After the passage of the 1977 Amendments to the Clean Air Act, the Park Service undertook an extensive program of monitoring air quality at selected sites in the National Park system. Air quality monitoring provides an opportunity to detect and correct dangerous pollution trends before they harm fragile resources. Craters of the Moon is one site in a nationwide network which monitors acid deposition and ozone. Monument personnel also collect data on visibility, airborne particulates, airborne radioactivity, and operate a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather station. Weather data is important because weather directly affects air quality through moisture, clouds, and transport and dispersion of pollutants and particles.
Monitoring serves two basic functions.
Initially, it provides baseline information. Then ongoing monitoring allows scientists to document change from that baseline through time. Let us examine the causes and potential impact of the various pollutants monitored here and what the data has revealed to date. There are several emission sources in southern Idaho which may affect air quality at Craters of the Moon. These facilities are operated in compliance with permit conditions.