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Industrial and agricultural ammonia point sources exposed

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Van Damme

    (Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Atmospheric Spectroscopy)

  • Lieven Clarisse

    (Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Atmospheric Spectroscopy)

  • Simon Whitburn

    (Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Atmospheric Spectroscopy)

  • Juliette Hadji-Lazaro

    (LATMOS/IPSL, UPMC Université Paris-06, Sorbonne Universités, UVSQ, CNRS)

  • Daniel Hurtmans

    (Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Atmospheric Spectroscopy)

  • Cathy Clerbaux

    (Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Atmospheric Spectroscopy
    LATMOS/IPSL, UPMC Université Paris-06, Sorbonne Universités, UVSQ, CNRS)

  • Pierre-François Coheur

    (Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Atmospheric Spectroscopy)

Abstract

Through its important role in the formation of particulate matter, atmospheric ammonia affects air quality and has implications for human health and life expectancy1,2. Excess ammonia in the environment also contributes to the acidification and eutrophication of ecosystems3–5 and to climate change6. Anthropogenic emissions dominate natural ones and mostly originate from agricultural, domestic and industrial activities7. However, the total ammonia budget and the attribution of emissions to specific sources remain highly uncertain across different spatial scales7–9. Here we identify, categorize and quantify the world’s ammonia emission hotspots using a high-resolution map of atmospheric ammonia obtained from almost a decade of daily IASI satellite observations. We report 248 hotspots with diameters smaller than 50 kilometres, which we associate with either a single point source or a cluster of agricultural and industrial point sources—with the exception of one hotspot, which can be traced back to a natural source. The state-of-the-art EDGAR emission inventory10 mostly agrees with satellite-derived emission fluxes within a factor of three for larger regions. However, it does not adequately represent the majority of point sources that we identified and underestimates the emissions of two-thirds of them by at least one order of magnitude. Industrial emitters in particular are often found to be displaced or missing. Our results suggest that it is necessary to completely revisit the emission inventories of anthropogenic ammonia sources and to account for the rapid evolution of such sources over time. This will lead to better health and environmental impact assessments of atmospheric ammonia and the implementation of suitable nitrogen management strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Van Damme & Lieven Clarisse & Simon Whitburn & Juliette Hadji-Lazaro & Daniel Hurtmans & Cathy Clerbaux & Pierre-François Coheur, 2018. "Industrial and agricultural ammonia point sources exposed," Nature, Nature, vol. 564(7734), pages 99-103, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:564:y:2018:i:7734:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0747-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0747-1
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Zhi-Li Chen & Wei Song & Chao-Chen Hu & Xue-Jun Liu & Guan-Yi Chen & Wendell W. Walters & Greg Michalski & Cong-Qiang Liu & David Fowler & Xue-Yan Liu, 2022. "Significant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Bruno Franco & Lieven Clarisse & Martin Van Damme & Juliette Hadji-Lazaro & Cathy Clerbaux & Pierre-François Coheur, 2022. "Ethylene industrial emitters seen from space," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Rong Ma & Ke Li & Yixin Guo & Bo Zhang & Xueli Zhao & Soeren Linder & ChengHe Guan & Guoqian Chen & Yujie Gan & Jing Meng, 2021. "Mitigation potential of global ammonia emissions and related health impacts in the trade network," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.

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