Oil and Gas: Regional Acid Deposition
Acid deposition of sulfates, nitrates, and ammonia affect natural ecosystems by acidifying surface waters and lakes and by nutrient enrichment that disrupts natural systems. In the mid-1980s the Environmental Protection Agency conducted the Western Lakes Survey to quantify the lake chemistry in areas where lakes were expected to exhibit low alkalinity. In addition the State of Utah initiated the Utah Acid Deposition Technical Advisory Committee to report on acid deposition in Utah.
There are several national networks that measure trends in wet and dry deposition throughout the US. The National Park Service reports in the 2005 Annual Progress and Performance Report that Canyonlands National Park shows a degradation in sulfate and nitrate deposition and a statistically significant degradation in ammonia deposition from 1995 to 2004.
- National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP)
Measures wet deposition. - Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET)
Measures dry deposition.
