Abstract
Agricultural activities are the principal sources of ammonia (NH3) emitted into the atmosphere. High ammonia deposition flux may impact sensitive ecosystems. Regional models of NH3 dispersion, transport and deposition may under- or overestimate NH3 fluxes. We compared NH3 dry deposition fluxes simulated with local and regional models on different theoretical scenarios characterised by varying the values of several input factors: grid cell sizes, characteristics of the NH3 sources such as location and emission rate, characteristics such as canopy resistance (Rc) or roughness length (z0) at the NH3 sinks, and meteorological conditions such as wind speed and direction. Our results showed that, for a given grid cell size, both models provide similar predictions of average NH3 concentration and dry deposition flux over the whole simulation domain. A sensitivity analysis of NH3 concentration and dry deposition flux to wind speed and to surface resistance also showed a similar behaviour between both models. However, the differences of model formalism and changes in the values of the input factors, especially grid cell size and vertical resolution, provide different spatial patterns of NH3 dry deposition flux and concentration. Our results would suggest that regional models operating with large grid cell sizes (e.g. larger than 1 km) could not predict accurately patterns of NH3 dry deposition fluxes close to the sources (e.g. a few tens or hundreds of metres) on heterogeneous landscapes in terms of NH3 fluxes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asman WAH, van Jaarsveld HA (1992) A variable-resolution transport model applied for NHx in Europe. Atmos Environ 26:445–464
Asman WAH, Pinksterboer EF, Maas HFM, Erisman JW, Waijersypelaan A, Slanina J, Horst TW (1989) Gradients of the ammonia concentration in a nature reserve: model results and measurements. Atmos Environ 23:2259–2265
Asman WAH, Sutton MA, Schjørring JK (1998) Ammonia: emission, atmospheric transport and deposition. New Phytol 139:27–48
Bobbink R, Hicks K, Galloway J, Spranger T, Alkemade R, Ashmore M, Bustamante M, Cinderby S, Davidson E, Dentener F, Emmett B, Erisman JW, Fenn M, Gilliam F, Nordin A, Pardo L, De Vries W (2010) Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: a synthesis. Ecol Appl 20:30–59
De Pue D, Roet D, Lefebvre W, Buysse J (2017) Mapping impact indicators to link airborne ammonia emissions with nitrogen deposition in Natura 2000 sites. Atmos Environ 166:120–129
Dore AJ, Carslaw DC, Braban C, Cain M, Chemel C, Conolly C, Derwent RG, Griffiths SJ, Hall J, Hayman G, Lawrence S, Metcalfe SE, Redington A, Simpson D, Sutton MA, Sutton P, Tang YS, Vieno M, Werner M, Whyatt JD (2015) Evaluation of the performance of different atmospheric chemical transport models and inter-comparison of nitrogen and Sulphur deposition estimates for the UK. Atmos Environ 119:131–143
Dragosits U, Theobald MR, Place CJ, Lord E, Webb J, Hill J, ApSimon HM, Sutton MA (2002) Ammonia emission, deposition and impact assessment at the field scale: a case study of sub-grid spatial variability. Environ Pollut 117:147–158
Erisman JW, Vermetten AWM, Pinksterboer EF, Asman WAH, Waijers-Ypelaan A, Slanina J (1987) Atmospheric ammonia: distribution, equilibrium with aerosols and conversion rate to ammonium. In: Ammonia and acidification. RIVM/TNO, Bilthoven, pp 59–72
Geels C, Andersen HV, Ambelas Skjøth C, Christensen JH, Ellermann T, Løfstrøm P, Gyldenkærne S, Brandt J, Hansen KM, Frohn LM, Hertel O (2012) Improved modelling of atmospheric ammonia over Denmark using the coupled modelling system DAMOS. Biogeosciences 9:2625–2647
Jones L, Nizam MS, Reynolds B, Bareham S, Oxley ERB (2013) Upwind impacts of ammonia from an intensive poultry unit. Environ Pollut 180:221–228
Loubet B, Milford C, Sutton MA, Cellier P (2001) Investigation of the interaction between sources and sinks of atmospheric ammonia in an upland landscape using a simplified dispersion-exchange model. J Geophys Res Atmos 106:24183–24195
Loubet B, Asman WAH, Theobald MR, Hertel O, Tang YS, Robin P, Hassouna M, Daemmgen U, Génermont S, Cellier P, Sutton MA (2009) Ammonia deposition near hot spots: processes, models and monitoring methods. In: Atmos Ammonia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 205–267
McGinn SM, Janzen HH, Coates TW, Beauchemin KA, Flesch TK (2016) Ammonia emission from a beef cattle feedlot and its local dry deposition and re-emission. J Environ Qual 45:1178–1185
Menut L, Bessagnet B, Khvorostyanov D, Beekmann M, Blond N, Colette A, Coll I, Curci G, Foret G, Hodzic A, Mailler S, Meleux F, Monge JL, Pison I, Siour G, Turquety S, Valari M, Vautard R, Vivanco MG (2013) CHIMERE 2013: a model for regional atmospheric composition modelling. Geosci Model Dev 6:981–1028
