Atmospheric nitrogen input to the Kattegat

Abstract

An overview is given of the processes involved in the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen compounds. These processes are incorporated in an atmospheric transport model that is used to calculate the nitrogen input to the Kattegat, the sea area between Denmark and Sweden. The model results show that the total atmospheric nitrogen input to the Kattegat is approximately 960 kg N km² yr¹. The nitrogen input to the Kattegat is dominated by the wet depositions of NH_x (42%) and NO_y (30%). The contribution from the dry deposition of NH_x is 17% and that of the dry deposition of NO_y is 11 %. The contribution of the atmospheric input of nitrogen to the Kattegat is about 30% of the total input including the net transport from other sea areas, runoff etc.