Air Quality
Southwest Alaska Network. 2018. Air Quality. Southwest Alaska Network
Atmospheric deposition is the process by which airborne pollutants reach the earth’s surface. This occurs either through wet deposition from rain, snow, sleet, and fog, or through dry deposition from complex atmospheric processes such as settling, impaction, and absorption. Deposition can include a wide variety of natural and synthetic pollutants, such as inorganic elements (e.g., sulfur, nitrogen, mercury) and both inorganic and organic compounds (e.g., sulfate, nitrate, pesticides). Once deposited, pollutants can have a range of ecosystem effects. Nitrogen and sulfur compounds, for example, can result in acidification of terrestrial and aquatic habitats; eutrophication of freshwater, estuarine, and marine waterways; soil nutrient and base cation leaching; and loss of sensitive species. Arctic and subarctic ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to impacts from the deposition of excess nitrogen and sulfur.
- Type
- Resource Brief
- Authors
- Southwest Alaska Network
- Date of Issue
- 2018-03
- Publisher
- Southwest Alaska Network
- Units
- KATM , SWAN
- Keywords
- air quality, nitrate, sulfate, wet deposition
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Air Quality | Wet and Dry Deposition