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At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
USGS2016

Evaluation of National Atmospheric Deposition Program measurements for colocated sites CO89 and CO98 at Rocky Mountain National Park, water years 2010–14

Atmospheric wet-deposition monitoring in Rocky Mountain National Park included precipitation depth and aqueous chemical measurements at colocated National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) sites CO89 and CO98 (Loch Vale) during water years 2010–14 (study period). The colocated sites were separated by approximately 6.5 meters horizontally and 0.5 meter in elevation, in accordance with NADP siting criteria. Assessment of the 5-year record of colocated data is intended to inform man-agement decisions pertaining to the achievement of nitrogen deposition reduction goals of the Rocky Mountain National Park Nitrogen Deposition Reduction Plan. The data at site CO98 met NADP completeness criteria for the first time in 29 years of operation in 2011 and then again in 2012. During the study period, data at site CO89 met completeness criteria in 2012. Median weekly relative precipitation-depth differences between sites CO89 and CO98 ranged from 0 to 0.25 millimeter during the study period. Median weekly absolute percent differences in sample volume ranged from 5 to 10 percent. Median relative concentration differences for weekly ammonium (NH 4 + ) and nitrate (NO 3 - ) concentrations were near the NADP Central Analytical Laboratory’s method detection limits and thus were considered small. Absolute percent differences for water-year 2010–14 precipitation-weighted mean concentrations of NH 4 + , NO 3 - , and inorganic nitrogen (N inorg ) ranged from 0.0 to 25.7 percent. Absolute percent differences for water-year 2010–14 NH 4 + , NO 3 - , and N inorg deposition ranged from 2.1 to 18.9 percent, 3.3 to 24.5 percent, and 0.3 to 17.4 percent, respectively.

Colorado↗
USGS2003

Evaluation of candidate rain gages for upgrading precipitation measurement tools for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) was established in 1977 to investigate atmospheric deposition and its effects on the environment. Since its establishment, precipitation records have been obtained at all NADP sites using a gage developed approximately 50 years ago-the Belfort 5-780 mechanical rain gage. In 1998 and 1999, a study was done by the U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate four recently developed, technologically advanced rain gages as possible replacement candidates for the mechanical gage currently (2002) in use by the NADP. The gage types evaluated were the Belfort 3200, Geonor T-200, ETI Noah II, and the OTT PLUVIO. The Belfort 5-780 was included in the study to compare the performance of the rain gage currently (2002) used by NADP to the performance of the more recently developed gages. As a reference gage, the NovaLynx Model 260-2510 National Weather Service type stick gage also was included in the study. Two individual gages of each type were included in the study to evaluate precision between gages of the same type. A two-phase evaluation was completed. Phase I consisted of indoor bench tests with known amounts of simulated rainfall applied in 20 individual tests. Phase II consisted of outdoor testing by collecting precipitation during a 26-week period near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The ETI Noah II, OTT PLUVIO, and NovaLynx stick gages consistently recorded depths more commensurate with the amounts of applied simulated rainfall in Phase I testing than the Geonor T-200, Belfort 5-780, and Belfort 3200 gages. Gages where both the median difference between the measured and applied simulated rainfall and the interquartile range of all of their measured minus applied simulated rainfall differences were small (less than or equal to 0.01 inch) were judged to have performed very well in Phase I testing. The median and interquartile-range values were 0.01 inch or less for each of the ETI Noah II gages, OTT PLUVIO gages, and NovaLynx stick gages. The performance of the Geonor T-200 and Belfort 3200 gages was affected by technical problems during Phase I testing. As part of the evaluation of Phase II results, the average weekly precipitation totals obtained from the Belfort 5-780 gages and from each of the gages under consideration as possible replacements for the Belfort 5-780 gage were all compared with the average precipitation weekly totals obtained from two NovaLynx stick gages. The median absolute differences between a particular gage model and the NovaLynx stick reference gage for the 26 weeks of outdoor testing ranged from 0.04 inch for the ETI Noah II and OTT PLUVIO gages to 0.06 inch for the Geonor T-200. The total absolute difference between a particular gage type and the reference gage ranged from 1.23 inches for the Belfort 5-780 to 1.83 inches for the Geonor T-200 gages. Because the Belfort 3200 gages were inoperable for most of the Phase II testing, it is not meaningful to include the results from that gage type in a calculation of median or total absolute differences. The OTT PLUVIO proved to be the most reliable gage in Phase I and II testing, operating trouble free over the duration of the study.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2003

