NRSPOLD3: The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP)

(National Research Support Project Summary)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[02/22/2002] [03/16/2004] [02/09/2005] [02/01/2006] [12/22/2006] [11/20/2007] [11/20/2007] [12/15/2008] [12/15/2009]

Date of Annual Report: 02/22/2002

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 08/27/2001 - 08/30/2001
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2001 - 12/01/2001

Participants

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Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

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Accomplishments

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) provides quality assured data and information on the exposure of managed and natural ecosystems and cultural resources to acidic compounds, nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. These data support informed decisions on air quality issues related to precipitation chemistry and are used by scientists, policy-makers, educators, and the public. Data are freely available via the Internet, which enables on-line retrieval of individual data points, seasonal and annual averages, trend plots, concentration and deposition maps, reports, manuals, and other data and information (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu). Atmospheric Chemical Deposition Measurements. The NRSP-3 provides a framework for cooperation among governmental and nongovernmental organizations to support three NADP precipitation chemistry networks: the National Trends Network (NTN), the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), and the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). At the end of December 2001, there were 232 NTN stations collecting one-week precipitation samples in 48 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Quebec Province, Canada. The NTN provides the only long-term nationwide record of wet deposition in the United States. Complementing the NTN are the 10-site AIRMoN and the 63-site MDN. Data from daily precipitation samples collected at AIRMoN sites support continued research of atmospheric transport and removal of air pollutants and development of computer simulations of these processes. The MDN offers the only regional measurements of mercury in North American precipitation, and MDN data are used to quantify mercury deposition to water bodies that have fish and wildlife consumption advisories due to this toxic chemical. In 2001, 42 states listed advisories warning people to limit game fish consumption due to high mercury levels. Advisories also were issued for coastal Maine, the Atlantic Coast from the Virginia-North Carolina border to the southern tip of Florida, and the entire U.S. Gulf Coast. The NADP continued its extensive quality assurance program in 2001. Two NTN sites and one MDN site collected samples in side-by-side wet deposition collectors for the purpose of obtaining network precision measurements. Network precision data are now available for 2 MDN and 43 NTN sites. Ongoing comparisons between the two primary North American networks continued at co-located NTN and Canadian Acid Precipitation Monitoring Network sites in central Pennsylvania and southern Quebec Province. A site systems and performance review team checked equipment, operating procedures, and installations at 100 NTN and 18 MDN sites during the year. And, NADP Program Office staff began preparation of updated quality assurance documents. Technical Committee and Scientific Activities. The Network Operations Subcommittee, Budget Advisory Committee, and Executive Committee met in Champaign, Illinois, on 27-30 August 2001. A total of 49 Technical Committee members attended one or more of these business meetings. Among the major topics addressed was the status of an initiative to identify a modern precipitation gage and wet deposition collector to replace currently used equipment, a potential partnering arrangement with the National Climate Data Center‘s new long-term Climate Reference Network, and a new effort to measure hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in archival NADP samples as part of the U.S. Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/projects/usnip). Unlike previous meetings, the 2001 Technical Committee meetings were not accompanied by a scientific symposium. Instead, NADP helped organize sessions on Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen and Effects of Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen at N2001: The Second International Nitrogen Conference, held in Potomac, MD, 14-18 October 2001. Nearly 400 scientists, policy-makers, and citizens, drawn from 30 nations, participated in this interdisciplinary conference, organized by Dr. James Galloway and Dr. Ellis Cowling, long-time NADP Technical Committee members. Sixty-three papers presented at this meeting, i.e., nearly one in five, either used NADP data or were presented by Technical Committee members or presenters in NADP-organized sessions. Support of Research and Education. On-line Data and Information : The NADP database, with 23 years of NTN data, 9 years of AIRMoN data, and 5 years of MDN data, is an invaluable resource supporting research of atmospheric deposition and its effects on managed and unmanaged ecosystems, i.e., NRSP-3 objectives 1 and 2. In 2001, the NADP Internet site (nadp.sws.uiuc.edu) received nearly 43,000 unique visitors, a 7 percent increase over 2000 usage. Site users logged more than 109,000 sessions, and the site received over one million hits for the first time in its history. Since tracking of Internet site usage began in 1998, usage has increased by 300 to 400 percent. Most frequently accessed data products continued to be color contour maps of pollutant concentrations and depositions. Site users viewed 88,367 maps in 2001 and retrieved 18,535 data files. User statistics show that researchers primarily use NADP data to study atmospheric deposition and watershed processes, as well as environmental phenomena such as the effects of deposition on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and on cultural resources. Universities account for 35 percent of NADP Internet site users, followed by federal agencies (21 percent) and public schools (18 percent). Research and educational usage have averaged 60 percent to 40 percent, respectively. College students and secondary and elementary school students use the popular on-line brochures, such as Inside Rain and Nitrogen in the Nation‘s Rain, as well as using NADP data for research and class assignments. NADP maps also appear in several new textbooks, such as Ecosystem Change and Public Health (Johns Hopkins University Press), Chemistry in Context (American Chemical Society), and Meteorology (McGraw-Hill). New Uses of NADP Samples : Research groups measuring the isotopic composition of water have found an important new application for archival NTN samples. Scientists are measuring the oxygen-18 and hydrogen-2 abundance in archival NTN samples and comparing the isotopic composition with standard mean ocean water. These data are used to evaluate the relative contributions of the Gulf of Mexico, North Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean as sources of the water vapor that led to precipitation. Spatial and seasonal changes in the oxygen-18 abundance also are used to assess the importance of continental recycling of ocean water and to investigate the effects of air and water temperatures on isotopic composition. An accessible database is being developed for the isotope research community using oxygen-18 and hydrogen-2 measurements from 80 NTN sites over 14 years. These sites comprise the U.S. contribution to the International Atomic Energy Agency‘s Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation. Applications of NADP Data : NADP data are being used in an integrated assessment of the effects of acidic deposition on streams, soils, and forests in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Southern Appalachian Mountains Initiative (SAMI), a partnership of state and federal environmental agencies, federal land managers, industries, environmental groups, academia, and interested citizens, is conducting the assessment. SAMI scientists use NTN data to track the spatial pattern of acidic deposition and its change over time. Using air quality models, they link present pollutant emissions to measured acidic deposition and apply these models to estimate acidic deposition under several future emissions scenarios. They also apply forest nutrient cycling and watershed models to evaluate present and future acidic deposition effects on streams and forests in the 10-state SAMI region. In its report, Clean Coastal Waters, Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution, a National Academy of Sciences Committee used NADP data to evaluate the role of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in causing excess nutrient levels in estuarine systems. Estimates range from 10 percent to 40 percent of total nitrogen input to estuaries comes from atmospheric deposition. Among the factors affecting these estimates are the water surface to watershed area and the degree of nitrogen saturation in tributary watersheds. NADP data were cited as crucial to the development of airshed and watershed models. Plans for 2002/2003. Progress on the initiative to replace the current field equipment at NADP sites will continue to receive a high priority. NADP Committees will review results of field trials of candidate replacement precipitation gages and seek to reach a consensus on a replacement(s) that meets the pre-determined specifications. Field trials of newly-designed wet deposition collectors will continue, as needed. The Program Office will work with the Executive Committee to prepare a new five-year strategic plan. The Program Office also will complete preparation of an NADP Quality Management Plan for review by the Technical Committee and will update Quality Assurance Plans for the three deposition networks. The Network Operations and the Data Management and Analysis Subcommittees will complete the development of schemes to classify NADP sites according to population, pollutant emissions, and land use and cover information. The Environmental Effects Subcommittee will exam the feasibility of passive sampling of selected air pollutants at NADP sites. The Program Office will continue applying Geographic Information System (GIS) data presentations that would link land-use, population, pollutant emissions, and other data to NADP wet deposition data. These presentations available on the Web site will enable users to download maps that could be used to examine relationships among wet chemical deposition and environmental effects, pollutant sources, etc. To support these research efforts, the Program Office database manager and technician are using GIS software and applications to prepare maps and overlays. Users will be able to submit on-line database queries by selecting a watershed and time (averaging) period for the data they need. Deposition rates (fluxes) and total watershed loads (masses) will be available. GIS overlays of land use/cover (which will enable flux estimates to forests, fields, and water bodies within a watershed), ecoregions, population, road miles, etc., are in preparation. This multi-year effort involves communications with users and guidance and input from the NADP Committees and Subcommittees.

Publications

NADP PROGRAM OFFICE PUBLICATIONS National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2001. NADP 2001 - NADP Committee Meeting Proceedings. (prepared by Douglas, K.E. and P.S. Bedient) NADP Proceedings 2001-01, August 27-30, 2001, Champaign, IL, and October 14-18, 2001, N2001 - The Second Annual International Nitrogen Conference, Potomac, MD. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 120 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2001. National Atmospheric Deposition Program 2000 Annual Summary. NADP Data Report 2001-01. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 16 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2001. Quality Assurance Report, National Atmospheric Deposition Program, 1999, Laboratory Operations, Central Analytical Laboratory. (prepared by J.E. Rothert) NADP QA Report 2001-01, NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 127 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2001. 2002 CALendar. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 30 pp. JOURNAL ARTICLES Bischoff, J.M., P. Bukaveckas, K. Ohrui, and M.J. Mitchell. 2001. Nitrogen Storage and Cycling in Vegetation of a Forested Wetland: Implications for Watershed N Processing. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 128:97-114. Bytnerowicz, A., P.E. Padgett, S.D. Parry, M.E. Fenn, and M.J. Arbaugh. 2001. Concentrations, Deposition, and Effects of Nitrogenous Pollutants in Selected California Ecosystems. The Scientific World 1(S2):304-311. Butler, T.J., G.E. Likens, and B.J.B. Stunder. 2001. Regional-scale Impacts of Phase I of the Clean Air Act Amendments in the USA: the Relation Between Emissions and Concentrations, Both Wet and Dry. Atmospheric Environment. 35:1015-1028. Civerolo, K.L., E. Brankov, S. T. Rao, and I. Zurbenko. 2001. Assessing the Impact of the Acid Deposition Control Program. Atmospheric Environment. 35: 4135-4148. Civerolo, K. L., and S. T. Rao. 2001. Space-time Analysis of Precipitation-Weighted Sulfate Concentrations Over the Eastern United States. Atmospheric Environment, 35: 5657-5661. David, M.B., G.F. McIsaac, T.V. Royer, R.G. Darmody, and L.E. Gentry. 2001. Estimated Historical and Current Nitrogen Balances for Illinois. The Scientific World. 1(S2):597-604. Driscoll, C.T., G.B. Lawrence, A.J. Bulger, T.J. Butler, C.S. Cronan, C. Eagar, K.F. Lambert, G.E. Likens, J.L. Stoddard, and K.C. Weathers. 2001. Acidic Deposition in the Northeastern United States: Sources and Inputs, Ecosystem Effects, and Management Strategies. BioScience. 51(3): 180-198. Eshleman, K.N., D.A. Fiscus, N.M. Castro, J.R. Webb, and F.A. Deviney, Jr. 2001. Computation and Visualization of Regional-Scale Forest Disturbance and Associated Dissolved Nitrogen Export from Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. The Scientific World. 1(S2): 539-547. Fenn, M.E. and M.A. Poth. 2001. A Case Study of Nitrogen Saturation in Western U.S. Forests. The Scientific World. 1(S2): 433-439. Johnson, C.A., M.A. Mast, and C.L. Kester. 2001. Use of 17O/16O to Trace Atmospherically-Deposited Sulfate in Surface Waters: A Case Study in Alpine Watersheds in the Rocky Mountains. Geophysical Research Letters. 28: 4483-4486. Harvey, F.E. 2001. Use of NADP Archive Samples to Determine the Isotope Composition of Precipitation: Characterizing the Meteoric Input Function for Use in Ground Water Studies. Ground Water. 49(3): 380-390. Krajick, K. 2001. Long-term Data Show Lingering Effects from Acid Rain. Science. 292:195-196. Likens, G.E., T.J. Butler, and D.C. Buso. 2001. Long- and Short-term Changes in Sulfate Deposition: Effects of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Biogeochemistry. 52: 1-11. Miegroet, H.V., I.F. Creed, N.S. Nicholas, D.G. Tarboton, K.L. Webster, J. Shubzda, B. Robinson, J. Smoot, D.W. Johnson, S.E. Lindberg, G. Lovett, S. Nodvin, and S. Moore. 2001. Is There Synchronicity in Nitrogen Input and Output Fluxes at the Noland Divide Watershed, a Small N-Saturated Forested Catchment in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Scientific World. 1(S2): 480-492. Mitchell, M.J., P.J. McHale, S. Inamdar, and D.J. Raynal. 2001. Role of Within Lake Processes and Hydrobiogeochemical Changes over 16 Years in a Watershed in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State, U.S.A. Hydrological Processes. 15: 1951-1965. Napier, T.L. and M. Tucker. 2001. Factors Affecting Nutrient Application Rates within Three Midwestern Watersheds. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 56(3): 220-228. Nilles, M.A. and B.E. Conley. 2001. Changes in the Chemistry of Precipitation in the United States, 1981-1998. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 130: 409-414. Norton, S.A., B.J. Cosby, I.J. Fernandez, J.S. Kahl, and M.R. Church. 2001. Long-term and Seasonal Variations in CO2: Linkages to Catchment Alkalinity Generation. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 5: 83-91. Parker, J.L., I.J. Fernandez, L.E. Rustad, and S.A. Norton. 2001. Effects of Nitrogen Enrichment, Wildfire, and Harvesting on Forest Soil Carbon and Nitrogen. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 65: 1248-1255. Pryor, S.C., R.J. Barthelmie, M. Carreiro, M.L. Davis, A. Hartley, B. Jensen, A. Oliphant, J.C. Randolph, and J.T. Schoof. 2001. Nitrogen Deposition to and Cycling in a Deciduous Forest. The Scientific World. 1(S2): 245-254. Rabaud, N.E., T.A. James, L.I. Ashbaugh, and R.G. Flocchini. 2001. A Passive Sampler for the Determination of Airborne Ammonia Concentrations near Large-Scale Animal Facilities. Environmental Science and Technology. 35(6): 1190-1196. Showstack., R.2001. Further Emissions Cuts Needed for Speedier Acid Rain Recovery. EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 82:161-162. Stottlemyer, R. 2001. Ecosystem Processes and Nitrogen Export in Northern U.S. Watersheds. The Scientific World. 1(S2): 581-588. OTHER PUBLICATIONS Center for Environmental Information. 2001. Acid Rain: Are the Problems Solved? Conference Executive Summary, May 2-3, 2001, Washington, D.C. 34 pp. Daley, B. 2001. Acid Rain Resists ‘90s Fix, Study Says. In The Boston Globe. March 26, 2001. Dripps, W.R., C.J. Kucharik, J.D. Lenters, M.P. Anderson, and J.A. Foley. 2001. Modeling the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Groundwater Recharge Across a Forested Watershed in Northern Wisconsin. In Proceedings, 2001 Spring Meeting, American Geophysical Union. May 29-June 2, 2001, Boston, MA. Driscoll, C.T., G.B. Lawrence, A.J. Bulger, T.J. Butler, C.S. Cronan, C. Eagar, K.F. Lambert, G.E. Likens, J.L. Stoddard, and K.C. Weathers. 2001. Acid Rain Revisited: Advances in Scientific Understanding Since the Passage of the 1970 and 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. Science LinksTM Publication. Vol. 1, No. 1. 20 pp. Driscoll, C.T., G.B. Lawrence, A.J. Bulger, T.J. Butler, C.S. Cronan, C. Eagar, K.F. Lambert, G.E. Likens, J.L. Stoddard, and K.C. Weathers. 2001. Acid Rain Revisited: Advances in Scientific Understanding Since the Passage of the 1970 and 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. In Hubbard Brook Research Foundation Acid Rain Update II. 2 pp. Ecological Society of America. 2001. N2001: The Second International Nitrogen Conference, Optimizing Nitrogen Management in Food and Energy Production and Environmental Protection. Program and Abstracts. October 14-18, 2001, Potomac, MD. Ecological Society of America, Washington, DC. 119 pp. Environmental Science and Engineering, Inc. 2001. Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) 1999 Annual Report. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, NC. 176 pp. Evans, J., I.J. Fernandez, L.E. Rustad, and S.A. Norton. 2001. Methods for Evaluating Carbon Fractions in Forest Soils. A Review (Technical Bulletin 178). University of Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, Orono, ME. 39pp. Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission. 2001. Air Quality Sulfur Dioxide. In 2000-2001 State of Kentucky‘s Environment: A Report on Environmental Trends and Conditions. Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission, Frankfort, KY. pp 51-52. Larson, R.S. and V.C. Bowersox. 2001. The National Atmospheric Deposition Program‘s Databases. In Proceedings 94th Annual Air & Waste Management Association Meeting (paper #669). Air and Waste Management Association, Sewickley, PA. 13 pp. Lloyd, S.A. 2001. Acid Deposition. In Ecosystem Change and Public Health. Eds. J.L. Aron and J.A. Patz. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. p. 209-213. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 2001. Acid Rain and Statewide Trends. In 1999 Ambient Air Quality Report (Air Monitoring Section Report #2001.01). North Carolina Division of Air Quality, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Raleigh, NC. pp 58-73. Risch, M. 2001. Monitoring Program for Mercury in Precipitation in Indiana. U.S. Geological Survey, Indianapolis, IN. 4 pp. Southern Appalachian Mountains Initiative. 2001. Acid Deposition Assessment. In 2001 Interim Report. Southern Appalachian Mountains Initiative, Asheville, NC. p. 16-17. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2001. Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet): Monitoring the Results of Emission Reductions. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Washington, D.C. 2 pp.

