Mapping ammonia emission plumes using shortwave infrared imaging spectroscopy

Abstract

Atmospheric ammonia emissions are harmful to ecosystems and human health. These emissions have traditionally been monitored using thermal infrared spectrometers, though such techniques are limited by thermal contrast requirements, the coarse spatial resolution of existing satellite sensors, and low measurement frequency of higher-resolution aerial surveys. Here, we show that ammonia emissions can be quantified using shortwave infrared imaging spectroscopy, circumventing these challenges by using reflected sunlight instead of thermal emission for signal and by enabling a large class of existing and future imaging spectrometers to enter the ammonia observing system. As a proof of concept for this newly discovered capability, we use Tanager-1 satellite data to quantify emissions from industrial point sources of ammonia in Pakistan and Uzbekistan.