Publications (3)1.66 Total impact
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Article: Ammonia emission and deposition in Scotland and its potential environmental impacts.
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ABSTRACT: The main source of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) in Scotland is livestock agriculture, which accounts for 85% of emissions. The local magnitude of emissions therefore depends on livestock density, type, and management, with major differences occurring in various parts of Scotland. Local differences in agricultural activities therefore result in a wide range of NH3 emissions, ranging from less than 0.2 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) in remote areas of the Scottish Highlands to over 100 kg N ha(-1) year-1 in areas with intensive poultry farming. Scotland can be divided loosely into upland and lowland areas, with NH3 emission being less than and more than 5 kg N ha(-1) year(-1), respectively. Many semi-natural ecosystems in Scotland are vulnerable to nitrogen deposition, including bogs, moorlands, and the woodland ground flora. Because NH3 emissions occur in the rural environment, the local deposition to sensitive ecosystems may be large, making it essential to assess the spatial distribution of NH3 emissions and deposition. A spatial model is applied here to map NH3 emissions and these estimates are applied in atmospheric dispersion and deposition models to estimate atmospheric concentrations of NH3 and NH4+, dry deposition of NH3, and wet deposition of NHx. Although there is a high level of local variability, modelled NH3 concentrations show good agreement with the National Ammonia Monitoring Network, while wet deposition is largest at high altitude sites in the south and west of Scotland. Comparison of the modelled NHx deposition fields with estimated thresholds for environmental effects ("critical loads") shows that thresholds are exceeded across most of lowland Scotland and the Southern Uplands. Only in the cleanest parts of the north and west is nitrogen deposition not a cause for concern. Given that the most intense effects occur within a few kilometres of sources, it is suggested that local spatial abatement policies would be a useful complement to traditional policies that mitigate environmental effects based on emission reduction technologies.TheScientificWorldJOURNAL 10/2004; 4:795-810. · 1.66 Impact Factor -
Article: Ammonia emission and deposition in Scotland and its potential environmental impacts
Research Article TheScientificWorldJOURNAL. 01/2004; 4. -
Article: A model of annual orographic precipitation and acid deposition and its application to Snowdonia
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ABSTRACT: A model of orographic rainfall has been used to estimate annual precipitation and acid wet deposition at a 1 km resolution for the Snowdonia mountains in North Wales. Comparison with measurements and existing rainfall maps of the UK showed that this approach was successful in reproducing the high annual precipitation peaks of up to 4000 mm annually that occur in this area. At 13 out of the 17 measurement sites, the modelled annual precipitation differed from long-term annual average measurements by no more than 25%. The process model was compared with a procedure used to map wet deposition of pollutants across the United Kingdom at a 5 km resolution. Significant differences between the two deposition data sets were apparent. With the mapping procedure, maximum wet deposition was correlated to areas of high precipitation in the northeast of the domain. With the process model, however, maximum deposition was observed over the smaller hills in the southwest of the domain, the first orographic barrier reached by the air mass in south-westerly flow. High exceedances of critical loads for acidic deposition to soils were calculated using the mapping procedure and found to be due to the high annual precipitation in Snowdonia. The seeder–feeder model represents a useful tool, which could be used for estimating annual wet deposition of pollutants and exceedance of critical loads in hill areas at a much finer resolution than the national transport models and deposition mapping routines that are commonly employed in the United Kingdom.Atmospheric Environment.