Impact Statements

In its report, Clean Coastal Waters, Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution, a National Academy of Sciences Committee used NADP data to evaluate the role of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in causing excess nutrient levels in estuarine systems. Estimates range from 10 percent to 40 percent of total nitrogen input to estuaries comes from atmospheric deposition. NADP data were cited as crucial to the development of airshed and watershed models.

Date of Annual Report: 03/16/2004

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/20/2003 - 10/24/2003
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2003 - 12/01/2003

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

see minutes at http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/meetings/fall03/Tech2003fall.pdf.

Accomplishments

The NRSP-3 provides a framework for cooperation among State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES) and governmental and nongovernmental organizations to support the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), which provides quality assured data and information on the exposure of managed and natural ecosystems and cultural resources to acidic compounds, nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. NADP data support informed decisions on air quality issues related to precipitation chemistry and are used by scientists, policy-makers, educators, and the public. NRSP-3 activities address the ?environment, natural resources, and landscape stewardship,? which is a national research priority of the state-federal (SAES-USDA) partnership. The NADP operates three precipitation chemistry networks: the National Trends Network (NTN), the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), and the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). At the end of December 2003, 256 NTN stations were collecting one-week precipitation samples in 49 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Quebec Province, Canada. The NTN provides the only long-term nationwide record of wet deposition in the United States. Complementing the NTN are the 9-site AIRMoN and the 82-site MDN. Data from daily precipitation samples collected at AIRMoN sites support continued research of atmospheric transport and removal of air pollutants and development of computer simulations of these processes. The MDN offers the only regional measurements of mercury in North American precipitation, and MDN data are used to quantify mercury deposition to water bodies that have fish and wildlife consumption advisories due to this toxic chemical. In 2003, 43 states listed advisories warning people to limit game fish consumption due to high mercury levels. Advisories also were issued for coastal Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, the Atlantic Coast from the Virginia-North Carolina border to the southern tip of Florida, and the entire U.S. Gulf Coast. NADP Internet Site. NADP data are available via the Internet, which enables on-line retrieval of individual data points, seasonal and annual averages, trend plots, concentration and deposition maps, reports, manuals, and other data and information (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu). The number of Internet site users, data files accessed, and maps viewed continued to increase. In 2003 the site received 53,823 unique visitors and nearly 1.4 million hits, up more than five-fold since 1998, when user statistics were first recorded. User sessions rose to 159,731 and users downloaded 18,398 data files. Certainly the most frequently viewed data products on the site continue to be the color-contour concentration and deposition maps, which appear in scientific journals, textbooks, and newspaper articles. In August, a ?NetWatch? article in Science magazine featured the 2001 pH map and described the database and some of the on-line reports and products available from the NADP. Educational/Extension Activities. In 2003, the NADP Program Office participated in the University of Illinois Extension Service program, Environmental Stewardship Week, designed to engage elementary school students in hands-on learning activities in the environmental sciences. Staff members led a learning activity entitled ?pH and Precipitation? that focused on air pollution, acid rain, and water quality. Students measured the pH of selected household chemicals, water from a central Illinois lake, and rain samples from NTN sites across the country. Approximately 100 5th and 6th grade students participated in the activity. Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In its most recent progress report, ?Acid Rain Program, 2002 Progress Report,? the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) described the National Atmospheric Deposition Program as one of two long-term national monitoring networks with data that scientists and policy-makers routinely use to evaluate the impact of emissions reductions on the environment. In the report, the USEPA used NTN data to compare average 2000-2002 sulfate deposition with average 1989-1991 sulfate deposition. This comparison showed sulfate deposition decreases of about 35 percent to 55 percent in Midwestern and Northeastern states since 1990. In the Northeastern United States, a nearly one-for-one decrease in sulfate concentrations in precipitation and sulfur dioxide emissions was noted. These decreases were cited as evidence that sulfur dioxide emissions reductions under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA-1990) have led to reductions in acidic deposition. A similar comparison with NTN nitrate data showed deposition decreases in the Northeast and Michigan, though nitrate concentrations remained virtually unchanged. In a related report, ?Response of Surface Water Chemistry to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,? the USEPA examined the response of eastern U.S. lakes and streams to the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions reductions that occurred under the CAAA-1990. The authors used NTN data to quantify sulfate, nitrate, and base cation deposition trends. These trends were compared with changes in the acid-base chemistry of surface waters. Except for the Ridge and Blue Ridge Province in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, sulfate deposition decreases were accompanied by sulfate concentration decreases in lakes and streams. Nitrate changes were small and generally insignificant in precipitation and in surface waters. In precipitation, base cation concentrations changed little, although in surface waters a 20-year base cation decline has continued. Concomitant decreases in sulfate and base cation concentrations has resulted in only small improvements in surface water acidity. These 2003 reports point to the increasingly important role of NADP data in assessing the relationships among emissions, air quality, precipitation chemistry, and wet deposition effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Long-term high-quality data from the network of geographically representative NADP sites has become an invaluable resource for policy-relevant assessments. The current administration has introduced new clean air legislation, the Clear Skies Act, which would expand the cap-and-trade program to three pollutants, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Proponents of this legislation cite the cost-effectiveness of the current program and its demonstrated success in reducing acid deposition, as monitored by the NADP/NTN. Plans for 2004/2005 <ul><li>Serving science and education. The NRSP-3 seeks to continue to support the needs of researchers and educators by providing up-to-date quality-assured data and information on nutrients, acidic compounds, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. Experience has demonstrated the value of the Internet in making NADP data available to scientists, educators, students, and policy-makers. New on-line data presentations will be developed, including isopleth map animations that track annual concentration and deposition changes of cations and anions not now included in the map animation series. Site plan views that display the locations of NADP instruments and instruments of related measurement programs will be posted with other site information. An informational brochure on mercury, currently in draft form, will be completed and published. <li>Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. Scientists and policy-makers have a keen interest in the atmospheric deposition of nutrients and the role of nutrient deposition in affecting unmanaged forests, shrublands, and grasslands and in affecting surface water quality, especially in the estuarine waters of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The NADP Central Analytical Laboratory is measuring total nitrogen and total phosphorus in precipitation samples to explore the feasibility of adding these analytes to the current measurement set. In addition, the NADP Environmental Effects Subcommittee is considering other measurements that would address policy-related issues. Among the measurements under consideration is gaseous ammonia and total mercury. <li>Responding to emerging issues. The NADP Program Office is communicating with potential collaborators interested in evaluating the use of NADP samples for early detection of windborne plant pathogens. These pathogens can infect agricultural crops and forests. Atmospheric transport and deposition can be an important mechanism for the dispersal of plant pathogens and for the exposure of plants to pathogens from distant infected areas. Environmental monitoring networks, such as the three NADP networks, could play a potentially important role in a surveillance system for the detection and spread of pathogens, whether domestic and foreign in origin. The NADP is uniquely suited to address this issue with its 250 to 300 sites across the United States.</ul>

Publications

There were more than 220 publications, including 61 journal articles and a Master of Science thesis, using NADP data or resulting from NRSP-3 activities in 2003. An on-line database that lists citations using NADP data is now accessible at <a href="http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/bibsearch.asp">http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/bibsearch.asp</a>. NADP PROGRAM OFFICE PUBLICATIONS Lehmann, C.M.B. and V.C. Bowersox. 2003. National Atmospheric Deposition Program Quality Management Plan. NADP QA Plan 2003-01. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 104 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2003. NADP 2003 - Long-Term Monitoring: Supporting Science and Informing Policy and Ammonia Workshop. (prepared by Douglas, K.E. and P.S. Bedient) NADP Proceedings 2003-01, October 20-24, 2003, Washington, D.C. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 176 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2003. National Atmospheric Deposition Program 2002 Annual Summary. NADP Data Report 2003-01. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 16 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2003. Quality Assurance Report, National Atmospheric Deposition Program, 2001, Laboratory Operations, Central Analytical Laboratory. (prepared by J.E. Rothert) NADP QA Report 2003-01, NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 206 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2003. 2004 CALendar. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 30 pp. SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES Aber, J.D., C.L. Goodale, S.V. Ollinger, ?L. Smith, A.H. Magill, M.E. Martin, R.A. Hallett, and J.L. Stoddard. 2003. Is Nitrogen Deposition Altering the Nitrogen Status of Northeastern Forests? BioScience. 53(4):375-389. Burns, D.A. 2003. Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Southern Wyoming - a Review and New Analysis of Past Study Results. Atmospheric Environment. 37:921-932. Butler, T.J., G.E. Likens, F.M. Vermeylen, and B.B. Stunder. 2003. The Relation Between NOx Emissions and Precipitation NO3 - in the Eastern USA. Atmospheric Environment. 37: 2093- 2104. Castro, M.S., C.T. Driscoll, T.E. Jordan, W.G. Reay, and W.R. Boynton. 2003. Sources of Nitrogen to Estuaries in the United States. Estuaries 26(3):803-814. Clow, D.W., J.O. Sickman, R.G. Striegl, D.P. Krabbenhoft, J.G. Elliot, M. Dornblaster, D.A. Roth, and D.H. Campbell. 2003. Changes in the Chemistry of Lakes and Precipitation in High- Elevation National Parks in the Western United States, 1985-1999. Water Resources Research. 39(6), 1171, doi:10.1029/2002WR001533. Dayan, U. and D. Lamb. 2003. Meteorological Indicators of Summer Precipitation Chemistry in Central Pennsylvania. Atmospheric Environment. 37:1045-1055. Driscoll, C.T., K.M. Driscoll, K.M. Roy, and M.J. Mitchell. 2003. Chemical Response of Lakes in the Adirondack Region of New York to Declines in Acidic Deposition. Environmental Science & Technology. 37:2036-2042. Driscoll, C.T., D. Whitall, J. Aber, E. Boyer, M. Castro, C. Cronan, C. Goodale, P. Groffman, C. Hopkinson, K. Lambert, G. Lawrence, and S. Ollinger. 2003. Nitrogen Pollution: Sources and Consequences in the U.S. Northeast. Environment. 45: 8-22. Fenn, M.E., J.S. Baron, E.B. Allen, H.M. Rueth, K.R.Nydick, L. Geiser, W.D. Bowman, J.O. Sickman, T. Meixner, D.W.Johnson, and P. Neitlich. 2003. Ecological Effects of Nitrogen Deposition in the Western United States. BioScience. 53(4):404-420. Fenn, M.E., R. Haeuber, G.S. Tonnesen, J.S. Baron, S. Grossman-Clarke, D. Hope, D.A. Jaffe, S. Copeland, L. Geiser, H.M. Rueth, and J.O. Sickman. 2003. Nitrogen Emissions, Deposition, and Monitoring in the Western United States. BioScience. 53(4):391-403. Fernandez,I.J., L.E. Rustad, S.A. Norton, J.S. Kahl, and B.J. Cosby. 2003. Experimental Acidification Causes Soil Base Cation Depletion in a New England Forested Watershed. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 67(6): 1909-1919. Galloway, J.N., J.D. Aber, J.W. Erisman, S.P. Seitzinger, R.W. Howarth, E.B. Cowling, and J. Cosby. 2003. The Nitrogen Cascade. BioScience. 53(4):341-356. Gilliland, A.B., R.L. Dennis, S.J. Roselle, and T.E. Pierce. 2003. Seasonal NH3 Emission Estimates for the Eastern United States Based on Ammonium Wet Concentrations and an Inverse Modeling Method. Journal of Geophysical Research. 108(D15):4477, doi10.1029/2002JD003063, 2003. Hidy, G.M. 2003. Snowpack and Precipitation Chemistry at High Altitudes. Atmospheric Environment. 37:1231-1242. Kester, C.L., J.S. Baron, and J.T. Turk. 2003. Isotopic Study of Sulfate Sources and Residence Times in a Subalpine Watershed. Environmental Geology. 43: 606-613.. Lafrancois, B.M., K.R. Nydick, and B. Caruso. 2003. Influence of Nitrogen on Phytoplankton Biomass and Community Composition in Fifteen Snowy Range Lakes (Wyoming, U.S.A.). Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. 35(4): 499-508. Mitchell, M.J., C.T. Driscoll, S. Inamdar, G.G. McGee, M.O. Mbila, and D.J. Raynal. 2003. Nitrogen Biogeochemistry in the Adirondack Mountains of New York: Hardwood Ecosystems and Associated Surface Waters. Environmental Pollution. 123: 355-364. Nanus, L., D.H. Campbell, G.P. Ingersoll, D.W. Clow, and M.A. Mast. 2003. Atmospheric Deposition Maps for the Rocky Mountains. Atmospheric Environment. 37: 4881-4892. Pelley, J. 2003. Adirondack Lakes Recovering from Acid Rain. Environmental Science & Technology. June 1, 2003:202A- 203A. Raloff, J. 2003. Why the Mercury Falls. Science News.163: 72-74. Rueth, H.M., J.S. Baron, and E.J. Allstodt. 2003. Responses of Old-Growth Engelmann Spruce Forests to Nitrogen Fertilization. Ecological Applications. 13: 664-673. Saros, J.E., S.J. Interlandi, A.P. Wolfe, and D.R. Engstrom. 2003. Recent Changes in the Diatom Community Structure of Lakes in the Beartooth Mountain Range, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. 35: 18-23. Seigneur, C., P. Karamchandani, K. Vijayaraghavan, K. Lohman, R. Shia, and L. Levin. 2003. On the Effect of Spatial Resolution on Atmospheric Mercury Modeling. Science of the Total Environment. 304:73-81. Seigneur, C., K. Vijayaraghavan, K. Lohman, P. Karamchandani, and C. Scott. 2003. Global Source Attribution for Mercury Deposition in the United States. Environmental Science &Technology. 38:555-569. Sickles, J.E. II, and J.W. Grimm. 2003. Wet Deposition from Clouds and Precipitation in Three High-Elevation Regions of the Eastern United States. Atmospheric Environment. 37:277-288. Sickman, J.O., A.L. Leydecker, C.C.Y. Chang, C. Kendall, J.M. Melack, D.M. Lucero, and J. Schimel. 2003. Mechanisms Underlying Export of N from High-Elevation Catchments During Seasonal Transitions. Biogeochemistry. 64: 1-24. Sickman, J.O., J.M. Melack, and D.W. Clow. 2003. Evidence for Nutrient Enrichment of High- Elevation Lakes in the Sierra Nevada, California. Limnology and Oceanography. 48(5): 1885- 1892. Smith, R.A., R.B. Alexander, and G.E. Schwartz. 2003. Natural Background Concentrations of Nutrients in Streams and Rivers of the Conterminous United States. Environmental Science & Technology. 37:3039-3047. Walvoord, M.A., F.M. Phillips, D.A. Stonestrom, R.D. Evans, P.C. Hartsough, B.D. Newman, and R.G. Striegl. 2003. A Reservoir of Nitrate Beneath Desert Soils. Science. 302:1021-1024 and S1-S7. Wolfe, A.P., A.C. Van Gorp, and J.S. Baron. 2003. Recent Ecological and Biogeochemical Changes in Alpine Lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado, U.S.A.): a Response to Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition. Geobiology. 1: 153-168. Zhang, Q. and C. Anastasio. 2003. Conversion of Fogwater and Aerosol Organic Nitrogen to Ammonium, Nitrate, and NOx During Exposure to Simulated Sunlight and Ozone. Environmental Science and Technology. 37: 3522-3530. OTHER PUBLICATIONS Bowersox, V.C., 2003: ?Sources and Receptors: Monitoring the Data,? In: Acid Rain: Are the Problems Solved? American Fisheries Society Trends in Fisheries and Management 2, Bethesda, MD. pp. 47-57. Driscoll, C.T., D. Whitall, J. Aber, E. Boyer, M. Castro, C. Cronan, C.L. Goodale, P. Groffman, C. Hopkinson, K. Lambert, G. Lawrence, and S. Ollinger. 2003. Nitrogen Pollution: From the Sources to the Sea. Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. Science LinksTM Publication. Vol. 1, no.2. 24 pp. Gordon, J.D. 2003. Evaluation of Candidate Rain Gages for Upgrading Precipitation Measurement Tools for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4302). U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO. 34 pp. Larson, R.S. 2003. A Method for Classifying and Characterizing Wet Deposition Monitoring Sites (paper #69777). In Proceedings 96th Annual Air & Waste Management Association Meeting. Air and Waste Management Association, Sewickley, PA. 10 pp. Lehmann, C.M.B. 2003. Quality Assurance in the National Atmospheric Deposition Program for Support of Atmospheric Trends Research (paper #69956). In Proceedings 96th Annual Air & Waste Management Association Meeting. Air and Waste Management Association, Sewickley, PA. 18 pp. Stoddard, J.L., J.S. Kahl, F.A. Deviney, D.R. DeWalle, C.T. Driscoll, A.T. Herlihy, J.H. Kellogg, P.S. Murdoch, J.R. Webb, and K.E. Webster. 2003. Response of Surface Water Chemistry to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (EPA 620/R-03/001). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. 84 pp. Tumbusch, M.L. 2003. Evaluation of OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gage Versus Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780 for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (Water-Resources Investigations Report 03-4167). U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO. 29 pp. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2003. Acid Rain Program, 2002 Progress Report (EPA- 430-R-03-011). Office of Air and Radiation, Clean Air Markets Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 16 pp.

