Analysis of atmospheric ammonia concentration from four sites in Quebec City region over 2010-2013

This study presents an analysis of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) concentration from four different sites located in the Portneuf municipality and Quebec City over 2010-2013 years. The determination of NH3 concentration was performed using passive samplers. Seasonal Mann-Kendall test at 5% significance level was used to analyse the trend in each of the sites. Results showed slight increases and decreases in NH3 concentration, but the trend was not significant (alpha = 0.05) from 2010 to 2013 in all the evaluated sites. The annual average concentration of the evaluated sites fluctuated from 0.35 to 17.51 mu g/m(3). Thus, due to that the annual average concentration of NH3 in sites 1 to 3 was higher than 1 mu g/m(3), which is considered as the critical value for protecting of sensible vegetation close to emission source of NH3. It is suggested to extend the measurements for a longer period and increase the number of sites in order to follow the trends of atmospheric NH3 concentration at local and regional scale and have information about the NH3 concentration trend in Quebec.