Duration: 10/01/2003 to 09/30/2009

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

This proposal seeks to ensure the continued support of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP/NRSP-3) which, through the operation of its National Trends Network (NTN), Mercury Deposition Network (MDN), and Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), provides the only national-scale data and information on the amounts, geographic distribution, and trends in wet chemical deposition in the USA. This information is critical to understanding the effects of atmospherically deposited chemicals on agricultural crops, forests, rangelands, surface and ground waters, estuaries, and other natural resources; human health; and material and cultural resources; and is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of current (e.g., the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments) and future air quality legislation enacted to protect public health and the environment. Continuation of the NADP (NRSP-3) monitoring effort not only will ensure continuity of data related to wet chemical deposition, but also will sustain a nationally-distributed network of monitoring sites tied to biological effects research and an infrastructure capable of responding promptly to natural and human-induced catastrophes, such as bio-terrorism, that result in the release of potentially dangerous agents to the atmosphere. The NRSP-3 provides a framework that enables the many participating scientists, State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES), government agencies, and non-governmental organizations to work together in a synergistic way, responding to current and future needs for environmental information on the effects of atmospheric deposition on sensitive ecosystems and human health.

More than two decades ago, SAES scientists established the NADP to determine the amount, geographic distribution, and temporal trends in precipitation chemistry and wet deposition. The program grew from a North Central Regional Project (NC-141) in 1978 to an Interregional Project (IR-7) in 1982. It was approved as a National Research Support Project (NRSP-3) in 1990. Since its inception, the NADP has provided essential information about the magnitude, geographic extent, and temporal variations in the deposition of acidic chemicals, nutrients, and base cations in precipitation. The continuity and quality of NADP data were crucial to the success of a decade-long national effort to assess the effects of acidic deposition. Based on the results of this assessment, Congress amended the Clean Air Act in 1990 (Public Law 101-549) and included legislation (Title IV) designed to reduce acidic deposition in the USA through phased reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions. Peer review scientists said of the NADP, "The monitoring program, and the resultant data set that is being constructed, is perhaps the most significant, long-term, continuous, and comprehensive sampling and analysis program to be undertaken in the environmental sciences". Similar sentiments were expressed by the National Science & Technology Council, Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources in its March 1995 report "Preparing for the Future Through Science and Technology" and in numerous other publications listed in Attachment 1.

In addition to acidic deposition, NADP and SAES scientists are working on issues related to global climate change; increased nutrient deposition, particularly nitrogen, to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; and the widespread dispersal of toxic metals and organic compounds through atmospheric transport and deposition processes. It is clear from numerous watershed studies (e.g., Chesapeake Bay) that the chemical composition of precipitation is a key factor affecting the leaching of nutrients and metals to surface and ground waters. Of particular concern is the leaching of atmospherically deposited nitrogen, thus increasing human exposure to elevated nitrate levels and contributing to the eutrophication of sensitive aquatic ecosystems (Paerl, 2002). Research results from the Chesapeake Bay Program have shown that atmospheric deposition contributes from 25% to 30% of the annual nitrogen load entering the Bay (NRC, 2000). Atmospheric sources are also known to dominate the input of some toxic compounds (e.g., mercury) over direct discharge to aquatic ecosystems (EPA, 2000). Information about precipitation chemistry is therefore necessary for understanding current chemical processes in watersheds, as well as for interpreting and predicting the combined influences of a changing chemical climate and changing land-use patterns on precipitation chemistry and surface and ground water quality. The influence of agriculturally-applied nitrogen on water quality cannot be determined without also quantifying atmospheric inputs of nitrogen. Results of monitoring efforts at NADP sites have also demonstrated that atmospheric deposition is a significant pathway for the introduction of pesticides into non-target systems (Goolsby etal., 1997). Such information is important to the design of appropriate strategies to minimize undesired effects of agriculturally-applied chemicals on the environment.

In the face of our changing chemical climate, high quality, long-term precipitation chemistry data are a prerequisite for the effective, sustainable management of our forests and crop lands and other natural and managed ecosystems. In addition, information is clearly needed on mercury and other trace metals because of their well known affects on human health and potential impacts on a variety of fauna and flora. Atmospheric transport and deposition of potentially toxic organic compounds, some associated with agricultural production, and their impact on non-target organisms and human health need to be addressed. The NADP (NRSP-3) is uniquely positioned to address these and other critical national needs, including the release of toxic agents to the atmosphere by bio-terrorists (Lambert and Bowersox, 2002). Because of the broad participation of effects scientists and NADP's (NRSP-3) close ties to institutions and agencies that conduct a variety of environmental monitoring and research, a wide range of expertise is available to accomplish the formidable tasks facing society.

Prerequisite Criteria

How is the NRSP consistent with the mission?

How does the NRSP pertain to a national issue?