Impact Statements

Syracuse University and Adirondack Lakes Survey scientists investigated the response of Adirondack lakes to the 20-year decline in sulfate deposition measured at northeastern NADP/NTN sites and found that sulfate has decreased in virtually all Adirondack lakes, while only a small number of lakes have become less acidic.
Using O2 isotope measurements from NADP/NTN samples and from soil water, tree and leaf tissue, and airborne CO2, researchers discovered that 80 percent of the respired CO2 in a central Oregon forest comes from the soil and 20 percent from plants and that the isotopic composition of rain has an important influence on the isotopic composition of soil water.
According to a Tennessee Valley Authority report, peaks in the Great Smoky Mountains receive some of the highest nitrogen and sulfur deposition in the United States, based on NADP/NTN data; and these high-deposition levels may have long-term detrimental impacts on the health of these forests.
NOAA scientists used NADP/NTN ammonium concentration measurements as the basis for evaluating the current ammonia emissions inventory for the eastern United States and concluded that emissions estimates may be as much as 20 percent too high.
To assess the impact of human activities on nutrients in surface waters, USGS scientists used NADP/NTN nitrogen deposition data, watershed size and runoff, physiography, climate, and vegetative cover in an empirical model which estimates that current nitrogen concentrations in streams and rivers are about 6 times higher than background levels.
A team of scientists used NADP/NTN nitrogen deposition data in examining the biogeochemical cycling of nitrate in southwestern U.S. desert soils and discovered a large reservoir of previously overlooked nitrogen that raises global estimates of subsoil nitrogen in warm deserts and shrublands by 14 to 71 percent.
In a review of nitrogen emissions, deposition, and monitoring in the West, scientists used NADP/NTN data to describe the spatial distribution, deposition rates, and trends of ammonium and nitrate in precipitation at background locations in eleven western states.
Investigators tracked polluted air masses across the Pacific Ocean from Asia until they encountered the northwestern United States, where at the Hoh River NADP/NTN site they found nitrogen and sulfur deposition that was approximately twice the long-term mean, linking the dirty Asian air mass to dirty U.S. rain.
With support from the Electric Power Research Institute, a team of atmospheric modelers used NADP/MDN data to develop and evaluate a global- and nested continental-scale mercury transport model that simulates the sources and deposition rates of mercury deposited in the contiguous United States.
Penn State University scientists analyzed a 9-year precipitation chemistry record from the NADP/AIRMoN site in central Pennsylvania and found significant relationships between summertime weather patterns and acidity and sulfate in rain.
A University of Iowa statistician applied a Bayesian geostatistical model to evaluate NADP/NTN, NADP/AIRMoN, and Canadian network data and concluded that there was no difference between NTN and AIRMoN ammonium measurements, but that Canadian ammonium measurements were systematically higher than either of the NADP networks.

Date of Annual Report: 02/09/2005

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 09/21/2004 - 09/24/2004
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2004 - 12/01/2004

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

The NRSP-3 provides a framework for cooperation among State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES) and governmental and nongovernmental organizations to support the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), which provides quality assured data and information on the exposure of managed and natural ecosystems and cultural resources to acidic compounds, nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. NADP data support informed decisions on air quality issues related to precipitation chemistry and are used by scientists, policy-makers, educators, and the public. Researchers use NADP data to investigate the impacts of atmospheric deposition on the productivity of managed and natural ecosystems; on the chemistry of estuarine, surface and ground waters; and on biodiversity in forests, shrubs, grasslands, deserts, and alpine vegetation. These research activities address the "environment, natural resources, and landscape stewardship," one of the Experiment Station Section's top five National Research Priorities. Researchers also use NADP Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) data to examine the role of atmospheric deposition in affecting the mercury content of fish, and better understand the link between environmental and dietary mercury and human health, which fits another National Research Priority, "relationship of food to human health" The NADP operates three precipitation chemistry networks: the National Trends Network (NTN), the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), and the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). At the end of December 2004, 261 NTN stations were collecting one-week precipitation samples in 49 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Quebec Province, Canada. The NTN provides the only long-term nationwide record of wet deposition in the United States. Complementing the NTN are the 8-site AIRMoN and the 87-site MDN. Data from daily precipitation samples collected at AIRMoN sites support continued research of atmospheric transport and removal of air pollutants and development of computer simulations of these processes. The MDN offers the only regional measurements of mercury in North American precipitation, and MDN data are used to quantify mercury deposition to water bodies that have fish and wildlife consumption advisories due to this toxic chemical. In 2004, 44 states and 8 Canadian provinces listed advisories warning people to limit fish consumption due to high mercury levels. Advisories also were issued for coastal Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and for the Atlantic Coast from the Virginia-North Carolina border to the southern tip of Florida, and for the entire U.S. Gulf Coast. NADP Internet Site. NADP data are available at no charge via the Internet, which enables on-line retrieval of individual data points, seasonal and annual averages, trend plots, concentration and deposition maps, reports, manuals, and other data and information (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu). Internet site usage continued to increase. In 2004 the site received 75,477 unique visitors, up more than 40 percent from 2003. Registered data users more than doubled in the last 12 months and user sessions rose by nearly 90 percent. About 39 percent of NADP Web site usage is for educational purposes, and the balance is for research. Educational/Extension Activities. In April, NADP staff members partnered with the American Chemical Society (ACS) to develop an earth day activity, entitled "Testing the pH of Rain Water," for elementary school students. Students were instructed in assembling a simple rain collector from household materials and in measuring rainwater pH with materials from the ACS. Students were directed from the ACS Web site to the NADP Web site (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/earthday/), where they could post their pH measurements, compare their measurements with data from nearby NTN sites, and print a personal certificate of completion. Compared with the 2003 ACS earth day activity, participation in this activity tripled, prompting the ACS Committee on Community Activities to award the NADP a "Salute to Excellence" for commitment to education. Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In its most recent report, "United States - Canada Air Quality Agreement, Progress Report 2004," the bilateral Air Quality Committee, established under the United States-Canada Air Quality Agreement, used NADP data to evaluate progress under the Acid Rain Annex of the agreement. Since signing the agreement in 1991, U.S. and Canadian governments have taken significant actions to reduce acidic precipitation by requiring substantial reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions. The goal is to reduce the deposition of sulfate, the primary acidifying agent in precipitation. Canadian and U.S. sulfur dioxide emissions decreased by about 27 percent and 32 percent, respectively, since 1990. NADP NTN and AIRMoN data confirmed that these reductions were essentially matched by decreases in sulfate deposition. In both countries, reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions were much smaller, averaging 10 - 20 percent. Nitrate at NTN sites decreased in eleven northeastern states but remained unchanged or increasing elsewhere. NTN data are being used in the Forest Health Monitoring Program (FHMP) to map inorganic nitrogen and sulfur deposition in U.S. ecoregions, as an indicator of forest exposure to air pollutants. The FHMP is a multi-agency program (http://fhm.fs.fed.us/) that was initiated in 1991 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to determine the status, changes, and trends of forest health indicators in forested ecosystems. Recent research has focused on nutrient uptake, retention, and cycling in forests and the effect of atmospheric deposition on these processes. Acidic deposition has been implicated as a factor in the loss of base cations from forest soils in the northeastern and southeastern United States and in calcium losses from red spruce needles, making this species more susceptible to damage from disease, frost, and drought. The recent National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on "Air Quality Management in the United States" describes the three NADP wet deposition networks (NTN, AIRMoN, and MDN), along with the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) for assessing dry deposition, as "the most comprehensive atmospheric deposition monitoring networks in the United States today," and describes "monitoring networks as an essential part of any air quality management system." The report summarizes some of the applications of NTN and CASTNet data to measure the progress and assess the benefits of existing air quality management programs. These monitoring networks provide data for estimating exposure of sensitive ecosystems to air pollutants, developing information on pollutant source-transport-transformation-removal processes and how these change in space and time, and evaluating compliance with air quality standards. The NAS report also identifies the emerging interest in bioaerosols (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and allergens), which the NADP is uniquely suited to address with its nationwide network of sites. The NADP could play an important role in a surveillance system for the detection and spread of pathogens, whether domestic or foreign in origin. Plans for 2005/2006 -Serving science and education. The NRSP-3 seeks to continue to support the needs of researchers and educators by providing up-to-date quality-assured data and information on nutrients, acidic compounds, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. Experience has demonstrated the value of the Internet in making NADP data available to scientists, educators, students, and policy-makers. New on-line data presentations will be developed, including isopleth map animations that track annual concentration and deposition changes of cations and anions not now included in the current map animation series. - Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. Scientists and policy-makers have a keen interest in the atmospheric deposition of nutrients and the role of nutrient deposition in affecting unmanaged forests, shrublands, and grasslands and in affecting surface water quality, especially in the estuarine waters of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The NADP Central Analytical Laboratory is measuring total nitrogen and total phosphorus in precipitation samples to explore the feasibility of adding these analytes to the current measurement set. - Responding to emerging issues. The NADP Program Office recently collaborated with scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cereal Disease Laboratory (CDL) to look for wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis) spores in NTN samples. Filters containing insoluble matter from NTN samples collected at selected Midwestern sites from May to November 2004 were sent to the CDL, where plant pathologists applied polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods to search for the spores. PCR methods are very sensitive and specific and the search frequently uncovered wheat stem rust spores on the filters. Wheat stem rust is one of many plant pathogens that are spread by wind-borne spores. In 2005/2006, this work will focus on detection of Asian soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) spores. Asian soybean rust was first reported in the southern U.S. in November 2004. Atmospheric transport and deposition are key to the spread of this damaging pathogen. With nearly 250 sites across the country, the NADP/NTN could be a key part of a surveillance system for the detection and spread of Asian soybean rust and other plant pathogens.

