NRSPOLD3: The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP)
(National Research Support Project Summary)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
NRSPOLD3: The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP)
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.