Inorganic nitrogen wet deposition gradients in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area and Colorado Front Range – Preliminary implications for Rocky Mountain National Park and interpolated deposition maps

Science of the Total Environment
By: , and 

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Abstract

For the first time in the 40-year history of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program / National Trends Network (NADP/NTN), a unique urban-to-rural transect of wet deposition monitoring stations were operated as part of the NTN in 2017 to quantify reactive inorganic nitrogen wet deposition for adjacent urban and rural, montane regions. The transect of NADP stations (sites) was used to collect continuous precipitation depth and weekly wet-deposition samples in the Denver – Boulder, Colorado urban corridor. Gradients in reactive inorganic nitrogen (Nr) concentrations and wet deposition were identified along the transect, which included Rocky Mountain National Park. Back trajectory modeling and stable isotopes suggested contribution of agricultural ammonia (NH3) to urban Nr wet deposition in Denver, but apportionment of wet-deposited Nr to agricultural versus urban mobile sources was not possible for this study. The results demonstrate the importance of multiple monitoring sites across an urban area in defining fine-scale geographic patterns in atmospheric deposition and its sources. Data from new sites located within 50 km of the urban area demonstrate that the urban influence doesn't extend as far as the Inverse Distance Weighting would have suggested without such empirical monitoring data. It is important to determine the radius of influence of urban emissions and associated deposition on the interpolated deposition raster, which is constrained by a paucity of monitoring sites east of Denver.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Inorganic nitrogen wet deposition gradients in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area and Colorado Front Range – Preliminary implications for Rocky Mountain National Park and interpolated deposition maps
Series title Science of the Total Environment
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.528
Volume 691
Year Published 2019
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) WMA - Observing Systems Division
Description 16 p.
First page 1027
Last page 1042
Country United States
State Colorado
Other Geospatial Rocky Mountain National Park
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