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

Griffis, Timothy J.; Hu, Cheng; Baker, John M.; Wood, Jeffrey D.; Millet, Dylan B.; Erickson, Mathew; Yu, Zhongjie; Deventer, M. Julian; Winker, Cody; Chen, Zichong

doi:10.1029/2019JG005172

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

Journal Article · 15 November 2019 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005172 · OSTI ID:1579447

^[1];

^[2];

^[3];

^[1]; Erickson, Mathew ^[1];

^[1];

^[4]; Chen, Zichong ^[1]

Department of Soil, Water, and Climate University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
Department of Soil, Water, and Climate University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA, United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service St. Paul MN USA
School of Natural Resources University of Missouri Columbia MO USA
United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service St. Paul MN USA

Abstract 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.

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Cite

Export

Save

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1579447

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 124; ISSN 2169-8953

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (53)

TES ammonia retrieval strategy and global observations of the spatial and seasonal variability of ammonia Shephard, M. W.; Cady-Pereira, K. E.; Luo, M. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 11, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-10743-2011	journal	January 2011
Measurement of bi-directional ammonia fluxes over soybean using the modified Bowen-ratio technique Walker, J. T.; Robarge, W. P.; Wu, Y. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 138, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2006.03.011	journal	August 2006
Direct measurement of biosphere-atmosphere isotopic CO ₂ exchange using the eddy covariance technique Griffis, T. J.; Sargent, S. D.; Baker, J. M. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 113, Issue D8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009297	journal	January 2008
Partitioning N ₂ O emissions within the U.S. Corn Belt using an inverse modeling approach : Partitioning N Chen, Zichong; Griffis, Timothy J.; Millet, Dylan B. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 30, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GB005313	journal	August 2016
Processes of ammonia air–surface exchange in a fertilized Zea mays canopy Walker, J. T.; Jones, M. R.; Bash, J. O. Biogeosciences, Vol. 10, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-981-2013	journal	January 2013
Multiscale analyses of solar-induced florescence and gross primary production: Multiscale GPP-SIF RELATIONS Wood, Jeffrey D.; Griffis, Timothy J.; Baker, John M. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070775	journal	January 2017
Managing nitrogen for sustainable development Zhang, Xin; Davidson, Eric A.; Mauzerall, Denise L. Nature, Vol. 528, Issue 7580 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15743	journal	November 2015
Spatial and temporal patterns of nitrogen isotopic composition of ammonia at U.S. ammonia monitoring network sites Felix, J. David; Elliott, Emily M.; Gay, David A. Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 150 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.11.039	journal	February 2017
Coupled weather research and forecasting–stochastic time-inverted lagrangian transport (WRF–STILT) model Nehrkorn, Thomas; Eluszkiewicz, Janusz; Wofsy, Steven C. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, Vol. 107, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-010-0068-x	journal	May 2010
Ammonia flux measurements above a corn canopy using relaxed eddy accumulation and a flux gradient system Nelson, Andrew J.; Lichiheb, Nebila; Koloutsou-Vakakis, Sotiria Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 264 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.10.003	journal	January 2019
Global distributions, time series and error characterization of atmospheric ammonia (NH ₃ ) from IASI satellite observations Van Damme, M.; Clarisse, L.; Heald, C. L. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 14, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2905-2014	journal	January 2014
Hidden Cost of U.S. Agricultural Exports: Particulate Matter from Ammonia Emissions Paulot, Fabien; Jacob, Daniel J. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1021/es4034793	journal	January 2014
Toward constraining regional-scale fluxes of CO ₂ with atmospheric observations over a continent: 1. Observed spatial variability from airborne platforms : TOWARD REGIONAL-SCALE FLUXES OF CO Gerbig, C.; Lin, J. C.; Wofsy, S. C. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 108, Issue D24 https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD003018	journal	December 2003
Reconciling the differences between top-down and bottom-up estimates of nitrous oxide emissions for the U.S. Corn Belt: N Griffis, T. J.; Lee, X.; Baker, J. M. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 27, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/gbc.20066	journal	August 2013
A tunable diode laser system for ammonia flux measurements over multiple plots Warland, J. S.; Dias, G. M.; Thurtell, G. W. Environmental Pollution, Vol. 114, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(00)00218-9	journal	September 2001
