Significant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36513669.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-35381-4 and PMC identifier 9747788.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Atmospheric ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) and ammonium (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>) can substantially influence air quality, ecosystems, and climate. NH<sub>3</sub> volatilization from fertilizers and wastes (v-NH<sub>3</sub>) has long been assumed to be the primary NH<sub>3</sub> source, but the contribution of combustion-related NH<sub>3</sub> (c-NH<sub>3</sub>, mainly fossil fuels and biomass burning) remains unconstrained. Here, we collated nitrogen isotopes of atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and established a robust method to differentiate v-NH<sub>3</sub> and c-NH<sub>3</sub>. We found that the relative contribution of the c-NH<sub>3</sub> in the total NH<sub>3</sub> emissions reached up to 40 ± 21% (6.6 ± 3.4 Tg N yr<sup>-1</sup>), 49 ± 16% (2.8 ± 0.9 Tg N yr<sup>-1</sup>), and 44 ± 19% (2.8 ± 1.3 Tg N yr<sup>-1</sup>) in East Asia, North America, and Europe, respectively, though its fractions and amounts in these regions generally decreased over the past decades. Given its importance, c-NH<sub>3</sub> emission should be considered in making emission inventories, dispersion modeling, mitigation strategies, budgeting deposition fluxes, and evaluating the ecological effects of atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> loading.
Medical subject headings
- Air Pollutants
- Air Pollution