20-Year Climatology of NO3 − and NH4 + Wet Deposition at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

A 20-year dataset of weekly precipitation observations in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, was analysed to assess atmospheric wet deposition of nitrogen. Mean annual total nitrogen deposition was 74 mg N/(m2 yr) but exhibited large interannual variability and was dominated by highly episodic “strong” events, p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in Meteorology
Main Authors: Rafael Kühnel, Tjarda J. Roberts, Mats P. Björkman, Elisabeth Isaksson, Wenche Aas, Kim Holmén, Johan Ström
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2011
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/406508
https://doaj.org/article/d3f7ba6013304fadb5def9a1a0df94f6
Description
Summary:A 20-year dataset of weekly precipitation observations in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, was analysed to assess atmospheric wet deposition of nitrogen. Mean annual total nitrogen deposition was 74 mg N/(m2 yr) but exhibited large interannual variability and was dominated by highly episodic “strong” events, probably caused by rapid transport from European sources. The majority (90%) of precipitation samples were defined as “weak” (<2 mg N/m2) and contributed an annual baseline of ~17 mg N/(m2 yr), whereas 10% of precipitation samples were defined as “strong” (>2 mg N/m2) and additionally contributed up to 225 mg N/(m2 yr). Nitrate deposition largely occurred in samples within the solid-precipitation season (16 September–2 June), and ammonium deposition occurred equally in both solid and liquid seasons. Trends of reactive nitrogen emissions from Europe are uncertain, and increasing cyclonic activity over the North Atlantic caused by a changing climate might lead to more strong deposition events in Svalbard.