"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."- Industrial and Agricultural Ammonia Point Sources Exposed

Sources of Ammonia

Agriculture

"Our ability to grow crops depends on nitrogen, which is a critical plant nutrient. But in overabundance, nitrogen can spell trouble. Nitrogen in animal waste and in excess fertilizer can turn into gaseous ammonia. In fact, in the U.S. and Canada, agriculture accounts for more than three-fourths of all ammonia emissions."  - ensia

According to Teagasc "The majority of emissions from agriculture come from livestock: Manure management, housing, and storage produce 48%, manure spreading is responsible, for 30%, grazing 12%, and synthetic fertilizer 10%.

99% of ammonia in Ireland comes from agriculture."

Road Emissions 

Solutions

Listed approximately from greatest to least impact:

• Reduce consumption and production of livestock products. - nature

• Reduce consumption and industrial production.

• Avoid using livestock manure on fields.

• Reduce on-road emissions.

• "Protected urea is a fertiliser formulation that reduces ammonia emissions by over 70%, it is also cost effective and has been proven equally as effective to grow grass as other nitrogen fertilisers. Low emission slurry spreading like the trailing shoe has been proven to cut ammonia losses by half while also improving nutrient use of the slurry. These technologies need to be adopted by farmers and become mainstream if we are to meet our ammonia reduction targets." - Teagasc

Resources

International

• DeSmog’s Agribusiness Database "find a record of companies and organisations’ current messaging on climate change, lobbying around climate action, and histories of climate science denial."

• DeSmog’s Climate Disinformation Database "browse our extensive research on the individuals and organizations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming."

Europe

UK

• DeSmog’s Air Pollution Lobbying Database "find out about organisations opposing or seeking to weaken planned air quality measures in the UK’s most polluted cities, including Clean Air Zones and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone."

North America

USA

• DeSmog’s Koch Network Database "browse our extensive research on the individuals and organizations linked to Charles Koch or other members of the Koch family, Koch Industries, and related entities."

Maps

International

• Ammonia Measurements from Space with the Cross-Track Infrared Sounder: Characteristics and Applications (article with graphs and maps)

• Satellites Make Mapping Hot Spots of Ammonia Pollution Easier "Animal feedlots and other sources of the gas can lower air quality"

Grants

International

• Open Philanthropy "Open Philanthropy’s mission is to give as effectively as we can and share our findings openly so that anyone can build on our work."

North America

USA

• The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program "provides $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants."

California

• California Air Districts "California's 35 local Air Districts are responsible for regional air quality planning, monitoring, and stationary source and facility permitting. The districts administer air quality improvement grant programs and are CARB's primary partners in efforts to ensure that all Californians breathe clean air."