Anatomy of Summertime Upslope Events in Northeastern Colorado: Ammonia (NH) Transport to the Rocky Mountains.

The Transport and Transformation of Ammonia (TRANSAm) airborne field campaign occurred over northeastern Colorado during the summers of 2021 and 2022. A subset of the TRANSAm flights investigated easterly wind conditions capable of moving agricultural emissions of ammonia (NH) through urban areas and into the Rocky Mountains. TRANSAm captured 6 of these events, unveiling important commonalities. (1) NH enhancements are present over the mountains on summer afternoons when easterly winds are present in the foothills region. (2) The abundance of gas-phase NH is 1 and 2 orders of magnitude higher than particle-phase NH over the mountains and major agricultural sources, respectively. (3) During thermally driven circulation periods, emissions from animal husbandry sources closer to the mountains likely contribute more to the NH observed over the mountains than sources located further east. (4) Transport of plumes from major animal husbandry sources in northeastern Colorado westward across the foothills requires ∼5 h. (5) Winds drive variability in the transport of NH into nearby mountain ecosystems, producing both direct plume transport and recirculation. A similar campaign in other seasons, including spring and autumn, when synoptic scale events can produce sustained upslope transport, would place these results in context.