Articles | Volume 22, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13431-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13431-2022
Research article
 | 
18 Oct 2022
Research article |  | 18 Oct 2022

Quantifying the importance of vehicle ammonia emissions in an urban area of northeastern USA utilizing nitrogen isotopes

Wendell W. Walters, Madeline Karod, Emma Willcocks, Bok H. Baek, Danielle E. Blum, and Meredith G. Hastings

Related authors

Incorporating Oxygen Isotopes of Oxidized Reactive Nitrogen in the Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism, Version 2 (ICOIN-RACM2)
Wendell W. Walters, Masayuki Takeuchi, Nga L. Ng, and Meredith G. Hastings
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2293,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2293, 2023
Short summary
Nitrate chemistry in the northeast US – Part 1: Nitrogen isotope seasonality tracks nitrate formation chemistry
Claire Bekker, Wendell W. Walters, Lee T. Murray, and Meredith G. Hastings
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4185–4201, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4185-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4185-2023, 2023
Short summary
Nitrate chemistry in the northeast US – Part 2: Oxygen isotopes reveal differences in particulate and gas-phase formation
Heejeong Kim, Wendell W. Walters, Claire Bekker, Lee T. Murray, and Meredith G. Hastings
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4203–4219, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4203-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4203-2023, 2023
Short summary
Isotopic evidence for dominant secondary production of HONO in near-ground wildfire plumes
Jiajue Chai, Jack E. Dibb, Bruce E. Anderson, Claire Bekker, Danielle E. Blum, Eric Heim, Carolyn E. Jordan, Emily E. Joyce, Jackson H. Kaspari, Hannah Munro, Wendell W. Walters, and Meredith G. Hastings
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13077–13098, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13077-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13077-2021, 2021
Short summary
iNRACM: incorporating 15N into the Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) for assessing the role photochemistry plays in controlling the isotopic composition of NOx, NOy, and atmospheric nitrate
Huan Fang, Wendell W. Walters, David Mase, and Greg Michalski
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5001–5022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5001-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5001-2021, 2021
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Individual coal mine methane emissions constrained by eddy covariance measurements: low bias and missing sources
Kai Qin, Wei Hu, Qin He, Fan Lu, and Jason Blake Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3009–3028, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3009-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3009-2024, 2024
Short summary
Measurement report: Observations of ground-level ozone concentration gradients perpendicular to the Lake Ontario shoreline
Yao Yan Huang and D. James Donaldson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2387–2398, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2387-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2387-2024, 2024
Short summary
Measurement report: The Palau Atmospheric Observatory and its ozonesonde record – continuous monitoring of tropospheric composition and dynamics in the tropical western Pacific
Katrin Müller, Jordis S. Tradowsky, Peter von der Gathen, Christoph Ritter, Sharon Patris, Justus Notholt, and Markus Rex
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2169–2193, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2169-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2169-2024, 2024
Short summary
Quantifying SO2 oxidation pathways to atmospheric sulfate using stable sulfur and oxygen isotopes: laboratory simulation and field observation
Ziyan Guo, Keding Lu, Pengxiang Qiu, Mingyi Xu, and Zhaobing Guo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2195–2205, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2195-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2195-2024, 2024
Short summary
Influences of downward transport and photochemistry on surface ozone over East Antarctica during austral summer: in situ observations and model simulations
Imran A. Girach, Narendra Ojha, Prabha R. Nair, Kandula V. Subrahmanyam, Neelakantan Koushik, Mohammed M. Nazeer, Nadimpally Kiran Kumar, Surendran Nair Suresh Babu, Jos Lelieveld, and Andrea Pozzer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1979–1995, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1979-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1979-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Ampollini, L., Katz, E. F., Bourne, S., Tian, Y., Novoselac, A., Goldstein, A. H., Lucic, G., Waring, M. S., and DeCarlo, P. F.: Observations and Contributions of Real-Time Indoor Ammonia Concentrations during HOMEChem, Environ. Sci. Technol., 53, 8591–8598, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b02157, 2019. 
Ashbaugh, L. L. and Eldred, R. A.: Loss of particle nitrate from teflon sampling filters: effects on measured gravimetric mass in California and in the IMPROVE network, J. Air Waste Manage., 54, 93–104, https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.2004.10470878, 2004. 
Baek, B. H. and Seppanen, C.: CEMPD/SMOKE: SMOKE v4.8.1 Public Release (January 29, 2021), Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4480334, 2021. 
Begum, B. A., Kim, E., Jeong, C.-H., Lee, D.-W., and Hopke, P. K.: Evaluation of the potential source contribution function using the 2002 Quebec forest fire episode, Atmos. Environ., 39, 3719–3724, 2005. 
Behera, S. N. and Sharma, M.: Investigating the potential role of ammonia in ion chemistry of fine particulate matter formation for an urban environment, Sci. Total Environ., 408, 3569–3575, 2010. 
Download
Short summary
Atmospheric ammonia and its products are a significant source of urban haze and nitrogen deposition. We have investigated the seasonal source contributions to a mid-sized city in the northeastern US megalopolis utilizing geospatial statistical analysis and novel isotopic constraints, which indicate that vehicle emissions were significant components of the urban-reduced nitrogen budget. Reducing vehicle ammonia emissions should be considered to improve ecosystems and human health.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint