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Establishing the Link between Ammonia Emission Control and Measurements of Reduced Nitrogen Concentrations and Deposition

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Abstract

In the context of international efforts to reduce the impactsof atmospheric NH3 and NH4 + (collectively, NHx), it is important to establish the link between NH3emissions and monitoring of NHx concentrations and deposition. This is equally relevant to situations where NH3emissions changes are certain (e.g. due to changed source sectoractivity), as to cases where NH3 abatement technologies havebeen implemented. Correct interpretation of adequate atmosphericmeasurements is essential, since monitoring data provide the onlymeans to evaluate trends in regional NH3 emissions.These issues have been reviewed using available measurements and modelling from nine countries. In addition to historic datasets,the analysis here considers countries where NH3 source sector activity changed (both increases and decreases) and countries where NH3 abatement policies have been implemented.In The Netherlands an `ammonia gap' was identified between the expected reduction and results of monitoring, and was attributedinitially to ineffectiveness of the abatement measures. The analysis here for a range of countries shows that atmospheric interactions complicate the expected changes, particularly sinceSO2 emissions have decreased at the same time, while at manysites the few years of available data show substantial inter-annual variation. It is concluded that networks need to beestablished that speciate between NH3 and aerosol NH4 +, in addition to providing wet deposition, and sample at sufficient sites for robust regional estimates to be established. Such measurements will be essential to monitor compliance of the international agreements on NH3 emission abatement.

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Author notes

  1. Willem A. H. Asman

    Present address: Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Centre Foulum, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830, Tjele, Denmark

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Edinburgh Research Station, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Scotland, U.K.

    Mark A. Sutton & Y. Sim Tang

  2. National Environmental Research Institute, Roskilde, Denmark

    Willem A. H. Asman & Thomas Ellermann

  3. Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Centre Foulum, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830, Tjele, Denmark

    J. A. Van Jaarsveld

  4. Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany

    Karin Acker

  5. Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A

    Viney Aneja

  6. TNO Institute of Environmental Sciences, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands

    Jan Duyzer

  7. Hungarian Meteorological Service, Budapest, Hungary

    Laszlo Horvath

  8. Institute for Global Climate and Ecology, Moscow, Russia

    Sergey Paramonov

  9. Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Marta Mitosinkova

  10. Forest and Landscape (SAEFL), Air Pollution Control Division, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Berne, Switzerland

    Beat Achermann

  11. Institut für Navigation, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Thomas Gauger

  12. Norwegian Meteorological Institute (DNMI), Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Jerzy Bartniki

  13. Swiss Federal Research Station of Agroecology and Agriculture (FAL), Bern-Liebefeld, Switzerland

    Albrecht Neftel

  14. Energie Centrum Nederland (ECN), Petten, The Netherlands

    Jan Willem Erisman

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  1. Mark A. Sutton
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Sutton, M.A., Asman, W.A.H., Ellermann, T. et al. Establishing the Link between Ammonia Emission Control and Measurements of Reduced Nitrogen Concentrations and Deposition. Environ Monit Assess 82, 149–185 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021834132138

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