Characterization of the Winter Midwestern Particulate Nitrate Bulge

Abstract

A previously unobserved multi-state region of elevated particulate nitrate concentration was detected as a result of the expansion of the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) network of remote-area particulate matter (PM) speciation monitoring sites into the midwestern United States that began in 2002. Mean winter ammonium nitrate concentrations exceed 4 μg/m³ in a region centered in Iowa, which makes it responsible for as much as half of the particle light extinction. Before these observations, particulate nitrate in the United States was only observed to be a dominant component of the fine PM (PM_2.5) in parts of California and some urban areas. Comparisons of the spatial patterns of particulate nitrate with spatial patterns of ammonia and nitrogen oxide emissions suggest that the nitrate bulge is the result of the high emissions of ammonia associated with animal agriculture in the Midwest. Nitrate episodes at several locations in the eastern United States are shown to be associated with transport pathways over the Midwest, suggesting long-range transport of either ammonia or ammonium nitrate. Thermodynamic equilibrium modeling conducted by others on data from the Midwest shows the relative importance of atmospheric ammonia and nitric acid in the production of PM_2.5. This is a particular concern as the sulfur dioxide emissions in the United States are reduced, which increases the amount of ammonia available for ammonium nitrate production.