Abstract. Atmospheric ammonia (NH3), primarily emitted from agriculture, poses significant threats to ecosystems, climate, and human health through nitrogen deposition and secondary aerosol formation. NH3 flux estimates remain highly uncertain due to limited direct observations and complex emission–deposition processes. Here, we estimated NH3 fluxes over the contiguous United States using satellite observations from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI, 2008–2022) and Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS, 2012–2022) by applying a directional derivative approach. Our results highlight major agricultural emission hotspots, including the San Joaquin Valley in California, the Snake River Valley in Idaho, the Texas panhandle, the Great Plains, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Eastern North Carolina. NH3 removal is predominantly driven by deposition near source areas rather than chemical transformation, with strong sinks in vegetation-dense regions such as forests, grasslands, shrublands, and wetlands. Seasonal flux variations show peaks in warm months and lower values in winter, driven by temperature-dependent volatilization from livestock production and fertilizer application. Compared with bottom-up inventory, satellite-based estimates capture general spatial and seasonal patterns, while also revealing additional insights into key flux hotspots and peak periods. CrIS consistently reports higher fluxes than IASI, especially in spring, reflecting differences in their overpass times. Combining IASI (morning overpass) and CrIS (midday overpass) observations enables a better understanding of diurnal NH3 flux dynamics. These findings provide critical insights into NH3 spatiotemporal variabilities, complementing inventory-based approaches and informing nitrogen management and environmental policy, particularly in regions with limited ground-based monitoring.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.