Conditional Sampling of Ammonia at Livestock Operations Using Robotically Controlled Diffusive Samplers

Diffusive/passive samplers can be used to measure the spatial variations in ammonia and other trace gases near livestock operations, but results are often confounded by changing weather conditions during extended deployment periods (e.g., 1 to 2 weeks). A new type of conditional sampler was developed that only exposes the passive samplers when a user-defined set of wind and weather conditions are met. The samplers were housed in air-tight tubes that could be opened and closed with a motorized actuator controlled by datalogger. Samplers were deployed on portable tripods and linked via a wireless network. Multiple tripods, equipped with Radiello diffusive NH3 samplers, were deployed near cattle feedlots and dairies and programmed to only expose the passive samplers when the upwind source area represented a specific zone of the operation. A base-station with an anemometer, wind vane, thermometer, and humidity sensor controlled sampling at all tripods. This new methodology allows improved detection of spatial variation in emissions near livestock operations and provides more accurate measurements of downwind gradients. Data could be used in inverse models to approximate site specific emissions factors for ammonia.