Publications

There were more than 100 publications, using NADP data or resulting from NRSP-3 activities in 2003. An on-line database that lists citations using NADP data is accessible at http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/bibsearch.asp. Publications: NADP PROGRAM OFFICE PUBLICATIONS Lehmann, C.M.B. 2004. Atmospheric Quality. In Climate Atlas of Illinois (S.A. Changnon, J.R. Angel, K.K. Kunkel, and C.M.B. Lehmann, authors). Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, IL. pp. 153-178. Lehmann, C.M.B., V.C. Bowersox, and S.M. Larson. 2004. Spatial and Temporal Trends of Precipitation Chemistry in the United States, 1985-2002 (paper #546). In Proceedings, 97th Annual Conference and Exhibition, Air &Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA. 18 pp. Lehmann, C.M.B., N. Latysh, and C. Furiness. 2004. Discontinuation of Support for Field Chemistry Measurements in the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP/NTN). NADP Data Report 2004-02. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 12 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2004. NADP 2004 - Technical Committee Meeting and Scientific Symposium. (prepared by Douglas, K.E. and P.S. Bedient) NADP Proceedings 2004-01, September 21-24, 2004, Halifax, Nova Scotia. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 143 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2004. National Atmospheric Deposition Program 2003 Annual Summary. NADP Data Report 2004-01. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 16 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2004 2005 NADP CALendar. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 32 pp. SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES Amirbahman, A., P.L. Ruck, I.J. Fernandez, T.A. Haines, and J.S. Kahl. 2004. The Effect of Fire on Mercury Cycling in the Soils of Forested Watersheds: Acadia National Park, Maine, U.S.A. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 152: 313-331. Burns, D.A. 2004. The Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Southern Wyoming, USA a Critical Review. Environmental Pollution. 127: 257-269. Campbell, J.L. J.W. Hornbeck, M.J. Mitchell, M.B. Adams, M.S. Castro, C.T. Driscoll, J.S. Kahl, J.N. Kochenderfer, G.E. Lichens, J.A. Lynch, P.S. Murdoch, S.J. Nelson, and J.B. Shanley. 2004. Input-Output Budgets of Inorganic Nitrogen for 24 Forest Watersheds in the Northeastern United States: A Review. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 151:373-396. Cohen, M., R. Artz, R. Draxler, P. Miller, L. Poissant, D. Niemi, D. Ratte, M. Delauriers, R. Duval, R. Laurin, J. Slotnick, T. Nettesheim, and J. McDonald. 2004. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes. Environmental Research. 95(3): 247-265. Grimm, J.W. and J.A. Lynch. 2004. Enhanced Wet Deposition Estimates Using Modeled Precipitation Inputs. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 90: 243-268. Kahl, J.S., J.L. Stoddard, R. Haeuber, S.G. Paulsen, R. Birnbaum, F.A. Deviney, J.R. Webb, D.R. Dewalle, W. Sharpe, C.T. Driscoll, A.T. Herlihy, J.H. Kellogg, P.S. Murdoch, K. Roy, K.E. Webster, and N.S. Urquhart. 2004. Have U.S. Surface Waters Responded to the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments? Environmental Science & Technology. 38(24):484A-490A. Krug, E.C., and D. Winstanley. 2004. Comparison of Mercury in Atmospheric Deposition and in Illinois and USA Soils. Hydrology & Earth Systems Sciences. 8(1): 98-102. Latysh, N. and J. Gordon. 2004. Investigation of Differences Between Field and Laboratory pH Measurements of National Atmospheric Deposition Program / National Trends Network Precipitation Samples. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 154: 249-270. Menz, F.C. and H.M. Seip. 2004. Acid Rain in Europe and the United States: an Update. Environmental Science & Policy. 7(2004):253-265. Norton, S.A., I.J. Fernandez, J.S. Kahl, and K.L. Reinhardt. 2004. Acidification Trends and the Evolution of Neutralizatioin Mechanisms through Time at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM), U.S.A. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution: Focus. 4:289-310. Royer, T.V. J.L. Tank, and M.B. David. 2004. Landscape and Watershed Processes, Transport and Fate of Nitrate in Headwater Agricultural Streams in Illinois. Journal of Environmental Quality. 33: 1296-1304. Seigneur, C., K. Vijayaraghavan, K. Lohman, P. Karamchandani, and C. Scott. 2004. Global Source Attribution for Mercury Deposition in the United States. Environmental Science & Technology. 38:555-569. Stevens, C.J. N.B. Dise, J.O. Mountford, and D.J. Gowing. 2004. Impact of Nitrogen Deposition on the Species Richness of Grasslands. Science. 303: 1876-1878. Walker, J.T., D.R. Whitall, W.Robarge, and H.W. Paerl. 2004. Ambient Ammonia and Ammonium Aerosol Across a Region of Variable Ammonia Emission Density. Atmospheric Environment. 38:1235-1246. OTHER PUBLICATIONS Air Quality Committee. 2004. United States - Canada Air Quality Agreement, Progress Report 2004. International Joint Commission, Washington, D.C. pp. 5-6, 40-41. Center for the Inland Bays. 2004. An Indication of Progress through Government Action: Nutrient Pollution. In Delaware Inland Bays' Environmental Indicators. Center for the Inland Bays, Lewes, DE. 1 pp. Committee on Air Quality Management in the United States. 2004. Air Quality Management in the United States. National Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington , D.C. 426 pp. Kendall, C., E. Elliott, S.D. Wankel, R. Carlton, K. Harlin. 2004. Use of Nitrate Isotopes for Tracing Sources of Atmospheric Nitrate to Aquatic Ecosystems: Piggybacking on the NADP Network Archives. In Proceedings Hydrologic Observatories as a National Resource, A CUAHSI National Workshop. http://www.cuahsi.org/. Steinman, J. 2004. Forest Health Monitoring in the Northeastern United States, Disturbances and Conditions during 1993-2002 (NA-TP-01-04). U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service, Newtown Square, PA. p 14. Stensland, G.J. and A.L. Williams. 2004. Atmospheric Emission and Deposition of Deicing Salt Applied to Highways in the Chicago Area. In Proceedings 97th Annual Air & Waste Management Association Conference (control #698). Air and Waste Management Association, Sewickley, PA. 14 pp. U.S. Geological Survey. 2004. A Science Strategy to Support Management Decisions Related to Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and Excess Nutrients in the Mississippi River Basin (Circular 1270). U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. 58 pp.

Impact Statements

Applying a Seasonal Kendall Trend test to precipitation-weighted concentrations from 1985 to 2002, University of Illinois scientists reported sulfate decreases at 96 percent (p < 0.1 at 88 percent) of NTN sites and ammonium increases at 89 percent (p < 0.1 at 65 percent) of NTN sites, signaling a shift to a more ammonia-rich chemical climate in much of the U.S.
Pennsylvania State University researchers combined NTN chemical concentrations and NOAA daily precipitation measurements with topographic variables (slope, elevation, and aspect) to compute high-resolution chemical deposition maps for the eastern United States.
Using precipitation and dryfall data from the NTN site at Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois State Water Survey scientists found a strong relationship (R2 = 75%) between sodium deposition, which exceeded 1 kilogram per hectare during winter months (November- April), and the amount of de-icing salt applied to highways within 20 kilometers of the site.
U.S. Geological Survey investigators studied the differences between field site and Central Analytical Laboratory (CAL) pH measurements from 1987 through 1999 and found that when samples were sent to the CAL in the collection buckets (1987-93), field measurements were 0.10 pH units lower in the median than CAL measurements and when samples were transferred to bottles then sent to the CAL (1994-99), field measurements were only 0.04 units below CAL measurements.
Authors from 7 universities, a state agency, two federal agencies, and a non-governmental organization used NTN and surface water chemistry data in a feature article which concludes that emissions reductions under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments have lowered acidic deposition and acidity of many lakes and streams in the northern and eastern United States.
A U.S. Geological Survey scientist, reviewing our understanding of atmospheric N deposition effects in the Colorado and Wyoming Rockies, concluded that nitrate concentrations in surface waters had risen in response to increased N deposition (measured by the NTN) but that other effects were difficult to distinguish from natural variability and climate effects.
An NRSP-3 researcher along with colleagues at the University of Maine and U.S. Geological Survey used MDN and soil chemistry data to examine mercury cycling in adjacent Acadia National Park watersheds and found that accumulation of total and methyl mercury in soils and in watershed biota depends on soil pH, vegetation, and land use and cover changes.
A team of investigators using MDN data to evaluate a new version of the NOAAs HYSPLIT model, which computes the transport and deposition of mercury using emissions and chemical transformation rates, reported that coal combustion was the largest contributor of atmospheric mercury deposition to the Great Lakes, though incineration and metallurgical processes were also significant contributors.
Two Illinois State Water Survey scientists calculated that at the current atmospheric mercury deposition rate, measured at MDN sites around the country, 2000 years would be required to accumulate the amount of mercury in the top 20 cm of most U.S. soils, leading them to conclude that atmospheric deposition is generally not a significant source of mercury in soils.
Investigators are exploring whether nitrogen and oxygen isotopic concentrations in the nitrate molecules of archived AIRMoN samples can be used to apportion the sources of nitrate in precipitation to vehicular exhaust, power plant emissions, soils, or other sources.
Maine Ag. Exp. Station Contribution #2625 summarized a long-term study of a control watershed receiving acidic deposition under NTN-monitored ambient conditions and an experimental watershed receiving ammonium sulfate additions: the behavior of sulfate, nitrate, base cations, aluminum, iron, and phosphorus in surface water in the control watershed is mimicking the experimental watershed but at lower magnitude and delayed in time.

Date of Annual Report: 02/01/2006

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 09/27/2005 - 09/30/2005
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2005 - 12/01/2005

Participants

Participants Attachment:

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Publications

NADP PROGRAM OFFICE PUBLICATIONS National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2005. Monitoring Mercury Deposition, A Key Tool to Understanding the Link Between Emissions and Effects. NADP Brochure 2005-01. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 4 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2005. NADP 2005 - Science Supporting Resource Management. (prepared by Douglas, K.E. and P.S. Bedient) NADP Proceedings 2005-01, September 27-30, 2005, Jackson, Wyoming. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 152 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2005. National Atmospheric Deposition Program 2004 Annual Summary. NADP Data Report 2005-01. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 16 pp. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. 2005. 2006 NADP CALendar. NADP Program Office, Champaign, IL. 32 pp. SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES Ambrose, R.B., I.X. Tsiros, and T.A. Wool. 2005. Modeling Mercury Fluxes and Concentrations in a Georgia Watershed Receiving Atmospheric Deposition Load from Direct and Indirect Sources. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. 55:547-558. Bouwman, A.F., G. Van Drecht, J.M. Knoop, A.H.W. Beusen, and C.R. Meinardi. 2005. Exploring Changes in River Nitrogen Export to the Worlds Oceans. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 19,GB1002,doi:10.1029/2004GB002314, 2005. Dupont, J., T.A. Clair, C. Gagnon, D.S. Jeffries, J.S. Kahl, S.J. Nelson, and J.M. Peckenham. 2005. Estimation of Critical Loads of Acidity for Lakes in Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 109:275-291. Dutton, A., B.H. Wilkinson, J.M. Welker, G.J. Bowen, and K.C. Lohmann. 2005. Spatial Distribution and Seasonal Variation in 18O/16O of Modern Precipitation and River Water Across the Conterminous USA. Hydrological Processes. 39:4121-4146. Harvey, F.E. 2005. Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Composition of Precipitation in Northeastern Colorado. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (paper no. 03170). April 2005:447-459. Hill, K.A., P.B. Shepson, E.S. Galbavy, and C. Anastasio. 2005. Measurement of Wet Deposition of Inorganic and Organic Nitrogen in a Forest Environment. Journal of Geophysical Research. 110,G02010,doi:10.1029/2005JG000030, 2005. Hicks, B.B. 2005. A Climatology of Wet Deposition Scavenging Ratios for the United States. Atmospheric Environment. 39:1585-1596. Lawler, J.J., J. Rubin, B.J. Cosby, I.J. Fernandez, J.S. Kahl, and S.A. Norton. 2005. Predicting Recovery from Acidic Deposition: Applying a Modified TAF (Tracking and Analysis Framework) Model to Maine (USA) High Elevation Lakes. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution Lehmann, C.M.B., V.C. Bowersox, and S.M. Larson. 2005. Spatial and Temporal Trends of Precipitation Chemistry in the United States, 1985-2002. Environmental Pollution, 135:347-361. Lipfert, F., S. Morris, T. Sullivan, P. Moskowitz, and S. Renninger. 2005. Methylmercury, Fish Consumption, and the Precautionary Principle. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. 55:388-398. Mason, R.P., M.L. Abbott, R.A. Bodaly, O.R. Bullock, C.T. Driscoll, D. Evers, S.E. Lindberg, M. Murray, and E.B. Swain. 2005. Monitoring the Response to Changing Mercury Deposition. Environmental Science & Technology. January 1, 2005:15A-22A. Mizak, C.A., S.W. Campbell, M.E. Luther, R.P. Carnahan, R.J. Murphy, and N.D. Poor. 2005. Below-cloud Ammonia Scavenging in Convective Thunderstorms at a Coastal Research Site in Tampa, FL, USA. Atmospheric Environment. 39:1575-1584. Porter, E., T. Blett, D.U. Potter, and C. Huber. 2005. Protecting Resources on Federal Lands: Implications of Critical Loads for Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen and Sulfur. BioScience. 55:603-612. Skjelkvale, B.L., J.L. Stoddard, D.S. Jeffries, K. Torseth, T. Hogasen, J. Bowman, J. Mannio, D.T. Montieth, R. Mosello, M. Rogora, D. Rzychon, J. Vesely, J. Wieting, A. Wilander, and A. Worsztynowicz. 2005. Regional Scale Evidence for Improvements in Surface Water Chemistry 1990-2001. Environmental Pollution. 137:165-176. OTHER PUBLICATIONS Burns, D.A., M.R. McHale, C.T. Driscoll, G.M. Lovett, K.C. Weathers, M.J. Mitchell, R. Brook, K.M. Roy. 2005. An Assessment of Recovery and Key Processes Affecting the Response of Surface Waters to Reduced Levels of Acid Precipitation in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains (Report 05-03). New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Albany, NY. 30 pp. Meteorological Service of Canada. 2005. 2004 Canadian Acid Deposition Science Assessment: Summary of Key Results. Environment Canada, Ontario, Canada. 32 pp. National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program. 2005. National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment. See www.napap.noaa.gov/reports. NOAA, Silver Spring, MD. 85 pp. U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 2005. A Coordinated Framework for Soybean Rust Surveillance, Reporting, Prediction, Management and Outreach. See http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ep/soybean_rust/coordfram041405.pdf. 42 pp. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2005. Acid Rain Program, 2004 Progress Report - 10 Years of Achievement (EPA-430-R-05-012). Office of Air and Radiation, Clean Air Markets Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 26 pp. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2005. Atmosphere in Motion, Results from the National Deposition Monitoring Networks - 2005 Atlas (EPA-430-R-05-007). Office of Air and Radiation, Clean Air Markets Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 46 pp.

