As a major alkaline gas in the atmosphere, ammonia (NH3) plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry. However, there is little knowledge about NH3 variations in the Central Asia. Here we ana- lyzed the ammonium (NH+4) history recorded in an ice core from the East Pamir in Central Asia, which was drilled on the Mt. Muztagata at the elevation of 7010 m a.s.l. in 2003. The core was carefully dated and NH4+ concentration history during 1907―2002 was reconstructed. The result shows that NH4+ con- centration remained approximately constant until the 1930s after a sudden decrease at the very begin- ning of the 20th century, followed by a minimum in 1940 before increasing steadily to the peak at the end of 1990s. It is found that the annual mean NH4+ concentration was strongly associated with the Northern Hemisphere temperature, suggesting the impact of temperature on NH3 emissions in the Central Asia. Moreover, an increase of NH+4 concentration after 1940 also reflects the enhancement of NH3 emissions from anthropogenic sources such as fertilizer applications and livestock wastes in the 20th century.
