Abstract
Ammonia (NH3) whose main source is agriculture is a reactive and alkaline gas pollutant. Apart from eutrophication and acidification, it contributes to the production of secondary inorganic aerosol. Therefore, it has a significant impact on the ecosystem, air quality. Agriculture, especially activities such as livestock management and fertilizer applications, accounts for 70% of global NH3 emissions, and it is one of the main industries in the Dominican Republic. Ground-based NH3 measurements are not regularly available in the Dominican Republic and globally. No study determined NH3 concentrations using ground-based measurements and satellite retrievals in the Dominican Republic. The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal and spatial changes of NH3 via all available measurements to understand the source regions.In this study, MetOp (A,B and C) Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) Level 2 NH3 retrievals are used to investigate the NH3 levels in the Dominican Republic. Spatially processed average NH3 retrievals are calculated for the interval between January 2020 and June 2022. Seasonal spatial distributions indicated highest NH3 levels in the fall season, and larger regions with high NH3 levels in the spring season. High average NH3 levels were observed in the northern Cibao region for all seasons. Monte Cristi, Santiago, Espaillat, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel were the main cities with high NH3 levels.In addition to satellite retrievals, limited ground-level biweekly averaged NH3 measurements along with other air pollutants are available via published reports at seven different locations between August 2020 and June 2022. The highest average NH3 concentrations (≥ 56 ppb) are in the two locations at the capital city, Santo Domingo with high urbanization. The third highest location is in Santiago, where high values ​​are also observed in IASI NH3 retrievals. A location in Barahona (southwestern part) has the lowest average NH3 concentration. The spatio-temporal changes over sampling locations via both measurements are examined. Comparison of satellite retrievals with ground-based measurement is performed and correlations are estimated for seven different locations. In addition, average NH3 levels according to land cover will also be examined for three classes: urban, agricultural and forested areas. The results will provide information for future ground-based measurement studies and incorporate remote sensing measurements in assessment where only limited ground-level measurements are available. The findings of this study can also help to understand the role of NH3 for secondary inorganic aerosol formation.Keywords: Ammonia, remote sensing, the Dominican Republic
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