WRAP Meeting

Sept 13, 2006

Air Resources in Western National Parks

Chris ShaverAir Resources DivisionNational Park Service

The public values:

• A natural environment, including clean, clear air

• Knowing that special areas have been set aside and that they’re being protected for future generations

Our Lands, Our Legacy

CUPN

Padre Is.

CUPN

CUPN

Padre Is.

CUPN

by network for 2005

Visibility: On a Path Toward Clearer Skies

REDWOOD

DEATHVALLEY

PETRIFIED FOREST

CRATERS OF THE MOON

CHIRICAHUA

CHAMIZAL

CAPULIN VOLCANO

CANYONLANDS

BUFFALO

GREATBASIN

BIG BEND

BANDELIER

Degrading (p<=0.05)

GILA CLIFF

ORGAN PIPE SAGUARO

BRYCE CANYON

OLYMPIC N. CASCADES

MAMMOTH CAVE

Sulfate in Precipitation

ACADIA

DENALI

WASHINGTON, DC

SHENANDOAH

GREAT SMOKYMTS

BADLANDS

GLACIERMT RAINIER

GRAND CANYON

YOSEMITE

LASSEN VOLCANIC

CRATER LAKE

PINNACLES

CAPE COD

CONGAREE

COWPENS

EVERGLADES

INDIANA DUNES

JOSHUA TREE

ISLE ROYALE

LITTLE BIGHORN

SEQUOIA

VOYAGEURS

YELLOWSTONE

GUADALUPE MTS

TONTO

ROCKY MOUNTAIN

GREAT SAND DUNES

Improving (p<=0.05)

No Trend / Stable

Visibility-Clear Days

Visibility-Hazy Days

Ozone

Nitrate in Precipitation

Air Quality Trends in National Parks, 1995-2004

12/02/2005

Ammonium in Precipitation

CHANNEL ISLANDS

T. ROOSEVELT

POINT REYES

No Data / Insufficient Data

FY2005 Annual Performance Report For NPS Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Air Quality Goal Ia3

MESA VERDE

VIRGIN ISLANDS

Annual 4th Highest daily maximum 8-hour average 0zone (ppb) 2005

Improving Trend, p<=0.05

Improving Trend, 0.05<p<=0.15

Degrading Trend, 0.05<p<=0.15

Degrading Trend, p<=0.05

No Trend

Trends in 3-Year Average 4th Highest 8-Hour Ozone Concentrations, 1995-2004FY2005 Annual Performance Report for NPS Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)

Air Quality Goal Ia3

11/29/2005

Acadia

Big Bend

Cape Cod

Canyonlands

Chamizal

Chiricahua

Channel Islands Congaree Swamp

Cowpens

Craters of the Moon

Death Val ley

Everglades

Glacier

Great Basin

Grand Canyon

Great Smoky MtnsJoshua T ree

Lassen Volcanic

Mammoth CaveMesa Verde

Mount Rainier

North Cascades

Olympic

Pinnacles

Rocky Mountain

Saguaro

Sequoia

Shenandoah

Voyageurs

Yel lowstone

Yosemite

Denal i

Downward pointing arrows denote trends toward decreasing ozone concentrations and improving air quality. Similarly, the up arrows correspond to trends toward higher ozone concentrations and hence worsening air quality. Park names underlined in red denote parks where monitored ozone levels exceed the level of the NAAQS or are part of an ozone non-attainment area.

3-Year Average 4th Highest 8-Hour Ozone AveragesWestern Parks

BIBE CANY CRMO DENA GRBAGRCA MEVE NOCA ROMO YELL

3-y

r A

vg 4

th H

igh

est

8-H

ou

r O

3 (

pp

b)

40

50

60

70

80

90

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

How does ozone affect sensitive species?