Impact Statements

Applying a Seasonal Kendall Trend test to precipitation-weighted concentrations from 1985 to 2002, University of Illinois scientists reported significant (p < 0.10) nitrate decreases of 16-34 percent at NTN sites in northeastern states from Virginia, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio to Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Summarizing the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry's strategy for monitoring mercury in air, surface water, sediment, aquatic biota, and wildlife, a team of scientists from academia, government, and nonprofit organizations recommended that the MDN be the principal means of measuring and documenting mercury deposition in the U.S.
National Park Service and USDA Forest Service scientists proposed combining NTN wet deposition measurements and dry deposition estimates to evaluate critical loads, which are deposition amounts below which national park and forest resources would be protected from acidification, nitrogen saturation, and deposition-induced changes in biotic communities.
A team of 15 scientists looking for improvements resulting from emissions control programs, reported that except for streams and ponds in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, sulfate concentrations in eastern North American surface waters decreased significantly since 1990, though the decreases were less than those observed in NTN precipitation samples.
Using oxygen isotope measurements of samples from 17 NTN and 2 AIRMoN sites, university researchers modeled the relationship of 18O/16O to latitude and elevation and computed a U.S. map of 18O/16O in precipitation, which exhibits important differences from the map of 18O/16O in river water, especially in the mid-western and western United States.
Netherlands scientists used NTN nitrogen deposition data in examining nitrogen export to the oceans, which their model projects will increase by 10 percent from North American rivers due to increasing surface water inputs of nitrogen associated with urbanization, increasing food production, and atmospheric deposition.
University of South Florida researchers used ammonium data from the AIRMoN site in Tampa Bay, Florida, to verify their model of below-cloud scavenging of ammonia gas during thunderstorms, which shows that 35 to 60 percent of the ammonium in rainfall is deposited in the first 20 percent of precipitation.
Four private consultants and two Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists examined the relationship of U.S. mercury emissions to mercury deposition and methyl-mercury levels in fish and found a positive, but not statistically significant, relationship between mercury deposition, measured by the MDN, and statewide mean mercury concentrations in fish tissue.
Investigators studying atmospheric nitrogen inputs to forests at the University of Michigan Biological Station NTN site found it necessary to freeze samples to arrest changes in nitrogen speciation and found that organic nitrogen averaged 15 percent of total nitrogen deposition, the balance coming from ammonium (33 percent) and nitrate (52 percent).
A University of Nebraska professor reported seasonal 2H and 18O concentrations in 1994-98 archival samples from the Pawnee National Grasslands NTN site in order to provide data for studying the relationships of precipitation to groundwater recharge, ground and surface water interactions, and water uptake by prairie vegetation.

Date of Annual Report: 12/22/2006

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/24/2006 - 10/26/2006
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2006 - 12/01/2006

Participants

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Accomplishments

The NRSP-3 provides a framework for cooperation among State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES) and governmental and nongovernmental organizations that support the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), which provides quality assured data and information on the exposure of managed and natural ecosystems and cultural resources to acidic compounds, nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. NADP data support informed decisions on air quality issues related to precipitation chemistry. Researchers use NADP data to investigate the impacts of atmospheric deposition on the productivity of managed and natural ecosystems; on the chemistry of estuarine, surface and ground waters; and on biodiversity in forests, shrubs, grasslands, deserts, and alpine vegetation. These research activities address the "environment, natural resources, and landscape stewardship," one of the Experiment Station Section's top five National Research Priorities. Researchers also use NADP Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) data to examine the role of atmospheric deposition in affecting the mercury content of fish, and better understand the link between environmental and dietary mercury and human health, which fits another National Research Priority, "relationship of food to human health." The NADP operates three precipitation chemistry networks: the National Trends Network (NTN), the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), and the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). At the end of December 2006, 253 NTN stations were collecting one-week precipitation samples in 48 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Quebec Province, Canada. The NTN provides the only long-term nationwide record of wet deposition in the United States. Complementing the NTN are the 7-site AIRMoN and the 97-site MDN. Data from daily precipitation samples collected at AIRMoN sites support continued research of atmospheric transport and removal of air pollutants and development of computer simulations of these processes. The MDN offers the only regional measurements of mercury in North American precipitation, and MDN data are used to quantify mercury deposition to water bodies that have fish and wildlife consumption advisories due to this toxic chemical. In 2006, 48 states and 10 Canadian provinces listed advisories warning people to limit fish consumption due to high mercury levels. Advisories also were issued for Atlantic Coastal waters from Maine to Rhode Island and North Carolina to Florida, for the entire U.S. Gulf Coast, and for Hawaii. NADP Web Site. Scientists, policy-makers, educators, students, and others are encouraged to access data at no charge from the NADP web site. This site offers on-line retrieval of individual data points, seasonal and annual averages, trend plots, concentration and deposition maps, reports, manuals, and other data and information about the program. In 2006, web site usage continued to grow. There are now more than 31,000 registered users, 33 percent at universities, 28 percent at government agencies, and 19 percent in elementary and secondary schools. Through 8 December, there were 21,327 data downloads from the site, an increase of 15 percent from 2005. The site received more than 1.3 million hits, and the number of color concentration and deposition maps viewed in 2006 rose by nearly 22 percent, topping 113,000. Emerging Issues. In November 2004 the USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued the first report of Phakopsora pachyrhizi, commonly known as Asian Soybean Rust (ASR), in the continental United States. ASR is an obligate fungal parasite that can result in significant losses in soybean and other leguminous crops. From infected plants, ASR spreads through the aerial release and dispersal of spores. These airborne spores can be scavenged in and below clouds and deposited by rain on uninfected host plants hundreds of kilometers from an existing infection. During the 2006 growing season, NADP partnered with the USDA Cereal Disease Laboratory (CDL) to look for ASR spores in NTN samples. With partial support from the Agricultural Research Service, the weekly samples from 110 eastern-U.S. NTN sites were filtered in entirety. Filters were desiccated, sealed in petri dishes, and sent to the CDL, where they were assayed for an ASR-specific DNA sequence using nested real-time PCR. From mid-May through August, the CDL reported 271 filters positive for ASR, some in areas where ASR was later reported on soybean or kudzu. These data are being examined to study spore dispersal and the spread of ASR. Educational/Extension Activities. Highlights of 2006 activities: (1) The NADP Executive Committee adopted the International Center for First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Education (ICUC) as an institutional participant and partnered with ICUC to translate the NADP brochure Nitrogen in the Nation's Rain (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/brochures/nbrochespanol.pdf) into Spanish. The ICUC Quarterly featured the NADP in its June 2006 edition. (2) The Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium at the University of North Dakota produced a video entitled "Acid Rain" that uses an NADP pH map to show the distribution of acidic precipitation. This video is an episode in the public TV series Our Changing Planet, designed to promote education and understanding of planet Earth. The series airs on 29 stations and is taped for delayed broadcast on 14 others. (3) NADP Program Office staff participated in the University of Illinois Extension Service program, Environmental Stewardship Days, designed to engage elementary school students in hands-on learning activities in the environmental sciences. Approximately 250 4th through 6th grade students participated in a learning activity about water quality by measuring the pH of lake water, drinking water, and rain samples from NADP sites across the country. Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In its most recent report, United States - Canada Air Quality Agreement, Progress Report 2006, the binational Air Quality Committee used NADP data to evaluate progress under the agreement's Acid Rain Annex. Since signing the agreement in 1991, U.S. and Canadian governments have acted to reduce acidic precipitation by requiring sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions reductions. Between 1991 and 2004, Canadian and U.S. sulfur dioxide emissions decreased by about 33 percent. Over this 14-year period, NADP NTN and AIRMoN data showed roughly proportionate reductions of sulfate deposition. The number of states receiving 20 kilograms per hectare per year or more of sulfate deposition dropped from twelve to one. A ~20-percent reduction of U.S. nitrogen oxide emissions similarly was accompanied by halving the area receiving nitrate deposition of 15-20 kilograms per hectare per year. A recent analysis estimates that these reductions greatly exceed the costs of emissions controls. The report acknowledges that "without substantial atmospheric deposition monitoring networks, it would be impossible to accurately track and confirm that air quality improvements are taking place." Publications. There were more than 100 publications, using NADP data or resulting from NRSP-3 activities in 2006. An on-line database that lists citations using NADP data is accessible at http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/bibsearch.asp. Plans for 2006/2007 - Serving science and education. The NRSP-3 will continue to support researchers and educators by providing up-to-date quality-assured data and information on nutrients, acidic compounds, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. Experience has demonstrated the value of making NADP data available on-line. An updated homepage and web site schema will be implemented in 2007. The re-designed site will be better organized, making additions and changes less cumbersome. It will feature ready access to maps and tabular and graphical data summaries. The Program Office will continue to develop data products that target user needs. Program Office staff members will continue to work with the author of a chapter on acid rain to appear in the next edition of the general chemistry textbook, Chemistry in Context, published by the American Chemical Society in cooperation with McGraw-Hill. In another cooperative effort, a staff member will work with a native-Spanish speaking member of International Center for First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Education, to translate part or all of the Inside Rain curriculum into Spanish. - Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In 2005, the U.S. EPA promulgated the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which seeks to lower fine particle and tropospheric ozone levels by reducing SO2 and NOx emissions in 28 eastern states. Recent evidence suggests that gaseous ammonia also has an important and increasing role in fine particle formation. NADP/NTN and AIRMoN measure aqueous ammonium, and the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) measures particulate ammonium. Gaseous ammonia has not been measured routinely. NADP is planning an initiative to add passive ammonia samplers at co-located NTN and CASTNet sites, beginning in mid-2007. One-week samples, matching the NTN sampling schedule, would be collected at 25-40 sites. Also in 2005, the EPA promulgated the Clean Air Mercury Rule, which requires electric utilities to reduce mercury emissions beginning in 2010. While NADP/MDN data are used to evaluate the relationship between mercury emissions and wet deposition, there are no comparable airborne mercury measurements; yet, estimates suggest mercury dry deposition may be three times wet deposition in some areas. Recognizing the need for routine, regionally representative measurements to evaluate these estimates and examine the spatial distribution and temporal trends of airborne mercury, the NADP Executive Committee endorsed a limited study for measuring airborne elemental, reactive gaseous, and particle-bound mercury in 2007. - Responding to emerging issues. Plans are underway to continue collaborations with USDA-CDL scientists to assay filters from NTN samples for fungal spores. The CDL will apply real-time qPCR to look for DNA sequences specific to various rust pathogens. During the winter of 2006/07, filters from 24 Gulf Coast states (and Georgia) and 7 Mississippi River Valley states as far north as southern Illinois will be tested for Asian Soybean Rust and possibly wheat stem (Puccinia graminis) and stripe (Puccinia striiformis) rusts. With the onset of the 2007 growing season, plans are to expand this effort, once again, to approximately 100 eastern-U.S. sites, focusing on ASR.

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During the 2005 growing season, Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) spores were found in midwestern NTN rain samples by applying nested polymerase-chain-reactions to amplify an ASR-specific DNA sequence to the point where it could be detected. Back-trajectory analyses showed that the likely source of these spores was southern Texas, Louisiana, and parts of eastern Mexico.
The first detailed survey of North American precipitation for perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) was performed using samples from four NADP/AIRMoN sites. PFCAs are long-lived man-made compounds that have been found in lakes, oceans, and soils, in fish, birds, and mammals, and now in eastern U.S. precipitation at levels from 1 nanog/L to 1 microg/L.
Using data from the Lewes NADP/AIRMoN site, Delaware scientists determined that atmospheric deposition accounts for 17 to 31 percent of the nitrogen entering nearby Rehoboth Bay in the summer, when the Bay experiences problems related to nutrient over-enrichment.
A Bayesian statistical model applied to data from the NTN site at the Clinton Crops Research Station in east-central North Carolina yielded a significant positive ammonium trend of 13.5 percent per year or a near doubling of ammonium concentrations between 1990 and 2003; while over the same period, sulfate decreased by nearly 31 percent.
Data from three south Florida MDN sites indicate that total mercury in rain has been level to increasing since 1998, ending the declines recorded in the early 1990s when emissions controls had begun reducing mercury emitted by municipal and medical waste incinerators by 90 percent.
NADP/MDN data were used in developing a Lagrangian model to assess the contributions of in-state, out-of-state, and out-of-country sources of mercury deposited in Maryland.
Researchers were able to trace sulfate decreases in precipitation at six New York NTN sites with similar decreases in lakes and streams in the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains, leading them to conclude that streams are recovering from decades of sulfate deposition; no similar link between precipitation and surface waters was evident for nitrate or base cations.
A 20-year record of nitrogen (N) deposition at the high-elevation, subalpine, Loch Vale NTN site in the Colorado Rockies was used to develop a model that relates N emissions to N deposition. Using N emissions estimates for the 1950s and 60s, the model calculated N deposition to be ~1.5 kg/ha for 1950-1964, when there was a switch in diatom assemblages at this site toward greater N tolerance. A flux of 1.5 kg N/ha is posited as the critical load at which Loch Vale diatoms are affected by atmospheric N deposition.
Environmental scientists at Texas Tech University analyzed aliquots of NTN samples for perchlorate in order to evaluate the importance of natural sources of this strong oxidizer. Concentrations of 5 to 105 ng/L with a mean of 15 ng/L were reported, placing rainfall third behind Chilean nitrate fertilizer and solid rocket propellant as a perchlorate source. Perchlorate inhibits thyroid uptake of iodide, which can interfere with neonatal development.
The accuracy of the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to simulate ammonium deposition for 8-week winter and summer periods was evaluated against ammonium deposition at 35 upper Midwest NTN sites. Simulations for the winter were more accurate than the summer, though the accuracy of both simulations was limited by the model´s skill at estimating the precipitation field and by the uncertainties in ammonia emissions.

