Collaborative Research: Ammonia (NH3) Emission from Fertilizer Application: Understanding an Uncertain Input to Air Quality Models

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This research project will measure ammonia emissions from the corn plot at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Energy Farm and to scale local emissions to the regional scale. The ammonia emissions will be measured by relaxed eddy accumulation and the aerodynamic gradient method using denuders and a cavity ringdown spectrometer, respectively. Emissions above and within the corn canopy at the landscape scale will be interpreted with a bi-directional exchange model. A process-scale modeling approach using EPIC (Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator) and its interactive version (i-EPIC), which are driven by environmental factors regulating ammonia emissions (i.e., meteorology, soil and canopy characteristics, land use, and mass of fertilizer applied), will be used to scale local emissions to the regional scale.The results of the project will be disseminated through the venues of research conferences and publications but also through the use of web-based tools. The principal investigators will interact with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) to examine the potential of integration with the existing pilot Ammonia Monitoring Network and with the NADP's Critical Loads and Total Deposition Science subcommittees. As part of the educational and mentoring component, undergraduate students will be recruited, with specific emphasis on underrepresented groups, and mentored by the principal investigators and graduate students, on the research methods of this project. They will also be mentored on preparing presentation material for professional conferences and for transferring their knowledge to high school age female students from diverse backgrounds participating with STEM campus activities. As part of this research project, new teaching modules will be developed for air quality courses with focus on atmospheric deposition models and use of micrometeorological methods. Teaching modules will also be developed for a new summer camp focused on environmental engineering, for high school age female students. The additional teaching modules related to the topic of this proposal will focus on the effects of food and biofuel production on air quality and climate change.