- Visible symptoms

- Physiological symptoms•Reduced photosynthesis

•Reduced growth

- Acute vs. chronic injury

Ozone-injured leaf

Normal leaf

Aspen

Ponderosa pine

Ozone Effects to Vegetation

Threshold for ozone Injury exceeded in most parks

NITROGEN: Too Much of a Good Thing

Wet Nitrate Deposition and Trends

2-3 KG/HA (NO3)(0.4-0.6 OF N)2-3 KG/HA (NO3)(0.4-0.6 OF N)

Wet Ammonium Deposition and Trends

Christopher M.B. Lehmanna, Van C. Bowersoxa, Susan M. Larsonb

1 kg/ha (NH4)(0.8 N)1 kg/ha (NH4)(0.8 N)

Rocky Mountain National Park: Nitrogen Deposition Effects on Park Ecosystems

• 20+ yr research; 80+ published studies on nitrogen deposition and impacts at ROMO (by USGS researchers Baron, Campbell and others)

• Nitrogen contributes to ozone, visibility impairment, and deposition that are altering the natural ecosystems and enjoyment of the park

• Nitrogen is increasing and impacts are increasing• Nitrogen impacts have been documented to soils, waters, vegetation in high

elevation areas on the east side of the park.

Ecosystem Thresholds and Critical Loads

“Critical Loads” is a term used to describe:

• Has air pollution reached a tipping point (threshold) for effects on plants, animals, soils, or water?

• What amount of N or S deposition causes that tipping point?

N Load (kg/ ha /yr)- wet

Changes in soil & water chemistry

Effects on aquatic animals (episodic acidification)

Lethal effects on fish, other aquatic animals (chronic acidification)

Natural background N deposition

Current N deposition in Rocky Mountain NP

Surface water N saturation

Rocky Mountain National Park: Continuum of Impacts to Ecological Health

Changes in tree chemistry

Change in alpine plant species

Change in aquatic plant species composition

Forest decline (acidification effects on trees)

“weight of evidence” of ecosystem health decline on east side of park0.5

kg/ha/yr

3.1 kg/ha/yr

1.5 kg/ha/yr

Future Consequences?: If nitrogen continues to accumulate in high elevation soils at current rates, acidification could occur within decades

Elevated N in spruce tree needles:Reverse the Trend

Actions:NPS is currently working with EPA and the State of Colorado to develop a plan to reduce nitrogen deposition to the park to levels protective of sensitive aquatic and terrestrial plants, soils, waters

Scientific Approaches to Develop Critical Loads

• NPS research on sensitive receptors and endpoints ongoing at:– Rocky Mountain NP, Glacier NP, Yellowstone

NP, Grand Teton NP, Great Sand Dunes NP– Shenandoah NP, Great Smoky Mountains NP– Mount Rainier NP, North Cascades– Big Bend NP, Joshua Tree NP

• Modeling being tested at: – Rocky Mountain, Great Smoky, Mt Rainier,

Acadia and Joshua Tree• Other FLMs also conducting empirical

studies and modeling to establish critical loads

Climate Change: Resources at Risk

• Physical Effects:– Alteration of climate patterns– Precip pattern change– Snowpack decline– Glaciers melt– Oceans warm– Air pollution increase

• Ecological Effects:– Plants flower sooner– Birds nest earlier– Migration patterns change– Loss of synchrony between predator &

prey– Pests survive at higher elevations– Pathogens spread– Altered aquatic and terrestrial

communities

Climate Friendly Park Emission Inventories

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Gro

ss G

HG

Em

issio

ns (

MTCE)

Yosemite DWG GlacierBay

Everglades Zion Glacier Gateway

CO2 CH4 N2O HFC

21,291

5,185

13,754

6,160

2,839

7,2998,230

WACAP GOAL:

TO ASSESS THE DEPOSITION OF AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS IN WESTERN NATIONAL PARKS, PROVIDING REGIONAL AND LOCAL INFORMATION ON EXPOSURE, ACCUMULATION, IMPACTS AND PROBABLE SOURCES

Burial Lake, NOATAK National Preserve

Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project

1.) Are contaminants present in western National Parks? 2.) Where do contaminants accumulate (ecologically and geographically)?  3.) Which contaminants pose the greatest ecological threat? 4.) Which indicators are the most useful in interpreting

contamination? 5.) What are the probable sources of the air masses most likely to have transported contaminants to the National Park sites?

Key Scientific/Ecological Questions

National Parks Selected for Inclusion in the WACAP

Eurasia

Lichen N, S, HM

Lake Sediments Chronology

Fish Contaminants vs. age, Condition Factors, Response Factors

Catchment

Snow Annual flux

“Vegetation” Intensify spatial coverage – more National Parks

North America

WACAP Indicators and Conceptual Diagram

Subsistence Link (moose)

Lake WaterDissolved and ParticulateSummer

Dark Night Skies: A Diminishing Resource

Quantitative Measurement with a Camera

A billboard, seen from the side.

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