Studies and Monitoring

Regional oil and gas development, as well as nearby mining operations, power generating facilities, and agriculture, contribute to the formation of ozone and haze, sulfur and nitrogen deposition, and deposition of toxic air contaminants (e.g. mercury) at Theodore Roosevelt NP. While sulfur emissions from these sources are projected to decrease because of requirements under the Clean Air Act, nitrogen emissions, particularly from oil and gas production, are projected to increase over time (WRAP 2005). Air quality monitoring in the park is important for assessing these impacts. find data »

Air quality monitoring information and data access:

Abbreviations in the above table:

CASTNet: EPA Clean Air Status and Trends Network
GPMP: Gaseous Pollutant Monitoring Program
IMPROVE: Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments
NADP: National Atmospheric Deposition Program
NPS: National Park Service
NTN: National Trends Network
VIEWS: Visibility Information Exchange Web System

For more information regarding monitoring and data assessments conducted by the National Park Service, link to the NPS Air Quality Monitoring Program or to the NPS Air Quality Monitoring History Database for a history of active and inactive monitoring sites at Theodore Roosevelt NP.

Key air quality related references from Theodore Roosevelt NP, North Dakota:

Bennett, J.P. and Wetmore, C.M. 2001. 16-year trends in elements of lichens at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. Science of the Total Environment 263: 231–241.

Fenn, M.E., Haeuber, G.S., Tonnesen, J.S., Baron, J.S., Grossman-Clarke, S., Hope, D., Jaffe, D.A., Copeland, S., Geiser, L., Rueth, H.M., and Sickman, J.O. 2003. Nitrogen emissions, deposition and monitoring in the western United States. Bioscience 53: 391–403.

Gough, L.P., Peard, J.L., Severson, R.C., Jackson, L.L., Arbogast, B.F., Motooka, J.M., Snow, S., Engleman, E.E., and Bennett, J.P. 1985. Baseline elemental-composition of selected plants and soils, and assessment of airborne element contamination, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Reston, VA. Open-File Report 85–251.

[IMPROVE] Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments. 2010. Improve Summary Data. Available at http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/improve/Data/IMPROVE/summary_data.htm.

[NPS] National Park Service. 2010. Air Quality in National Parks: 2009 Annual Performance and Progress Report. Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/ARD/NRR-2010/266. National Park Service, Denver, Colorado. Available at http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/Pubs/pdf/gpra/AQ_Trends_In_ Parks_2009_Final_Web.pdf (pdf, 2.8 MB).

Pardo, L.H., Geiser, L.J. Goodale, C.L., Driscoll, C.T., Fenn, M., Allen, E. Baron, J., Bobbink, R., Bowman, B., Clark, C., Emmett, B., Gilliam, F., Greaver, T., Hall, S.J., Lilleskov, E.A., Liu, L., Lynch, J., Nadelhoffer, K, Perakis, S., Stoddard, J., Weathers, K. In press. Assessment of N deposition effects and empirical critical loads of N for ecoregions of the United States. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report.

Peterson, D.L., Sullivan, T.J., Eilers, J.M., Brace, S., Horner, D., Savig, K. and Morse, D. 1998. Assessment of air quality and air pollutant impacts in national parks of the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains. Chapter 7. Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Report NPS/CCSOUW/NRTR-98/19. National Park Service, Air Resources Division, Denver, CO. Available at http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/ Pubs/
pdf/reviews/rm/RM7thro.pdf (pdf, 3.0 KB).

[WRAP] Western Regional Air Partnership. 2005. Haze Planning. Available at http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/
TSS/Results/HazePlanning.aspx.