be used to measure the concentration of NH 3 from enclosure methods, such as the wind tunnel method, as fast sampling and high sensitivity analysis are not required (Harper 2005). However, great care is needed, such as proper cleaning of glassware between sample timings, with this technique as it is prone to sample contamination.…”

Section: Ammonia Measurements Wind Tunnel Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a simple and affordable method of measuring ammonia volatilization from land applied manures

et al. 2017

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Quantifying ammonia (NH 3) flux following fertilizer and manure nitrogen (N) application is crucial to develop sound management practices. Traditional methods used for obtaining these measures are expensive, inefficient, or inaccurate. The objective of this study is to develop a method using a passive dosimeter and a semi-open static chamber to provide an economical and simple solution to measure NH 3 loss following nitrogen application. Dosimeter tubes were commercially developed to measure ammonia exposure, providing a time-weighted average. In this study, chicken manure was applied to short grass and the ppm h reading obtained using the dositube ammonia method was calibrated against a reference measure of NH 3 loss (kg N ha −1) using a wind tunnel and acid trap method. A calibration was developed (Estimated Total Loss (kg N ha −1) = (0.217Dw) − (0.034D) + 0.71), which requires the dositube (D, ppm h) to be read every 24 h and placed at a height of 0.15 m in the dositube chamber, with wind speed (w, m s −1) measured at a height of 0.3 m and averaged over the coinciding time period. This calibration may also be applied where dositubes are read every 48 h; however, 24 h periods are recommended to achieve the greatest accuracy.

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“…Including data covering a wider range of measurement techniques, such as static or dynamic chambers or wind tunnels, could widen the geographical coverage -for example, a number of studies based on enclosure or tracer techniques would be available for China (L. Zhang et al, 2018). However, the effects of heterogeneity in the measurement techniques would need to be assessed carefully, since systematic differences (Bouwman et al, 2002;Sintermann et al, 2012;Harper, 2005) have been found between the volatilization losses measured using different techniques.…”

Section: Model Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Volatilization of ammonia (NH 3 ) from livestock wastes and synthetic fertilizers forms a globally significant pathway of nutrient losses in agricultural ecosystems (Bouwman et al, 1997;Beusen et al, 2008;Battye et al, 2017). Once emitted to atmosphere, ammonia contributes to the formation of secondary aerosols with implications for public health and climate (Heald et al, 2012;Paulot et al, 2016). Deposition of ammonia and other reactive nitrogen species onto natural ecosystems has widely documented adverse effects on biodiversity (Duprè et al, 2010;Payne et al, 2017), but also potentially significant effects on ecosystem productivity (Zaehle and Dalmonech, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An improved mechanistic model for ammonia volatilization in Earth system models: Flow of Agricultural Nitrogen version 2 (FANv2)

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Volatilization of ammonia (NH3) from fertilizers and livestock wastes forms a significant pathway of nitrogen losses in agricultural ecosystems and constitutes the largest source of atmospheric emissions of NH3. This paper describes a major update to the process model FAN (Flow of Agricultural Nitrogen), which evaluates NH3 emissions interactively within an Earth system model; in this work, the Community Earth System Model (CESM) is used. The updated version (FANv2) includes a more detailed treatment of both physical and agricultural processes, which allows the model to differentiate between the volatilization losses from animal housings, manure storage, grazed pastures, and the application of manure and different types of mineral fertilizers. The modeled ammonia emissions are first evaluated at a local scale against experimental data for various types of fertilizers and manure, and they are subsequently run globally to evaluate NH3 emissions for 2010–2015 based on gridded datasets of fertilizer use and livestock populations. Comparison of regional emissions shows that FANv2 agrees with previous inventories for North America and Europe and is within the range of previous inventories for China. However, due to higher NH3 emissions in Africa, India, and Latin America, the global emissions simulated by FANv2 (48 Tg N) are 30 %–40 % higher than in the existing inventories.

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Ammonia: Measurement Issues

Cited by 25 publications

References 109 publications

Tall Tower Ammonia Observations and Emission Estimates in the U.S. Midwest

Tall Tower Ammonia Observations and Emission Estimates in the U.S. Midwest

Development of a simple and affordable method of measuring ammonia volatilization from land applied manures

An improved mechanistic model for ammonia volatilization in Earth system models: Flow of Agricultural Nitrogen version 2 (FANv2)

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