Date of Annual Report: 11/20/2007

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 09/10/2007 - 09/13/2007
Period the Report Covers: 09/01/2006 - 09/01/2007

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Accomplishments

SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report Project Number: NRSP-3 Project Title: The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) A Longterm Monitoring Program in Support of Research on the Effects of Atmospheric Chemical Deposition Period Covered: 1-2007 to 12-2007 Date of Report: December 14, 2006 Meeting Dates: September 10 - 13, 2007 Accomplishments The NRSP-3 sets a framework for cooperation among State Agricultural Experiment Stations,universities, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations that participate in and support the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). The NADP provides quality assured data and information on the exposure of managed and natural ecosystems and cultural resources to acidic compounds, nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. Researchers use NADP data to investigate the impacts of atmospheric deposition on the productivity of managed and natural ecosystems; on the chemistry of estuarine, surface and ground waters; and on biodiversity in forests, shrubs, grasslands, deserts, and alpine vegetation. These research activities address the environment, natural resources, and landscape stewardship, one of the Experiment Station Sections top five National Research Priorities. Researchers also use NADP mercury data to examine the role of atmospheric deposition in affecting the mercury in fish tissue, and better understand the link between environmental and dietary mercury and human health, which fits another National Research Priority, relationship of food to human health. To provide data for characterizing geographic patterns and temporal trends of atmospheric chemical deposition, the NADP operates three precipitation chemistry networks: (1) The National Trends Network (NTN) is the only network providing a long-term record of the acids, nutrients, and base cations in U.S. precipitation. The NTN began in 1978 at 22 sites and now has more than 250 sites (see http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/sites/ntnmap.asp?). (2) The Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) joined the NADP in 1996 and reports the total mercury content of precipitation. Emphasis on increasing the number and geographic coverage of sites has resulted in network growth to more than 100 sites (see http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/mdn/sites.asp). (3) The Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN) joined the NADP in 1992. Seven sites located in the eastern U.S., provide daily measurements for studying atmospheric processes and developing models (see http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/AIRMoN/getamdata.asp). NADP Web Site. The NADP Web site has registered users from more than 150 countries and from every continent but Antarctica. In 2007, the number of registered users increased by 4,473 (~13.5 percent), bringing the registrant total to 37,148. Atmospheric deposition and watershed studies were the leading topics of researchers using NADP data. A record 24,538 data downloads were recorded in 2007. Over the last decade, this measure of data usage more than doubled, Web page hits increased nearly six-fold to 1.4 million per year, and the number of color concentration and deposition maps viewed rose five-fold to 126,000 per year. The site lets users selectively retrieve sample and site data, tabular summaries, seasonal and annual averages, trend plots, concentration and deposition maps, reports, manuals, and other data and information about the program. Emerging Issues. As in 2006, NADP again partnered with the USDA Cereal Disease Laboratory (CDL) to test rain samples for evidence of Phakopsora pachyrhizi, commonly known as Asian Soybean Rust (ASR). ASR is an obligate fungal parasite that can inflict significant losses in soybean and other leguminous crops. From infected plants, ASR spreads through aerial release and dispersal of urediniospores, which can remain airborne for hundreds of kilometers before clouds and rain scavenge and deposit them, potentially on a soybean crop. Under the right conditions of temperature, moisture, and crop stage, ASR spores can germinate and spread the infection. ASR now regularly overwinters in kudzu in Gulf Coast states. During the growing season, it spreads northward by deposition of spores in rain and during dry weather. With partial support from the Agricultural Research Service, weekly samples from 75 eastern- U.S. NTN sites were filtered in entirety. Filters were desiccated, sealed in Petri dishes, and sent to the CDL, where they were assayed for an ASR-specific DNA sequence using nested real-time PCR. Over a 17-week period (29 May-25 September), the CDL reported 89 (or 7 percent of) filters positive for ASR, some from areas where ASR was later reported on soybean or kudzu. For example, late August rain samples from two Iowa NTN sites tested positive; and from 28 September to 23 October, ASR was reported in 13 Iowa counties. Each year since the initial ASR reports in the contiguous U.S. in November 2004, the disease has infected a larger area. Results from this project are being used to study spore deposition, evaluate spore transport and deposition models, and examine how spore deposition and disease outbreak are related. Educational/Extension Activities. NADP staff members assisted authors and publishers to introduce NADP color isopleth maps into new college textbooks. One example is an introductory chemistry textbook for non-majors entitled Chemistry in Context, Applying Chemistry to Society, first introduced as a project of the American Chemical Society in 1994 and now in its fifth printing. The chapter on Neutralizing the Threat of Acid Rain uses NADP pH, sulfate and nitrate maps to provide a contextual basis for teaching about acids and bases. Each new addition of this text expands its use of NADP maps and data and plans are to include MDN maps in the next edition. The authors of the new textbook Fundamentals of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry use NTN sulfate maps to illustrate how Clean Air Act rules have affected real-world acid-base chemistry. Similarly, the authors of the recently released Chemistry the Practical Science use NTN pH and MDN concentration maps to illustrate acid-base and chemical coordination principles at work in nature; and, an NADP precipitation map is used to illustrate isopleth map-making in the text Geographic Information Systems Demystified. Again in 2007, NADP staff participated in the University of Illinois Agriculture Extensions Stewardship Week, designed to engage elementary school students in hands-on learning activities in the environmental sciences. Eighteen classes of students in grades 2 through 6 participated in a learning activity about water quality by measuring the pH of lake water, drinking water, and rain samples from NADP sites across the country. Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In its most recent progress report, Acid Rain and Related Programs, 2006 Progress Report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) described the NADP networks as a critical link in the chain of accountability that scientists and policymakers use to determine whether emissions decreases required by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments have reduced acidic deposition and translated into ecosystem recovery. In its report, the USEPA used NTN data to demonstrate the efficacy of the Act. The report compared average 1989-1991 and 2004-2006 sulfate and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) deposition in four eastern regions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. Over this 15-year period, sulfate deposition decreased in all four regions, ranging from an average decrease of 21 percent in the Southeast to 35 percent in the Northeast. These decreases were consistent with sulfur dioxide emissions reductions at electric generating units targeted by the Act. Since 1990, these units also trimmed nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 3 million tons. DIN deposition decreased as well, but by only 5 percent on average in the Southeast, 9 percent in the Midwest, 16 percent in the Mid-Atlantic, and 25 percent in the Northeast. In each region, these decreases were only about half of the decreases in precipitation nitrate, owing in part to offsetting increases in ammonium, the other nitrogen compound comprising DIN. In its 2004 report, Air Quality Management in the United States, the National Research Council (NRC) recommended investigating the use of critical loads as a potential mechanism to address the need for alternative air quality standards to protect ecosystems. A critical load is the quantitative estimate of the exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on sensitive elements of the environment do not occur according to present knowledge. As a follow-up to the NRC report, a multi-agency workshop was held to address critical loads from atmospheric sulfur and nitrogen deposition. A workshop recommendation was to establish an NADP committee that could facilitate communications on the science of critical loads. The NADP Executive Committee acted on this recommendation by forming the NADP Critical Loads AD hoc committee (CLAD). Its purpose is to provide a venue for discussing current and emerging issues regarding the science and application of critical loads for atmospheric deposition in the United States. The CLAD committee meets in conjunction with other spring and fall NADP committee meetings and has a page on the NADP Web site where additional information is accessible (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/clad/). Publications. There were more than 100 publications, using NADP data or resulting from NRSP-3 activities in 2007. An on-line database that lists citations using NADP data is accessible at http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/bibsearch.asp. Plans for 2007/2008 -Serving science and education. The NADP will continue to support researchers and educators by providing up-to-date quality-assured data and information on acids , nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. Work is proceeding on an overhaul of the NADP Web site, beginning with a new Home Page and including a new organizational structure. The new site will be less cumbersome to modify and update and will feature more pictures and graphic images, while retaining ready access to maps and tabular and graphical data summaries. A new section on educational resources for K-12 and university students will be added. Plans are to activate the new Web site at the 2008 annual meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, where NADP will celebrate its 30 year of network operations. - Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In 2005, the U.S. EPA promulgated the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), which requires electric utilities to reduce mercury emissions beginning in 2010. While NADP/MDN data are used to evaluate the relationship between mercury emissions and wet deposition, there are no comparable measurements of airborne mercury. Airborne mercury is present in three forms: gaseous elemental mercury (GEM),reactive gaseous mercury (RGM), and total particle-bound mercury (TPM). RGM is soluble, reactive, and efficiently removed in wet and dry deposition. Estimates suggest that dry deposition may be three times wet deposition, especially in hot spots near atmospheric mercury sources where RGM concentrations are high. This points to the need for airborne mercury measurements, if the emissions reductions under CAMR are to be evaluated accurately. To address this need, the NADP plans to begin retrieving GEM, RGM, and TPM measurements from nine continuous monitors operating under NADP-approved standard operational procedures. Measurements will begin in 2008. Near real-time quality control tests will be applied and valid data will be posted on the NADP Web site. Data will be used for model development, examining the spatial and temporal distributions of airborne mercury concentrations, estimating dry deposition fluxes, and determining the location of mercury deposition hot spots. - Responding to emerging issues. Recent evidence suggests that gaseous ammonia has an important and increasing role in fine particle formation. NADP/NTN and AIRMoN measure ammonium in precipitation and the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) measures ammonium in aerosols, but gaseous ammonia is not measured routinely. NADP is evaluating the use of passive samplers to measure ammonia in a pilot network of 19 sites, most co-located with NTN and CASTNet sites. Triplicate bi-weekly samples are collected at each site. These data will be used to assess the accuracy of passive ammonia measurements, refine field and laboratory procedures, and evaluate the costs. With a year of data, the NADP Executive Committee will cosider the feasibility of adding passive ammonia measurements as a network option.

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Impact Statements

Based on a Seasonal Kendall Trend analysis, ammonium increased at 90% of NADP/NTN sites operating continuously from 1985 to 2004, and nearly 2/3 of the increases were statistically significant, ranging from ~10% to ~90%. Largest increases occurred between the Mississippi River and Pacific Coastal states, an area where average ammonium concentrations in precipitation now exceed sulfate.
NTN wet deposition and Clean Air Status and Trends Network dry deposition estimates for 2000-2004 show that wet deposition accounted for 65-80% of the total sulfur and nitrogen deposition during the peak March-August deposition period in Rocky Mountain National Park, where studies show that deposition is affecting surface waters, soils, and vegetation.
Nitrogen deposition measurements at two Rocky Mountain National Park NTN sites, plus dry deposition estimates, surface water and diatom measurements, and extensive data on Park biota, have been used to develop a 1.5 kg/ha/yr nitrogen critical load for the Park. These scientific results are being used to shape mitigation strategies for reducing nitrogen emissions and lowering nitrogen deposition below this critical load.
In a comprehensive study of atmospheric inputs to the Columbia River Gorge, NTN data were used to quantify chemical deposition to the Gorge from precipitation and, coupled with fog-water and dry deposition measurements, to determine the total atmospheric sulfur and nitrogen entering the sensitive Gorge ecosystem.
Results from a unique new study of nitrogen isotopes in precipitation samples from NTN sites in states from Ohio and West Virginia to Maine demonstrated that nitrate is more strongly correlated with nitrogen oxide emissions from stationary sources than from vehicles, thus NTN nitrate trends effectively track power plant nitrogen oxide emissions reductions.
In a review of mercury contamination in northeastern U.S. forest and freshwater ecosystems, MDN data were used to quantify mercury deposition and its relationship to mercury emissions and to the mercury content of upland soils, wetlands, streams, reservoirs, ponds, and biota.
Using MDN data, researchers reported a link between the amount of ionic mercury deposited by precipitation and the methyl mercury found in mosquitoes and largemouth bass, suggesting a positive relationship between mercury deposition and mercury in biota.
Improving atmospheric mercury models was the goal of an effort that first used NTN sulfate data to fine tune meteorological and cloud physics parameterizations in a multi-pollutant model, then used MDN data to evaluate simulations of mercury deposition. Model R-square for sulfate was 91% though for mercury was only 41%, suggesting that important gaps remain in our understanding of mercury emissions, transport, transformation, and removal processes.
Although NTN pH data show that over the last 20 years the free acidity of precipitation in the eastern U.S. has decreased by 25-50%, mortality tests show that episodically acidified Adirondack streams continue to fail to support brook trout, because of low stream water pH and high monomeric aluminum concentrations.
An assessment of the critical load of acidity at the NTN site in Great Smoky Mountain National Park revealed that base cations from precipitation and weathering are major factors in affecting plant root exposure to toxic aluminum, which has risen in soil solution due to acidic deposition in the Park.
Daily measurements from the central Pennsylvania AIRMoN site show that meteorological variables have a significant effect on sulfate concentrations and that weather patterns affect inter-annual variations and should be considered when evaluating the causes of sulfate trends.
A methods evaluation conducted at three Indiana MDN sites demonstrated that reactive gaseous mercury could be measured reliably with a potassium-chloride-coated annular denuder, particle-bound mercury with a quartz filter, and gaseous elemental mercury in a trap charged with gold-coated quartz grains. These methods offer a cost-effective approach for adding airborne mercury measurements to the NADP MDN.
A study to evaluate total maximum daily loads of mercury has concluded that atmospheric deposition results in 99% of the mercury added to Minnesota lakes and streams and data from the four Minnesota MDN sites are used to assess atmospheric mercury trends and the success of strategies to meet Minnesotas mercury standards.
A critical analysis of the effect of missing data on wet deposition estimates demonstrated that NADP criteria requiring 75% or higher data completeness generally limits the uncertainty in computing annual sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, or hydrogen ion deposition fluxes to 20% or less and in computing 5-year deposition fluxes of these ions to 11% or less.

Date of Annual Report: 11/20/2007

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 06/12/2007 - 06/13/2007
Period the Report Covers: 06/01/2006 - 06/01/2007

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

This meeting was an executive session only. No minutes are available; please refer to the 9/2007 annual report.

