what goes up does come down how air pollution affects our natural resources christopher lehmann...
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What Goes Up Does Come DownHow Air Pollution Affects our Natural
Resources
Christopher LehmannDirector, Central Analytical LaboratoryNational Atmospheric Deposition Program
Illinois State Water Survey - Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Oradea, Romania
Reutlingen, Germany
Out on garbage patrol…
Bratislava, Slovakia
Lake Constance, Switzerland
Beijing, China
Atmospheric Deposition
EMISSIONS
REMOVAL
Precipitation volume/time
AQUEOUS PHASEPRECIPITATION
GAS/PARTICULATE PHASEAEROSOL PARTICLES
& GASES
Deposition velocity
ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT & TRANSFORMATION
REACTIONS
ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTS
Trends in US Emissions
1980: 25.9
2000: 16.3
1990 Clean Air Act Amendments:Reduced emissions by 10 million short tons (1980-2000)
Source: U.S. EPA
2014: 4.3U.S. EPA Proposed Air Transport Rule:71% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels
2005: 14.8
SO2 NOx
Trends in US Emissions
Source: U.S. EPA
1990 Clean Air Act Amendmentspower plant and mobile source emissions reduced
2014: 9.2
U.S. EPA Proposed Air Transport Rule:52% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels
2005: 19.1
SO2 NOx
What are the environmental impacts of atmospheric
deposition?
Environmental Impacts
• Stream and lake acidification• Increased fish mortality (eggs, fry)
U.S. EPA, 2002: Response of Surface Water Chemistry to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Is “Acid Rain” still an issue for the US?
pH in Precipitation (Mean) 2011
EPA, 2007
pH Effects on Species AbundanceOH49
4.3MO03
5.0
Environmental Impacts
• Stream and lake acidification• Increased fish mortality (eggs, fry)• Damage to vegetation
Damage to forests
Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina
Acid deposition effects
Source: HBRF, Acid Rain Revisited, 2001
Environmental Impacts
• Stream and lake acidification• Increased fish mortality (eggs, fry)• Damage to vegetation• Benefits certain agricultural crops
(reduces fertilizer needed)• Benefits invasive species
Environmental Impacts
• Contributes to wetland nutrient loads
Nitrogen damage to
aquatic systems
Nitrogen Effects
Where is Nitrogen Deposition of Concern in the US?
Total Nitrogen Wet Deposition, 2011
Environmental Impacts
• Contributes to wetland nutrient loads
• Bioaccumulates in aquatic environments (Hg)
The mercury problem?Bioaccumulation
Bacterial action(water and sediment)
Zooplankton
Smaller fish predatory fish
Water Body
Me-Mercury
Concentration
Dry Deposition
Wet DepositionGeologic Sources(soil, rock, base flow etc.)
Methylation
Hg Hg Hg
Where is Mercury Deposition of Concern in the US?
Environmental Impacts
• Contributes to wetland nutrient loads
• Bioaccumulates in aquatic environments (Hg)
• Damage to buildings, structures, and statues
• Corrosion of materials
Limestone statue of George Washington first put outside in New York City in 1944
Source: ACS, Chemistry in Context, 2006
How (and Why) do we measure Air Quality and Atmospheric Deposition?
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Some challenges AQ - Environmental Engineers face
We learn by observing and collecting data
BUT
how can you measure something that is either so small as PM10 and PM2.5 or
something that your can’t even see in the atmosphere, such as most trace gases, which at the same time are found in minute amounts in the atmosphere?
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Principles of Ambient Air Sampling (tricks of the trade)
Collection techniques depend on the pollutant:
PM Collection• Filtration • Impaction
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Instruments imitating the respiratory system
(Papastefanou, 2008)
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How do you measure minute amounts of something you can’t
see?
Natural lighting
Ultraviolet lighting
Source: http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/05deepscope/ background/underwater/media/3panels.html
Can’t really see?
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What if we shed different kind of light instead of visible light? Then atmospheric gases might be
“visible” too…NO2 column Observed from the SCIAMACHY Satellite Instrument (ultraviolet, UV)
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What is society/ government doing
about Air Pollution?
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Air Quality Data and Public Policy
The data environmental engineers collect inform the government of the most recent scientific findings, so that the right measures can be taken to protect health and the environment.
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Tough balance
• Air Pollution control is very expensive
• But so are the damages Air Pollution causes
• Society has to balance these two huge costs
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Expensive to control Air Pollution
Dust removal Gaseous pollutant removal
Expensive equipmentHigh energy use
Before action was taken: Noontime, Donora, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1948
Copyright Photo Archive/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2001. All rights reserved
Expensive not to control Air Pollution
1948: a thick cloud of air pollution formed above the industrial town of Donora, Pennsylvania. It killed 20 people and caused sickness to 6,000 out of 14,000 people.
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Current regulations
Limits on how much air pollution power plants, industries and cars can emit.
If the amounts of certain pollutants, as measured in the atmosphere exceed certain upper limits, then emissions need to be further reduced.
Operation of monitoring networks all over the country.
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Monitoring Air Quality
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Kinds of monitoringEmissions (Source) Monitoring is
the process of monitoring particulate and gaseous emissions from a specific source.
Ambient Monitoring is the systematic, long-term assessment of pollutant levels by measuring the quantity and types of certain pollutants in the surrounding, outdoor air.
Indoor Monitoring is monitoring of air quality at the workplace, schools and homes.
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Sampling platforms – land
Urban Rural
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Sampling platforms-ocean
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Sampling platforms-air
Balloon
Aircraft
Satellites
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Sampling platforms-personal samplers
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Ambient monitoring
Measure air pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere as a concentration (e.g., for PM micrograms/m3 of air) or as mixing ratios (e.g. usually for gases ppmv, ppbv or pptv).
There are a number of different methods to measure any given pollutant, varying in complexity, reliability, and detail of data.
Major decision 1Which method to use, taking into account pollutants to be
monitored, initial investment costs, operating costs, reliability of systems, and ease of operation.
Major decision 2Where to install the monitors and how often to sample.
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Example ambient air samplers
Filter pack Filter pack disassembled
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• Filter packs in a filter sample holder
Example ambient air samplers
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• Passive diffusive samplers for measurement of ammonia (NH3) gas
Example ambient air samplers
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• Sequence of samplers to measure different pollutants
Example ambient air samplers
Wet Deposition MonitoringNational Trends Network (NTN)
• Operators collect weekly wet deposition sample from NADP wet-dry collector
• Continuous precipitation record• Chemical Analysis
– Acids (SO42-, NO3
-, Cl-, Br-)
– Bases (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+)– Nutrients (NH4
+, PO43-)
– pH– Specific Conductivity
NTN NV05Great Basin National Park
NTN IL11Bondville, IL
National Trends Network (NTN)
243 stations + 2 QA
Central Analytical Laboratory IL State Water Survey
What trends do we see in atmospheric wet
deposition data?
…what’s the cause?
…what should we do about it?
Ammonium (NH4+)
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
Team Exercise
• Break into 3 groups, each with a laptop• Each group views one animated sequence
of deposition trends over time.
Team Discussion
• Answer the following questions:– Is atmospheric pollution getting better or
worse in the United States? Why do you say this?
– What do you think is the cause of the change?
– Why do you think it is changing?
