Study on concentration of ambient NH 3 and interactions with some other ambient trace gases

Abstract

We present diurnal variation of ambient ammonia (NH(3)) in relation with other trace gases (O(3), CO, NO, NO(2), and SO(2)) and meteorological parameters at an urban site of Delhi during winter period. For the first time, ambient ammonia (NH(3)) was monitored very precisely and continuously using ammonia analyzer, which operates on chemiluminescence method. NH(3) estimation efficiency of the chemiluminescence method (>90%) is much higher than the conventional chemical trapping method (reproducibility 4.5%). Ambient NH(3) concentration reaches its maxima (46.17 ppb) at night and minimum during midday. Result reveals that the ambient ammonia (NH(3)) concentration is positively correlated with ambient NO (r(2) = 0.79) and NO(2) (r (2) = 0.91) mixing ratio and negatively correlated with ambient temperature (r(2) = - 0.32). Wind direction and wind speed indicates that the nearby (approximately 500 m NW) agricultural fields may be major source of ambient NH(3) at the observational site.