300-Year NH3 Inventory in Europe: Uncovering Combustion's Recent Share

300-Year NH3 Inventory in Europe: Uncovering Combustion's Recent Share | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article 300-Year NH 3 Inventory in Europe: Uncovering Combustion's Recent Share Alexis Lamothe, Pete Akers, Patrick Ginot, Sarah Albertin, Anja Eichler, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3550976/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Today, anthropogenic emissions of ammonia (NH 3 ) surpass natural emissions, causing profound impacts on radiative forcing, ecosystems, biodiversity, and human health 1 . Accurate estimates of emissions are imperative for effective mitigation. Currently, official NH 3 inventories attribute around 95 % of European anthropogenic NH 3 emissions to agriculture-related activities 2 , but a growing body of evidence suggests that these NH 3 inventories may be inaccurate 3 . Here, we report the first glacially archived nitrogen isotope record for ammonium (the deposited form of NH 3 ) from a Mont-Blanc ice core, offering an unprecedented glimpse into NH 3 emissions spanning Western Europe’s pre-industrial era to the present day. This 300-year record reveals that anthropogenic NH 3 emissions reflect the evolution of European economies, with the emergence of intensive agriculture and fossil fuel combustion. Most importantly, we show that, over the period 2010-2016, agriculture-related activities accounted for, at most, (78 ± 17) % of anthropogenic NH 3 emissions, with the remainder being attributable to fossil fuel and biomass combustions. This less-than-assumed relative contribution from agricultural emissions strongly argue for a re-evaluation of NH 3 inventories and unequivocally put forth that anthropogenic NH 3 emissions cannot be reduced without limiting combustion-related activities. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental chemistry/Atmospheric chemistry Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geochemistry Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Cryospheric science Scientific community and society/Scientific community/Policy Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3550976","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":250600109,"identity":"c88ebf8a-06ee-4e37-b05c-aded2289f6fd","order_by":0,"name":"Alexis 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11:01:49","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3550976/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3550976/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":54981437,"identity":"83cb7c13-4516-483b-b33a-ed930c2d05a3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-19 14:09:26","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1557968,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"LAMOTHEetalNH3sources.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3550976/v1_covered_4c8063e3-0a70-433a-817b-93b0bf7a09fc.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"300-Year NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e Inventory in Europe: Uncovering Combustion's Recent 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Accurate estimates of emissions are imperative for effective mitigation. Currently, official NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e inventories attribute around 95 % of European anthropogenic NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e emissions to agriculture-related activities\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e, but a growing body of evidence suggests that these NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e inventories may be inaccurate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e. Here, we report the first glacially archived nitrogen isotope record for ammonium (the deposited form of NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e) from a Mont-Blanc ice core, offering an unprecedented glimpse into NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e emissions spanning Western Europe’s pre-industrial era to the present day. This 300-year record reveals that anthropogenic NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e emissions reflect the evolution of European economies, with the emergence of intensive agriculture and fossil fuel combustion. Most importantly, we show that, over the period 2010-2016, agriculture-related activities accounted for, at most, (78 ± 17) % of anthropogenic NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e emissions, with the remainder being attributable to fossil fuel and biomass combustions. This less-than-assumed relative contribution from agricultural emissions strongly argue for a re-evaluation of NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e inventories and unequivocally put forth that anthropogenic NH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e emissions cannot be reduced without limiting combustion-related activities.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"300-Year NH3 Inventory in Europe: Uncovering Combustion's Recent Share","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-04-19 14:01:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3550976/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":false,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nature","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature](http://www.nature.com/nature/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"529a3da5-6b79-4b1a-84f2-eafdc38f503e","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 19th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":26470196,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental chemistry/Atmospheric chemistry"},{"id":26470197,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geochemistry"},{"id":26470198,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Cryospheric science"},{"id":26470199,"name":"Scientific community and society/Scientific community/Policy"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-04-19T14:01:16+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-04-19 14:01:16","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3550976","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3550976","identity":"rs-3550976","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}