Estimation of ammonia emission in South Korea

The importance of ammonia (NH3) in the atmosphere and its role in acidification is increasingly recognized. A detailed emission inventory of NH3 for South Korea is carried out for different sources using emission factors. Results indicate that the emission of ammonia has increased by 21% over the last 11 yr from 143 000 t yr(-1) in 1988 to 181 000 t yr(-1) in 1998. The major contributors to the NH3 emission in South Korea are livestock and fertilizer application that account for 70 and 26% of total NH3 emission, respectively. The 11 x 14 km (0.125degrees long. x 0.125degrees lat.) grid distribution of emission of ammonia shows an maximum in the Yochon area due to the largest fertilizer factory and relatively wide regions of high NH3 emission in the northwestern part of South Korea due to a great number of livestock. It is found that the nitrogen ratio of wet deposition of NH4+ to emission of NH3 in South Korea is averaged to be 0.45.