National Park Service air quality analysis methods: August 2017
Taylor KA. 2017. National Park Service air quality analysis methods: August 2017. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NRSS/ARD/NRR—2017/1490. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Understanding air quality and its impacts on both human health and the environment can be a challenge. Air masses have dynamic and complex chemical composition and often travel great distances before crossing park boundaries affecting human health, visibility of park landscapes, and ecosystem health. Fortunately, the National Park Service and others in nationwide monitoring networks across the US are actively collecting information about ozone, visibility, particulate matter, nitrogen and sulfur deposition, as well as atmospheric mercury. The National Park Service Air Resources Division (NPS-ARD) estimates air quality conditions for all parks in the contiguous US by compiling and analyzing these data from across the country. NPS-ARD also evaluates air quality trends and provides information on the composition of particulate matter affecting visibility and of deposition for parks where representative monitoring data are available. A consistent service-wide approach to these analyses allows NPS-ARD to provide specific air quality information for over 350 national park units. This document summarizes the data analysis methods used by the NPS-ARD to evaluate air quality for NPS units. These evaluations are useful for park planning, research, and assessing the effectiveness of efforts to reduce air pollution. Park specific condition and trend data products are available at: https://www.nature.nps.gov/air/data/products/parks/index.cfm.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Taylor, Ksienya
- Date of Issue
- 2017-08
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- ARD , NRSS
- Keywords
- acidification, Air, air pollution, Air quality, conditions, ecosystem impacts, Hg, human health, mercury, methods, methylmercury, N, nitrogen, nutrient enrichment, O3, ozone, particulate matter, pm10, pm2.5, S, statistical analysis, status, sulfur, toxics, trends, vegetation health, visibility, W126, wet deposition
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Air Quality | Ozone , 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