Evaluation of OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gage versus Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780 for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program, a cooperative effort supported by Federal, State, and local agencies, and Indian Tribes, was established in 1977 to study atmospheric deposition and its impact on the environment. The program's National Trends Network now includes wet-deposition networks at more than 250 sites across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Precipitation amounts are currently measured using a Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780, which involves technology that is more than 50 years old. In 1999, a three-phase study was begun to evaluate several weighing, all-weather precipitation gages to find a possible replacement for the Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780. One gage that performed consistently well in phase I and II testing was the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gage. Phase III of the study, discussed herein, was to determine the accuracy and comparability of the data sets collected by the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gages and the existing Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780. Seven OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gages were installed at six National Trends Network sites across the country for a data-collection period of approximately 18 months. The NovaLynx Model 260-2510 Standard Rain and Snow Gage also was used, as a reference, at two of the sites. Paired t-tests analysis showed no significant differences in precipitation measurements between the Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780 and the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gages at three of the six sites. When the false positives were removed from the precipitation-event data sets, the gages at all sites were in agreement and the paired t-tests showed the gage measurements were not significantly different. A false positive is defined as a zero response from the Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780 concurrent with a recorded response from the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gage.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1983

Atmospheric deposition: Sample handling, storage, and analytical procedures for chemical characterization of event-based samples in North Dakota

The North Dakota atmospheric-deposition network uses HASL-type collectors to sample wet and dry deposition on an event basis for analysis of 8 principal mineral, 3 nutrient, and 15 trace constituents. Comparison of the compositions of wet deposition collected in adjacent collectors sampled on weekly and event bases indicates that weekly sampling leads to significant contamination of wet deposition samples with dry deposition. Elevation of the collectors 10 feet above ground surface may decrease wind-blown soil contamination significantly. This manual presents a summary of the research procedures adopted by the North Dakota District of the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate the consequences of increased fossil-fuel combustion on the quality of atmospheric deposition. The manual has been tested by field operatives for 3 years and shown to be an effective field guide and management tool.

North Dakota↗
USGS2019

Wind sheltering impacts on land-atmosphere fluxes over fens

Wetlands and their ability to mitigate climate change motivates restorative and protective action; however, scientific understanding of land-atmosphere interactions is restricted by our limited continuous observations of gaseous fluxes. Many wetlands are small in spatial scale and embedded in forested landscapes. Yet, little is known about how the relative sheltering of forests affects net carbon (C) and energy balance. Here, we analyze coterminous USGS and Ameriflux eddy covariance flux tower observations over three years in two shrub fens in Northern Wisconsin, one more sheltered (US-ALQ) than the other (US-Los). Unsurprisingly, the open site showed higher overall wind speeds. This should have implications for atmospheric fluxes in wetlands as wind-forced processes are essential in promoting gas exchange over water. While both sites had similar half-hourly net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) during daytime, there were significant differences in nighttime NEE, as well as in net radiation partitioning in early spring and late summer. Sensible heat (H) fluxes were smaller at the sheltered fen except for the months of July-September. In contrast, latent heat (LE) fluxes were higher in every month except July. Additionally, sheltered fen ecosystem respiration had a weaker linear correlation with air temperature (R: 0.08 versus 0.57 for the open fen). Our work suggests that canopy sheltering does not cause significant differences in half-hourly NEE during the day, but rather the largest differences such as lower CO2 emissions occur at nighttime due to higher variance at very low wind speeds. Sheltering also influenced direction of air flow, mean wind speeds in day versus night, energy balance, and sensible and latent heat fluxes. We discuss implications of these findings for wetland restoration.

Wisconsin↗
USGS2024

Declines in brook trout abundance linked to atmospheric warming in Maryland, USA

Salmonid fishes provide an important indicator of climate change given their reliance on cold water. We evaluated temporal changes in the density of stream-dwelling brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) from surveys conducted over a 36-year period (1988–2023) by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in Eastern North America. Nonparametric trend analyses revealed decreasing densities of adult fish (age 1+) in 19 sites (27%) and increases in 5 sites (7%). In contrast, juvenile fish (age 0) densities decreased in 4 sites (6%) and increased in 10 sites (14%). Declining adult brook trout trends were related to atmospheric warming rates during the study period, and this relationship was stronger than the effects of land use change or non-native brown trout. In contrast, juvenile fish trends generally increased with elevation but were not related to air temperature trends or land use change. Our analysis reveals significant changes in several brook trout populations over recent decades and implicates warming atmospheric conditions in population declines. Our findings also suggest the importance of temperature for adult survival rather than recruitment limitation in brook trout population dynamics.

