Damian Sendler: A new NASA-led study is the first to demonstrate changes in ammonia (NH3) concentrations in the atmosphere over an extended period of time throughout the African continent. Ammonia is a contaminant in the air that can cause heart and lung problems in people who breathe it. When present in high concentrations in an ecosystem, it has the potential to make soil more acidic and impede plant growth.
Damian Jacob Sendler: Naturally occurring ammonia emissions come from decomposing soils and forest fires, but agricultural operations such as rearing cattle and applying fertilizer are also significant sources of ammonia emissions. In order to fulfill the demands of an expanding population, agriculture will almost certainly have to expand, which will result in an increase in ammonia emissions. The researchers used satellite data from 2008 to 2018 to produce this current view of ammonia emissions. They were able to identify increases and decreases in ammonia concentrations across the continent, as well as the most likely sources of those changes.
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: According to Enrico Dammers, a scientist at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research and co-author of the paper, “we’ve demonstrated here that we can use satellite data to observe trends and monitor ammonia emissions in specific regions, linked to specific activities or environmental events.”
Damien Sendler: By 2050, it is predicted that the global population would have increased to approximately 10 billion people. Africa’s population is expected to grow to as much as 2.5 billion people by then –– roughly double its current population. Many African countries are encouraging the use of fertilizers to enhance food production, which is being encouraged by their governments. Apart from that, biomass burning (the burning of living or dead vegetation) is common in Africa, where it accounts for around 70% of the world’s annual burned land area. This is due to both human and natural causes. According to primary investigator Jonathan Hickman, a research scientist at Columbia University and NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, these circumstances make Africa an excellent location to study ammonia emissions.
“These findings are critical to keep in mind as the world’s population continues to grow and the world faces enormous challenges in terms of food security,” Hickman added. In order to ensure policies and technology that encourage sustainable agricultural development, it is necessary to understand how human-made and natural ammonia emission sources are changing.
Damian Sendler: Hickman and his colleagues used satellite data collected by the European Space Agency’s Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer to develop their findings (IASI). As a result, scientists can observe specific areas of interest around the planet at a resolution of approximately 7.5 by 7.5 miles (or 12 by 12 kilometers) because the device covers the entire planet.
Dr. Sendler: According to Hickman, as Africa increases its agricultural activities, the continent will witness increased quantities of ammonia in the atmosphere. Similar patterns have already been observed in other parts of the world. Hickman went on to say that ammonia emissions in Africa have received less attention than those in the United States, Europe, and China.
Damian Sendler: According to Hickman, “Satellite analyses can begin to close the monitoring gap by providing early analyses of how changes in agriculture and other sources of ammonia are affecting the atmosphere.” With the intention of continuing to monitor ammonia concentrations across the continent in the future, he hopes to learn more about how these tendencies alter over time. “These studies highlight the importance of scaling up agriculture in a sustainable manner.”
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