Industrial and agricultural ammonia point sources exposed

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12 December 2018

A high-resolution map (~1km²) of the global atmospheric distribution of ammonia was generated combining almost a decade of IASI measurements (Van Damme et al., 2018). From it, they identify, categorize and quantify over 200 hotspots that could be traced back to either a single or a cluster of agricultural and industrial point sources. One natural hotspot was also determined. This research has shown that emissions from such sources were drastically underestimated in the current bottom-up inventories, with 2/3 of the identified point sources completely absent. The IASI measurements also allows observing changes in human activities. Opening and closure of industrial sites were identified in Eastern Europe and China, as well as agriculture in transition in South America.

Interactive ammonia worldmap available at: http://www.ulb.ac.be/cpm/NH3-IASI.html

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