Considerations for long term monitoring of airborne contaminants and ecological effects in the Southeast Alaska Network
Pirhalla M and Bower M. 2016. Considerations for long term monitoring of airborne contaminants and ecological effects in the Southeast Alaska Network. Natural Resource Report. NPS/SEAN/NRR—2016/1238. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program supports NPS units with basic natural resource information to assist in science-based stewardship activities. NPS units are grouped into 32 Inventory and Monitoring Networks by geographic proximity and similarity of ecological conditions. As one of the 32 Inventory and Monitoring Networks, the Southeast Alaska Network (SEAN) supports three NPS units: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GLBA), Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (KLGO), and Sitka National Historical Park (SITK), encompassing nearly 3.3 million acres of parklands and approximately 4% of the total area managed by the NPS. One focus of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program is the long-term monitoring of a select suite of environmental parameters or resources, termed Vital Signs, as indicators of resource condition or Park health. Within each Network, a suite of Vital Signs has been selected to suit the unique information needs of Network Parks. While air quality is fairly pristine in Southeast Alaska’s National Parks, localized areas of air pollution and long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants have the potential to affect fragile ecosystems. In response, Airborne Contaminants were selected as one of 12 core Vital Signs for monitoring the condition of SEAN Parks (Note: “airborne contaminants” has been defined to include all potential airborne or atmospheric pollutants, including airborne toxics such as mercury and criteria pollutants such as nitrogen or sulfur compounds). By establishing baseline conditions and then monitoring a group of pertinent measures or indicators into the future, broad shifts in the extent and magnitude of primary airborne contaminants of concern can be detected and used to inform the stewardship of park resources. The first step in defining baseline conditions in the SEAN was implemented by Schirokauer et al. (2014) who completed an inventory of ambient air quality, wet deposition loads, lichen tissue contaminant concentrations, and lichen community composition during the summers of 2008 and 2009. Their report established baseline conditions, developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for field methods, and presented several recommendations for further data analysis. This report builds upon this initial work by advancing several of the recommended analyses to inform final monitoring design choices. This report is organized into five chapters which summarize prior airborne contaminant investigations conducted in the SEAN park units (Chapter 1), incorporate new data analyses to inform future sampling designs (Chapters 2-4), and offer recommendations for a long-term monitoring program (Chapter 5).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Pirhalla, Michael; Bower, Michael
- Date of Issue
- 2016-06
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GLBA , KLGO , NRSS , SEAN , SITK
- Keywords
- Air Quality, Airborne contamination, Alaska, Glacier Bay National Park, GLBA, Inventory, KLGO, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, lichen tissue, MDN, Mercury Deposition Network, Monitoring, NADP, National Atmospheric Deposition Network, Preserve, SEAN, SITK, Sitka National Historical Park, Southeast Alaska Network
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Air Quality | Wet and Dry Deposition , Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Air Quality | Visibility and Particulate Matter , Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Air Quality | Air Contaminants