Gaseous ammonia in the urban area of Rome and its relationship with traffic emissions

The atmospheric concentration of gaseous ammonia has been measured during selected field campaigns from the spring of 2001 to the spring of 2002 in the urban area of Rome, at many traffic sites and at an urban background site. The concentration level at the traffic sites was in all cases about five times the background level and always much higher than the concentration in a rural near-city area. The time trend of ammonia is well correlated with the trend of a primary low-reactivity pollutant such as carbon monoxide. The concentration values of both pollutants depend on the intensity of traffic emission and on the atmospheric mixing in the boundary layer. Ammonia concentration is also dependent on the air temperature. A close link between NH3 and CO air values has been confirmed at all the measurement stations of the Air Quality Network of Rome. These results indicate that the emissions from petrol-engine vehicles equipped with catalytic converters can be an important source of ammonia in urban areas. The implications of these findings for the chemistry of the urban atmosphere need to be carefully considered.