Peduzzi E, Pisoni E, Clappier A, Thunis P (2018) Multi-level policies for air quality: implications of national and sub-national emission reductions on population exposure. Air Qual Atmos Health 11:1121–1135
Pitcairn CE, Leith ID, van Dijk N, Sheppard LJ, Sutton MA, Fowler D (2009) The application of transects to assess the effects of ammonia on woodland groundflora. In: Atmos Ammonia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 59–69
Sauter F, van Jaarsveld JA, Van Zanten M, van der Swaluw E, Aben J, de Leeuw F (2015) The OPS-model. Description of OPS 4.4.4. RIVM Report. National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven
Shen J, Chen D, Bai M, Sun J, Coates T, Lam SK, Li Y (2016) Ammonia deposition in the neighbourhood of an intensive cattle feedlot in Victoria, Australia. Sci Rep 6:32793
Skamarock W, Klemp J, Dudhia J, Gill D, Barker D, Wang W, Powers J (2007) A description of the advanced research WRF version 2. NCAR Technical Note, Boulder
Sutton MA, Milford C, Dragosits U, Place CJ, Singles RJ, Smith RI, Pitcairn CER, Fowler D, Hill J, ApSimon HM, Ross C, Hill R, Jarvis SC, Pain BF, Phillips VC, Harrison R, Moss D, Webb J, Espenhahn SE, Lee DS, Hornung M, Ullyett J, Bull KR, Emmett BA, Lowe J, Wyers GP (1998) Dispersion, deposition and impacts of atmospheric ammonia: quantifying local budgets and spatial variability. Environ Pollut 102:349–361
Theobald MR, Løfstrøm P, Walker J, Andersen HV, Pedersen P, Vallejo A, Sutton MA (2012) An intercomparison of models used to simulate the short-range atmospheric dispersion of agricultural ammonia emissions. Environ Model Softw 37:90–102
Theobald MR, Simpson D, Vieno M (2016) Improving the spatial resolution of air-quality modelling at a European scale - development and evaluation of the air quality re-gridder model (AQR v1.1). Geosci Model Dev 9:4475–4489
Thunis P, Degraeuwe B, Pisoni E, Meleux F (2017) Analyzing the efficiency of short-term air quality plans in European cities, using the CHIMERE air quality model. Air Qual Atmos Health 10:235–248
Valari M, Menut L (2010) Transferring the heterogeneity of surface emissions to variability in pollutant concentrations over urban areas through a chemistry transport model. Atmos Environ 44:3229–3238
van der Swaluw E, de Vries W, Sauter F, Aben J, Velders G, van Pul A (2017) High-resolution modelling of air pollution and deposition over the Netherlands with plume, grid and hybrid modelling. Atmos Environ 155:140–153
van Jaarsveld JA (2004) The operational priority substances model. Description and validation of OPS-Pro 4.1. RIVM-report 500045001. RIVM, Bilthoven
van Pul WAJ, van Jaarsveld JA, Vellinga OS, van den Broek M, Smits MCJ (2008) The VELD experiment: an evaluation of the ammonia emissions and concentrations in an agricultural area. Atmos Environ 42:8086–8095
Vivanco MG, Bessagnet B, Cuvelier C, Theobald MR, Tsyro S, Pirovano G, Aulinger A, Bieser J, Calori G, Ciarelli G, Manders A, Mircea M, Aksoyoglu S, Briganti G, Cappelletti A, Colette A, Couvidat F, D'Insidoro M, Kranenburg R, Meleux F, Menut L, Pay MT, Rouïl L, Silibello C, Thunis P, Ung A (2017) Joint analysis of deposition fluxes and atmospheric concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and sulphur compounds predicted by six chemistry transport models in the frame of the EURODELTAIII project. Atmos Environ 151:152–175
Wichink Kruit RJ, Aben J, de Vries W, Sauter F, van der Swaluw E, van Zanten MC, van Pul WAJ (2017) Modelling trends in ammonia in the Netherlands over the 1990-2014. Atmos Environ 154:20–30
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge L. Menut, C. Flechard and N. Flipo for useful comments on the design of the research and on results. We also thank F.J. Sauter, O. Maury and M.R. Theobald for their help in programming support, model coding and data formatting.
Funding
This work was supported by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (Environment and Agronomy Division), the EU ECLAIRE project (grant no. FP7-Environment 282910), and the French Research Agency (ANR), ESCAPADE project (ANR-12-AGRO-0003).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(PDF 675 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Azouz, N., Drouet, JL., Beekmann, M. et al. Comparison of spatial patterns of ammonia concentration and dry deposition flux between a regional Eulerian chemistry-transport model and a local Gaussian plume model. Air Qual Atmos Health 12, 719–729 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-019-00691-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-019-00691-y