Ammonia emissions from anaerobic waste lagoons at pork production operations: Influence of climate Grant, Richard H.; Boehm, Matthew T.; Heber, Alfred J. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 228-229 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2016.06.018	journal	November 2016
Tall Tower Vertical Profiles and Diurnal Trends of Ammonia in the Colorado Front Range: Tall Tower Vertical Profiles of Ammonia Tevlin, A. G.; Li, Y.; Collett, J. L. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 122, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD026534	journal	November 2017
Ammonia emissions in the United States, European Union, and China derived by high-resolution inversion of ammonium wet deposition data: Interpretation with a new agricultural emissions inventory (MASAGE_NH3) Paulot, F.; Jacob, D. J.; Pinder, R. W. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 119, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD021130	journal	April 2014
Interpreting the ¹³ C  ∕  ¹² C ratio of carbon dioxide in an urban airshed in the Yangtze River Delta, China Xu, Jiaping; Lee, Xuhui; Xiao, Wei Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 17, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3385-2017	journal	January 2017
How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world Erisman, Jan Willem; Sutton, Mark A.; Galloway, James Nature Geoscience, Vol. 1, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo325	journal	September 2008
Influence of C ₄ vegetation on ¹³ CO ₂ discrimination and isoforcing in the upper Midwest, United States : INFLUENCE OF C Griffis, T. J.; Baker, J. M.; Sargent, S. D. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 24, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GB003768	journal	October 2010
Towards validation of ammonia (NH ₃ ) measurements from the IASI satellite Van Damme, M.; Clarisse, L.; Dammers, E. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, Vol. 8, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1575-2015	journal	January 2015
Characterization of Ammonia, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Northeastern Colorado Eilerman, Scott J.; Peischl, Jeff; Neuman, J. Andrew Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 50, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02851	journal	October 2016
Increased atmospheric ammonia over the world's major agricultural areas detected from space: Global Atmospheric NH Warner, J. X.; Dickerson, R. R.; Wei, Z. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072305	journal	March 2017
Modeling of ammonia dry deposition to a pocosin landscape downwind of a large poultry facility Walker, John T.; Robarge, Wayne P.; Austin, Robert Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 185 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.10.029	journal	March 2014
Ammonia emissions from a beef feedlot: Comparison of inverse modeling techniques using long-path and point measurements of fenceline NH3 Shonkwiler, Kira B.; Ham, Jay M. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 258 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.10.031	journal	August 2018
Towards a climate-dependent paradigm of ammonia emission and deposition Sutton, Mark A.; Reis, Stefan; Riddick, Stuart N. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 368, Issue 1621 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0166	journal	July 2013
Estimation of In-Canopy Ammonia Sources and Sinks in a Fertilized Zea mays Field Bash, Jesse O.; Walker, John T.; Katul, Gabriel G. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 44, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1021/es9037269	journal	March 2010
A near-field tool for simulating the upstream influence of atmospheric observations: The Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model Lin, J. C. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 108, Issue D16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD003161	journal	January 2003
Investigating the source, transport, and isotope composition of water vapor in the planetary boundary layer Griffis, Timothy J.; Wood, Jeffrey D.; Baker, John M. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5139-2016	journal	January 2016
Dry deposition of ammonia gas drives species change faster than wet deposition of ammonium ions: evidence from a long-term field manipulation Sheppard, Lucy J.; Leith, Ian D.; Mizunuma, Toshie Global Change Biology, Vol. 17, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02478.x	journal	July 2011
The application of a cavity ring-down spectrometer to measurements of ambient ammonia using traceable primary standard gas mixtures Martin, Nicholas A.; Ferracci, Valerio; Cassidy, Nathan Applied Physics B, Vol. 122, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-016-6486-9	journal	July 2016
Sampling and physico-chemical analysis of precipitation: a review Krupa, Sagar V. Environmental Pollution, Vol. 120, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(02)00165-3	journal	December 2002
Estimating regional greenhouse gas fluxes: an uncertainty analysis of planetary boundary layer techniques and bottom-up inventories Zhang, X.; Lee, X.; Griffis, T. J. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 14, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10705-2014	journal	January 2014
On the fate of anthropogenic nitrogen Schlesinger, W. H. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 106, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0810193105	journal	December 2008
NH4+ toxicity in higher plants: a critical review Britto, Dev T.; Kronzucker, Herbert J. Journal of Plant Physiology, Vol. 159, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1078/0176-1617-0774	journal	January 2002