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 12/15/2008

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/14/2008 - 10/17/2008
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2007 - 09/01/2008

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Listserve: http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/meetings/fall2008/minutes/tc2008.pdf

Accomplishments

The NRSP-3 provides a framework for cooperation among State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES) and governmental and nongovernmental organizations that support the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), which provides quality-assured data and information on the exposure of managed and natural ecosystems and cultural resources to acidic compounds, nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. NADP data support informed decisions on air quality issues related to precipitation chemistry. Researchers use NADP data to investigate the impacts of atmospheric deposition on the productivity of managed and natural ecosystems; on the chemistry of estuarine, surface and ground waters; and on biodiversity in forests, shrubs, grasslands, deserts, and alpine vegetation. These research activities address the "environment, natural resources, and landscape stewardship," one of the Experiment Station Section's top five National Research Priorities. Researchers also use NADP Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) data to examine the role of atmospheric deposition in affecting the mercury content of fish, and to better understand the link between environmental and dietary mercury and human health, which fits another National Research Priority,"relationship of food to human health." The NADP operates three precipitation chemistry networks: the National Trends Network (NTN), the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), and the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). At the end of December 2006, 252 NTN stations were collecting one-week precipitation samples in 48 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Quebec Province, Canada. The NTN provides the only long-term nationwide record of wet deposition in the United States. Complementing the NTN are the 7-site AIRMoN and the 112-site MDN. Data from daily precipitation samples collected at AIRMoN sites support continued research of atmospheric transport and removal of air pollutants and development of computer simulations of these processes. The MDN offers the only regional measurements of mercury in North American precipitation, and MDN data are used to quantify mercury deposition to water bodies that have fish and wildlife consumption advisories due to this toxic chemical. In 2008, every state and 10 Canadian provinces listed advisories warning people to limit fish consumption due to high mercury levels. Advisories also were issued for Atlantic Coastal waters from Maine to Rhode Island and North Carolina to Florida, for the entire U.S. Gulf Coast, and for Hawaii. Our principal objective and accomplishment for this project is the collection and analysis of samples for precipitation chemistry. Briefly, the NADP has processed or is currently processing samples that should total 13,600 samples from the 250-site NTN, 1,200 samples from the 7-site AIRMoN, and 5,800 samples from the 110-site MDN. NADP Web Site. Scientists, policymakers, educators, students, and others are encouraged to access data at no charge from the NADP Web site (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu). This site offers on-line retrieval of individual data points, seasonal and annual averages, trend plots, concentration and deposition maps, reports, manuals, and other data and information about the program. During FY2008, Web site usage continued to grow. There are now more than 37,850 registered users with 358,000 user sessions. This number of registered users is a significant increase over 2007. There were 25,500 data downloads from the site, a 5% increase. The site received more than 1.65 million hits, and 25,000 downloads of color concentration and deposition maps occurred. About 33% of users are from federal and state agencies, 33% from universities, 20% from K-to-12 schools, and the remainder from other organizations. The NADP Web site has registered users from more than 150 countries and from every continent except Antarctica. These statistics demonstrate that NADP continues to be relevant to the scientific and educational communities, and to attract new users. Emerging Issues. In November 2004 the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued the first report of Phakopsora pachyrhizi, commonly known as Asian Soybean Rust (ASR), in the continental United States. ASR is an obligate fungal parasite that can cause significant losses in soybean and other leguminous crops. From infected plants, ASR spreads through the aerial release and dispersal of spores. These airborne spores can be scavenged in and below clouds and deposited by rain on uninfected host plants hundreds of kilometers from an existing infection. During the 2008 growing season, NADP again partnered with the USDA Cereal Disease Laboratory (CDL) to look for ASR spores in NTN samples (4th year). With partial support from the Agricultural Research Service, weekly samples from 85 eastern U.S. NTN sites were filtered in entirety. Filters were desiccated, sealed, and sent to the CDL, where they were assayed for an ASR-specific DNA sequence. From mid-May through mid-September 2008, the CDL reported that of the 1226 assays, 99 (8.1%) were positive for ASR. Additionally, this year researchers were able to estimate spore deposition rate by week and site. These weekly rates range from a few spores to more than 250 spores per square meter at individual sites. The above graph shows frequency of ASR positives by week for the past four years. These data are being examined to study spore dispersal and the spread of ASR and show again the tremendous usefulness of these monitoring efforts for agricultural applications. The presence of ammonia gas in the atmosphere and its association with agricultural operations has become a very important air quality topic. The NADP has initiated a new monitoring network for ammonia gas across the Midwest. The goal is to develop, deploy, and operate a cost-efficient passive sampling network for basic ammonia gas concentrations. These two-week integrated values will be used to quantify the spatial and temporal differences in atmospheric ammonia concentrations. The network includes an appropriate quality-assurance program to document the accuracy of passive samplers. Following NADP methods, the resulting quality-assured concentrations will be reported and made available for use by all. Currently, 21 sites have been operating during the 2008 calendar year, with plans for at least another year of operation. More information can be found at http://nadpweb.sws.uiuc.edu/. Currently, the NADP measures ammonium and nitrate deposition, but not total N deposition. But other nitrogen compounds are present in precipitation. Particularly, organic nitrogen is thought to be as high as one-third of total N deposition. We have begun the basic analytical tests to determine this fraction in our samples. The method has been identified and the preparation completed. Adding this component to monitoring programs would be particularly important to the agricultural community since nitrogen deposition (organic or inorganic) is limited in agricultural systems, which can be sources of organic nitrogen. Educational/Extension Activities. NADP staff participated in several outreach activities during the year. Among them are the following. (1) Continued effort to assist authors and publishers to introduce NADP isopleth maps into new college textbooks. The latest chemical text is Chemistry Matters and its associated study guide. It highlights the NTN acid deposition map for its discussion of how acid precipitation is formed and identifies the impacts of acid precipitation in North America. (2) A teaching activity with a U of I statistics class (STAT 427). NADP provided project data and pertinent questions for the class to study and answer. NADP received answers for network improvement, and provided students with specific research questions and training in the scientific method using real data/situations. This is an ongoing relationship. (3) Staff (Bowersox) served on the Feb. 2008 meeting of the Precipitation Chemistry Science Advisory Group, a World Meteorological Organization committee that coordinates efforts to gather precipitation chemistry data and provide guidance to countries needing assistance in improving their measurement programs. (4) Staff served with the Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center to train American tribal nations to monitor their own environment (in this case, deposition monitoring). This outreach included steering committee membership, speaking engagements, and two different teaching appointments for training courses. Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In its most recent progress report, Acid Rain and Related Programs, 2006 Progress Report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) described the NADP networks as a critical link in the "chain of accountability" that allow policymakers to determine if required emission decreases (1990 Clean Air Act Amendments) have in fact reduced acidic deposition, which translates into ecosystem recovery. In its report, the USEPA used NTN data to demonstrate the efficacy of the Act in many different ways. The report compared average 1989-1991 and 2004-2006 sulfate and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) deposition in four eastern regions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. Over this 15-year period, sulfate deposition decreased in all four regions, where averages ranged from 21 to 35% and were consistent with sulfur dioxide emission reductions at electric generating units targeted by the Act. Inorganic nitrogen deposition is also decreasing in the East with reduced emissions; average decreases are between 5 and 25%. These measurements are taken directly from NADP activities. In its most recent report, United States - Canada Air Quality Agreement, Progress Report 2006, the binational Air Quality Committee used NADP data to evaluate progress under the agreement's Acid Rain Annex. Since signing the agreement in 1991, U.S. and Canadian governments have acted to reduce acidic precipitation by requiring sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emission reductions. With major reductions in both sulfate and nitrate deposition highlighted with NADP data, the report acknowledges that "without substantial atmospheric deposition monitoring networks, it would be impossible to accurately track and confirm that air quality improvements are taking place." In its 2004 report, Air Quality Management in the United States, the National Research Council (NRC) recommended investigating the use of critical loads as a potential mechanism to address the need for alternative air quality standards to protect ecosystems. A critical load is the quantitative estimate of the exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on sensitive elements of the environment do not occur..." The same was called for by a subsequent workshop (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/cladws). This recommendation was acted upon by the NADP Executive Committee during 2006 by forming the NADP Critical Loads AD hoc committee (CLAD). The CLAD committee continues to meet in conjunction with other spring and fall NADP committee meetings and has a page on the NADP Web site for further information (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/clad/). Plans for 2009. -Serving science and education. The NRSP-3 will continue to support researchers and educators by providing up-to-date, quality-assured data and information on nutrients, acidic compounds, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. Work is proceeding on an overhaul of the NADP Web site. The new site is currently about 50% completed with its redesigned organizational structure. The redesigned site will be better organized and feature ready-access to maps and tabular and graphical data summaries. The Program Office will continue to develop data products that target user needs. A major equipment upgrade was begun during 2008 and will continue through 2009. Older raingages are being replaced with digital models. Over 75 of our 300 sites (25% of 3 networks) have purchased and converted to the new digital standard gages, and most sites should be converted by the end of 2009. This improvement will provide both enhanced and increased amounts of precipitation data for users for many years to come. - Supporting informed decisions on air quality issues. In 2005, the USEPA promulgated the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which seeks to lower fine particle and tropospheric ozone levels by reducing SO2 and NOx emissions in 28 eastern states. Recent evidence suggests that gaseous ammonia also has an important and increasing role in fine particle formation. NADP/NTN and AIRMoN measure aqueous ammonium, but gaseous ammonia has not been measured routinely. During 2008, NADP initiated its pilot gaseous ammonia network (see above). These measurements will continue through 2009 at the current 20 sites, with hopes of increasing the number of monitoring sites and becoming a standing network within the NADP. This network has numerous implications to agriculture, including directly addressing Challenge Area #2 in The Science Roadmap for Agriculture (Update 2006), and directly measuring an important agricultural gas in agricultural areas of the U.S. Although NADP/MDN data are used to evaluate the relationship between mercury emissions and wet deposition, there are no comparable airborne mercury measurements. Other estimates suggest mercury dry deposition levels may be three times that of wet deposition in some areas. Recognizing the need for routine, regionally representative measurements, the NADP Executive Committee endorsed a limited study for measuring airborne elemental, reactive gaseous, and particle-bound mercury in 2007. This network is developing, and we expect a minimum of 15 sites will be operating during 2009. -Investigating emerging issues. Along with the soybean rust, ammonia, and mercury ongoing new issue responses, we are partnering with several other researchers to investigate the presence of NADP samples (past and present) for new and different compounds, along with other topics. These include: (1) Perchlorate compounds, Texas Tech. University; (2) Oxygen isotope variation to predict past temperatures, University of Southern CA; (3) Perfluorocompounds, Environment Canada; (4) Fluoride concentrations, University of Texas; (5) Base cation dilution and isotope hydrograph separation, University of Maine; and (6) Unusual precipitation events in New Mexico and Arizona, West Texas S. U. The NADP will run a small pilot network during 2009 to measure total nitrogen deposition, with a major goal of defining the organic nitrogen component. EPA will fund this work at a small, 50-site network. Sample collection should begin in the early spring of 2009. This may become another component of wet deposition data that NADP can provide to its agriculture and ecological scientists since total nitrogen deposition is important in many situations.

Publications

There were more than 124 publications using NADP data or resulting from NRSP-3 activities in 2008 (excluding December). A publically available on-line database that lists citations using NADP data is accessible at http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/bibsearch.asp. Selected journal articles referenced above: Alexander, R.B., Smith, R.A., Schwarz, G.E., Boyer, E.W., Nolan, J.V., and Brakebill, J.W. 2008. Differences in phosphorus and nitrogen delivery to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi river basin. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42:822-830, DOI: 10.1021/es0716103. Barnes, R.T., Raymond, P.A., and Casciotti, K.L. 2008. Dual isotope analyses indicate efficient processing of atmospheric nitrate by forested watersheds in the northeastern U.S. Biogeochemistry 90:15-27. Butler, T.J., Cohen, M.D., Vermelyn, F.M., Likens, G.E., Schmeltz, D., and Artz, R.S. 2008. Regional precipitation mercury trends in the eastern USA, 1998-2005: Declines in the Northeast and Midwest, no trend in the Southeast. Atmos. Environ. 42:1582-1592. Coates, T.A., Boerner, R.E.J., Waldrop, T.A., and Yaussy, D.A. 2008. Soil Nitrogen transformations under alternative management strategies in Appalachian forests. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 72:558-565. Clark, C.M., and Tilman, D. 2008. Loss of plant species after chronic low-level nitrogen deposition to prairie grasslands. Nature 451:712-715. Costanza, J.K., Marcinko, S.E., Goewert, A.E., and Mitchell, C.E. 2008. Potential geographic distribution of atmospheric nitrogen deposition from intensive livestock production in North Carolina, USA. Science of the Total Environment 389:76-86. Elliott, K.J., Vose, J.M., Knoepp, J.D., Johnson, D.W., Swank, W.T., and Jackson, W. 2008. Simulated effects of sulfur deposition on nutrient cycling in Class I wilderness areas. J. Environ. Qual. 37:1419-1431, DOI:10.2134/jeq2007.0358. Ingersoll, G.P., Mast, M.A., Campbell, D.H., Clow, D.W., Nanus, L., and Turk, J.T. 2008. Trends in snowpack chemistry and comparison to National Atmospheric Deposition Program results for the Rocky Mountains, US, 1993-2004. Atmospheric Environment 42:6098-6113. Krupa, S., Booker, F., Bowersox, V., Lehmann, C., and Grantz, D. 2008. Trace gases associated with U.S. agriculture: A review. J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc. 58:986-993, DOI:10.3155/1047-3289.58.8.986. Stephen, K., and Aneja, V.P. 2008. Trends in agricultural ammonia emissions and ammonium concentrations in precipitation over the Southeast and Midwest United States. Atmospheric Environment 42:3238-3252. Sparks, J.E.D.P., Walker, J., Turnipseed, A., and Guenther, A. 2008. Dry nitrogen deposition estimates over a forest experiencing free air CO2 enrichment. Global Change Biology 14:768-781, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01526.x. Tkacz, B., Moody, B., Castillo, J.V., Fenn, M.E. 2008. Forest health conditions in North America. Environmental Pollution 155:409-425. Vet, R., and Ro, C.-U. 2008. Contribution of Canada-United States transboundary transport to wet deposition of sulphur and nitrogen oxides: A mass balance approach. Atmospheric Environment 42:2518-2529. Walker, J., Spence, P., Kimbrough, S., and Robarge, W. 2008. Inferential model estimates of ammonia dry deposition in the vicinity of a swine production facility. Atmospheric Environment 42:3407-3418. Wu, S., Krishnan, S., Zhang, Y., and Aneja, V. 2008. Modeling atmospheric transport and fate of ammonia in North Carolina-Part I: Evaluation of meteorological and chemical predictions. Atmospheric Environment 42:3419-3436.

Publications Attachment:

Attachment

Impact Statements

During the 2008 growing season, Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) spores were found in a relatively large percentage of Midwestern NTN samples by applying nested polymerase-chain-reactions to amplify an ASR-specific DNA sequence to the point where it could be detected.
A modeling study of Gulf of Mexico hypoxia suggested that agriculture sources provide most of the N and P to the Gulf. Specifically, corn and soybean cultivation contributes 52%, with atmospheric deposition being the second most important source (16%). Phosphorus contributions are dominated by agricultural manure on pastures and rangelands. Data from 188 NADP sites back to 1980 were used to determine source relevance.
A mass balance approach with isotopic measurements was used to show that nitrate input to a Northeast forest is dominated by atmospheric deposition and this nitrate is used very efficiently. Nitrate flow into streams is principally microbial with less than 3% of atmospheric nitrate moving into streams unchanged, suggesting that almost all atmospheric nitrate is used in the system.
Butler and others used MDN data to identify decreasing mercury concentrations in precipitation over 8 years, correlating with decreasing emissions. Stronger relationships were found in the Northeast and Midwest, but few trends were found in the Southeast. Significant trends were on the order of 1.5 to 3% per year.
USDA Forest Service scientists evaluated different proposed management strategies (prescribed fire, etc.) within the Appalachian forests. Many forests were historically nitrogen-limited, but could be reaching impending nitrogen saturation due to current deposition increases and fire suppression nitrogen accumulation. If deposition trends continue at the current rate (NAPD defined), one should expect fewer management alternatives for these forests.
With large and continuing increases in nitrogen deposition over pre-industrial times, the authors report low chronic N increases leading to reduced species numbers (-17%) in a 23-year field experiment. Rates of species reduction were more pronounced with lower N additions, suggesting that the expected chronic, low-level deposition increases could be very important. With cessation of N addition, the number of species should recover.
Nitrogen deposition from southeast North Carolina confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) has a very large impact on local areas. Their results followed NADP ammonium wet deposition patterns, and an emissions/deposition model suggested that much of the local ammonia emission is transported only a short distance before it is redeposited. Therefore, local ammonia sources have a large impact on the local nitrate deposition.
USDA Forest Service scientists developed a nutrient cycling model to predict sulfate deposition effects on wilderness areas, specifically studying North Carolina forests with current NADP depositions. Results suggest that these wilderness areas are stressed by acidic deposition and aluminum, and that the forests had little sulfate retention in the soils; however, these forests could slowly recover with reduced acidic input (multiple decades).
USGS scientists compared trends in wet deposition (16 NADP sites) to snow pack trends (54 sites) in the Rocky Mountains over 11 years. The authors found particularly important increasing trends in ammonium and nitrate concentrations and depositions for the central/southern Rockies snowpack, but the opposite for wet sites. This suggested dry depositional differences between the datasets. Sulfate trends were decreasing in all data.
Krupa and others investigated uncertainties in emissions of agriculturally emitted gases, focusing on nitrogen species and other semi-volatile organic compounds. The authors gather information about atmospheric ammonia and nitrate emission trends from NADP wet deposition measurements since no routine atmospheric measurements are not made.
Trends in agricultural emissions and precipitation ammonium from 59 NTN sites were compared in North Carolina where ammonia atmospheric concentrations were not increasing as quickly after a swine population moratorium was established. In the Midwest, inconsistently increasing ammonium depositions vs. emissions were seen.
The authors estimated total deposition of nitrogen (wet, dry organic, dry inorganic) to a forested ecosystem in North Carolina, and suggested that wet deposition (as measured at NTN sites) was about 45% of total deposition.
The authors investigated forest health for North America, and determined that nitrogen and sulfate deposition was an important contributor to local conditions. NADP data for North America is used throughout the report. The authors also show critical loading exceedances in Canada for N and S deposition.
The authors used a mass balance approach to transboundary movement of S and N. They concluded that eastern U.S. emissions are responsible for 55 to 80% of wet sulfate and nitrate deposition in Eastern Canada and that any future reductions in eastern Canada deposition will depend upon U.S. emission reductions.
Investigators modeled dry deposition rates of ammonia from NC swine production, and determined total N deposition with NTN-based wet deposition. Dry deposition rates are approximately 3.5 times that of wet deposition within 500 meters of production facilities, but drop off rapidly.
The authors use modeling to show the transport and fate of local ammonia emissions, and compared their results to the NAPD data to determine the accuracy in time and space for their predictions of both precipitation and deposition.

