Assessment of air quality and related values in Shenandoah National Park
Sullivan TJ, Cosby BJ, Laurence JA, Dennis RL, Savig K, Webb JR, Bulger AJ, Scruggs M, Gordon C, Ray J, Lee EH, Hogsett WE, Wayne H, Miller D, Kern JS. 2003. Assessment of air quality and related values in Shenandoah National Park. Technical Report NPS/NERCHAL/NRTR-03/090. National Park Service, Northeast Region, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. Philadelphia, PA
Assessment of SHEN's known air quality related values, including visibility, vegetation, soils, streamwater chemistry, fish and aquatic insects, as well as the human-made air pollutants that affect them. Conclusions: This assessment reveals that the park’s visibility and most sensitive aquatic ecosystemshave been degraded by human-made air pollution, although there is some evidence of recentimprovement, presumably as a result of Clean Air Act implementation. Full recovery of thepark’s estimated natural visibility conditions and acid-base chemistry of the most sensitivestreams would not occur under any of the four emissions control scenarios, although varyingdegrees of progress would be made. Implementation of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments(Scenario 2) should make substantial progress toward or possibly achieve protecting park forestsfrom the isolated effects of ground-level ozone on tree growth, forest growth, and changes inforest species composition. However, model simulations of isolated effects may underestimateground-level ozone forest effects, since ozone does not act alone. The park’s air quality andrelated values are primarily influenced by emission sources in Great Lakes States, Mid-AtlanticStates, Southeastern States, and several key source subregions that transcend state boundaries. These states and subregions can contribute the most through collaborative, intra- and interregional efforts toward restoring and protecting clean air, clear views, and healthy aquatic andterrestrial ecosystems in Shenandoah National Park.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Sullivan, Timothy; Cosby, Bernard; Laurence, John; Dennis, Robin; Savig, Kristi; Webb, James; Bulger, Arthur; Scruggs, Mark; Gordon, Christi; Ray, John; Lee, E.; Hogsett, William; Wayne, Heather; Miller, Debbie; Kern, Jeffrey
- Date of Issue
- 2003-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Northeast Region, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
- Units
- MIDN , SHEN , WRD
- Keywords
- Aerosol, Air Inventory, Air Quality, air quality assessment, Air Quality Monitoring, Aquatic Biota, Aquatic Ecosystems, Aquatic Fauna, ARD_Park-Air-Info_Collection, Atmospheric Deposition, Deposition, Fish, Geology, Haze, Invertebrates, Mercury, Nitrogen, Ozone, Pollutants, Soils, stream water chemistry, Sulfur, Surface Water, Vegetation, Visibility, Water Quality, WRBIB