NPS-Air Quality Monitoring by the National Park Service, Air Quality Division for ozone, visibility and deposition

Air Resources

ParkNet >> NatureNet >> Air >> AQMonitoring

Air Quality Monitoring

Information Links
	Overview
	Locations
	Trends
	Monitoring Programs
	Monitoring History
	Special Studies
	Air Atlas
	Get Data

Overview

Big Meadows monitoring site in Shenandoah NP, VA
Big Meadows
Shenandoah National Park
Virginia

The National Park Service's comprehensive air quality program encompasses a wide range of activities, many of which are dedicated to measuring levels or effects of air pollution in parks. The NPS Air Resources Division has established an extensive network of air quality monitoring stations to characterize air quality in national parks.

The NPS air quality monitoring program has three primary components: visibility, atmospheric deposition, and gaseous pollutant monitoring. In addition, meteorological monitoring is conducted at many locations to aid in the interpretation of measured air pollution levels. Within each monitoring program are various elements addressing special NPS monitoring needs. In most instances, NPS monitoring efforts complement air pollution monitoring efforts conducted by other federal, state, and local agencies.

Locations

See the air quality in the parks:

Map Networks:

Learn more about the individual NPS air pollutant monitoring programs.

NPS does monitoring in cooperation with several national networks. Parks identified on the map routinely monitor one or more of the following: visibility, fine particles, ozone, sulfur dioxide, atmospheric deposition (wet and/or dry), or meteorology. Measuring air pollution levels in parks is an essential part of the NPS air resource management program and provides vital information to Congress, academia, air pollution control agencies, and the public on air pollution levels in national parks, as well as rural America.

Trends

Assessing how the air quality is changing is a prime function of the monitoring program. The number of national parks showing a statistically significant trend for various air quality indices over the 10-year period, 1990-1999, is shown in this scorecard.

A majority of parks show improvements in visibility on clear days and in the concentration of sulfates present in precipitation.
Nearly all parks show degradation or no change in nitrate levels in precipitation.
Almost half of the parks show significant degradation in ozone levels, with only few showing an improvement. Hazy conditions persist in most parks.

For more on trends, follow links to the individual programs below.

Trends scorecard for air quality in the parks

Monitoring Programs

Detail about the different monitoring programs is available from the links below:

NPS Programs =	Ozone & Meteorology	Visibility	Deposition
Network names and partners =	GPMN - NPS Gaseous Pollutant Monitoring Network CASTNet - Clean Air Status and Trends Network in cooperation with EPA Passives ozone - NPS Portable ozone - NPS Enhanced monitoring - NPS, TVA	IMPROVE - Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments - EPA, FS, BLM Special Studies	NADP - National Atmospheric Deposition Program MDN - Mercury Monitoring Network CASTNet - Clean Air Status and Trends Network in cooperation with EPA
Parameters measured	ozone, wind speed, wind direction, ambient temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, wettness	particulate sulfate, nitrate, fine mass (PM2.5), elements, organics, course mass (PM10)	sulfate, nitrate, cationsmercurysulfate, nitrate, nitric acid, sulfur dioxide, ammonium
Frequency of measurements	continuous, hourly averages	24-hrs every 3 days	weekly