Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-641
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-641
05 Apr 2023
 | 05 Apr 2023

Decreasing trends of ammonia emissions over Europe seen from remote sensing and inverse modelling

Ondřej Tichý, Sabine Eckhardt, Yves Balkanski, Didier Hauglustaine, and Nikolaos Evangeliou

Abstract. Ammonia (NH3), a significant precursor of particulate matter, is the most important alkaline gas in the atmosphere and directly affects biodiversity, ecosystems, soil acidification. It also indirectly affects climate and human health. In addition, its concentrations are constantly rising because of the increasing feeding needs of the global population accompanied by a larger use of fertilizers and animal farming. The combination of its increasing atmospheric levels with its environmental and human impact has led many countries to adopt abatement strategies in order to conform with respective regulations. While the significance of ammonia is pronounced, its emissions are often associated with large uncertainties, while its atmospheric abundance is difficult to measure. However, during the last decade, several satellite products have been developed that measure ammonia very effectively, with low uncertainty, and most importantly, with a global coverage. Here, we use satellite observations of column ammonia in combination with an inversion algorithm to derive ammonia emissions with a high resolution over Europe for the period 2013–2020.

Ammonia emissions peak in Northern Europe due to agricultural application and livestock management and the local maxima are found over Western Europe (industrial activity) and over Spain (pig farming). Our calculations show that these emissions have decreased by −26 % since 2013 (from 5431 Gg in 2013 to 3994 Gg in 2020) showing that the abatement strategies adopted by the European Union have been very efficient. The slight increase (+4.4 %) reported in 2015 is also reproduced here and is attributed to some European countries exceeding annual emission targets. Ammonia emissions are low in winter (286 Gg) and peak in summer (563 Gg) and are dominated by the temperature dependent volatilization of ammonia from the soil. The largest emission decreases were observed in Central and Eastern Europe (−38 %) and in Western Europe (−37 %), while smaller decreases were recorded in Northern (−17 %) and Southern Europe (−7.6 %). Our results are associated with relatively low uncertainties reaching a maximum of 42 %; when complemented against independent ground-based observations, modelled concentrations using the posterior emissions showed improved statistics, also following the observed seasonal trends. The posterior emissions presented here also agree well with respective estimates reported in the literature and inferred from different methodologies. These results indicate that the posterior emissions of ammonia calculated with satellite measurements and combined with our adapted inverse modelling framework constitute a robust basis for European NH3 estimates and show the de facto evolution of ammonia emissions since 2013.

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

14 Dec 2023
Decreasing trends of ammonia emissions over Europe seen from remote sensing and inverse modelling
Ondřej Tichý, Sabine Eckhardt, Yves Balkanski, Didier Hauglustaine, and Nikolaos Evangeliou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15235–15252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15235-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15235-2023, 2023
Short summary

Ondřej Tichý et al.

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-641', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 May 2023
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC1', Nikolaos Evangeliou, 23 Jun 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-641', Anonymous Referee #2, 11 May 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Nikolaos Evangeliou, 23 Jun 2023
  • AC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-641', Nikolaos Evangeliou, 23 Jun 2023

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-641', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 May 2023
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC1', Nikolaos Evangeliou, 23 Jun 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-641', Anonymous Referee #2, 11 May 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Nikolaos Evangeliou, 23 Jun 2023
  • AC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-641', Nikolaos Evangeliou, 23 Jun 2023

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Nikolaos Evangeliou on behalf of the Authors (23 Jun 2023)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (27 Jun 2023) by Leiming Zhang
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (11 Jul 2023)
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (16 Jul 2023)
ED: Reconsider after major revisions (17 Jul 2023) by Leiming Zhang
AR by Nikolaos Evangeliou on behalf of the Authors (25 Sep 2023)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (26 Sep 2023) by Leiming Zhang
ED: Publish as is (16 Oct 2023) by Leiming Zhang
AR by Nikolaos Evangeliou on behalf of the Authors (26 Oct 2023)  Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

14 Dec 2023
Decreasing trends of ammonia emissions over Europe seen from remote sensing and inverse modelling
Ondřej Tichý, Sabine Eckhardt, Yves Balkanski, Didier Hauglustaine, and Nikolaos Evangeliou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15235–15252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15235-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15235-2023, 2023
Short summary

Ondřej Tichý et al.

Data sets

Decreasing trends of ammonia emissions over Europe seen from remote sensing and inverse modelling Ondřej Tichý, Sabine Eckhardt, Yves Balkanski, Didier Hauglustaine, and Nikolaos Evangeliou https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7646462

Ondřej Tichý et al.

Viewed

Total article views: 605 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total Supplement BibTeX EndNote
386 195 24 605 48 11 8
  • HTML: 386
  • PDF: 195
  • XML: 24
  • Total: 605
  • Supplement: 48
  • BibTeX: 11
  • EndNote: 8
Views and downloads (calculated since 05 Apr 2023)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 05 Apr 2023)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 569 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 569 with geography defined and 0 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 

Cited

Latest update: 11 Jan 2024
Download

The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Short summary
We show declining trends in NH3 emissions over Europe for 2013–2020 period using advance dispersion and inverse modelling and satellite measurements from CrIS. Emissions decreased by −26 % since 2013 showing that the abatement strategies adopted by the European Union have been very efficient. Ammonia emissions are low in winter and peak in summer due to temperature dependent soil volatilization. The largest decreases were observed in Central and Western Europe in countries with high emissions