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What Goes Up Does Come DownHow Air Pollution Affects our Natural

Resources

Christopher LehmannDirector, Central Analytical LaboratoryNational Atmospheric Deposition Program

Illinois State Water Survey - Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Oradea, Romania

Reutlingen, Germany

Out on garbage patrol…

Bratislava, Slovakia

Lake Constance, Switzerland

Beijing, China

Atmospheric Deposition

EMISSIONS

REMOVAL

Precipitation volume/time

AQUEOUS PHASEPRECIPITATION

GAS/PARTICULATE PHASEAEROSOL PARTICLES

& GASES

Deposition velocity

ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT & TRANSFORMATION

REACTIONS

ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTS

Trends in US Emissions

1980: 25.9

2000: 16.3

1990 Clean Air Act Amendments:Reduced emissions by 10 million short tons (1980-2000)

Source: U.S. EPA

2014: 4.3U.S. EPA Proposed Air Transport Rule:71% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels

2005: 14.8

SO2 NOx

Trends in US Emissions

Source: U.S. EPA

1990 Clean Air Act Amendmentspower plant and mobile source emissions reduced

2014: 9.2

U.S. EPA Proposed Air Transport Rule:52% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels

2005: 19.1

SO2 NOx

What are the environmental impacts of atmospheric

deposition?

Environmental Impacts

• Stream and lake acidification• Increased fish mortality (eggs, fry)

U.S. EPA, 2002: Response of Surface Water Chemistry to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

Is “Acid Rain” still an issue for the US?

pH in Precipitation (Mean) 2011

EPA, 2007

pH Effects on Species AbundanceOH49

4.3MO03

5.0

Environmental Impacts

• Stream and lake acidification• Increased fish mortality (eggs, fry)• Damage to vegetation

Damage to forests

Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina

Acid deposition effects

Source: HBRF, Acid Rain Revisited, 2001

Environmental Impacts

• Stream and lake acidification• Increased fish mortality (eggs, fry)• Damage to vegetation• Benefits certain agricultural crops

(reduces fertilizer needed)• Benefits invasive species

Environmental Impacts

• Contributes to wetland nutrient loads

Nitrogen damage to

aquatic systems

Nitrogen Effects

Where is Nitrogen Deposition of Concern in the US?

Total Nitrogen Wet Deposition, 2011

Environmental Impacts

• Contributes to wetland nutrient loads

• Bioaccumulates in aquatic environments (Hg)

The mercury problem?Bioaccumulation

Bacterial action(water and sediment)

Zooplankton

Smaller fish predatory fish

Water Body

Me-Mercury

Concentration

Dry Deposition

Wet DepositionGeologic Sources(soil, rock, base flow etc.)

Methylation

Hg Hg Hg

Where is Mercury Deposition of Concern in the US?

Environmental Impacts

• Contributes to wetland nutrient loads

• Bioaccumulates in aquatic environments (Hg)

• Damage to buildings, structures, and statues

• Corrosion of materials

Limestone statue of George Washington first put outside in New York City in 1944

Source: ACS, Chemistry in Context, 2006

How (and Why) do we measure Air Quality and Atmospheric Deposition?

26

Some challenges AQ - Environmental Engineers face

We learn by observing and collecting data

BUT

how can you measure something that is either so small as PM10 and PM2.5 or

something that your can’t even see in the atmosphere, such as most trace gases, which at the same time are found in minute amounts in the atmosphere?

27

Principles of Ambient Air Sampling (tricks of the trade)

Collection techniques depend on the pollutant:

PM Collection• Filtration • Impaction

28

Instruments imitating the respiratory system

(Papastefanou, 2008)

29

How do you measure minute amounts of something you can’t

see?

Natural lighting

Ultraviolet lighting

Source: http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/05deepscope/ background/underwater/media/3panels.html

Can’t really see?

31

What if we shed different kind of light instead of visible light? Then atmospheric gases might be

“visible” too…NO2 column Observed from the SCIAMACHY Satellite Instrument (ultraviolet, UV)

32

What is society/ government doing

about Air Pollution?

33

Air Quality Data and Public Policy

The data environmental engineers collect inform the government of the most recent scientific findings, so that the right measures can be taken to protect health and the environment.

34

Tough balance

• Air Pollution control is very expensive

• But so are the damages Air Pollution causes

• Society has to balance these two huge costs

35

Expensive to control Air Pollution

Dust removal Gaseous pollutant removal

Expensive equipmentHigh energy use

Before action was taken: Noontime, Donora, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1948

Copyright Photo Archive/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2001. All rights reserved

Expensive not to control Air Pollution

1948: a thick cloud of air pollution formed above the industrial town of Donora, Pennsylvania. It killed 20 people and caused sickness to 6,000 out of 14,000 people.

37

Current regulations

Limits on how much air pollution power plants, industries and cars can emit.

If the amounts of certain pollutants, as measured in the atmosphere exceed certain upper limits, then emissions need to be further reduced.

Operation of monitoring networks all over the country.

38

Monitoring Air Quality

39

Kinds of monitoringEmissions (Source) Monitoring is

the process of monitoring particulate and gaseous emissions from a specific source.

Ambient Monitoring is the systematic, long-term assessment of pollutant levels by measuring the quantity and types of certain pollutants in the surrounding, outdoor air.

Indoor Monitoring is monitoring of air quality at the workplace, schools and homes.

40

Sampling platforms – land

Urban Rural

41

Sampling platforms-ocean

42

Sampling platforms-air

Balloon

Aircraft

Satellites

43

Sampling platforms-personal samplers

44

Ambient monitoring

Measure air pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere as a concentration (e.g., for PM micrograms/m3 of air) or as mixing ratios (e.g. usually for gases ppmv, ppbv or pptv).

There are a number of different methods to measure any given pollutant, varying in complexity, reliability, and detail of data.

Major decision 1Which method to use, taking into account pollutants to be

monitored, initial investment costs, operating costs, reliability of systems, and ease of operation.

Major decision 2Where to install the monitors and how often to sample.

45

Example ambient air samplers

Filter pack Filter pack disassembled

46

• Filter packs in a filter sample holder

Example ambient air samplers

47

• Passive diffusive samplers for measurement of ammonia (NH3) gas

Example ambient air samplers

48

• Sequence of samplers to measure different pollutants

Example ambient air samplers

Wet Deposition MonitoringNational Trends Network (NTN)

• Operators collect weekly wet deposition sample from NADP wet-dry collector

• Continuous precipitation record• Chemical Analysis

– Acids (SO42-, NO3

-, Cl-, Br-)

– Bases (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+)– Nutrients (NH4

+, PO43-)

– pH– Specific Conductivity

NTN NV05Great Basin National Park

NTN IL11Bondville, IL

National Trends Network (NTN)

243 stations + 2 QA

Central Analytical Laboratory IL State Water Survey

What trends do we see in atmospheric wet

deposition data?

…what’s the cause?

…what should we do about it?

Ammonium (NH4+)

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

Team Exercise

• Break into 3 groups, each with a laptop• Each group views one animated sequence

of deposition trends over time.

Team Discussion

• Answer the following questions:– Is atmospheric pollution getting better or

worse in the United States? Why do you say this?

– What do you think is the cause of the change?

– Why do you think it is changing?

For more information….

http://nadp.isws.illinois.educlehmann@illinois.edu

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