Rationale

Priority Established by ESCOP/ESS

Relevance to Stakeholders

Implementation

Objectives

1. Characterize geographic patterns and temporal trends in biologically important chemical deposition.
   
2. Support research activities related to: (a) the productivity of managed and natural ecosystems; (b) the chemistry of surface and ground waters including estuaries; (c) the health of domestic animals, wildlife, and fish; (d) human health; (e) the effects of atmospheric deposition on visibility and materials; and (f) source-receptor relationships.
   
3. Support public education and outreach through the development of informational brochures and programs aimed at people of all ages. (<a href="http://www.lgu.umd.edu/attachments/1718_att2_Education.pdf" target="_blank">Attachment 2</a>)
   
4. 
   

Projected Outcomes

Management, Budget and Business Plan

NADP support is provided by federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies, SAES, universities, and non-governmental organizations. Federal funding comes primarily through a cooperative agreement administered by the USDA-CSREES with support from the USGS, EPA, NOAA, NPS, USDA-FS, SWS, BLM, and TVA. Support for 1 AIRMoN, ~60 NTN and ~60 MDN monitoring stations comes outside this cooperative agreement through agreements with sponsors, such as SAES, universities, government agencies, and private companies. The EPA and USGS also independently sponsor external quality assurance programs that address field sampling and laboratory operations. SAES baseline support for NADP (NRSP-3) makes multi-agency coordination and governance possible and results in a 25 to 1 leveraging of resources from sources other than USDA (FY01 total: $2.85M, FY01 NRSP-3: $112,762). For the five-year period, 1 October 2002 - 30 September 2007, the NRSP-3/IR budget would pay the salary and fringe benefits of 1.65 FTE. The five-year budget request includes 3 percent annual increments to pay for salary increases: $116,143 (FY03), $119,627 (FY04), $123,216 (FY05), $126,913 (FY06), and $130,720 (FY07). (Attachment 5).

Integration

Outreach, Communications and Assessment

The NRSP-3 has a strong commitment to support the needs of educators, students, and the lay public through its on-line data and information and through published reports and brochures. Nearly 40 percent of the NADP Internet site usage is for educational purposes. The NADP Program Office continues to work with textbook authors and publishers in the preparation of graphs, maps, and figures that summarize and present NADP data. NADP data now appear in college-level texts on chemistry, environmental science, geology, and meteorology. NRSP-3 Technical Committee scientists will continue to provide expertise for the National Science Teachers Association, which has developed a curriculum on precipitation chemistry for students in grades 9-12. This innovative curriculum addresses topics on map-making, rain formation, acid rain, mercury in precipitation, atmospheric deposition, and the NADP long-term measurements program. Each topic includes activities requiring students to access on-line NADP data and information. In addition, the NADP Program Office will work with the American Chemical Society in the preparation of materials in support of its National Chemistry Week, which targets educational materials for elementary and high school students. The NRSP-3 Environmental Effects Subcommittee, which developed the popular brochure, Nitrogen in the Nations Rain, has begun planning a similar informational brochure on mercury in precipitation. The Inside Rain brochure, which describes the NADP and provides general facts about precipitation chemistry, is being revised and updated in advance of another printing. In 2002, the NADP Program Office began participating in the University of Illinois Extension Service Environmental Stewardship Week. The goal of this event is to teach elementary school students about environmental science topics. The event provides active learning centers, where students participate in hands-on learning experiences. NADP staff members ran a learning center that dealt with the pH of household chemicals compared with water from a nearby lake and an acid rain sample from the NADP network. This is an ongoing program with annual events. Finally, the annual NRSP-3 Technical Committee meetings are accompanied by scientific symposia and workshops. These meetings typically involve from 30 to 50 oral presentations and 15 to 30 posters. In addition, NRSP-3 scientists give presentations at numerous scientific meetings and symposia around the country and internationally.

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Literature Cited

Goolsby, D.A., Thurman, E.M., Pomes, M.L., Meyer, M.T., and Battaglin, W.A. (1997) Herbicides and Their Metabolites in Rainfall: Origin,Transport,and Deposition Patterns across the Midwestern and Northeastern States 1990-1991. Environmental Science & Technology 5 (31), 1325-1333.

Lambert, K.F. and Bowersox, V.C. (2002) Environmental Monitoring and National Security: Is There a Connection? EM (August 2002), 17-22.

National Research Council. (2000) Clean Coastal Waters: Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Paerl, H.W. (2002) Connecting Nitrogen Deposition to Coatal Eutrophication. Environmental Science & Technology (August 1, 2002), 323A-326A.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2000) Deposition of Air Pollutants to the Great Waters, Third Report to Congress. Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. EPA

See Attachment 3 for additional citations.

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, NC, NE, NY, OH, PA, TX, WI

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions