title: Characterization of atmospheric ammonia emissions from a commercial chicken house on the Delmarva Peninsula.
abstract: A three-dimensional sampling grid using passive collectors was used to characterize the downwind gas-phase ammonia plumes originating from a commercial chicken house on the Delmarva Peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Inverse Gaussian plume modeling was used to determine the source strength of the chicken house and the corresponding chicken emission factors. A total of seven field deployments were performed during two different flocks with a sampling duration ranging from 6 to 12.6 h. The deployments occurred during weeks 3, 4, and 5 of the 6-week chicken grow-out period in the months of May-July 2002. The ammonia emission factors ranged from 0.27 to 2.17 g of NH3-N bird(-1) day(-1) with a mean of 1.18 g of NH3-N bird(-1) day(-1). Weighted emissions factors that accounted for the nonlinear increase in ammonia emissions over the 6-week grow-out period were also calculated and ranged from 0.14 to 1.65 g of NH3-N bird(-1) day(-1) with a mean of 0.74 g of NH3-N bird(-1) day(-1). These weighted emission values would correspond to an annual release of approximately 18 x 10(6) kg of NH3-N to the atmosphere from broiler production on the Delmarva Peninsula. This assumes that the emission factors in this study are representative for the entire year with varying meteorological conditions and are representative of all chicken husbandry practices. The Delmarva Peninsula could represent a significant source of nutrient nitrogen to the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay watersheds through atmospheric deposition when considering the size of this annual release rate, the relative short atmospheric lifetime of ammonia due to deposition, and the proximity of the Delmarva Peninsula to the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays.
authors.affiliation: Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 1 Williams Street, Solomons, Maryland 20688, USA. siefert@cbl.umces.edu
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Siefert
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Scudlark
authors.forename: Amelia G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.forename: Kirsten A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Simonsen
authors.forename: Karen B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Savidge
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000641:Ammonia / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry; D002645:Chickens; D003691:Delaware; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007700:Kinetics; D008396:Maryland; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D016011:Normal Distribution; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D000641:Ammonia; D009584:Nitrogen