Air quality related values (AQRVs) for Arctic Network (ARCN) parks: Effects from ozone; visibility reducing particles; and atmospheric deposition of acids, nutrients and toxics

Sullivan, Timothy

This report describes the Air Quality Related Values (AQRVs) of the Arctic Network (ARCN). AQRVs are those resources sensitive to air quality and include streams, lakes, soils, vegetation, fish and wildlife, and visibility. The ARCN parks that are included in the NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program, and discussed in this report, are Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA), Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR), Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve (GAAR), Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA), and Noatak National Preserve (NOAT). Sullivan et al. (2011a, 2011b) and Kohut (2007a) conducted risk assessments for acidification, eutrophication and ozone (O3) for the ARCN parks; their results are described in this report. This report also describes air pollutant emissions and air quality in the ARCN, and their effects on AQRVs. The primary pollutants likely to affect AQRVs include nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) compounds (nitrate [NO3-], ammonium [NH4+], and sulfate [SO42-]), ground-level ozone (O3) , haze-causing particles, and airborne toxics. Background information can be found in “Air Quality Related Values (AQRVs) in the Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) National Parks: Status of Visibility Degradation, Ozone Effects on Vegetation, and the Effects on Natural Resources of Atmospheric Acid, Nutrient, and Toxics Deposition” (Sullivan 2016). The ARCN is remote from the influence of most human activities. There are no population centers of any significant magnitude (> 25,000 people) within the ARCN region, and only Fairbanks is within a 300-mile radius of the network boundary. The sparse available atmospheric deposition data for Alaska are consistent with the general understanding that atmospheric deposition of both N and S tends to be very low at most national park lands within Alaska. It can be assumed that S and N deposition across the ARCN would each be lower than about 1 or 2 kg/ha/yr, on average. There is, however, a lead and zinc mine located between CAKR and NOAT. It contributes heavy metal-laden fugitive dusts as well as sulfur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Data on potential effects of acidic deposition on aquatic and terrestrial resources in the ARCN are generally lacking. However, in view of the very low levels of emissions and deposition at most locations, effects are expected to be minimal. Acidification of soils and drainage waters does not appear to be an important threat in the ARCN. Resources might respond to nutrient inputs in the form of atmospheric N deposition. In the short term, most arctic and alpine plant communities would be expected to increase productivity in response to increased N supply. In the long term, however, added N might change the species composition, perhaps resulting in a community that is less resistant to stress. Most of the parks in the ARCN were ranked in the middle quintile among parklands in a coarse screening analysis (Sullivan et al. 2011b) with respect to ecosystem sensitivity to nutrient N enrichment. It is possible, however, that the ecosystem sensitivity to nutrient N enrichment of parks in this network was underestimated by the methodology and data used for this analysis. Shrub and forest vegetation communities in high-latitude locations may indeed be highly sensitive to relatively low levels of N addition. Unfortunately, experimental data are generally lacking. Much of the land coverage in some of these parks is sparse vegetation or barren land, generally lacking vascular plants. Lichens and mosses in the ARCN may be very sensitive to N deposition. Lichens in the high arctic areas of Greenland and elsewhere have been found to respond to very low additions of N, with changes in abundance and cover. File size: 1.3 MB

Air quality related values (AQRVs) for Arctic Network (ARCN) parks: Effects from ozone; visibility reducing particles; and atmospheric deposition of acids, nutrients and toxics

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