Rocky Mountain National Park - Air Quality

Mountains etched across a clear blue sky and the sparkling waters of high altitude lakes are at the heart of many park visits. However, because threats to the air and water quality of the park are regional and even global in nature, protecting these aspects of the park requires actions that extend beyond park boundaries.

First the good news. Sulfate concentrations, a contributor to acid rain and acidification of lakes, have declined in the park. This positive change is a direct result of improvement in "scrubbing" equipment at electric power plants. During this same period, and also attributable in part to equipment changes, visual range on the haziest days improved. (Visibility from in Rocky Mountain may exceed 50 miles!)

Perhaps the most subtle, but potentially the most serious, air quality threat to the park is from nitrogen deposition. Winds from the south and east sweep nitrates and ammonium from car exhaust, factories, and agricultural activity up into the mountains. These types of winds are most prevalent in the spring when higher elevation areas receive most of their precipitation. Nitrate concentrations in precipitation increased significantly during the ten year study period.

Water Quality
Although water quality is high in park waters relative to much of the country, threats do exist. As described above, nitrogen deposition is a factor influencing soils and waters in the park. In lakes and streams, the impacts of nitrogen deposition grow worse over time as the natural buffering capability of the soil and rock is used up. Eventually, chronic acidification can lead to the loss of many aquatic organisms and entire fish populations. As experience in the northeastern U.S., Canada, and Europe has shown, these changes can be almost impossible to reverse.

Research at Loch Vale
The Loch Vale Watershed -including Sky Pond, Lake of Glass, the Loch, Icy Brook, and adjoining mountainsides - is one of the most studied watersheds in the world. For twenty years scientists have been monitoring chemical inputs to the watershed from wind and precipitation. They have also studied the "background" chemistry of the local rocks, soils, and vegetation. This work helps distinguish between human impacts and natural processes occurring in this type of alpine and sub-alpine environment.