Maryland↗
USGS2018

Analysis of the impact of African dust storms on the presence of enteric viruses in the atmosphere in Tenerife, Spain

Airborne viruses and their relation to dust storms, as a possible route for dispersion, have not been widely investigated. There are, however, studies that have described the airborne dispersal of pathogenic viruses and their potential impact on public and agronomical health. Atmospheric samples were collected in an urban area of Tenerife during 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and screened for the presence of enteric viruses using PCR and sequencing. The potential relationship of viral data with African dust storms and other climatic variables (viz., the seasonality, origin of the air mass and PM levels) was analyzed. Enteroviruses and Rotaviruses were detected in 15.4% (20/130) and 36.9% (48/130) of the samples, respectively. No significant statistical relationships were observed with African dust storms or the origin of the air masses, although higher percentages of positives were obtained for dust storm days. Enterovirus detection was significantly linked to warmer seasons, and PM 2.5 levels showed an inverse correlation with a rotaviral presence. This is the first multi-year report to describe the presence of Enterovirus and Rotavirus genetic sequences in air samples collected in an outdoor urban environment. The data illustrates the need for source region sampling to determine links and the influence of the weather and climatic and regional wind patterns on long-range atmospheric dispersion of viruses in future research efforts.

Tenerife↗
USGS2013

Evaluation of National Atmospheric Deposition Program measurements for co-located Sites CO89 and CO98 at Rocky Mountain National Park, 2012

Atmospheric wet-deposition monitoring in Rocky Mountain National Park included precipitation depth and aqueous chemical measurements at co-located National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) sites CO89 and CO98 (Loch Vale) during 2012. The co-located sites are separated by approximately 6.5 meters horizontally and 0.5 meters in altitude, which meets NADP siting criteria. Median weekly absolute percent differences for selected parameters including: sample volume, 8.0 percent; ammonium concentration, 9.1 percent; nitrate concentration, 8.5 percent; sulfate concentration, 10.2 percent. Annual precipitation-weighted mean concentrations were higher for CO98 compared to CO89 for all analytes. The chemical concentration record for CO98 contains more valid samples than the CO89 record. Therefore, the CO98 record is more representative of 2012 total annual deposition at Loch Vale. Daily precipitation-depth records for the co-located precipitation gages were 100 percent complete, and the total annual precipitation depths between the sites differed by 0.1 percent for the year (91.5 and 91.4 cm).

Colorado↗
USGS2003

Atmospheric transport of mold spores in clouds of desert dust

Fungal spores can be transported globally in clouds of desert dust. Many species of fungi (commonly known as molds) and bacteria--including some that are human pathogens--have characteristics suited to long-range atmospheric transport. Dust from the African desert can affect air quality in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Asian desert dust can affect air quality in Asia, the Arctic, North America, and Europe. Atmospheric exposure to mold-carrying desert dust may affect human health directly through allergic induction of respiratory stress. In addition, mold spores within these dust clouds may seed downwind ecosystems in both outdoor and indoor environments.

Archives of Environmental Health↗
USGS1986

Volcanoes and atmospheres; catastrophic influences on the planets

For a rare and brief instant in geologic time, we can imagine that the sulfurous, chromatic surface of Io (one of the satellites of Jupiter) lies quiet. Perhaps stars glisten brilliantly through the tenuous nigh sky. Here and there, thick icy fogs enshroud fumaroles where sulfur dioxide leaks from the underworld. Suddenly, a fissure splits the surface and billowing clouds of sulfurous gases and ice hurl orange and black ash into the atmosphere. Minute by minute, the intensity of the eruption builds; stars begin disappearing from the night sky. The rising plume inhales the nearby atmosphere, mixing it with the exhalations from the volcano. Particles of sulfur, sulfur dioxide snow and ash rise to 300 kilometers, later raining down across the planet a thousand kilometers away.

