Estimation of the net air-sea flux of ammonia over the southern bight of the North Sea
Measurements of airborne gaseous ammonia and total dissolved ammonium in sea water determined on cruises on the North Sea have been used to calculate net fluxes of ammonia between air and sea. The system is finely balanced with the majority of net fluxes from air to sea, but some periods occur when...
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Published in | Atmospheric environment (1994) Vol. 28; no. 22; pp. 3647 - 3654 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford
Elsevier Ltd
01.12.1994
Elsevier Science |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Measurements of airborne gaseous ammonia and total dissolved ammonium in sea water determined on cruises on the North Sea have been used to calculate net fluxes of ammonia between air and sea. The system is finely balanced with the majority of net fluxes from air to sea, but some periods occur when the sea becomes a net source of ammonia in air. Examination of the field data suggests that the main factor determining the direction of flux is the airborne ammonia concentration, which when elevated causes ammonia deposition to the sea. It is calculated that ammonia deposition to the southern bight of the North Sea (below 56°N) amounts to 7.6 x 103 tonnes N per year, about one-half of an earlier upper limit estimate. Comparison with studies from the Pacific Ocean, in which the sea acts as a source of atmospheric ammonia, reveals that the major differences arise from much higher concentrations of airborne ammonia in the North Sea atmosphere caused by advection from adjacent land. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 1352-2310 1873-2844 |
DOI: | 10.1016/1352-2310(94)00192-N |