Date of Annual Report: 12/15/2009

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/06/2009 - 10/09/2009
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2008 - 09/01/2009

Participants

http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/committees/minutes/fall2009/ 2009participantList.pdf

Brief Summary of Minutes

http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/committees/minutes.aspx

Accomplishments

The NRSP-3 provides a framework for cooperation among State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES) and governmental and nongovernmental organizations that support the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). The NADP provides quality-assured data and information on the exposure of managed and natural ecosystems and cultural resources to acidic compounds, nutrients, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. NADP data support informed decisions on air quality issues related to precipitation chemistry. Specifically, researchers use NADP data to investigate the impacts of atmospheric deposition on the productivity of managed and natural ecosystems; on the chemistry of estuarine, surface, and ground waters; and on biodiversity in forests, shrubs, grasslands, deserts, and alpine vegetation. These research activities address environmental stewardship, one of the Experiment Station Sections research challenges. Researchers also use NADP Mercury Deposition Network data to examine the role of atmospheric deposition in affecting the mercury content of fish, and to better understand the link between environmental and dietary mercury and human health, which fits another priority, relationship of food to human health. The NADP operates three precipitation chemistry networks: the National Trends Network (NTN), the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), and the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). At the end of November 2009, 252 NTN stations were collecting one-week precipitation samples in 48 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Quebec Province, Canada. The NTN provides the only long-term nationwide record of basic ion wet deposition in the United States. Complementing the NTN are the 7-site AIRMoN and the 115-site MDN. Data from daily precipitation samples collected at AIRMoN sites support continued research of atmospheric transport and removal of air pollutants and development of computer simulations of these processes. The MDN offers the only long-term and routine measurements of mercury in North American precipitation. These data are used to quantify mercury deposition to water bodies that have fish and wildlife consumption advisories due to this toxic chemical. In 2008, every state and 10 Canadian provinces listed advisories warning people to limit fish consumption due to high mercury levels. Coastal advisories are also in place for Atlantic waters from Maine to Rhode Island, from North Carolina to Florida, for the entire U.S. Gulf Coast, and for coastal Hawaii and Alaska. Outputs. Our principal objective and accomplishment for this project is the collection and analysis of samples for precipitation chemistry. Briefly, the NADP processed a total of 13,094 samples from the NTN, 1,077 samples from the 7-site AIRMoN (plus 541 QA samples in support of both networks), and 6009 samples from the MDN (plus 1800 QA samples). To date, nearly 400,000 observations of precipitation chemistry are archived by the NADP. NADP Data. Scientists, policymakers, educators, students, and others are encouraged to access data at no charge from the NADP Web site (http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu). This site offers online retrieval of individual data points, seasonal and annual averages, trend plots, concentration and deposition maps, reports, manuals, and other data and information about the program. During FY2009, Web site usage continued to grow. There are now more than 38,560 registered users with 355,000 user sessions. There were 25,500 data downloads from the site. The site received more than 1.50 million Web page hits, and 25,571 downloads of color concentration and deposition maps. User type remains about 33% from federal and state agencies, 33% from universities, 20% from K-to-12 schools, and 14% from other organizations. The NADP Web site has registered users from more than 150 countries. These statistics demonstrate that NADP continues to be relevant to the scientific and educational communities, and to attract new users. Map Summary. During FY09, annual maps of atmospheric pollutants, concentrations, and depositions were developed for 2008 measurements. These maps are used widely for a number of reasons, and constitute one of the major products of the network. Individual maps are filed by network, year, and constituent (see examples http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/data/annualiso.aspx). Individual maps are compiled into annual reports along with map animation sequences (http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/data/animaps.aspx). We also distributed approximately 1,800 printed FY08 map summaries (with 2007 maps), which are also available at our web site. Scientific Meeting (Fall 2009). At the end of each Federal year, a scientific meeting is held that showcases some of the latest deposition research that is ongoing during the year. This year (Saratoga Springs, NY, Oct 6-8), the meeting focused on Bridging Air and Ecosystems. We had more than 40 speakers (two keynotes) organized into 7 sessions, which included, Are Ecosystems Responding to Emission Reductions? and Agricultural Emissions and Ecosystem Effects. All presentations, posters, and meeting proceedings are available on the NADP Web site (http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/meetings/fall2009/post/). Refinement of the quality-assurance documentation occurred during the year. Updated versions of the following were produced and approved prior to the fall 2009 meeting: 1) Quality Management Plan; 2) Quality Assurance Plan; 3) Guidelines for NADP Laboratory Quality Assurance Reports; 4) Guidelines for NADP Laboratory Reviews; 5) Guidelines for NADP Quality Management System Review; 6) NADP Site Information Worksheet; 7) NADP Site Selection and Installation Manual; and 8) Guide for New NADP Initiatives. These documents should improve the network, data, and site operations, and are freely available (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/lib/qaPlans.aspx). Emerging Issues. In November 2004 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued the first report of Phakopsora pachyrhizi, commonly known as Asian Soybean Rust (ASR), in the continental U.S. ASR is an obligate fungal parasite that can cause significant losses in soybean and other leguminous crops. From infected plants, ASR spreads through the aerial release and dispersal of spores. These airborne spores can be scavenged in and below clouds and deposited by rain on uninfected host plants hundreds of kilometers from an existing infection. During the 2009 growing season, NADP again partnered with the USDA Cereal Disease Laboratory (CDL) to look for ASR spores in NTN samples (5th year). With partial support from the Agricultural Research Service, weekly samples from 80 eastern U.S. NTN sites were selected and are undergoing study. Additionally, a new wheat rust investigation, also with CDL, began in November 2009. This initiative will investigate 44 Southern U.S. sites and weekly precipitation samples for several strains of winter wheat rusts. Results should be available for the FY10 report. The presence of ammonia gas in the atmosphere and its association with agricultural operations has become a very important air quality topic. The NADP is continuing with a monitoring network for ammonia gas across the Midwest. The goal is to develop, deploy, and operate a cost-efficient passive sampling network for basic ammonia gas concentrations. These two-week integrated values will be used to quantify the spatial and temporal differences in atmospheric ammonia concentrations and estimate dry deposition of ammonia nitrogen. The network includes an appropriate quality-assurance program to document the accuracy of passive samplers. Following NADP methods, the resulting quality-assured concentrations will be reported and made available for use by all data users. Currently, 21 sites have been operating during the 2009 federal year, with plans for at least another year of operation. More information can be found at http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/nh3net/. This network has numerous implications for agriculture, including directly addressing Challenge Area #2 in The Science Roadmap for Agriculture (Update 2006), and directly measuring an important agricultural gas in agricultural areas of the U.S. Along with the soybean rust and ammonia, we are partnering with several other researchers to use NADP samples (past and present) to investigate for the presence of new and different compounds in precipitation, including: " Perchlorate compounds, Texas Tech. University; " Oxygen isotope variation to predict past temperatures, Un. of Southern CA; " Perfluoro compounds, Environment Canada; " Fluoride concentrations, Un. of Texas; and " Base cation dilution and isotope hydrograph separation, Un. of Maine. The NADP has run a small pilot network during 2009 to measure total nitrogen deposition, with a major goal of defining the organic nitrogen component in precipitation. Currently proof-of-concept samples are being collected in rural Illinois to determine collection efficiency, sample stability, and rough estimates of organic nitrogen flux. This may become another component of wet deposition data that NADP can provide to its agriculture and ecological scientists since total nitrogen deposition is important in many situations. Supporting Informed Decisions on Air Quality Issues. In its most recent report, United States - Canada Air Quality Agreement, Progress Report 2008 (http://www.epa.gov/airmarkt/progsregs/usca/index.htm), the binational Air Quality Committee used NADP data liberally to evaluate progress under the agreements Acid Rain Annex. Since signing the agreement in 1991, U.S. and Canadian governments have acted to reduce acidic precipitation by requiring sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emission reductions. With major reductions in both sulfate and nitrate deposition highlighted with NADP data, the report acknowledges the importance of our measurements for policy determinations. NADPs data and maps are used extensively to show that wet deposition of acid is declining, and that the bilateral agreement regiments are being met. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Science Advisory Board has drafted Reactive Nitrogen in the United States: An Analysis of Inputs, Flows, Consequences, and Management Options (http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/). This report uses NADP measurements to support many advisory conclusions about nitrogen addition to the environment. Although NADP/MDN data are used to evaluate the relationship between mercury emissions and wet deposition, there are no comparable airborne or dry deposition mercury measurements. Other estimates suggest that mercury dry deposition levels may be three times that of wet deposition in some areas. Recognizing the need for routine, regionally representative measurements, the NADP Executive Committee endorsed a new network for the measurement of atmospheric elemental, reactive gaseous, and particle-bound mercury. This network has a goal to support modelers needs for data, so that atmospheric mercury process can be understood and that atmospheric deposition of mercury estimated. A Web presence of this new network (since October 2009, http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/amn/) is being developed and more information will be forthcoming. Plans for 2010. The NRSP-3 will continue to support researchers and educators by providing up-to-date, quality-assured data and information on nutrients, acidic compounds, base cations, and mercury in precipitation. A rework of the network Web site is now mostly complete (currently 85%), is operating, and will be completed during 2010. The redesigned site will be better organized and feature ready-access to maps and tabular and graphical data summaries. The new site will allow for more content more easily, for the users to access more data in better ways, and for the network to expand science outreach efforts in an affordable way to reach many new users, particularly K-12 and college students. The NADP continues to convert to an all-digital precipitation gage network. This change was begun during 2008 and will continue through 2010. All older raingages are being replaced with digital models. More than 170 of our 300 sites (55% of 3 networks) have converted to the new digital standard gages, and most sites should be converted by the end of 2010. This improvement will provide both enhanced precipitation data for users for many years to come.

Publications

Publications Approximately 58 publications used NADP data or resulted from NRSP-3 activities in 2009 (January to August). A publically available online database that lists citations using NADP data is accessible at: http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu/lib/bibsearch.asp. A file of publications is also attached.

Publications Attachment:

Attachment

Impact Statements

As a National Research Support Project, the NADPs most important impacts are the research reports and journal articles that are produced using our data and products. From January to September 2009, we identified 58 publications from refereed journals that used NADP data or maps specifically in their research, modeling applications, or for comparison. These articles are included in our online database of NADP-supported publications. Brief summaries of several articles are given as specific examples of the research supported by the NRSP-3.
Following from our ASR work, Barnes et al. discussed the early years of NADP sampling, showing that 2006 was a year of heavy deposition for ASR. The paper also discusses how the genetic techniques for the identification of the disease were furthered and are now available for future research.
Burns et al. investigated the isotopic signatures of nitrogen in streams by including NADP precipitation signatures and different land-use isotopic signatures in precipitation runoff. The authors note specific isotopic differences among urban, forest, and agriculture land uses.
Cohen et al. mapped the soil/sediment concentration of total mercury across the Everglades, and concluded that large-scale deposition of mercury controls sediment concentrations and not soil type, and that even with emission decreases in Florida, sediment concentrations are still increasing.
Goddard et al. studied the carbon sequestration ability of wet deposited calcium, and concluded that these calcite complexes could sequester carbon much longer than in some organic forms, and that these are likely important in the Mollisol and Alfisol soil orders.
Atmospheric nitrogen deposition is an important source to the nitrogen load of rivers feeding the Chesapeake Bay (Goodale et al.). Much of this nitrate is sequestered, but seasonal retention patterns were found which suggests that some nitrogen is more likely to move into the Bay.
A study of factors affecting soil nitrification rates in the Northeast U.S. (Ross et al.) used deposition rates and many other factors to develop a mathematical model to predict nitrification rates in different watersheds. Important predictors, along with deposition, include conifer dominance and the presence of large red spruce trees.
Sjostrom and Welker present evidence that the source of precipitation at continental sites (NADP sites) could have an important influence over the isotopic ratios of certain compounds (e.g., O2). This influence seems particularly true at higher latitude sites, and in non-summer seasons. This method could provide information on precipitation sources.
Sobota et al. used wet and dry estimates of nitrogen deposition (NADP, Clean Air Status and Trends Network) to examine the factors leading to nitrogen export from 23 California watersheds to rivers and streams. Manure and fertilizer application was indicated to be an important nitrogen source even with little agricultural application in the watersheds.
Werdin-Pfisterer et al. examined the composition, concentration, and seasonal patterns of soil amino acids in several areas of Alaska. The widespread similarity of acid composition suggests a broad source of the acids, or at least similar processes involved in their reactions.
Aleksic et al. evaluated long-term acidity trends in fog and cloud water samples in upstate New York. The results clearly showed that fog/cloud water samples are significantly more acidic than precipitation on average, and this is typically true for all ions. Further, seasonal fog/cloud concentrations are highly correlated with seasonal precipitation concentrations, but this is not necessarily the case on a short-term basis.