Trends in Reactive Nitrogen at Rocky Mountain National Park by Transport Direction
Gebhart K, Schichtel B, Morris K, Cheatham J, Vimont J, Larson R. 2018. Trends in Reactive Nitrogen at Rocky Mountain National Park by Transport Direction. Albany, NY
Excess reactive nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) impacts sensitive ecosystems there, especially at high altitudes. For this reason, the National Park Service, State of Colorado and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have collaborated through a Memorandum of Understanding to work toward reducing impacts in the park. Progress is tracked using five-year rolling averages of annual wet inorganic nitrogen deposition measured at the Loch Vale (CO98) NADP wet deposition sampler. When a trend is seen in either concentrations or deposition, it can be difficult to know the reason for it. We would like to know if trends are due to meteorological factors such as changes in precipitation or transport directions or if they are due to changes in emissions. While mesoscale chemical transport models could theoretically be used for this task, in practice they are too expensive to run for decades. An alternative tool using back trajectories is being developed for this purpose.
- Type
- Presentation
- Authors
- Gebhart, K; Schichtel, B; Morris, K; Cheatham, J; Vimont, J; Larson, R
- Date of Issue
- 2018-11
- Units
- ROMO
- Keywords
- ARD_Park-Air-Info_Collection, long-term trends, nitrogen, reactive nitrogen, Rocky Mountain National Park, ROMO