Earthquakes & Volcanoes (USGS)↗
USGS1989

A quality-assurance assessment for constituents reported by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program and the National Trends Network

A continuing quality-assurance program has been operated by the U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate any bias introduced by routine handling, shipping, and laboratory analyses of wet-deposition samples collected in the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) and National Trends Network (NTN). Blind-audit samples having a variety of constituent concentrations and values were selected. Only blind-audit samples with constituent concentrations and values less than the 95th-percentile concentration for natural wet-deposition samples were included in the analysis. Of the major ions, there was a significant increase of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na 2+ , K + , SO 4 2− and Cl −1 in samples handled according to standard protocols and shipped in NADP/NTN sample-collection buckets. For 1979–1987, graphs of smoothed data showing the estimated contamination in blind-audit samples indicate a decrease in the median concentration and ranges of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ and SO 4 2− contamination of blind-audit samples shipped in sample-collection buckets. Part of the contamination detected in blind-audit samples can be attributed to contact with the sample-collection bucket and lid; however, additional sources also seem to contaminate the blind-audit sample. Apparent decreases in the magnitude and range of sample contamination may be caused by differences in sample-collection bucket- and lid-washing procedures by the NADP/NTN Central Analytical Laboratory. Although the degree of bias is minimal for most constituents, summaries of the NADP/NTN data base may contain overestimates of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na − , K + and SO 4 2− and Cl − concentrations, and underestimates of H + concentrations.

Atmospheric Environment↗
USGS2008

Trends in snowpack chemistry and comparison to National Atmospheric Deposition Program results for the Rocky Mountains, US, 1993-2004

Seasonal snowpack chemistry data from the Rocky Mountain region of the US was examined to identify long-term trends in concentration and chemical deposition in snow and in snow-water equivalent. For the period 1993-2004, comparisons of trends were made between 54 Rocky Mountain Snowpack sites and 16 National Atmospheric Deposition Program wetfall sites located nearby in the region. The region was divided into three subregions: Northern, Central, and Southern. A non-parametric correlation method known as the Regional Kendall Test was used. This technique collectively computed the slope, direction, and probability of trend for several sites at once in each of the Northern, Central, and Southern Rockies subregions. Seasonal Kendall tests were used to evaluate trends at individual sites. Significant trends occurred during the period in wetfall and snowpack concentrations and deposition, and in precipitation. For the comparison, trends in concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate for the two networks were in fair agreement. In several cases, increases in ammonium and nitrate concentrations, and decreases in sulfate concentrations for both wetfall and snowpack were consistent in the three subregions. However, deposition patterns between wetfall and snowpack more often were opposite, particularly for ammonium and nitrate. Decreases in ammonium and nitrate deposition in wetfall in the central and southern rockies subregions mostly were moderately significant (p<0.11) in constrast to highly significant increases in snowpack (p<0.02). These opposite trends likely are explained by different rates of declining precipitation during the recent drought (1999-2004) and increasing concentration. Furthermore, dry deposition was an important factor in total deposition of nitrogen in the region. Sulfate deposition decreased with moderate to high significance in all three subregions in both wetfall and snowpack. Precipitation trends consistently were downward and significant for wetfall, snowpack, and snow-telemetry data for the central and southern rockies subregions (p<0.03), while no trends were noted for the Northern Rockies subregion.

Atmospheric Environment↗
USGS1999

Atmospheric transmission of North Atlantic Heinrich events

We model the response of the climate system during Heinrich event 2 (H2) by employing an atmospheric general circulation model, using boundary conditions based on the concept of a “canonical” Heinrich event. The canonical event is initialized with a full-height Laurentide ice sheet (LIS) and CLIMAP sea surface temperatures (SSTs), followed by lowering of the LIS, then warming of North Atlantic SSTs. Our modeled temperature and wind fields exhibit spatially variable responses over the Northern Hemisphere at each stage of the H2 event. In some regions the climatic responses are additive, whereas in other regions they cancel or are of opposite sign, suggesting that Heinrich event climatic variations may have left complex signatures in geologic records. We find variations in the tropical water balance and the mass balance of ice sheets, and implications for variations in terrestrial methane production from the contraction of northern permafrost regions and the expansion of tropical wetlands.

Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres↗
USGS2006

Change in atmospheric mineral aerosols in response to climate: Last glacial period, preindustrial, modern, and doubled carbon dioxide climates

Desert dust simulations generated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Community Climate System Model for the current climate are shown to be consistent with present day satellite and deposition data. The response of the dust cycle to last glacial maximum, preindustrial, modern, and doubled-carbon dioxide climates is analyzed. Only natural (non-land use related) dust sources are included in this simulation. Similar to some previous studies, dust production mainly responds to changes in the source areas from vegetation changes, not from winds or soil moisture changes alone. This model simulates a +92%, +33%, and -60% change in dust loading for the last glacial maximum, preindustrial, and doubled-carbon dioxide climate, respectively, when impacts of carbon dioxide fertilization on vegetation are included in the model. Terrestrial sediment records from the last glacial maximum compiled here indicate a large underestimate of deposition in continental regions, probably due to the lack of simulation of glaciogenic dust sources. In order to include the glaciogenic dust sources as a first approximation, we designate the location of these sources, and infer the size of the sources using an inversion method that best matches the available data. The inclusion of these inferred glaciogenic dust sources increases our dust flux in the last glacial maximum from 2.1 to 3.3 times current deposition. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres↗
USGS2017

Influence of atmospheric rivers on vegetation productivity and fire patterns in the southwestern U.S.

In the southwestern U.S., the meteorological phenomenon known as atmospheric rivers (ARs) has gained increasing attention due to its strong connections to floods, snowpacks, and water supplies in the West Coast states. Relatively less is known about the ecological implications of ARs, particularly in the interior Southwest, where AR storms are less common. To address this gap, we compared a chronology of AR landfalls on the west coast between 1989 and 2011 and between 25°N and 42.5°N to annual metrics of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI; an indicator of vegetation productivity) and daily resolution precipitation data to assess influences of AR-fed winter precipitation on vegetation productivity across the southwestern U.S. We mapped correlations between winter AR precipitation during landfalling ARs and (1) annual maximum NDVI and (2) area burned by large wildfires summarized by ecoregion during the same year as the landfalls and during the following year. Interannual variations of AR precipitation strongly influenced both NDVI and area burned by wildfire in some dryland ecoregions. The influence of ARs on dryland vegetation varied significantly depending on the latitude of landfall, with those ARs making landfall below 35°N latitude more strongly influencing these systems, and with effects observed as far as 1300 km from the landfall location. As climatologists' understanding of the synoptic patterns associated with the occurrence of ARs continues to evolve, an increased understanding of how AR landfalls, in aggregate, influence vegetation productivity and associated wildfire activity in dryland ecosystems may provide opportunities to better predict ecological responses to climate and climate change.

Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah↗
USGS2018

Comment on "Next-Generation Ice Core Technology Reveals True Minimum Natural Levels of lead (Pb) in the atmosphere: Insights from the Black Death" by More et al.

Results and interpretation of the subject article are surprising and conflict with expectations about atmospheric deposition of lead (Pb) Before interpretation of subject article is accepted a body of information about natural deposition of lead (Pb) must be considered This body of information includes knowledge of volcano emissions, chemistry of natural dusts, and isotopes of lead (Pb)

Geohealth News↗
USGS2017

Hourly storm characteristics along the U.S. West Coast: Role of atmospheric rivers in extreme precipitation

Gridded hourly precipitation observations over the conterminous U.S., from 1948 to 2002, are analyzed to determine climatological characteristics of storm precipitation totals. Despite generally lower hourly intensities, precipitation totals along the U.S. West Coast (USWC) are comparable to those in southeast U.S. (SEUS). Storm durations, more so than hourly intensities, strongly modulate precipitation-total variability over the USWC, where the correlation coefficients between storm durations and storm totals range from 0.7 to 0.9. Atmospheric rivers (ARs) contribute 30–50% of annual precipitation on the USWC and make such large contributions to extreme storms that 60–100% of the most extreme storms, i.e., storms with precipitation-total return intervals longer than 2 years, are associated with ARs. These extreme storm totals are more strongly tied to storm durations than to storm hourly or average intensities, emphasizing the importance of AR persistence to extreme storms on the USWC.

Geophysical Research Letters↗
USGS2017

2.3. Global-scale atmospheric dispersion of microorganisms

This chapter addresses long-range dispersion and the survival of microorganisms across a wide range of altitudes in Earth's atmosphere. Topics include mechanisms of dispersion, survivability of microorganisms known to be associated with long-range transport, natural and artificial sources of bioaerosols, residence time estimation through the use of proxy aerosols, transport and emission models, and monitoring assays (both culture and molecular based). We conclude with a discussion of the known limits for Earth's biosphere boundary, relating aerobiology studies to planetary exploration given the large degree of overlapping requirements for in situ studies (including low biomass life detection and contamination control).

Book chapter↗