Effects of atmospheric ammonia on vegetation—A review Fangmeier, Andreas; Hadwiger-Fangmeier, Angelika; Van der Eerden, Ludger Environmental Pollution, Vol. 86, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0269-7491(94)90008-6	journal	January 1994
Ammonia: emission, atmospheric transport and deposition Asman, Willem A. H.; Sutton, Mark A.; Schjorring, Jan K. New Phytologist, Vol. 139, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.1998.00180.x	journal	May 1998
Reactive nitrogen in atmospheric emission inventories Reis, S.; Pinder, R. W.; Zhang, M. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 9, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-7657-2009	journal	January 2009
Exploring global changes in nitrogen and phosphorus cycles in agriculture induced by livestock production over the 1900-2050 period Bouwman, L.; Goldewijk, K. K.; Van Der Hoek, K. W. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 110, Issue 52 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1012878108	journal	May 2011
Ammonia Emissions May Be Substantially Underestimated in China Zhang, Xiuming; Wu, Yiyun; Liu, Xuejun Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 51, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b02171	journal	October 2017
Nitrous oxide emissions are enhanced in a warmer and wetter world Griffis, Timothy J.; Chen, Zichong; Baker, John M. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 45 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704552114	journal	October 2017
A two-layer canopy compensation point model for describing bi-directional biosphere-atmosphere exchange of ammonia Nemitz, Eiko; Milford, Celia; Sutton, Mark A. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 127, Issue 573 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49712757306	journal	April 2001
Source Partitioning of Methane Emissions and its Seasonality in the U.S. Midwest Chen, Zichong; Griffis, Timothy J.; Baker, John M. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 123, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JG004356	journal	February 2018
Heterogeneity of atmospheric ammonia at the landscape scale and consequences for environmental impact assessment Vogt, Esther; Dragosits, Ulrike; Braban, Christine F. Environmental Pollution, Vol. 179 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.04.014	journal	August 2013
A simple, accurate, field-portable mixing ratio generator and Rayleigh distillation device Baker, John M.; Griffis, Timothy J. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 150, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2010.08.008	journal	December 2010
Measuring fluxes of trace gases at regional scales by Lagrangian observations: Application to the CO ₂ Budget and Rectification Airborne (COBRA) study Lin, J. C. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 109, Issue D15 https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004754	journal	January 2004
Impacts of human alteration of the nitrogen cycle in the US on radiative forcing Pinder, Robert W.; Bettez, Neil D.; Bonan, Gordon B. Biogeochemistry, Vol. 114, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9787-z	journal	September 2012
Survey of nitrogen fertilizer use on corn in Minnesota Bierman, Peter M.; Rosen, Carl J.; Venterea, Rodney T. Agricultural Systems, Vol. 109 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2012.02.004	journal	June 2012
Evaluation of a regional air-quality model with bidirectional NH ₃ exchange coupled to an agroecosystem model Bash, J. O.; Cooter, E. J.; Dennis, R. L. Biogeosciences, Vol. 10, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1635-2013	journal	January 2013
Bi-directional air-surface exchange of atmospheric ammonia: A review of measurements and a development of a big-leaf model for applications in regional-scale air-quality models Zhang, L.; Wright, L. P.; Asman, W. A. H. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, Issue D20 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013589	journal	January 2010
A coupled dispersion and exchange model for short-range dry deposition of atmospheric ammonia Loubet, Benjamin; Cellier, Pierre; Milford, Celia Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 132, Issue 618 https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.05.73	journal	July 2006
The hidden cost of using low-resolution concentration data in the estimation of NH3 dry deposition fluxes Schrader, Frederik; Schaap, Martijn; Zöll, Undine Scientific Reports, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-18021-6	journal	January 2018

Similar Records

A Multiyear Constraint on Ammonia Emissions and Deposition Within the US Corn Belt

Journal Article · 2021 · Geophysical Research Letters · OSTI ID:1779944

Hu, Cheng; Griffis, Timothy J.; Frie, Alexander; +6 more

Process-based modeling of soil nitrous oxide emissions from United States corn fields under different management and climate scenarios coupled with evaluation using regional estimates

Journal Article · 2022 · Frontiers in Environmental Science · OSTI ID:1885086

Xia, Yushu; Wander, Michelle M.; Quiring, Steven M.; +2 more

Seasonal distribution of nitrous oxide emissions from soils in the Parkland region

Journal Article · 1998 · Soil Science Society of America Journal · OSTI ID:290170

Lemke, R L; Izaurralde, R C; Nyborg, M

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

Citation Formats

References (53)

Similar Records

Related Subjects