monitoring of high-altitude ecosystems
DESCRIPTION
Monitoring of high-altitude ecosystems. Don Campbell Alisa Mast Dave Clow. Leora Nanus George Ingersoll Carol Kendall. Jill Baron Alex Wolf. Heather Rueth Brenda Moraska Koren Nydick. Mark Williams Paul Brooks. Tamara Blett John Turk. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Monitoring of high-Monitoring of high-altitude ecosystemsaltitude ecosystems
Don CampbellAlisa MastDave Clow
NPS, USDA-FS, EPA, NSF, Colorado DPHE, Universities, and others
Jill BaronAlex Wolf
Mark WilliamsPaul Brooks
Leora Nanus
George Ingersoll
Carol Kendall
Heather RuethBrenda MoraskaKoren Nydick
Tamara BlettJohn Turk
•Mountains are primary water supply for western U.S.
•Valuable as reference sites for disturbed areas.
•Crown jewels of public lands: mandates to protect wilderness and parks “unimpaired”…
Why monitor ‘clean’ systems?Why monitor ‘clean’ systems?
Pollutants in atmospheric deposition:
Acidity (sulfur and nitrogen)
Nitrogen
Mercury
Organic pollutants
Air Quality “Impairment/Impact” Thresholds:
Resource/AQRV change thresholds need to be established (by the NPS) for ecosystem protection
How much change will we allow in flora, fauna, soil, water, visibility? (what amount of change constitutes “impairment” or “adverse impact”)
How do we tell what is “impaired”?How do we tell what is “impaired”?
-D.W. Clow and M. A. Mast, USGS
1985-99
NADP / NTN data
RegionalRegionaltrends in trends in precipitationprecipitationconcentrationconcentration
N Deposition
FertilizationLoss of Soil Base Cations
Changes in Aquatic Species
LakeEutrophication
Loss of Lake ANC(acidification)
Pathways and Effects of Excess Pathways and Effects of Excess Nitrogen DepositionNitrogen Deposition
N SaturationChanges in
Plant Communities
Research and monitoring for Research and monitoring for resource managementresource management
Intensive studies
Long-term monitoring
Synoptic surveys
Population estimates
Process modeling
Empirical modeling
Long-term lakesContinental DivideNational ParkNational Forest
WY
CO
US Forest Service US Forest Service lakes monitoringlakes monitoring
Synoptic surveysSynoptic surveys Long-term Long-term
monitoringmonitoring
Nitrate in wilderness lakesNitrate in wilderness lakes
051015202530
Nit
rate
co
nc
en
tra
tio
n, u
eq
/l
Wilderness area
30
20
10
0
MT
IDWY
UT
AZ NM
CO
Wet deposition of nitrogenWet deposition of nitrogen
2.0 – 2.5
0 – 0.5
1.0 – 1.51.5 – 2.0
2.5 – 3.0
0.5 – 1.0
3.0 – 3.5
Deposition (kg N/ha)
MT
WY
UT
ID
AZ NM
CO
NO3 NH4
WY
CO
Long-term monitoring sitesLong-term monitoring sites
Front Range, Northcentral ColoradoFront Range, Northcentral Colorado
SITE Loch Inlet Loch Outlet
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
date
JAN80 JAN85 JAN90 JAN95 JAN00 JAN05
Front Range
3-6 kg N / ha wet deposition.
Low retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.
Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation:Nitrate 3-5 eq/L lower in outlet.
Many watersheds sensitive to N deposition.
Mount Zirkel, Northwest Mount Zirkel, Northwest ColoradoColorado
STATION_NAM E Lake Elbert Lake Elbert Inflow
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
JAN84 JAN86 JAN88 JAN90 JAN92 JAN94 JAN96 JAN98 JAN00
3-5 kg N / ha wet deposition.
High retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.
No leakage of inorganic N from lake.
Organic N: stored or exported?
Most watersheds not highly sensitive to N deposition.
Wind River, Northwest Wyoming Wind River, Northwest Wyoming
1-3 kg N / ha wet deposition.
Moderate retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.
Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation:Nitrate 3-5 eq/L lower in outlet.
Many watersheds sensitive to N deposition.
STATION_NAME BLACK JOE LAKE INLETBLACK JOE LAKE OUTLET
Nit
rate
, u
eq/l
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
JAN84 JAN86 JAN88 JAN90 JAN92 JAN94 JAN96 JAN98 JAN00
Wind River
Weminuche, Southwest ColoradoWeminuche, Southwest Colorado
STATION_NAME Little Eldorado Inflow Little Eldorado Lake
Nit
rate
, u
eq
/l
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
JAN84 JAN86 JAN88 JAN90 JAN92 JAN94 JAN96 JAN98 JAN00
1-3 kg N / ha wet deposition.
Moderate retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem.
Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation:Nitrate 3-5 eq/L lower in outlet.
Sensitive to acidification (acid rock drainage).
Nitrogen Emissions sources in the RockiesNitrogen Emissions sources in the Rockies
TransportationTransportation
Electric power generationElectric power generation
Energy developmentEnergy development AgricultureAgriculture
Colorado Natural Gas Production
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
MMcf
Toxic compounds in atmospheric Toxic compounds in atmospheric deposition ?deposition ?
Mercury in ice Mercury in ice core from core from
Upper Fremont Upper Fremont GlacierGlacier
-Shuster et al., Environmental Science and Technology, 2002
•Remote location in Wyoming, 4000m elevation
•70% of Hg-T deposition during last 100 years from anthropogenic sources.
•Peak deposition = 20x background.
•Better temporal resolution than sediment cores.
Paleolimnological records of Paleolimnological records of deposition.deposition.
Mercury Lake sediments, Mount Zirkel
Lake Elbert
0
5
10
15
20
0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0
Hg (ng/g Dry)
De
pth
(cm
)
PesticidesLake sediments, Rocky Mt. NP
0
5
10
15
20
0 5 10 15Mills Lake total DDT (ug/kg)
Dep
th (
cm)
Van Metre, Krabbenhoft, Striegl, and others, USGS
Lower valley of East Inlet, Lower valley of East Inlet, 7/12/007/12/00