The Nadp Ammonia Monitoring Network (NADP/AMoN): A Simple Approach to Atmospheric Ammonia Monitoring.

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) established the Ammonia Monitoring Network (AMoN) in 2010 as its fifth network. AMoN’s goal is to measure atmospheric ammonia concentrations to estimate dry deposition over North America. The network uses a low-cost, passive diffusion-type sampler, with observations made over a two-week period. This provides an integrated and quality-assured measurement of ammonia in the air. As of May 2012, the AMoN is operating 54 sites.

Ammonia is emitted by many sources, including very important agricultural sources of fertilizer application and meat production. NADP’S AMoN can provide useful information to the agricultural community to assess the fate and transport of ammonia in the atmosphere.  All AMoN data are freely available (http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/amon/). This presentation provides a basic introduction to AMoN operations, and a statistical evaluation of the spatial and temporal trends in ammonia concentrations. Variability is substantial across the sites and the seasons, and are consistent with trends in nitrogen wet deposition reported by the NADP’s other monitoring networks.