# Presentation: 363811

## Monitoring of high-altitude ecosystems

**Monitoring of high-altitude ecosystems**

**Don Campbell**
**Alisa Mast**
**Dave Clow **

**NPS, USDA-FS, EPA, NSF, Colorado DPHE, Universities, and others**

**Jill Baron**
**Alex Wolf**

**Mark Williams**
**Paul Brooks**

**Leora Nanus**
**George Ingersoll**
**Carol Kendall**

**Heather Rueth**
**Brenda Moraska**
**Koren Nydick**

**Tamara Blett**
**John Turk**

**Notes:**
Acknowledge many who have contributed to knowledge base in Rockies.
Cooperative effort of many entities.

## Why monitor ‘clean’ systems?

**Mountains are primary water supply for western U.S.**
**Valuable as reference sites for disturbed areas.**
**Crown jewels of public lands: mandates to protect wilderness and parks “unimpaired”...**** **

**Why monitor ‘clean’ systems?**

**Notes:**
Not superfund!... Why bother?
Legal responsibility of FLM’s, EPA, state.

## How do we tell what is “impaired”?

- Acidity (sulfur and nitrogen)
- Nitrogen
- Mercury
- Organic pollutants
_**Air Quality “Impairment/Impact” Thresholds:**_
- Resource/AQRV change thresholds need to be established (by the NPS) for ecosystem protection
- How much change will we allow in flora, fauna, soil, water, visibility? (what amount of change constitutes “**impairment**” or “**adverse impact**”)

**How do we tell what is “impaired”?**

**Notes:**
Data is used in PSD permitting (new source review)
Also successful in evaluating existing sources eg. MZWA

## Slide 4

## Slide 5

**Notes:**
US trends: Currently NOx and NH3 emissions ~ 10x preindustrial
Clean Air Act renewal: arguing over small fraction of that.
Long-range (global) transport.

## Regionaltrends in precipitationconcentration

*-D.W. Clow and M. A. Mast, USGS*

**1985-99 **
**NADP / NTN data**

- Regionaltrends in precipitationconcentration

**Notes:**
Sulfate is decreasing regionally, whereas nitrogen is increasing or unchanged. 
New tools are being used to trace changing sources and source-receptor relations: isotopes, trace metals.

## Pathways and Effects of Excess Nitrogen Deposition

**Pathways and Effects of Excess Nitrogen Deposition**

## Research and monitoring for resource management

**Intensive**** ****studies**

**Long**-**term** **monitoring**

**Synoptic surveys**

**Population** **estimates**

**Process modeling**

**Empirical modeling**

## US Forest Service lakes monitoring

**US Forest Service lakes monitoring**

**Synoptic surveys**
**Long-term monitoring**

**Notes:**
Most in Class 1 areas
Earliest surveys in early 1980’s. 
USGS-EPA LTM in Colorado epi, hypo, inflows, ponds, etc.
USDA-FS in Wyoming, incl. Epi, hypo, inflows
Additional surveys in late 80’s - early 90’s.
Long-term monitoring of systems sensitive to atmospheric deposition. 
Remote sites, huge effort to collect and compile these data.

## Nitrate in wilderness lakes

**Wilderness area**

**30**

**20**

**10**

**0**

**Notes:**
~350 lakes, late summer, meas. conc. In many lakes
Epilimnion and outflow samples (not hypos, inflow, dups, etc.)
Conc. Not high, but most are in areas where wet N dep is 1-3 kg/ha.
Nitrate is f(sensitivity)
Climate, elevation, slope, geology, soils, veg.
Further study of landscape controls on sensitivity

## Wet deposition of nitrogen

**Wet deposition of nitrogen**

**NO****3**

**NH****4**

**Notes:**
Ecosystem fx: beyond Front Range, little data avail. On ecosystems
“No problem” ??

## Long-term monitoring sites

**Long-term monitoring sites**

## Front Range, Northcentral Colorado

**3-6 kg N / ha wet deposition.**
**Low retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.**
**Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation:****Nitrate 3-5 ********eq/L lower in outlet.**
**Many watersheds sensitive to N deposition.**

**Notes:**
Data rich!
Importance of ltm
Climate fx confound 
Interpretation accounting for seasonality, climate.

## Mount Zirkel, Northwest Colorado

**3-5 kg N / ha wet deposition.**
**High retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.**
**No leakage of *****inorganic *****N from lake.**
**Organic N: stored or exported?**
_**Most**_** watersheds not highly sensitive to N deposition.**

**Notes:**
 Long-term but only a few samples each summer; reflects growing season only.
Need more sites with year-round data on conc. & Q.
Looking at statistical techniques to account for seasonality and climate.

## Wind River, Northwest Wyoming 

**1-3 kg N / ha wet deposition.**
**Moderate retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.**
**Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation:****Nitrate 3-5 ********eq/L lower in outlet.**
**Many watersheds sensitive to N deposition.**

**Notes:**
May assimilate much incoming N
Fertilization effects?
Export as org. N
Eventually ending up in bottom seds.?

## Weminuche, Southwest Colorado

**1-3 kg N / ha wet deposition.**
**Moderate retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.**
**Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation:****Nitrate 3-5 ********eq/L lower in outlet.**
**Sensitive to acidification (acid rock drainage).**

## Nitrogen Emissions sources in the Rockies

**Nitrogen Emissions sources in the Rockies**

**Transportation**
**Electric power generation**
**Energy development**
**Agriculture**

**Notes:**
Population growth among highest in nation. 
Vehicle miles per capita increasing.
Electric power generation increasing; some improvements in emissions controls.
Vast energy resources being developed. Coal, coal-bed methane, oil shale, natural gas in CO (3x in 12y). Extraction and transportation result in emissions prior to use as fuels. 
Agriculture: crop fetilizer; animal production esp. hogs (4x in 10y)
Emissions sources near sensitive areas. 
Many source types, many are non-point– difficult to control.

## Toxic compounds in atmospheric deposition ?

**Notes:**
Even more difficult to control.
Number of USGS and NPS projects looking at Hg, POPs

## Mercury in ice core from Upper Fremont Glacier

***-Shuster et al., Environmental Science and Technology, 2002***

- Remote location in Wyoming, 4000m elevation
- 70% of Hg-T deposition during last 100 years from anthropogenic sources.
- Peak deposition = 20x background.
- Better temporal resolution than sediment cores.

**Notes:**
Spatial patterns in deposition of POP’s, Hg in snowpack

## Paleolimnological records of deposition.

**Paleolimnological records of deposition.**

**Mercury**** **
**Lake sediments, Mount Zirkel**

**Pesticides**
**Lake sediments, Rocky Mt. NP**

- 0

- 5

- 10

- 15

- 20

- 0

- 5

- 10

- 15

**Mills Lake** total DDT (ug/kg)

- Depth (cm)

*Van Metre, Krabbenhoft, Striegl, and others, USGS*

**Notes:**
Looking at Hg cycling and transport.

## Lower valley of East Inlet, 7/12/00

**Notes:**
Fortunate in high-altitude ecosystems of West: 
Fx to date have not been catastrophic although they are significant.
Successful cooperation between (feds, state, and academic) (scientists, resource managers, regulators).